IGCSE First Language English Revision 2010



IGCSE First Language English Revision 2010

Exam dates :

Wednesday 19th May Literature examination 2h15

Don’t forget to bring your three works to this exam: Songs of Ourselves (photocopies of the poems are NOT allowed); Ethan Frome and Richard III. There must be nothing written in these works: no underlining, no highlighting, no notes etc. Cambridge inspectors will take away your works if they have any doubts.

Friday 14th May Reading Passages 2 hours

Friday 21st May Directed Writing and Composition 2 hours

Exam content

I. First Language English

a) Extended Reading Passages (2 texts)

• A directed writing task based on the first text (speech, report, article, letter, diary, editorial etc). Remember you are being tested on your ability to take information from the extract and use it in your writing. Do NOT copy ideas – you need to rephrase them and develop them in a creative way.

• Writer’s effects: A discussion of the language used and its effects in the first text. You need to look for about four ideas for each. You need to quote – explain the meaning of the words – comment / analyse.

• A summary based on the TWO texts. You need to write two separate paragraphs; one for each summary. Make sure you find 15 ideas in total. Do not copy from the text; rewrite ideas in your own words. Do not include an introduction or a conclusion. Do not write long, flowery sentences; keep ideas concise. Do not include comment, opinion or analysis.

b) Directed Writing

• A written task based on a text support. This task could be one of the following: speech, review, report, leaflet, article, script, letter, diary, continuation of a story/narrative. Here you are being tested on your writing skills – think about Purpose – Register – Audience – Content – Text Type. Adapt your writing according to those FIVE criteria e.g. an article in a student magazine will not have the same register or vocabulary as an article in a The New Scientist. Again, you must take ideas from the information given BUT do not just copy.

Composition

You must answer one question out of six. Think about your strengths and which area of writing you are best at.

• Argumentative writing / Discursive Writing

• Descriptive Writing (we have not practised this in class)

• Narrative / Creative writing

II. Literature Examination

Students must answer THREE questions in 2h15 (45 minutes per question). They must answer at least one text commentary / analysis question. They must answer one question on Ethan Frome, one question on poetry and one question on Shakespeare.

Revision Tips

Use:

a. IGCSE English book – pages 46-56: read this for tips on becoming a better writer and how to plan your answers for the language exam. There is advice on punctuation, paragraphing, use of brainstorming etc.

b. Class notes from 3ème and 2nde.

c. Read over the mock exams that you did and look at the teacher’s corrections and comments.

d. Look on clickenglish as there are revision documents for students.

Reading:

Summary writing. Look at all your class notes and the mock exams you did. Use IGCSE English book pages 101- 116 for extra practice tests and examples of summaries.

Writer’s effects: Look at all your notes from class. Look at IGCSE English book Pier Pressure on pages 33-35 as there is a writer’s effects question and a student’s answer. Use this for revision.

Directed Writing

Revise the different text types. Use your class notes and the IGCSE English book:

• Letter/e-mail (formal/informal)(IGCSE English pages 72-78. Pages 74-75 contains model letters)

• Speech(IGCSE English – pages 58-63)

• Continuing a story/narrative (‘The Gold-legged Frog’ pages 84-90)

• Diary (see class notes and practice from 3ème)

• Script of a conversation(IGCSE English pages 65-71)

• Reports (newspaper and formal reports) – (IGCSE English pages 79-82)

• Newspaper article (IGCSE English pages 83-84)

• Leaflet (IGCSE English pages 91-92)

It is really important that you can adapt your writing according to the text-type asked for. Do you know when to use informal/formal language? What vocabulary could you use to enrich your writing? How should you present your work?

Composition

Argumentative and Discursive Writing

Revise the work we did on writing to argue and persuade(worksheet and A CAMEL EATS PARIS) Make sure you know which techniques to use to make your writing persuasive and convince your audience. Think of good phrases/vocabulary to express your opinion.

IGCSE English book – see pages 39-41 Writing to persuade for some ideas. Look at the text Apples and Pears.

Narrative and Creative Writing

Look at the work we did in class on how to write a good short story. You should also read IGCSE English pages 42-45. This includes a story by Doris Lessing called ‘Flight’. It points out the skills needed to write a good story. Page 41 has a summary of tips on how to be inventive and varied in your writing.

Literature

There are three types of question: empathic task, essay and text commentary. Read over your notes on each of these and make sure you understand the difference.

You should also re-read Ethan Frome, Songs of Ourselves and Richard III. Look at past exams and practice answering them.

IV. Exam Technique

Always do the following in all of your exams:

1. Read the question carefully and underline the key words/phrases.

2. Read the texts, underlining important information/vocabulary. Annotate with your ideas. Your text should be covered in writing!

3. Re-read the question asked and brainstorm your ideas.Remeber all rough work must be done on the answer paper.

4. Make a quick plan – what are you going to include in your answer/paragraph?

5. Think of the format of your answer. How are you going to show the examiner that you have understood the question and can write in any genre asked for?

6. Write your answer. You DO NOT have time to write a rough copy. Cross out any mistakes neatly and re-write the word as you are not allowed corrector pens/erasers.

7. Re-read your answer checking for grammatical errors, punctuation, spelling etc. Have you divided your work up into paragraphs?

8. Put a cross through any rough work.

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