English Language Paper November 2012

1. What do you understand about Sophie Haydock’s experience and the issues of homelessness?

Sophie Haydock was “one of the 50 people who had volunteered” to support the charity, Simon on the Streets. The typical “rough” night for a homeless person is conveyed through her appreciation of a “downpour”. Homeless people find the things that we hate as things they are grateful for. The issue of “homeless people stealing your blankets” infers that street life is very violated.

She wants to help give these people “breakfast,” “soap” and help them make new friends. It is evident that raising the “£2000” required is going to be “the worst part of the experience.” The sleep out was a struggle as even finding a place to sleep in was difficult. Other information that we gather from this article is that Sophie has had a sleep out before, but once they had started their activities, they were banned. We can infer that Sophie must be determined to help these people whether it includes camping out on the street more than once.

Although they are trying to live as homeless as possible, we understand that they didn’t explore the much darker sides of streets as they were able to have “hot vegetable soup” which is not what many homeless people have but it is what Simon on the Streets want to provide. Her relief for finding a place under a tree seems quite peculiar, but what I then learn is that a place under a “leafy tree” is a far better experience than a place in “a darkened alley” – a more popular destination for homeless people. 

Once again, the cardboard box is mentioned, as it has been destroyed by “the early morning rain” but this time showing her “dark” but yet fortunate experience as the way she lived was “a million miles” from reality. From this I can infer that many people have a far worse experience on the streets than her – which stress how the “£6500” raised will help, so, after all, it was worth it. 

2. Explain how the headline and picture are effective and...