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Question

Compare how the writers of Text 1 and Text 2 present their perspective and ideas about life as a writer.

Support your answer with detailed reference to the texts. (14 marks)

King and Steinbeck both contrast writing with the life that goes on around it. Both are using first person narrative, although Steinbeck is writing a diary, just for himself, whereas King is writing a text which advises people about the ‘job’ of writing.

Both of the writers discuss the furniture needed to be a writer. For both of them the desk seems to be central, although King has more of a focus on the ‘massive oak slab’ which dominated his view of the writing life in the same way that it dominates the room he places it into. For Steinbeck the chair and desk combination is also important. He also mentions another option - writing in bed like Mark Twain – but he is rather suspicious of the results of writing in bed.

Both writers mention their family as being important in their writing life. For Steinbeck it is his wife Elaine who is important, because she takes care of all the details which provides him ‘free untroubled time’ to write. King, on the other hand, seems to like having his family around him, and to have ‘life’ in the midst of his writing.

To conclude, both texts present the life of a writer as being part of a bigger story.

Feedback - improving

This answer is improving because:

• it compares both texts throughout, and moves from one writer to the other
• it has a brief introduction and a concluding sentence
• it uses embedded quotations
• it focuses on the writers’ methods

It could improve by:

• using more quotations to support all points
• develop points about the effects of the methods used
• commenting on the structures of the texts
• using more varied connectives to link the texts
• focus more explicitly on the writers’ attitudes