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Foundation tier sample answers

Here are two sample responses which address point four of the essay plan set out at the beginning of step six:

Sample answer one

In the novel there are several different types of family. Apart from Marcus and his extended family, and Will and his lack of family, we see some different examples of families. The first family is the one which is made up of John and Christine. After John and Christine have their children, they ask Will if he has any desire for a family of [his] own yet and Will thinks he would rather eat one of Barney’s dirty nappies. This is funny, and makes the reader see how much Will hates the idea of being in a normal family. At the end of the novel Will settles down to normal family life with Rachel and finds it is exactly what he was looking for all the time. Other examples of different family units are shown when Will joins SPAT (Single Parents Alone Together) because he decides that single mothers are a good way of finding women to date. One of the single mothers, Suzie, tells Will about all the reasons for these women becoming single, and this is how Will begins to see that nobody really has any control over their relationships. He thinks about this later when he realises that you just have to hope that things will turn out well. Will himself is a product of an unhappy marriage, although with both parents it could be considered a normal family, which has made him wary of relationships in the past, but as the novel progresses it makes him think that it might be better to be a single parent and be happy than be married unhappily.

Feedback comments – good but could be improved

This response shows an understanding of the different examples of family units in About a Boy. It moves logically through the novel and looks at the relevant example of John and Christine. There could have been a bit more detail about how Will knows them and why they ended up making such different lifestyle choices. The children’s names would have provided extra evidence to the examiner that the candidate has secure knowledge of the text. When the candidate mentions that at the end, Will does in fact settle down as John and Christine did, in a committed relationship, it would have been good to note that this is ironic. The discussion of Will’s own childhood in an unhappy family is good, as it shows an understanding that this is what has made him afraid to commit in the past. The subject of Kurt Cobain runs through the novel and there was a good opportunity to mention him and his family (as Ellie does) in this paragraph.

Sample answer two

In the novel there are several different types of family, and I think Nick Hornby has tried to show that you do not have to belong to a normal two parent family to have a good family life. Apart from Marcus and his extended family, and Will and his lack of family, we see quite a few different examples of what makes a family. The first family is the one which is made up of John and Christine, who have been Will’s friends since they were young and childless. Will and his girlfriend at the time, Jessica, used to go out clubbing with John and Christine. All that stopped when Jessica broke up with Will because she wanted children and he didn’t. After John and Christine have their children, Barney, and then Imogen, Will thinks that they have taken the Jessica route to oblivion. They ask him if he has any desire for a family of [his] own yet and Will thinks he would rather eat one of Barney’s dirty nappies. This is very entertaining, especially as Will does not dare to say what he thinks out loud, and just tells them not yet. It is ironic that at the end of the novel Will settles down to this kind of life with Rachel and finds it is exactly what he was looking for all along. Other examples of different family units are shown when Will joins SPAT (Single Parents Alone Together) because he decides that single mothers are a good way of finding women to date. In addition, the word spat is funny because it makes the reader think of all the arguments that take place in relationships. Suzie tells Will about all the reasons for these women becoming single, and this is how Will begins to see that it is not only he who has no control of his relationships. He thinks about this later when he realises that you just have to hope that things will turn out well. Will himself is a product of an unhappy marriage, although with both parents it could be considered a normal family, which has made him wary of relationships in the past, but as the novel progresses it makes him think that it might be better to be a single parent and be happy than be married unhappily. Finally, there are several references to Kurt Cobain’s family, his wife and little girl, Frances Bean, whom he leaves behind when he kills himself. Again, Will sees through this example of a normal family that nobody can be 100% protected against things going wrong.

Feedback comments – very detailed and secure knowledge

This response shows a confident understanding of the text, with plenty of detail. For example, knowing the names of John and Christine’s children, as well as that of Kurt Cobain’s child, shows a secure knowledge. This candidate has worked methodically through other examples of family units, making the point that the traditional idea of a “normal” family – that is, one where there are two parents – is no guarantee of security or happiness. There is good discussion of the irony at the end when Will does actually settle down in a committed relationship, despite all his protests against it. Also, good use has been made of the SPAT reference, both as an example of single parent families and as an example of Hornby’s use of language for effect. To improve this further, there could have been some discussion of the family of friends which Marcus and Will belong to at the end. This would have rounded off the response nicely.