Lesson P2-S5

P2-S5 Travel writing, accounts, sketches, letters, diaries and autobiography Quiz: AQA English Language, Unit 2

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson P2-S5, Travel writing, accounts, sketches, letters, diaries and autobiography: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE English Language (8700), Unit 2: Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is the usual narrative perspective in a travel account?

    • A collection of statistics from an official tourism report, set out in tables for visitors
    • First person, recounting the writer's own journey and observations
    • Third person omniscient narration of an invented plot, with a narrator who knows every thought
    • Second person commands that tell the reader what to pack and where to go on the journey

  2. Which feature is typical of travel writing?

    • Sensory description of unfamiliar places and reflection on the experience
    • A numbered set of instructions for a train timetable, with the times of each service listed
    • A list of fares and times with no description of the places visited along the route
    • A formal legal contract outlining the travel terms, the costs and the conditions of the trip

  3. What is an autobiography?

    • An official biography written by a third party after death, using records and interviews
    • A fictional life story written about a made-up character, with invented events and names
    • A list of achievements compiled by a publisher for sale, presented as a short catalogue entry
    • A factual account of a person's own life, written by that person

  4. Which feature is typical of a diary?

    • Dated entries that record personal events and feelings in a reflective way
    • A headline and standfirst to attract a general readership, placed above a short news story
    • A stage direction that tells the actors when to move, written in italics across the script
    • A numbered list of formal recommendations for an organisation, set out in a report to the board

  5. Why is a letter often considered an intimate form?

    • It is addressed to a specific reader and can share personal thoughts directly
    • It is always a formal report with numbered recommendations, set out for a committee to consider
    • It is always written for a large public audience to read, so that its content is shared widely
    • It is always written in verse with a regular rhythm, which makes it easy to memorise

  6. What is a sketch in non-fiction?

    • A plan drawn by an architect to show a building's layout, with each room labelled and measured
    • A list of stage directions for a theatre production, showing the moves of each actor on stage
    • A summary of the main points of a parliamentary debate, given in order by each speaker
    • A short, observational piece that captures a scene, person or moment with detail

  7. Which tense is most typical in an account of past events?

    • The conditional tense, which expresses hypothetical situations only
    • The future tense, which describes what will happen next
    • The past tense, which records what has already happened
    • The imperative mood, which gives commands to the reader

  8. What does a writer gain by using a chronological structure in an account?

    • The reader loses track of time and place completely, because the account is deliberately confusing
    • The reader can skip the middle to reach the ending quickly, since the middle adds nothing
    • The reader can follow the sequence of events clearly as they unfold
    • The reader is left to guess the order of events entirely, since the account jumps about at random

  9. A diary writer reflects on yesterday's events. Which feature shows reflection?

    • A neutral summary of the weather with no personal reaction, given in a short factual sentence
    • Comments that evaluate what happened and what the writer felt about it
    • A bullet-point list of tasks without any comment attached, set out as a plain to-do list
    • A formal greeting addressed to an unnamed reader, followed by a list of the day's events

  10. In autobiography, why might a writer look back on childhood?

    • To prove that childhood is more interesting than adulthood, so that the reader enjoys the early years
    • To explain how early experiences shaped their later identity and beliefs
    • To replace any account of their adult life with facts, so that the book is shorter overall
    • To list the names of every school the writer ever attended, in the order that they were attended

  11. Which feature of a letter shows the writer's relationship to the reader?

    • The font chosen by the printer for the letter's title, set in a standard size across the page
    • The colour of the paper on which the letter is written, chosen by the sender for the occasion
    • The number of paragraphs in the letter as printed, counted from the first line to the last line
    • The greeting and sign-off, and the level of familiarity in the language

  12. What effect does sensory detail have in travel writing?

    • It helps the reader imagine the place and feel present in the scene
    • It replaces the need for any personal reflection in the text, so the writer's feelings are not shown
    • It shows the writer has been to a place only from a map, which makes the account less reliable
    • It makes the text harder to read for the average reader, because the descriptions are very long

  13. Which technique suits a reflective account of a holiday?

    • Listing every event with no comment on what it meant, set out in the order that they happened
    • Quoting a dictionary definition of the place name, given at the start of each chapter of the book
    • Combining description of events with the writer's evaluation of them
    • Writing only the dates of arrival and departure in order, with no other detail for the reader

  14. Why might a travel writer compare the place to home?

    • To avoid describing the new place in any real detail, so that the reader is left to imagine it
    • To help readers relate to the unfamiliar place through something they know
    • To change the subject to a different topic altogether, so that the reader is not bored by the place
    • To prove the place is exactly the same as home in every way, so the reader need not travel there

  15. Harder: Which judgement about the reliability of an autobiography is the most balanced?

    • It is reliable only if the writer has no emotional connection to the events described in the text
    • It offers a personal truth, but memory and self-presentation can shape what is remembered
    • It is worthless because it is written by a single person, who cannot be trusted to tell the story
    • It is always a completely accurate record of events and feelings, because the writer lived through them

  16. Harder: Which claim about a diary as a source is the most accurate?

    • It can be trusted only if it is written in the third person, which removes the writer's bias
    • It offers immediate personal detail, though it reflects the writer's own limited view
    • It is always neutral and objective because it is private, so the writer has no reason to shape it
    • It shows what the whole community thought at the time, since diaries record public opinion

  17. What is the 'frame' of a travel account?

    • The cover design chosen by the publisher for the edition, featuring a picture of the place
    • The border printed around the pages of the book, decorated with a pattern that matches the cover
    • The number of photographs included in the printed version, which varies between the editions
    • The journey's structure, such as a sequence of places visited in order

  18. Which feature of a letter of complaint is most effective?

    • A threat with no explanation of what the writer wants, which leaves the reader unsure of the aim
    • A long, rambling list of unrelated grievances with no request, which covers many issues at once
    • A joke at the start that changes the subject entirely, so that the reader is distracted from the complaint
    • A clear statement of the problem and a specific request for action

  19. Harder: A travel writer describes a place with both admiration and criticism. What is the effect?

    • It makes the account useless to any reader planning a trip, because the mixed opinion is confusing
    • It shows the writer cannot decide what they really think, so the reader is left uncertain of the view
    • It proves the place was never worth visiting at any time, so the writer advises against it entirely
    • It presents a balanced, credible view that engages readers with the complexity of the place

  20. Harder: Which evaluation of a personal letter as a historical source is the most accurate?

    • It is reliable only when it is written to a public audience, since private letters can be false
    • It is useless because private letters contain no real information, so historians ignore them
    • It always gives a full and neutral picture of its era, because private writers are always impartial
    • It reveals private attitudes and relationships, though its view is limited to one writer and reader

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