EXAMINER TIPS for AS English Language 8693



EXAMINER TIPS for AS English Language 9093

General Advice

• It is important that you are ready for the examination in terms of your standard of written

English: this is a step up from IGCSE and requires a high degree of fluency and accuracy.

• Ensure that you are particularly practised at using consistent tenses and subject-verb

agreement.

• Try to ensure that you are familiar with different types of texts such as travel writing,

autobiography, biography, humorous writing, persuasive or promotional materials, fictional

genres (such as science fiction, suspense, thrillers and so on).

• Try to ensure, too, that you are familiar with writing in different formats for both papers. You should practise writing the openings of different types of texts and familiarise yourself with the structures and conventions of different genres and formats.

• Ensure that you annotate passages that you read.

• Ensure that you plan your work in the examination.

• Do not try to off-load a prepared list of terminology on Paper 1 but try to select and draw from the terms which you do know which are appropriate for the passage.

• Don’t write under the amount required or go excessively beyond the upper limit.

Paper 1

• When asked to comment on the language and style of the set passage try to be prepared in your approach: don’t be afraid to plan, highlight or annotate the text.

• Try to avoid being inflexible; try not to write a list of prepared terms or to spot

features/techniques that you recognise. Examiners call this ‘feature-spotting’. Unlike some

other subjects English Language is not really content driven but tends to involve the

application of specific reading and writing skills. Trying to off-load revised content for the

subject is, therefore, not really appropriate.

• Try to break the set passage into small sections and consider each section in turn.

• As you consider each section try to select issues or techniques which are clearly in evidence in the passage; not everything you know will necessarily be there.

• As a starting point, ask yourself what the mood of the passage is; highlight the key words and phrases that create this.

• Ask yourself what we learn about the narrator or a character, the kinds of attitude they show to others or any issues that arise.

• Ask yourself about the use of setting – which key words and phrases establish this?

• If there is dialogue, what does it show us about different speakers and their attitudes

to/relationships with others?

• The key words and phrases that you highlight should form the basis for the brief quotations you should blend into your answer.

• Quotations should be brief (about five words maximum for each one) and be embedded into your sentences: avoid copying huge chunks of the text out.

• Try to comment on these quotations by asking yourself a range of prompt questions for each one: What mood does this create? What qualities does it bring to mind? Does it contrast with any other words or phrases in the text and, if so, what is the effect of this? What do the words suggest about the voice (the narrator perhaps or another character) using them? In summary: you are being asked to comment on the possible effects that these features may achieve, the possible thoughts and feelings they may bring into a reader’s mind, the mood(s) they may create at different points, the qualities that specific words and phrases may bring out.

• Try to look for differences between each of the smaller sections you have broken the text up into.

To achieve higher marks you should also show an awareness of the structure of the passage, how it unfolds: therefore, breaking it up into smaller sections and commenting on any changes between them really helps with this. You can then identify, for example, whether the mood or attitude changes between different sections?

Directed Writing

• When answering tasks based on directed writing, ensure that you read the instructions

carefully so that you understand the purpose of the task, which character it might involve, the format in which it is to be written and the appropriate conventions and style of such a format. Voiceovers, notes (instruction or information texts), online comments or emails or blogs are some of the more unusual text types sometimes asked.

• Keep to the word limits (120 -150)

• If you are asked to write in the style and language of the original passage, refer to some of the material you have highlighted in commenting on the language and style and try to adopt the same techniques.

More on Paper 1

This paper tests your reading skills in particular. However, there is also the opportunity to

demonstrate some of your writing skills too.

You have to answer two of the three questions available. You have 15 minutes reading time built in to your exam. Question 1 is compulsory

• Take your time to choose your other passage carefully at the start of the examination- taking the DW into consideration.

• Planning is very useful.

• Don’t be afraid to highlight key words and phrases, using colour coding if you think it might help; don’t be afraid to make notes on the paper.

For this paper, it is important that you are familiar with a range of different reading materials and the conventions different genres may use. For example, sometimes extracts from speeches are set and it is helpful if you have some familiarity with some of the rhetorical devices a speaker may use: for example, a list of three or rhetorical questions. Similarly, if part of a ghost story is set, it is useful to know how writers might create mood and suspense: for example, through the use of setting and adjectives that creative mystery and the unknown.

Paper 2

For Section A Imaginative Writing (narrative or descriptive)

• Be familiar with a range of styles of writing and different genres.

• Try to appreciate the conventions, the features which we would expect to find, in different types of text.

• Practice writing the opening chapters to different genres.

• In the examination read the rubric of each title carefully: there will usually be a specific

requirement to focus not just on the title but on one or two fore grounded elements in

particular. These elements usually come in pairs and include matters such as: setting and

mood; suspense and mystery; character and motivation; sound and colour.

• For narratives: try to practice planning the structure of a complete story: sometimes the titles in this section may ask you to write a story with a twist at the end or a story where a secret catches up with a character; plotting of content and the revelation of detail becomes important when addressing such titles.

• in description: don’t overwrite: this means that you should not make your language too flowery or show off your impressive vocabulary by combining words and phrases that sound excessive in the chosen context.

• Try to create a sense of sentence variation.

• If you are writing an essentially narrative piece blend in short bursts of description – of

setting, people, character qualities – to break up the narrative.

• Ensure you write a minimum of 600 words: short work is penalized

For Section B: Writing for an Audience (Discursive/Argumentative Writing)

• Ensure that you practice writing different kinds of essays.

• When writing compositions which require balanced arguments( eg two debates/letters) , practice summarizing the arguments of other people (your personal view of such arguments is not necessarily relevant).

• Use some useful terms in such compositions in order to facilitate summaries: ‘according to’,‘supporters of this argue that’, ‘proponents believe that’, ‘opponents claim that’ ‘ to counter this argument’, ‘they also add that’

• When writing compositions which require personal judgment, try to avoid offering an

outpouring of unstructured arguments – plan your topics within the topic; address the arguments which seem opposite to your view and assess them in a measured and persuasive tone

• All these compositions require a specific formats for a particular context and audience: essentially you are asked to role-play and write in a certain style or format – such as giving advice or offering an opinion in a newspaper; be fully aware of the audience for and the purpose of the piece.

• Ensure you write a minimum of 600 words: short work is penalized

More on Paper 2

This paper focuses on your writing skills. You answer two questions in total.

It is essential to note that each answer must be between 600 and 900 words. Compositions under this length lose marks.

Section A of the paper gives you a choice of 3 questions based on

Imaginative Writing.

You choose one of these to answer.

Titles may include some of the following: the opening to chapter to a novel (title given); a

complete short story; two contrasting descriptive pieces; the opening to a particular genre of

writing (such as a science fiction story, a ghost story, a story based on suspense).

Holistic marks are awarded for imaginative or descriptive content, a sense of structure, variation in vocabulary and sentence structure, technical accuracy.

The issue of technical accuracy – as well as that of appropriate length noted above – is an important factor to consider. A good degree of fluency in English is a prime consideration when awarding marks at this standard, a step up from GCSE.

Section B of this paper gives you a choice of 3 questions based on Writing for an Audience in a style that is either discursive or argumentative.

You choose one of these to answer.

Titles ask you to answer questions in a certain format for a set context and audience – such as giving advice in a newspaper or magazine article, writing

a review of some kind for an online site, delivering a speech to a set of students.

Again, it is essential to note that each answer must be between 600 and 900 words.

Holistic marks are awarded for choices of appropriate and effective approaches, vocabulary, a sense of audience and purpose, persuasive strategies.

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