Mechanics of the English Language

Throughout the English exam, the assessors will grade your answers in accordance to four
important methods (grammar, spelling/vocabulary, punctuation and figurative language); In
order to show your level of the English language throughout reading and writing, you must
have a confident working knowledge of these:

Grammar: You must have a strong understanding of key grammatical structures of English.
Using correct grammar will help the assessor to understand your work. Likewise, the
assessor will provide his/her marks in accordance to the marking scheme which places
special importance on grammar. Additionally, the exam will host grammar based
comprehension questions. See the following example from a past exam:

Important grammatical points to revise which are particular to the checkpoints exam are as
follows:

 Continuous tenses (present, past, present perfect and future). Student book pg. 21
 Modals (ability, permission, request, obligation, possibility, deduction). Student book
pg. 33
 Past Perfect Tense. Student book pg. 41.
 Defining Relative Clause. Student book pg. 61
 Defining Relative Clauses for Objects and Places. Student book pg. 75
 Defining Relative Clauses with Whose. Student book pg. 83
 Adjectives with –ed and –ing. Student book pg. 85
 Prepositional Phrases of Place. Student book pg. 85
 Non-defining Relative Clause. Student book pg. 95
 Using Connectors to show contrast. Student book pg. 97.
 Passive statements (Present perfect). Student book pg. 103.
  Passive Questions (Present Perfect). Student book pg. 115
 Reflexive Pronouns. Student book pg. 117
 Passive Voice (Past Perfect). Student book pg. 123
 Passive Voice (Future). Student book pg. 137
 Passive Review: Student book pg. 145
 Past Unreal Conditional. Student book pg. 157.
 Review of Present and Past Tenses. Student book pg. 177.

Spelling/Vocabulary: Possessing (having) a strong understanding of how to write words is a

vital feature of writing successfully. Without correct spelling, writing cannot be
communicated clearly and effectively. In reference to the writing section, a total of 25 marks
will be allocated. Three marks are allocated for spelling. See the marking scheme for
spelling.

As mentioned before, it is vital to utilise a wide range of vocabulary. The more words you
have under you control the greater number of shades of meaning you can include in your
work. The marking scheme states to use “adventurous and precise vocabulary”. For
content, purpose and audience, in which vocabulary plays an important role in, allocates 8
marks for the writing component.

Figurative Language. It is highly evident that the Checkpoints exam places an important
emphasis on figurative language. See the example below from a previous exam:

Figurative language refers to the use of words or phrases (or even sounds) in a way which
cannot be interpreted from the normal, literal meaning of those individual words (What is
 written isn’t what is meant!!). It is used widely in texts for numerous reasons. The main
reason is that it allows the reader to imagine and visualise the writer’s text. It aims to
engage the reader into the story. By doing this, the reader can also receive a different
insight or perception of the text (Remember the example I gave about Harry Potter in
Kurdistan?). The most common types in reference to the Checkpoints exam are as follows:

Alliteration When there is an initial letter (usually a consonant) or sound used in words close together.
She sells seashells by the sea-shore.
Sheep should sleep in a shed.
Metaphor When you say one thing is another thing in a way that isn't literally true, but helps explain
an idea or make a comparison (e.g. comparison between two otherwise very different
things)
She is an angel. (Is a human being normally an angel?)
He is a shining star. (Is a human being normally a star?)
Onomatopoeia Using words to recreate the sounds they describe.
Bang, splash, splat, fizz, drip, drop….
The child splashed his toy into the water.
Personification Giving human traits and qualities to animals and inanimate objects (things or ideas).
The leaves waved in the wind
The Sun smiled at us. (Don’t' humans normally smile?)
Simile When you compare two objects, which are usually different except in one aspect. We use
the words “as” or “like”.
Her cheeks are red like a rose.
He is as funny as a monkey

Punctuation: You need to make sure you know the main punctuation symbols and
when/how to use them. Punctuation is vital (important) in crafting (making) complex and
lengthier sentences. Additionally, correct punctuation is also an important tool to make your
written text logical and readable; authors use particular types of punctuation to tell readers
how they want something to be read. Keep in mind, even a small comma can greatly change
the meaning of the sentence.

! Exclamation Mark They are used to express excitement. They are also used to express
surprise, astonishment, or any other such strong emotion.

Amazing offer!
Wow! I can't believe I came first in my exam.
Because I said so!
 Note: If the exclamation mark is at the end of the sentence, we do not put
a full stop. This also applies to question marks.
... (dots/ellipsis) An ellipsis makes up for a missing piece of text, or allows for a pause in
writing. It is common for writers to sometimes omit a word, phrase, line or
paragraph. Likewise, they are useful in getting right to the point without
delay or distraction:

Full quotation: "Today, after hours of careful thought, we voted to choose

our school captain."

With ellipsis: "Today … we voted to choose our school captain."

In a news report, parts of the quote are unnecessary to the story. When
some of a quote must be removed to improve the clarity or focus of a
story, an ellipsis is used.

"We’ve determined positively … that this fire was accidental."

In information writing, informal writing, stories and novels, we use ellipses

to a very different purpose. An ellipsis can be utilised for a pause in
dialogue and in narrative (story).

Pause in dialogue: He stumbled "I'm not sure what to do ...."

Pause in narrative: He was without hope ... scared, empty ... the essence of
a broken heart.
(….) (Brackets) These are punctuation marks used within a sentence to include
information that is not essential to the main point. They are also known as
parentheses. Information within parentheses is usually extra; if it is
removed, the meaning /idea of the sentence will not change. In many
instances, a comma can be used instead; remember non-defining relative
clauses?

George Washington (the first president of the United States) gave his
farewell address in 1796. (In this example, the bracket is giving extra
information about George Washington.)

(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) launched its first Mars

probe (Viking I) back in 1976. (In this example, the bracket is explaining
what NASA stands for and giving additional information about the Mars
probe.)
- (Dash) A dash, which is longer than a hyphen, is used to separate groups of words,
not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does. In fiction, they are used
to add more drama to writing. Do not overuse these marks in your writing
as it can disrupt the overall flow of the text. Remember, if brackets are
used to provide extra information which can be ignored, dashes do the
opposite; they indicate that the reader should pay more attention to the
 material between the dashes.

After eighty years of dreaming, the elderly man realized it was time to
finally revisit the land of his youth—Ireland.

The students—they were each over the age of eighteen—lined up in the

streets to vote for the presidential candidates.
; (semi-colon) The semi-colon, which looks like a comma above a period, is generally used
to connect two closely related independent clauses. These are two
complete thoughts that could stand alone as complete sentences (but must
be related to each other). Note: you do not capitalize the first word of the
second clause.

Some people write with a word processor; others write with a pen or pencil.
Dad is going bald; his hair is getting thinner and thinner.

There is another smaller role that semi-colons play. They can be used in
place of commas in lists when commas alone would be confusing. Look at
the following examples. Each item in the list contains commas itself, so
using commas to separate the items would lead to confusion.

You can order a sandwich with lettuce, egg, and cheese; lettuce, egg,
tomato, and cheese; or tomato, lettuce, and avocado. (As you can see, the
semi-colon plays an important role in dividing the lists, otherwise, it will
certainly be confusing to understand).
: (colon) Colons can be used to make a list. The information provided after the colon
is supposed to further illustrate whatever was mentioned before the colon

This house has everything I need: two bedrooms, a backyard, and a garage.
I have several favourite genres of movies: drama, science fiction, and
mystery.

Colons can also be used to present a quote

This was first said by Shakespeare: "To thine own self be true."
The main character in the movie said: "Play hard. Work harder."
? (Question mark) The question mark marks the end of a direct question. It also indicates an
interrogative clause. You will likely see them used in all types of writing,
from fiction writing to nonfiction writing.

Where can I find a bargain on a good laptop?

What did you think of the movie?

Note: Do not combine question marks with other forms of marks (e.g. He
told you what!?). This is however considered acceptable in informal
language.
Additionally, question mark, while used exclusively to ask questions, can
function in some rather unique situations, the most surprising being its
ability to stand in for a comma. Take this sentence, for example:

"Where is Eric's car? and where is he, for that matter?" asked Sarah.
* This rule mostly applies to fiction.