Read the following text, which is an article about happy and healthy ageing, published in a British newspaper. Do we really have to wait until we are 82 to find peak happiness? As you grow older, it is tempting to think that you have left your happiest days behind. The carefree days of your youth, when anything seemed possible, are worlds away, never to be relived. Back then you had none of the restrictive trappings of later life a mortgage, a job, others to provide for. And, most probably, you were fit and well. You had the rest of your life ahead. I look back on my late teens and early twenties as the happiest years of my life so far, when I was a student, surrounded by friends and every day was fun and full of laughs. But my happiest days could be yet to come and a long way off. Experts say that our feelings of joy and contentment don't peak until the age of 82. Leading neuroscientist Daniel Levitin says that older generations are much more cheerful than younger ones. The expert states that World Health Organisation data from 60 countries show that happiness grows with age. He could be right. We tend to look at the past through rose coloured glasses. Come to think of it, the glory days of my late teens / early twenties were also full of insecurities. Relationship woes were never far from the surface: will he / won't he call me? Does he / doesn't he like me? Will it / won't it last? At the time, it generated all sorts of worries. Then there were all those exams, year after year. And body image. I probably felt happier back then because those things were all I had to worry about. But I wasn't in any way in control of my life. Later, as we begin to take some sort of path, come the real worries – how to make a living. Jobs, mortgages, car loans, bills, bills, bills And then, for many, children and the sometimes overwhelming, scary responsibility of supporting and raising a family, of keeping a roof over their head. As Dr Levitin states in his book The Changing Mind, happiness declines in our 30s, but it starts to pick up once you reach 54. I'm 59. I am certainly more settled than I was at 20 – I have a home, I have raised children who are now more-or-less self-sufficient, and, although I am no high flyer, I have built an enjoyable career. But life still isn't a bed of roses. I still have a mortgage, alongside an insecure job and an uncertain future. I can't claim my pension for another eight years. Life is still throwing plenty of stress in my direction. The thought of having to go through another 23 years of this before I feel complete contentment is depressing to say the least. 'You realise you've gotten through all these things that were stressing you out. If you make it to 82, you know you've managed, you're okay,' says Dr Levitin. But will 82 really put me on cloud nine? I think it's more likely to put me in a care home. Those over 80 in good health should count themselves lucky. I don't think true happiness is an age thing. Happiness is intermittent throughout life, appearing in fits and starts. It is, in my experience, about the little things: food and a decent film on Saturday nights, walks in the countryside, time with family and friends, toasted teacake with a good cup of tea. All these things bring pleasure. But if we hit the ecstatic button at 82, then great. As I labour towards my eighties, I'll hang onto that thought.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [Marks vary by level] Form, audience, purpose, style, conventions, language and structure will be appropriately adapted to suit the task.
2. [Marks vary by level] Content may include personal opinion, anecdote, argument, as well as other relevant ideas.
3. [Marks vary by level] The idea that happiness is distinct from contentment, and that these can be achieved at different stages of life.
4. [Marks vary by level] Tone will be used to have an impact on the reader and to create an effect.
5. [Marks vary by level] Adherence to the word limit (150-200 words) is assessed as part of the second bullet point of AO2 (relevance to purpose).
6. [Marks vary by level] (Form) the typical text conventions used in the original article and the candidate's own email
7. [Marks vary by level] (Form) the ways in which the different purposes affect the content and style of the two texts
8. [Marks vary by level] (Form) the ways in which the article and the email appeal to the respective intended audiences, e.g. through the tone and register used in each text
9. [Marks vary by level] (Form) any other relevant aspect of the form of the two texts
10. [Marks vary by level] (Structure) the ways in which the heading and short/long paragraphs or sections are used in each text
11. [Marks vary by level] (Structure) the way the article develops the subject
12. [Marks vary by level] (Structure) the way the article references different viewpoints – of the narrator and the 'experts'
13. [Marks vary by level] (Structure) the way that the article ends
14. [Marks vary by level] (Structure) any other relevant structural features in the text
15. [Marks vary by level] (Language) references to experts in the field – quotations from authoritative figures to lend credibility to the argument e.g. Leading neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, Experts say
16. [Marks vary by level] (Language) the use of first person narrative, chatty and informal style, and inclusion of personal information/viewpoint e.g. I look back on my late teens and early twenties as the happiest years of my life so far, I wasn't in any way in control of my life; I'm 59. I am certainly more settled than I was at 20; I don't think true happiness is an age thing
17. [Marks vary by level] (Language) the range of lexical fields used such as family life e.g. I have raised children, scary responsibility of supporting and raising a family, of keeping a roof over their head; responsibilities e.g. the restrictive trappings of later life, how to make a living, jobs, mortgages, car loans, bills, bills, bills_; happiness e.g. carefree days, every day was fun and full of laughs; anxieties e.g. full of insecurities, relationship woes, all those exams, year after year, I wasn't in any way in control of my life, the real worries
18. [Marks vary by level] (Language) positive and reassuring language e.g. full of laughs, fit and well, an enjoyable career, pleasure, the glory days
19. [Marks vary by level] (Language) vocabulary indicating uncertainty e.g. Relationship woes
20. [Marks vary by level] (Language) repetition and its varying effects e.g. of ages in number form, bills, why..., still, happiness
21. [Marks vary by level] (Language) the tone of humour and self-mockery often linked to let-downs, antitheses or disbelief in anything good occurring e.g. Come to think of it, the glory days of my late teens/early twenties were also full of insecurities; But will 82 really put me on cloud nine? I think it's more likely to put me in a care home; if we hit the ecstatic button at 82, then great
22. [Marks vary by level] (Language) any other relevant language features in the text