Developing Ideas

Further Practice:
Identify & select ideas from the text
Change ideas into your own words (or a character’s voice)
Develop the ideas
Read the text, A life-changing decision, in the insert and then answer this question
paper.

You are John Teagood.

Question
A local radio station interviews you about your lifestyle and the recent ordeal when
you slipped and broke your arm.

The interviewer asks the following questions:

• Could you tell us a little about your lifestyle?
• You had an accident recently; could you tell us about it?
• Some people say that you shouldn’t be allowed to live the way you do
because it’s dangerous and next time you might have a far worse accident.

Write the words of the interview.

Things to consider
• We are instructed to use the ‘voice’ of John Treagood and to write the words
of an interview.
• This means that we need to ‘become’ John Treagood and think and feel what
he does.
• We need to find ideas in the text to answer the first bullet point (about your
lifestyle) and use those ideas in our own words.
• Remember: If we simply mention the idea in our own words, we can score
some marks. However, this will only get us about half-way up the mark
scheme.
• To score more marks we need to develop ideas.
• We develop ideas by adding extra things that are not written in the text, but
we can imply them, or they are things that John Treagood would logically
think or feel.
Text B: A life-changing decision
Bullet point 1 asks: Could you tell us a little about your lifestyle?
In this passage the writer describes
I would the solitary
highlight life of John
the following Treagood, a former
ideas.
teacher who decided to change his lifestyle.

John Treagood used to work as a teacher. One day he made a life-changing

decision. He decided to go for a walk and hasn’t stopped travelling since. He
trekked all the way from the north to the south west of England, bought a horse and
then built a caravan, based on a traditional design. That was 40 years ago.
Nowadays, John can regularly be seen travelling around roads and lanes, in that
same handbuilt caravan, pulled by his even-tempered horse, Misty. For him, home
is now his one-room caravan, parked on a piece of wasteland, and his chief
companion is his horse.

Despite often facing sub-zero temperatures, John, 76, believes that life gets better
every year. He says he doesn’t feel the cold, adding that winters in the south west of
England are mild, one of the reasons why he chose it as his destination all those
years ago.
John does not claim a government pension, even though he is entitled to receive it.
He makes money from odd jobs such as pruning hedges; he collects water from
streams and food from the land. In total, John collects about 70 litres of water each
day. He drinks approximately 2 litres of water a day while his horse drinks about 50
litres.

Although he occasionally supplements his diet with fish from the nearby river, he
generally eats any berries and vegetables he might discover along the way, always
taking care to cut up carrots and apples for his horse. John is rarely ill. One
particularly frosty morning, however, he slipped and fell, breaking his arm. He didn’t
seek help until three days later, having walked nearly 7 kilometres to a friend’s
house.

His only items from modern life are a radio to listen to music and a mobile phone.
He explains, ‘A friend said I’d need one for emergencies, but I haven’t switched it on
for six months.’
Main ideas from the text
Lifestyle After identifying all the ideas in the text, you need to group
Ex-teacher them & re-order them so they will flow logically and smoothly.

Lifestyle choice
40 years
A even-tempered horse
A hand-built caravan
An area/wasteland to park/keep caravan/horse.
Financial income made from odd jobs/pruning hedges
70 litres / a lot of water / 50 litres for horse (from streams)
Collects food / berries / vegetables (from land)
Food / carrots / apples for horse
Main ideas from the text
Lifestyle
Then
Noticeyou
howcan write‘voice’
John’s the words of theDEVELOPED,
has been interview inslightly.
John’s ‘voice’.
Ex-teacher
Interviewer: Today I’m joined by a local resident, John Treagood,
Lifestyle choice who lives a little bit differently to most people in the area. John,
could you tell us a little about your lifestyle?
40 years
John: Good morning. Well, yes, I suppose my way of life is not so
common, nowadays. It all started back in the early 1980’s I was a
teacher in a school, but I felt that it wasn’t the right way for me to
live my life. You see, I loved the outdoor life and I wasn’t happy
living in a big town and working nine-to-five every day. So I upped
sticks and started wandering England’s countryside.

Just by adding a few short phrases about what John thought or felt is DEVELOPMENT!
 Main ideas from the text
Lifestyle
Notice, also, the Interjections and idiomatic expression
Ex-teacher
Interviewer: Today I’m joined by a local resident, John Treagood,
Lifestyle choice who lives a little bit differently to most people in the area. John,
could you tell us a little about your lifestyle?
40 years
John: Good morning. Well, yes, I suppose my way of life is not so
common, nowadays. It all started back in the early 1980’s I was a
teacher in a school, but I felt that it wasn’t the right way for me to
live my life. You see, I loved the outdoor life and I wasn’t happy
living in a big town and working nine-to-five every day. So I upped
sticks and started wandering England’s countryside.

In INTERVIEWS, we should add: Personal Pronouns, Emotive Language, Anecdotes, Colloquial

Language, Humour, Interjections, Idiomatic expression. Or P.E.A.C.H.I.I
 Continuation
Lifestyle John: I started my journey on foot but after a few years and
A even-tempered horse many a-hole in my boots (laughs) I decided to try travelling by
A hand-built caravan horse and caravan. It was, y’know, quite a hard task to build me
own caravan, but I enjoyed turning my hand to the new skill of
An area/wasteland to park/keep caravan/horse.
income made from odd jobs/pruning hedges carpentry. Then, I got me horse, Misty; she’s a fine placid
a lot of water (from streams) creature – just what you need for pulling a caravan around
Collects food / berries / vegetables (fromEngland’s
land) lanes.
Food / carrots / apples for horse And that’s all I need. It’s a simply life. We get all our water from
streams and forage for berries and fruit along the way. Though, I
will have to buy a few apples or carrots for Misty if the wild food
is scarce, plus a few nick knacks every now and again. But, a little
spot of gardening or window cleaning is all I need to do to earn a
quid.
I’ve never looked back. This is the life for me.
Text B: point
Bullet A life-changing
2 asks: Youdecision
had an accident recently; could you tell us about it?
What
In this passage the writer ideas from
describes the textlife
the solitary are
of needed?
John Treagood, a former
teacher who decided to change his lifestyle.

John Treagood used to work as a teacher. One day he made a life-changing

decision. He decided to go for a walk and hasn’t stopped travelling since. He
trekked all the way from the north to the south west of England, bought a horse and
then built a caravan, based on a traditional design. That was 40 years ago.
Nowadays, John can regularly be seen travelling around roads and lanes, in that
same handbuilt caravan, pulled by his even-tempered horse, Misty. For him, home
is now his one-room caravan, parked on a piece of wasteland, and his chief
companion is his horse.

Despite often facing sub-zero temperatures, John, 76, believes that life gets better
every year. He says he doesn’t feel the cold, adding that winters in the south west of
England are mild, one of the reasons why he chose it as his destination all those
years ago.
John does not claim a government pension, even though he is entitled to receive it.
He makes money from odd jobs such as pruning hedges; he collects water from
streams and food from the land. In total, John collects about 70 litres of water each
day. He drinks approximately 2 litres of water a day while his horse drinks about 50
litres.
Maybe he fell while trying to get a fish?
Although he occasionally supplements his diet with fish from the nearby river, he
generally eats any berries and vegetables he might discover along the way, always
taking care to cut up carrots and apples for his horse. John is rarely ill. One
particularly frosty morning, however, he slipped and fell, breaking his arm. He didn’t
seek help until three days later, having walked nearly 7 kilometres to a friend’s
house.

His only items from modern life are a radio to listen to music and a mobile phone.
He explains, ‘A friend said I’d need one for emergencies, but I haven’t switched it on
for six months.’
Now write the 2nd Question and John’s Response
Question 2: You had an accident recently; could you tell us about it?

Ideas from the text: You sho

• Sub-zero temperatures uld
complet
• Fish from the nearby river e
this in
• One particularly frosty morning about 1
0
• He slipped and fell, breaking his arm minutes
• He didn’t seek help until three days later
• Walking nearly 7 kilometres to a friend’s house

After writing it, highlight or underline the different parts: The ideas from the text in
your own words. The development.
Also, how many PEACHII features did you include?
Personal Pronouns, Emotive Language, Anecdotes, Colloquial Language, Humour,
Interjections, Idiomatic expression.
Share with the whole class.
• Listen to your classmate’s text.

• Can you spot the ideas from the text in “John’s” words?
• Can you spot the development?
• Did they develop the ideas in more or less the same way as you did?
• Did they include some PEACHII features?
If time…

• Here’s the final question:

• Some people say that you shouldn’t be allowed to live the way
you do because it’s dangerous and next time you might have a far
worse accident. (< make a note of this NOW)

• Spend 10 minutes answering this part of the question. Try to find any
ideas from the text that you can use (although you will probably have
to imply more for this last question), and write John’s response.
Text B: A life-changing decision

In this passage the writer describes the solitary life of John Treagood, a former
teacher who decided to change his lifestyle.

John Treagood used to work as a teacher. One day he made a life-changing

decision. He decided to go for a walk and hasn’t stopped travelling since. He
trekked all the way from the north to the south west of England, bought a horse and
then built a caravan, based on a traditional design. That was 40 years ago.
Nowadays, John can regularly be seen travelling around roads and lanes, in that
same handbuilt caravan, pulled by his even-tempered horse, Misty. For him, home
is now his one-room caravan, parked on a piece of wasteland, and his chief
companion is his horse.

Despite often facing sub-zero temperatures, John, 76, believes that life gets better
every year. He says he doesn’t feel the cold, adding that winters in the south west of
England are mild, one of the reasons why he chose it as his destination all those
years ago.
John does not claim a government pension, even though he is entitled to receive it.
He makes money from odd jobs such as pruning hedges; he collects water from
streams and food from the land. In total, John collects about 70 litres of water each
day. He drinks approximately 2 litres of water a day while his horse drinks about 50
litres.

Although he occasionally supplements his diet with fish from the nearby river, he
generally eats any berries and vegetables he might discover along the way, always
taking care to cut up carrots and apples for his horse. John is rarely ill. One
particularly frosty morning, however, he slipped and fell, breaking his arm. He didn’t
seek help until three days later, having walked nearly 7 kilometres to a friend’s
house.

His only items from modern life are a radio to listen to music and a mobile phone.
He explains, ‘A friend said I’d need one for emergencies, but I haven’t switched it on
for six months.’
Share with the whole class.
• Listen to your classmate’s text.

• Can you spot the ideas from the text in “John’s” words?
• Can you spot the development?
• Did they develop the ideas in more or less the same way as you did?
• Did they include some PEACHII features?
An example:
Interviewer: Some people say that you shouldn’t be allowed to live the way you do
because it’s dangerous and next time you might have a far worse accident.

John: (Laughs) I have one little accident in 40 years and suddenly everyone thinks
I’m in danger! Haha. You know, all the people who say things like that have only
heard a bit of gossip about an old man living in the woods; they’ve never been here
to see how I live. They don’t realise that I’m fitter and healthier than most of them
– I never even get sick! My heart and lungs are strong from my good diet and all the
exercise I have. And, more importantly, I don’t have any stress. Do you know what?
If I did ever get carted off to some care home, I’d probably be dead within a week;
I’d be a liability inside a house, not knowing what all the switches do. I’d probably
leave the gas on by accident and blow me-self up! (Chuckles). And anyway, I don’t
think they’d allow Misty in the care home with me, ‘caus I’m not leaving her behind
– we’ve been through thick and thin together. But, if it’ll make everyone happy, I
suppose I could start sending a text message every now and again to say I’m still
well.