LAYOUT OF EXAM
There
are TWO papers.
Total
mark per paper - 200 marks
Time
allowed per paper - 2 hours 50 minutes.
Note;
The official time printed on the Sample Paper is 2 ˝
hours but the Department allows 20 minutes extra for
English in order to recognise the great amount of writing
involved.
Make
sure you use it.
PAPER
1
There
are TWO sections.
- Comprehending (100 marks)
- Composing
(100 marks)
Note;Three
separate tasks are examined on Paper 1
PAPER
2
There
are THREE sections
1.
The Single Text (60 marks)
2.
The Comparative Study (70 marks)
3.
Poetry (70
marks)
As
yet the Department has not published a MARKING SHEME
for the SAMPLE PAPER
You
will get it as soon as we do - so watch this space
But
you should know the following;
Paper
1
You
are expected to read Paper One fully i.e. read all the
texts as you would a magazine.
These
texts are centered on a single theme e.g. OUR WORLD
They
will give you material for the compositions which are
also based around this central theme.
You
will actually be rewarded if you creatively use material
from the texts in your composition!
Think
about REGISTER and the LANGUAGE AREAS (i.e. information,
argument, persuasion etc.) in Composition Writing.
For
instance, your writing for a "popular magazine" (Composition
3) will be a bit different to that used in a "serious
newspaper or journal" (Composition 1).
Paper
2
Know
your STUDIED TEXT well - be clear on CHARACTER, THEMES
and IMAGERY - above all, learn some apt quotes. They
make it obvious that you know the text and this impresses
the examiner.
POETRY
You
DON'T need to know all the poems of a particular poet
equally well. Try to cover a range of his/her poetry
- but concentrate on the ones that affected you most
and be able to explain HOW and WHY they affected you
(even if you hated them!)
THE
COMPARATIVE STUDY
Beware
of studying the texts as separate works. The skill here
is what it says - Comparative - so your job is to find
links between the three texts and show how they are
either alike or different.
All
will be explained....
Basic
Know-How for The Comparative Study
FACT;
preparing for the Comparative is very different to preparing
for the Single Text.
You
do not need to make close studies of the Comparative
texts - this is a waste of time. After you have read
the text go back and select KEY MOMENTS.
Here
is an outline of the differences. Make sure you try
to put them into practice.
READING
APPROACHES
