IGCSE Language Booklet - 1

5th Year
IGCSE FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH
2016
TEACHER:
M. Laura Rigo
STUDENT’S NAME: ____________________________

INDEX
Exam Components ………………………………………………………………………….1
Paper 2 Question 2 Words for effect …………………………………………………….2
Summary …………………………………………………………………………………….15
Paper 2 Question 1- Writing Formats- Examiner tips ……………………………….28
Newspaper Report …………………………………………………………………………30
Interview ……………………………………………………………………………………..49
Formal Letter ………………………………………………………………………………..61
Speech ………………………………………………………………………………………..68
Formal Report ……………………………………………………………………………….81
Diary Entry vs. Account ………………………………………………………………….. 92
Script vs. dialogue …………………………………………………………………………105
Directed Writing- Paper 3 question 1…………………………………………………... 113
Magazine article …………………………………………………………………………….115
Argumentative letter ……………………………………………………………………… 133
Discursive letter …………………………………………………………………………….135
Paper 3 Question 2- Descriptive Composition ………………………………………...137
Narrative Composition ……………………………………………………………………...160
Discourse Markers …………………………………………………………………………..172

Santa María School Year 2016
Subject: Language
Teacher: M. Laura Rigo
Course: 5th E & H
SYLLABUS
Achievement aims:
 To enable students to communicate accurately, appropriately and effectively in speech
and writing.
 To enable students to understand and respond appropriately to what they hear, read
and experience.
 To encourage students to enjoy and appreciate variety of language.
 To promote students’ personal development and an understanding of themselves and
others.
 To develop the skills students need to understand and collate explicit meanings.
 To develop the skills students need to understand, explain and collate implicit
meanings and attitudes.
 To develop the skills students need to select, analyse and evaluate what is relevant to
specific purposes.
 To develop the skills students need to understand how writers achieve their effects.
 To develop the skills students need to articulate experience and express what is
though, felt and imagined.
 To develop the skills students need to order and present facts, ideas and opinions.
 To develop the skills students need to understand and use a range of appropriate
vocabulary.
 To develop the skills students need to use language and register appropriate to
audience and context.
 To develop the skills students need to make accurate and effective use of paragraphs,
grammatical structures, sentences, punctuation and spelling.
Contents:
o Skimming and scanning
o Summary techniques: paraphrasing, selecting and organising material,
o Analyzing how writers’ achieve effects (words for effects)
o Sentence and paragraph structure
o Punctuation and linking words
 Writing formats
o News Reports
o Three question interview
o Formal Report
o Persuasive Speech
o Diary Entry vs. Account
o Argumentative/discursive magazine Article
o Formal and Informal letter writing- Argumentative/discursive letter
o Narrative Writing: Types of beginnings and ending
o Descriptive essay
o Script vs. Dialogue
 Vocabulary
o Ways of walking, speaking, looking.

o Descriptive vocabulary: the senses
o Sensationalist vocabulary- emotive language
Assessment and evaluation criteria:

 Oral Production: Students will be assessed daily. Participation in class, knowledge of
the topics, ability to express himself/herself accurately and fluently will be taken into
account.
 Written Production: Students will be given written assignments regularly which will
carry a mark. Meeting deadlines will play an important part in the mark given.
 Tests: Monthly written exams.
Bibliography:
 Booklet
 Past Papers- Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (extended)
1
IGCSE First Language English at Extended Level

What does the examination consist of?
PAPER 2 - READING PASSAGES (EXTENDED)

2 hours, 50 marks
Candidates answer three questions on two passages which may be on a similar

topic. Candidates write all their answers in the spaces provided on the question
paper. Passage A will be 650–750 words and Passage B will be 550–650 words in
length. Candidates should spend approximately 15 minutes reading the
passages. These passages will be printed on the question paper insert. Dictionaries
may not be used.
Question 1 Extended response (20 marks)
This question, in response to Passage A, may be sub-divided.

Candidates write about 250–350 words, responding in one of the following text
types: letter, formal report, diary entry/journal, speech, interview, newspaper report
or magazine article.
Question 2 Language question (10 marks)
Words for effect. This question, in response to Passage A, may be sub-divided.

Candidates write about 200–300 words.
Question 3 Summary question (20 marks)
This question is in response to Passage B.

Candidates write their content points in note form and then their summary as
continuous writing of 200–250 words.
PAPER 3 DIRECTED WRITING AND COMPOSITION

2 hours, 50 marks
Candidates answer two questions, one from each section. Candidates write both
their answers in the spaces provided on the question paper. Dictionaries may not be
used.
Section 1 Directed Writing (25 marks)
Candidates answer one question on a passage or passages totalling 650–750

words, printed on the question paper insert. This question may be sub-divided.
Candidates use, develop and evaluate the information in a
discursive/argumentative letter or article. Candidates write about 250–350
words.
Section 2 Composition (25 marks)
Candidates answer one question from a choice of two descriptive and two
narrative titles. Candidates write about 350–450 wor
2
PAPER 2 – QUESTION 2- WORDS FOR EFFECT
 You should aim for 4 relevant quotations in each part of the question. Give the
quotation, in quotation marks, explain its meaning, and then explain its effect on the
passage. You cannot get higher than 3 marks if you only identify quotations, or higher
than 6 marks if you discuss only meanings.
 Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices should
include imagery. Explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively in the
context.
 Write about 200 to 300 words.
 For 10 out of 10 you should give a full range of explained effects and link them into an
overview which shows understanding of what the writer was trying to achieve in the
passage as a whole.
 Do not select a quotation which you do not understand as you will not be able to
explain either its meaning or its effect.
 When explaining a quotation do not repeat the words used in it. Do not repeat
quotations; you cannot get credit more than once.
 Generalised and ‘gushing’ comments such as ‘The writer makes me feel as though I
am there’ and ‘The passage is cleverly written’ gain no marks and give the impression
that you are failing to find things to say.
 There is no need to use technical terms, and they are no substitute for explaining an
effect in your own words; if you do use technical terms, such as onomatopoeia, make
sure they are actually correctly used.
 Select brief quotations only, of between one and four words. Do not lift whole chunks of
text, or clump quotations together, or list them. Each one must be focused on specific
use of language and explained separately.
 Introduce your choices of language with phrases such as ‘gives the impression of’,
‘suggests that’, ‘makes me think that.’ Do not say over and over again ‘This has the
effect that...’
 Things to look for are: use of the five senses; use of contrast; use of colour; use of
noise; links between subject and environment; surprising, or unusual words; words
3
which create sound effects; unusual or dramatic punctuation; imagery (similes and
metaphors)
WRITER’S TECHNIQUES CHECKLIST
 Adjectives
These are words that describe nouns e.g. ‘harsh’, ‘excruciating, ‘noble’. Writers use them to
create a specific picture in the readers mind.
Why has the writer used these adjectives? What picture does it create?
 Adverbs
These are words that describe verbs. e.g. ‘carefully’, ‘quietly’, ‘quickly’. These can be used to
add more detail to an action so that the reader can picture what is going on and how.
Why has the writer added detail to this action? What picture does it create?
 Alliteration
Repetition of a sound at the beginning of words, e.g. ‘Cruel Catherine…’ It is used to stress
certain words or phrases or to make a point to the reader.
Why has the writer stressed these words? What point are they trying to make?
 Colour
Using colour words like ‘red’ , ‘blue’ or ‘yellow’. Colour creates images in the readers mind and
can affect atmosphere through connections the reader makes with that colour e.g. red
associates with ‘danger’ ‘anger’ or ‘love.’
What image has been created with the use of colour? How has it affected the atmosphere?
 Contrasts
Strong differences between two things. A writer might write a paragraph about a beautiful
place and follow it with a paragraph describing a run-down place to show the differences
between the ways in which two groups of people live.
Why has the writer chosen to show these two things? What difference is being highlighted and
why?
 Exclamations
Show anger, shock, horror, surprise and joy, e.g. ‘I won!’. They are used to portray emotion
and show how a character reacts or is feeling.
Why has the writer chosen to put the exclamation there? What emotion or reaction are they
portraying? Why?
 Humour
Making a character or situation appear in a funny way can be used to mock the character or
the place, or it could show that a character is humorous.
Why has the writer made this situation or character humorous? How does it affect the mood?
 Imagery (including similes, metaphors, colour and use of the 5 senses- sight, sound, touch,
taste and smell)
The words allow the reader to create an image in their and involve the reader in the moment
being described.
What image has been created? What is the effect of involving the reader in the moment?
4
 Juxtaposition
The positioning of two words, phrases or ideas next to, or near, each other. This highlights a
contrast between two words, phrases or ideas, e.g. ‘The two friends were known as clever
Carole and stupid Steven.’
Why has the writer chosen to position these two things together? What contrast is being
highlighted and why?
 Metaphor
A image created by referring to something as something else, e.g. ‘storm of controversy.’ This
shows meaning by directly comparing something to something else.
Why is the word being compared to something else? What element of the thing that it is being
compared to is being highlighted in the word.
 Negative diction
Words that are negative, e.g. ‘cruel’, ‘evil’, ‘dark’. This gives a negative tone and can
portray negative feelings towards a character or situation.
Why has the writer created negative tone? What effect do these negative feelings have on the
representation of the character or the atmosphere?
 Onomatopoeia
Words that sound like what the describe, e.g. ‘The clash of the symbols startled John.’ The
reader can almost hear the sound for themselves.
Why does the writer want the reader to hear the sound? What is the effect on the atmosphere?
 Personification
Making an object/ animal sound like a person, giving it human characteristics, e.g. ‘the fingers
of the tree grabbed at my hair as I passed.’
Why has the object/ animal been given human characteristics? How does it affect the mood?
 Positive diction
Words that are positive, e.g. ‘happy’, ‘joyous’ They give a positive tone or portray positive
feelings towards a character or situation.
Why has the writer created a positive tone? What effect do these positive feelings have on the
representation of the character or the atmosphere?
 Sentence Length.
Short sentences are just a few words long, without detail. ‘I wondered if he knew what he was
doing to me. It hurt. A lot.’ Short sentences affect the speed the piece is read and grabs
attention.
Why has the writer used a short sentence? How does it affect the speed and tension?
 Simile
A comparison between two things that includes the words ‘as’ or ‘like’, e.g. ‘Her voice cut
through him like a knife.’ This shows meaning by comparing something to something else
Why has the word been compared to something else? What element of the thing that it is being
compared to has been highlighted in the word.
5
 Verbs
Action words such as ‘scrambled’, ‘sprinted’, ‘leaped’. The writer uses these to add action to
the writing.
Why has the writer used these verbs? What mood has been created?
Understanding how writers achieve effects

The effect created by an author’s words could be to stimulate our sense of sight, touch,
hearing or even smell. It could be to convey a scene, idea or emotion.
 After reading a passage you need to work out what effect the writer has created.
- An experience has been described

- An atmosphere has been created
- A statement of fact has been made
- An opinion / emotion has been conveyed
- A reaction has been provoked
 Next you need to work out what impression has been made on your mind or senses.
- You can see the scene that has been described

- You can hear the sounds that have been described
- You can almost smell or taste something that was described
- You can almost physically or emotionally feel something described
 Finally you need to understand what caused this effect on you.
- The specific meaning of a word

- The positioning of words, phrases and sentences
- The rhythm and pace of words and sentence structures
- Use the strength of a word to explain how it creates the effect. (dislike, despise,
- detest, loathe, etc)
- Use the associations of a word to explain how it creates the effect. For example, if
- someone is described as a sloth we envisage someone who is sleepy and slow moving
- and so we may think that the person described is lazy.
Some students think that understanding a writer’s effect means quoting some words
which have an effect on you and copying them out. Using quotations is only one
part of the process; explaining how and why it affects you is the main part.
6
Sample answers: Paper 2 Question 2

7
8
SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 2 (WFE) BAND 2

9
10
SAMPLE ANSWER- QUESTION 2- (WFE) BAND 3

11
12
SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 2 (WFE) BAND 4

13
14
15
Paper 2 (extended) - Question 3- SUMMARY WRITING
 Though this question is called Summary it is not a summary in the sense of being a
general description of a situation but instead it is a focused list of the specific ideas
or details contained in the passage, after anything irrelevant to the two questions
has been removed.
 Write the first part of your answer using short notes. You do not need to use your
own words. Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer.
 Then you must use continuous writing (not note form) and use your own words as
far as possible. Your summary should include all 15 of your points in your notes and
must be 200 to 250 words. Up to 5 marks are available for the quality of your
writing.
 To get all 5 Writing marks you need to show evidence of clear and concise
summary style throughout, precise focus and the use of your own words.
 Do not attempt to synthesise the whole passage as this is not required, is not
rewarded; it makes your task more difficult to attempt to do so.
 Focus on the exact wording of the question.
 Though you must use your own words whenever possible, you do not have to find
synonyms for technical objects e.g. solar heaters.
 To be concise enough for summary style and to get in all the points you should use
complex sentences containing two or three points in each.
 Do not repeat points, or express them vaguely; (these will be given an R (repetition)
or PNM (point not made) respectively in the margin, and discounted.
 There is no need to introduce or conclude a summary, and doing so wastes time
and words. Start by using the wording of part of the question e.g. ‘The features of
the desert were...’
16
Summary Writing Process
1. Skim reading
Read (new) passage for gist of time, place, genre and topic, identifying unknown words to be
worked out using one of the 4 methods: syllabic break down; recognition of similarity to another
English word; recognition of similarity to a word in another language; guessing from context.
2. Scan reading
After reading summary question and underlining key words in the instruction, return to passage
and highlight (possibly in two colours for two different aspects) the relevant material. Identify and
highlight only the key word or phrase. Too many examples, repetitions, direct speech,
figurative language and trivial details should be excluded.
3. Transfer to list in note form
Use short notes. You do not need to use your own words. Up to 15 marks are available for the
content of your answer.
4. Structuring the summary in continous writing
Then you must use continuous writing (not note form) and use your own words as far as
possible. Your summary should include all 15 of your points in your notes and must be 200 to 250
words. Up to 5 marks are available for the quality of your writing. Some technical words cannot
be changed and some individual words from the passage can be used, but long phrases
should not be lifted.
The points on the list should be grouped logically and reordered - to make it possible to combine
more than one point per sentence - using brackets and arrows.
5. Writing the summary
The summary should be written:
* in informative style,
* using complex sentences (avoiding and),
* using the same tense and person as the question
There should be clarity, concision and no repetition.
The summary must be purely objective and without comment, introduction or conclusion.
REMEMBER!!!! Do not include:
quotations- figurative language- long descriptions/strings of adjectives.

Extra information or details – examples (generalize instead)- explanations-repetitions- your own
comments or opinions
BE CONCISE!!
17
SAMPLE ANSWERS: PAPER 2- QUESTION 3 (SUMMARY)

18
SAMPLE ANSWERS: QUESTION 3

19
20
SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 3A AND B (summary)- BAND 2

21
22
23
SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 3A AND B (summary)- BAND 3

24
25
26
SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 3A AND B – BAND 5

27
28
WRITING FORMATS
PAPER 2- QUESTION 1- RESPONDING TO PASSAGE A
 Candidates write about 250–350 words, responding in one of the following text types:
letter, report, journal, speech, interview, newspaper report or magazine article.
 This question tests the following reading assessment objectives (15 marks):
o demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
o demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
o analyse, evaluate and develop facts, ideas and opinions.
 The question also tests the following writing assessment objectives (5 marks):
o articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined
o sequence facts, ideas and opinions
o use a range of appropriate vocabulary
o use register appropriate to audience and context.
 The passage for this question will probably contain a description of a person or place or
both. To do well, you will need to be sensitive to the atmosphere being created and
show appreciation of the feelings of any characters in your response.
 In this question, you are going to be rewarded not only for identifying relevant material
in the passage but also for development of those ideas and use of supporting detail.
Some ideas might be quite subtle and implied. This means that you will need to use
any clues and details you noticed when you were reading in order to write a convincing
response.
 If you are aiming to score the full 15 marks available for Reading in this question, it will
not be enough to just repeat details you have read. The more you can adapt the details
from the passage to suit the task you have been set, the more likely you are to score
well for reading.
 When you are preparing to write your answer, it will really help you to highlight the
material in the text you are going to use – using a pencil so that you can change your
mind if you need to. Next, draw up a quick plan in order to organise the ideas you’ve
found into a logical structure, before you start writing your response.
29
 If you are given bullet points to remind you of what should be included, use them to
check you have covered what is required. These bullet points can also help you to
structure your answer. The material from the passage should be put into the
appropriate section and not repeated.
 There may be some parts of the passage which you can ignore because they are not
covered by the question.
 Do not drift away from the text. Everything you write must be directly connected to the
passage and be supported by references to it.
 Watch out though that you do not copy big chunks of text as that is not going to be
showing your understanding, just your handwriting! You should try to use your own
words as far as possible.
 VARP: Before you start writing, you will need to decide on the appropriate tone to use –
you will decide this based on your audience and why you are writing. You might even
be writing in character. You can expect that you will have to write in a reasonably
formal style – this is after all an English exam! It is rarely going to be a good idea to use
slang for example. Even if the task is to write a letter to a relative, it will be someone
distant or older, such as an uncle whom you haven’t met recently. If a task asks for
report to your fellow earners, it will be official or for publication in the school magazine.
It is really important to remember who you are writing for and to address them directly –
imagining this is a real situation (as far as possible).
 For the full marks out of 5 for Writing you need to show that you have structured your
answer, sequenced your ideas, and used ‘a wide range of original and appropriate
language’.
30
News report
NEWSPAPER REPORT- WRITING HELP
Exam tip!
News reports have several typical stylistic features:

 short sentences
 simple or compound (i.e. using and, but, so)
 short paragraphs - often consisting of only one sentence
 direct speech - to give authenticity and immediacy
 reported speech - introduced by a variety of verbs
Comments made by witnesses, victims, the police, etc may be given in direct or reported
speech:
“We won’t give in,” commented a workers’ spokesman.
The two boys later admitted that what they had done was wrong.
 Passive voice and appropriate reporting verbs (e.g. confessed, protested, etc) are widely
used in news reports, together with a range of linking words and time expressions.
 strings of adjectives - in front of nouns to qualify them
 sensational vocabulary - to give a sense of drama
Structure
1. Headline: Eye-catching and short
2. News event: What? When? Where? Who?

A brief introductory paragraph
3. Background: Why? Previous history, lead-up to this event, causes
4. Report of actual news event: a detailed account of what happened

and what is still happening
5. Ending: Comments or actions to be taken are briefly mentioned.

Consequences, future investigations, predictions.
31
WHICH FEATURES OF NEWS REPORTS CAN YOU FIND IN THE

MODELS BELOW?
Sample news reports
Model A
Gas Leak Results in Tragedy
In the early hours of Saturday morning, the West Cross Shopping Centre,
Wolverhampton, was devastated by a gas explosion. Fortunately, nobody
was killed in the blast, but fourteen people were injured, two of them
seriously.
Eight hours before the blast occurred, shop-assistant Heather Fowles had
called the Gas Board, as she had noticed the smell of gas, but the Gas
Board workers did not detect any leak.
“The explosion was like a flash of lightning,” said cleaner Iris Adams, one
of the less seriously injured victims. She states that she saw her boss, John
Wilson, being lifted into the air and thrown against a wall by the blast. Mrs
Adams and Mr Wilson were trapped under the rubble for more than an
hour before fire-fighters managed to rescue them.
Police inspector, David Chamberlain, revealed that several other
complaints had been made about the smell of gas. The inquiry continues
today.
32
Model B
LISTEN TO SAMPLE REPORTS. NOTICE

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NARRATING AND
REPORTING EVENTS
33
Have a look at this other example of NEWS REPORT and the comments on the side.
Exam tip!
A sub-heading in the middle of a news report is a one-word or short-phrase summary - often a quotation- of the next section of the
report. It signals a change of direction, prepares the reader for what will follow and entices the reader into reading on. It also
breaks up the text to make it seem more accessible.
34
REMEMBER!
Unlike other accounts of events, which are usually chronological, news reports generally follow this order:
1) Summary of recent event: fact about what happened.
2) Background to event: expansion and details of the story
3) Return to immediate situation and response of those involved: comments by participants or witnesses / official
statements
4) Look ahead to near future: speculation about future developments
The first few sentences answer the questions Who? What? When? Where? and How? Reporting does not include
the emotional response or the reporter, or any direct address to the reader.
Newspaper headlines
Look at the following examples of newspaper headlines. With your partner, discuss and list
the common characteristics of headlines.
 Dingo kills child on beach

 Riot halts match - 23 injured
 Scandal rocks paradise island
 Blind mountaineer conquers Everest
 Stock market plunges after shame shock
Exam tip!
Headlines are a kind of summary in note form, leaving out unnecessary words. Their aim is to attract reader
interest in the minimum amount of space. Headlines tend to:
 consist of a maximum of six words
 contain sensational vocabulary (e.g. crash, tragic)
 use short words (usually no longer than two syllables)
 use the shortest synonym (e.g. weds for marries)
 use the present tense for recent past
 leave out definite and indefinite articles
Headlines are sometimes difficult to understand, because their grammar is so reduced. With your
partner, answer these two questions for each of the following (real) headlines:
a) What does it mean?

b) How can you make the meaning clearer? Use more words if necessary, or change word order
or punctuation.
i. 17 aliens held
ii. 500-year-old child found
iii. Squad helps dog bite victim
iv. Miners refuse to work after death
35
Popular newspapers like to use the following devices in their headlines:
puns Big rig carrying fruit crashes on freeway and creates jam
assonance Hit list twist
alliteration Fears of free fall
quotations For richer, for poorer
misquotations To buy or not to buy?
Activities to become better news reporters!

Read the news reports below, and identify the topic of each paragraph. Then, underline all examples of
passive voice, and say which tenses have been used in each report. Finally, choose the best headline for
each report.
36
USEFUL VOCABULARY
Replace each of the underlined words/phrases
in the sentences below with synonymous ones from the Iist.
led to a public outcry, far-reaching repercussions, widespread fear,
make a bid, fruitless, gave his seal of approval, wary, put paid to
1 The Education Minister agreed to the new government proposals to reduce subsidies to universities.
2 A Royal Air Force officer is planning to try to break the world land-speed record.
3 A fire at Weston nuclear power station has caused a lot of worry among local
residents.
4 Attempts to promote non-biodegradable detergents have made a lot of people angry due to the threat such
products pose to the environment.
5 Residents were advised to be cautious of anyone acting suspiciously.
6 Accusations of embezzlement ruined the senator’s hopes of running for president next year.
7 The Prime Minister’s decision to raise taxes will have a serious effect on the lives of many Britons.
8 The police have appealed to the government following their unsuccessful attempts to stamp out crime among
Street gangs.
USEFUL GRAMMAR: PASSIVE VOICE

Read the following opening paragraphs from news reports, and rewrite them by putting the verbs into
the passive.
1 Children discovered a suspicious-looking package in a city-centre shop yesterday. The shop owner called the
police, who sent a bomb-disposal team which successfully defused the package.
2 The council closed down a well-known restaurant in Laycock last week after they found a mouse in the kitchen.
Health officials warned the owner that he could not reopen the restaurant until it met the required standards of
cleanliness.
3 A man held passengers on a Manchester bus captive for an hour on Monday afternoon. Police later removed the
kidnapper, who was unarmed. They believe the man was making a protest about public transport services iii the
area.
4 An amateur has broken the world record for windsurfing across the Channel. The mayor of Longbridge
congratulated 25-year-o!d Dean Travers upon his return home on Thursday. Dean had completed his record-
breaking trip in near-perfect conditions two days previously.
REPORTED SPEECH & REPORTING VERBS

Rewrite the following sentences iii reported speech, using the reporting verbs from the list below.
Each verb should only be used once.
announced, commented, denied, objected, refused
1 The Prime Minister said yesterday, “A new tax will be introduced from 1st January.”
e.g. The Prime Minister announced yesterday that a new tax would be introduced from 1st January.
2 “That is not a matter I am prepared to discuss,” the witness said to reporters.
3 “I don’t like the fact that known criminals are released on bail while awaiting trial,” said the judge.
4 Mr Bingley said, “I have never seen this woman before in my life, let alone tried to assault her.”
5 The spokesman said, “It’s worth noting that this is the largest crowd ever to have attended a Cup Final.”
37
Read the following article and replace the words in bold with adjectives from the list below. What
headline would you suggest for the article? What techniques have been used?
confident - depressing - dramatic - enormous - enthusiastic - gleaming –

inadequate - inspiring - magnificent - wonderful
NEWS REPORTS- VOCABULARY
 PARTICIPANTS/AUTHORITIES/ PEOPLE INVOLVED

o A witness to the…/ one of the first eyewitnesses
o Six people were critically injured/in critical condition
o The injured/ the dead/ the victims
o The Fire Department officer/spokesman/ a firefighter…
o Congressman..
o The city’s mayor…
o Emergency services/office/team/crew
o Rescue crew/personnel
o Local authorities
o Police officers
 REPORTING
o To describe
o To explain
o To report
o To explain
o To confirm
o …said at an afternoon press conference.
o Emercency office declared...
o There are no reports of deaths, missing people or injuries.
o 150 people are believed dead/The dead are believed to be or to include…
o A full extent of casualties is unknown.
o A survey carried out revealed …
38
 AID
o Aid has been sent to the area
o Efforts to reach those most in need are being made…
o Firefighters assist victims/the injured
o Rescue crews responded to the reports of…
o People self-evacuated
o Authorities urged people to evacuate
o Police cordoned off a ten-block- long portion of the area
o An evacuation radius of 20 km has been established
o People were hospitalized
o People took shelter in…
o Authorities supervised a clean-up operation
o Police and military officers have been deployed to ensure safety and help with evacuations.
 SENSATIONALIST VOCABULARY
o A major/devastating/severe….
o A bomb blast/ a crash/an attack/ the tragedy
o A place packed with…
o Streets were jammed with…
o Deadly/devastating/severe atrocity
o Death toll
o Life-threatening/critical injuries or condition
o In a critical condition…
o A city has been hit/swept away/rocked/struck (depending on disaster)
o Reports of collasped buildings and numerous deaths/casualties
o Several fatalities were reported
o There are concerns over…
o Widespread panic and casualties
o Uninahabitable or unsafe areas
o The disaster area
o The crash site
o Further information will be provided as soon as available.
 EXPRESSING AGE
o Simon Rogers aged 25 said…
o Simon Rogers- age 25- said…
o 20 –year-old Simon Roger/ man said..
o Simon Roger (25) said
39
News report
WRITING TASK - A NEWSPAPER REPORT
Read the following transcript and then do the writing task.
This is a transcript of an interview recorded the day alter Joy Wambugu rescued a little boy from
drowning in a deep pool near her home.
Reporter: Everyone's saying how brave you were.

Joy: Er, it wasn't anything to do with being brave, He was there by the pool-everyone knows how
dangerous it is – then he leans over to look at something, a fish perhaps, and he falls in, just like that.
That pool doesn't have no beach – you go in deep. My Mum's always telling me.
Reporter: But you dived in after him.
Joy: Well, to tell the truth, I didn't think. That's why it wasn't being brave. He splashed about a minute,
then went straight under. There was no-one else about, so I went in too.
Reporter: You might have drowned!
Joy: No way! I'm the best swimmer in Tanga. I can lifesave too. Mrs Njoba taught me. She says, "Joy,
you learn lifesaving, you never know when you might need it." She taught me first aid and what to do if
1 fish a drowning person out of the lake. I did it automatic.
Reporter: How old are you, Joy?
Joy: Twelve; I’ll be thirteen next week.
Reporter: What did your mum say when she found out?
Joy: She went on and on at me. She was like, "What have I told you about going down there on your
own? You might be dead by now and then what should I do?" and all that. And then she burst into
tears and told me how much she loves me and how proud she is. You never know with mothers.
Reporter: What happened next when you were in the water?
Joy: I was lucky 'cos I sort of bumped into rum straightaway as 1 dived in. But he was struggling about
and it was hard to grip him properly. First we both carne up to the top of the water and he thrashed
about all panicky even more so. Then I gripped him and swam hard to the edge, just like Mrs Njoba
told me. Lucky there was an old tree with roots in the water else it would’ve been hard getting him out.
I didn't tell Mum that.
Reporter: You gave him first aid ...
Joy: Yeah. I had a bit of fun getting the water out of him.
Reporter: Not many people could have done what you did.
Joy: Maybe. That's why we all need a teacher like Mrs Njoba to help us with important things.
Maybe it's as important as spelling and counting – well, sort of. But I knew it would be all right and I
couldn't leave him. He would have drowned for certain.
Reporter: Did you recognise him?
Joy: Sort of. He lives in the village. He's seven. They call him Samuel.
Reporter: What happened then?
Joy: Lucky again. Mr Kivuti came for his afternoon walk – it was three o'clock - I know because I
looked at my watch to see whether it was working and it was – and he carne running across, saw
Samuel was OK and carried him to the village where they looked after him.
Reporter: What a marvellous story!
Joy: I think everyone's making a lot of fuss. They'll all laugh at me on Saturday when they see that
horrid photo in your newspaper. I think it's embarrassing!
40
TASK
You are the newspaper reporter. Invent a suitable headline and write your
report of the incident for Saturday's newspaper.
You may quote some of Joy's words, but the report should be in your own
words and in written, not spoken, English. You must also decide on the order
of the material you use from the transcript.
Your editor believes in young people and wants his newspaper to note the
good things that they do. You should therefore include some comments
about Joy’s actions.
You should write about 250 to 300 words.

Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer, up to 15 marks
for the quality of your writing. [25]
41
Paper 2- NEWSPAPER REPORT
42
Base your news report on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own
words.
Write about 250 to 350 words.
Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 5 marks for the quality of
your writing.
Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices should include
imagery. Explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively in the context.
Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer.
43
Part 2
Question 3 is based on Passage B
44
3. Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, Russia’s Frozen Inferno, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
Answer the questions in the order set.
(a) Notes
What are the challenges, dangers and discomforts of exploring volcanic areas, according to
Passage B?
Write your answer using short notes.
You do not need to use your own words.
The challenges, dangers and discomforts of exploring volcanic areas:
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about the challenges, dangers
and discomforts of exploring volcanic areas.
You must use continuous writing (not note form) and use your own words as far as
possible.
Your summary should include all 15 of your points in Question 3(a) and must be 200 to 250 words.
Up to 5 marks are available for the quality of your writing.

45
NEWS REPORT – PAPER 2
Read Passage A carefully, and then answer Questions 1 and 2.
Passage A
In 1972, the writer and his family were crossing the Pacific in their boat the Lucette when she was
wrecked by a killer whale. They took to their dinghy, Ednamair, and at the start of this passage, had
been adrift for thirty-seven days.
Rescue at Sea
My eye caught sight of something that wasn’t sea. I stopped talking and stared; the others all looked at me.
‘A ship,’ I said. ‘There’s a ship and it’s coming towards us!’ I could hardly believe it but it seemed solid
enough. ‘Keep still now!’ In the sudden surge of excitement, everyone wanted to see. ‘We mustn’t capsize
now!’
I felt myself tremble as I told them I was going to hold a flare above the sail. ‘Remember what happened with
the last ship we saw!’ They suddenly fell silent at the memory of that terrible despondency when our signals
had been unnoticed. ‘Oh God!’ prayed my wife, Lyn, ‘please let them see us.’ I could see the ship quite
clearly now, a Japanese fishing vessel. Her grey and white paint stood out clearly against the dark cross
swell.
The flare sparked into life, the red glare illuminating Ednamair and the sea around us in the twilight. ‘Hand
me another! I think she’s altered course!’ My voice was hoarse with pain and excitement, and I felt sick with
apprehension that it might only be the ship cork-screwing in the swell. But it wasn’t needed: she had seen us
and was coming towards us.
‘Our ordeal is over,’ I said quietly. Lyn and the twins were crying with happiness. I put my arms around Lyn,
feeling the tears stinging my own eyes. ‘We’ll get these boys to land after all.’
The high flared bows of Tokamaru 1 towered over us as she closed in, pitching and rolling in the uneasy
swell. We emptied turtle oil on the sea to try to smooth it as the dinghy rocked violently in the cross chop of
waves. As they drew near enough, the sailors threw heaving lines. Willing hands reached down and we were
hauled bodily on board.
When I reached the foredeck the family were already seated, in their hands tins of orange juice and blissful
content on their faces. I picked up the tin that was left for me, smiled my thanks to the sailors who grinned
broadly back at me, then lifting my arm, said ‘Cheers.’ I shall remember the taste of that beautiful liquid to the
end of my days.
The crew carried the twins to the large four-feet deep, hot sea-water bath. There, in the fresh water shower
(we had to adjust our ideas to the notion that fresh water could be used for other things besides drinking)
they soaped and lathered and wallowed in luxury, scrubbing at the brown scurf which our skins had
developed. Then Lyn and I luxuriated in the warmth of the deep tub. The ecstasy of not having to protect
boil-covered parts of our anatomies from solid contacts had to be experienced to be believed, but the simple
joy of soap lathering in fresh water is surely one of the greatest luxuries of mankind.
New clothes had been laid out for us from the ship’s stores and the kind concern shown us by these smiling,
warm-hearted sailors was almost too much for our shattered emotions. How cosy to have garments that
were soft and dry!
On our return to the foredeck, there on the hatch stood a huge tray of bread and butter and a strange brown
liquid called coffee. Our eyes gleamed as we tasted these strange luxuries.
We tried to settle down to sleep on the tarpaulins spread out for us, but the unaccustomed warmth became a
stifling heat; the vibration of the engines, the whole attitude of relaxation and freedom to move around was
so strange that sleep would not come. At about midnight, we could stand it no longer and staggered out on
deck to seek the cool night air, the starlit skies and the swell of the ocean.
46
In the days that followed, we indulged in the luxury of eatin and drinking wonderful food, the meals growing
in quantity and sophistication. The familiar figure of the cook became the symbol round which our whole
existence revolved as he bore tray after tray of spinach soup, prawns, fruit juices, fried chicken, and
fermented rice-water.
The crew took the twins to their hearts and showered them with kindness. They had already made gifts of
clothing to us all, soap and toilet requisites, towels, notebooks, and pens. They delighted in watching the
twins draw, write and play together.
1 Write a newspaper report using the headlines printed below.

Base what you write closely on the reading material in Passage A.
Lost family found alive and well - hours from death

Dramatic rescue by fishermen
Include the following in your report, in any order you wish:

• comments about the rescue made by some of the people involved
• reference to what life on the Ednamair was like before the rescue took place
• feelings experienced by the family and the Japanese crew
Base your report on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own
words.

your writing.
[20]
2 Re-read the descriptions of:

(a) the mixed feelings of the writer and his family when they see the Japanese ship in
paragraphs 1-4;
(b) the reactions of the writer and his family to the bath and the shower in paragraph 7.

[10]
47
Part 2
48
3. Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, All at Sea, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
(a) Notes
What did Ellen McArthur find difficult about her voyage, according to passage B?

What Ellen McArthur found difficult about her voyage was:
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ……………………………………………………………………………….
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ……………………………………………………………………………….
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about what Ellen McArthur
found difficult about her voyage:
possible.
49
INTERVIEW (THREE QUESTIONS)

Read the following passage and then do the writing task.
Adventuring in Belize
Galloping along Central American mountain trails, accompanied only by the thrum of
hooves and the occasional flash of a toucan among the trees, might just be one of the
world’s top ways to start your morning. But incredibly, in lovely, lush Belize, where eco-
slanted adventure travel is king, the day gets even better from here.
This diminutive country of just 330,000 people and 8,800sq miles, sandwiched between
Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the south and west, proves true the old adage that
“the best things come in small packages”. And a sojourn at Mountain Equestrian Trails,
with its hardy steeds, welcoming hosts and collection of cosy, kerosene-lit cabins tucked
tight into the stunning rainforest of Belize’s mountainous western Cayo district, provides
the perfect base from which to experience this little country’s manifold adventures.
Several hours southwest from the lodge, along heavily rutted roads and past remote
Mennonite villages and tumbling waterfalls, are the lofty palaces and plazas of the ancient
Mayan city of Caracol, close to the Guatemalan border. Perched high on the Vaca Plateau
in the thick of the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, this 3,000 year old, 80-sq-mile city is far less
frequented than the famous Guatemalan ruins at Tikal. Once a huge city home to more
than 100,000 people, Caracol now lies in spectacular mountain solitude, host to just a
handful of hardy visitors every day. It is the perfect wish fulfilment for any budding Indiana
Jones.
If going underground is more your style, strike out by kayak into the eerie, stalactite-filled
caverns of the western Cayo’s Barton Creek river cave, an easy half-day’s journey from
Mountain Equestrian Trails. Silent, dripping, illuminated only by flashlight, it is not hard to
see why the ancient Mayans believed the cave to be a portal to the underworld, wherein
resided Ah Puch, God of Death, a figure whom it was thought wise to appease. The
immense cave still holds traces of such appeasement; the remains of at least 28 bodies
have been found here and evidence of human sacrifice still exists in the form of the
occasional skull tucked on a ledge high overhead.
For a thoroughly modern approach to this grizzly ancient history, however, head to the
Caves Branch cave in the Nohoch Che’en Archeological Reserve, around 12 miles south
of Belmopan, Belize’s tiny capital city, to sample the burgeoning sport of cave tubing.
Here, float for seven miles through shady, relic-filled caverns wondering at the five million
year-old crystal formations, or don a hard hat and harness and rappel into the inky depths
of the reserve’s Actun Loch Tunich sink hole – both expeditions can be undertaken with
the local Caves Branch Adventure Company.
Alternatively, hike, swim and spelunk your way into the heart of the four-mile-long, bat-
filled Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, hidden deep within the stunning Tapir Mountain Nature
50
Reserve, near the pretty mountain town of San Ignacio. Also known as the “Cave of the
Stone Sepulcher”, a journey into Actun Tunichil Muknal will eventually lead to “the
Cathedral”, an immense subterranean cavern home to yet more Mayan sacrificial remains,
including the “Crystal Maiden”, the skeleton of a teenage Mayan girl whose bones have
calcified over the millennia to a crystalline gleam.
Next, head down the gorgeous, green Hummingbird Highway, to explore vast tracts of
untouched rainforest. With more than 40% of the country designated as protected land, it
is not hard to find a deserted forest trail just ripe for the hiking. Trek out to remote
waterfalls at the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and Jaguar Preserve (whose shy
four-legged inhabitants themselves stay well out of sight), watch for storks and kingfishers
in the depths of the beautiful Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary further north, or take a boat
trip past dozing crocodiles, to Mayan remains dating as far back as the 16th Century BC at
Lamanai in the Orange Walk District.
Finally, go by boat from Belize City, the country’s largest city with a population of around
70,000, to the laid-back, ramshackle charms of Caye Caulker island. From here it is a
short ride out to a plethora of pristine reefs, including the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and
the iconic, Unesco-rated Great Blue Hole underwater sinkhole. Here you can scuba or
snorkel the day away in the company of stingrays, nurse sharks, grouper and technicolour
tropical fish, before kicking back on deck with a local Belikin beer, as the sun sets on
another perfect, adventurous Belizean day.
Adapted from Lonely Planet Travel
Imagine you are the author and you are being interviewed by a reporter.
Your interviewer asks the following questions.
 Tell us about the innumerable adventure opportunities in Belize.

 Could you please tell us about 2 things which you liked the most there?
 What kinds of travellers may find Belize attractive? Why?
Here is a model answer

 Tell us about the innumerable adventure opportunities in Belize.
Being in Belize is like sitting in the lap of adventure. Opportunities are plenty for tourists
who have a flair for taking up challenges. Mountains, forests and caves form the
adventurous kaleidoscope of natural Belize. Horse riding is one of the activities which can
attract those sturdy and strong men at Mountain Equestrian Trails. The Mayan city of
Caracol evokes the budding Indiana Jones. Somewhere deeper underground lay ancient
caves with their stalactite-adorned darkness ready to explored. Imagine getting interior
with just a torch flash! Scuba and snorkelling are also common here. The dense forests
with cataracts can attract people who seek thrill in the lap of nature. Great Blue Hole is a
sinkhole where you can go diving in the company of stingrays, sharks and innumerable
other fish.
51
 Could you please tell us about 2 things which you liked the most there?
The Barton Creek river experience is something unforgettable. It not only offers the
challenge of adventure but keeps you in suspense until you reach your destiny. The whole
journey is filled with mystery. There is a kind of discovery related to it as the Mayans’ belief
that it is the door to the underworld. God of Death, as they called Ah Puch creates a sense
of phantasmagoria in your mind. It becomes even more frightening when we learn that
bodies had been recovered in this area. We rewind our thoughts to those ages of human
sacrifice. The sinkhole near Belize City is another place I cherish (also fear). Scuba diving
and snorkelling are common but diving into the chasm of a sinkhole is a different game
altogether. Added to it are the formidable swimming rivals in the depth – sharks and
stingrays. You feel proud once you come out of those mysterious depths and have a sight
of the blue sky above.
 What kinds of travellers may find Belize attractive? Why?
Belize is made for the adventure-savvy. It’s terrains and the features of the landscape
invite you to explore it in many ways. These are areas where you may not reach in the
comfort of a luxury coach. You need to get out of it, walk, trek, trudge (sometimes even
barefoot), swim, dive. It is nature unspoilt and so we have to adopt natural ways to enjoy
its beauty. At the same time, Belize does not disappoint historians. There are plenty of
places as I mentioned before to be learnt in details. It once used to be the cradle of Mayan
culture. What better way to learn about them than by being in the very places where the
members of the ancient civilization did their rituals and sacrifices? Belize can also be
enjoyed by nature lovers who would just like to enjoy a bus journey or caravan to spot
several species of birds and other flora and fauna.
Tips:
1. Do not repeat the points in the same style and words of the passage.
At the same time you need to stick to information received from the
text.
2. No additional question(s) should be written. All three questions can
be provided extensive answers.
3. Pick up vocabulary to express ideas from the passage in a different
way.
52
Past Paper: THREE QUESTION INTERVIEW

53
Base your interview on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own
words.
your writing.
Part 2
54
3) Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, Life in the Cold, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
55
(a) Notes
What are the things that make the writer’s life difficult and what challenges does he have to face,
according to Passage B?
Write your answer using short notes. You do not need to use your own words.
The things that make the writer’s lifestyle difficult, and the challenges that he has to face:
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about the things that make
the writer’s lifestyle difficult and what challenges he has to face, according to Passage B.
possible.
56
TASK 2 THREE - QUESTION INTERVIEW

57
Base your interview on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own words.
your writing.

58
Part 2: Question 3 is based on Passage B
59
3. Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, Awfully Good, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
(a) Notes
What evidence is there that the orchestra described in the passage is really terrible? What
evidence is there that the musicians do not care and enjoy the experience anyway?
Write your answer using short notes. You do not need to use your own words. Up to 15 marks are
available for the content of your answer.
The evidence that the orchestra described in passage B is really terrible but the musicians enjoy
the experience anyway:
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
60
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about the bad quality
of the orchestra and the evidence that the musicians enjoy the experience anyway.
possible.
Your summary should include all 15 of your points in Question 3(a) and must be 200 to
250 words Up to 5 marks are available for the quality of your writing
61
FORMAL LETTER WRITING
Differences between business/formal and friendly letters
 Informal letters contain:
-Informal greetings and endings
Dear Sue,/Hi there!

Yours/Cheers/Love
-Idioms, phrasal verbs, colloquial English

-Omission of pronouns
-Abbreviated forms
62
 Formal letters contain:
-Formal greetings and endings
Dear Sir/ Sirs/ Madam, Dear Mr Jones,

Yours faithfully Yours sincerely
-Non-colloquial English
-Frequent use of the Passive
-No abbreviated forms
-The sender’s and the recipient’s address
63
Transactional letters are letters responding to a particular situation, which is presented by means
of written prompts (letters, leaflets, advertisements, news reports, etc) and/or visual prompts
(diagrams, maps, etc). They may be formal, semi-formal or informal depending on who you are
writing to.
 All the relevant information given in the rubric and prompts must be included in
your letter.
 You should use your own words as much as possible
a. Letters of Complaint
-Typical problems: faulty merchandise/rude staff/inaccurate information

-Common request: refund/compensation
-Useful Language: I am writing to complain about…
I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with…
I regret to inform you how appalled I was…
I hope/trust this matter will be dealt with as soon as possible
I am entitled to compensation/a refund/ a replacement
Unless this matter is resolved…, I will have no choice but to
take legal action
b. Letters of Apology
-Require a dignified and polite tone

-Useful Language: I am writing to apologise for…
Please accept our sincere apologies for (the unavoidable
delay, etc)
As regards…, /As far as … is concerned,…
c. Letters of Request
-Written to ask for permission, help, information, advice, etc.

-May also provide information, explain a situation, make suggestions, etc.
-Useful Language: I am writing to ask if you would be so kind as to…
I wonder if you could possibly…
I am writing to request your permission (for me) to…
I wonder if I might request your valuable advice concerning
I must apologise for troubling you with this matter
I hope that you will forgive me for taking your valuable time
I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible
d. Letters giving information
-Useful Language: I am writing to let you know that…

I am writing with reference to your letter of (February 10)
I regret to inform you …
I am delighted to inform you…
I am writing in response to your letter requesting information
about…
I am writing in reply to your enquiry about…
I am writing (to you) on behalf of…
I hope that this information will be of some assistance
I would be pleased to provide you with any additional
information
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require
further information
64
TASK 1: LETTER WRITING- Paper 2

65
Base your letter on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your
own words.
Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 5 marks
for the quality of your writing.
(20 MARKS)
Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices
should include imagery. Explain how each word or phrase selected is used
effectively in the context.
Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer. (10 MARKS)
Part 2
66
67
3. Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, Uncles, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
(a) Notes
What is a good uncle like, according to Passage B?
A good uncle is the one that:
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about what a good uncle is
like. You must use continuous writing (not note form) and use your own words as far as possible.

68
PERSUASIVE SPEECH- REVISION
WRITING A SPEECH- WRITING HELP
Step 1: Preparing Your Speech

The contents of your speech, and how you deliver it, are based on three important factors:
The Occasion: The occasion will dictate not only the content of your speech, but also the duration,
the tone, and the expectations of your audience.
The Audience: your speech must always be targeted at your audience. Is the audience familiar or
unfamiliar with your topic?
The Purpose of Your Speech: set out a few clear goals before you start writing your speech
Therefore, before you begin, think about: V.A.R.P:
 Voice: Who is delivering the speech?

 Audience: age, gender, social background, etc
 Register: formal-semi-formal- informal
 Purpose
Step 2: Writing Your Speech

Most good writing must have structure. A good speech provides a beginning, middle, and end to
your topic.
1. The Opening: The first 30 seconds of your speech are probably the most important. In that
period of time you must grab the attention of the audience, and engage their interest in what you
have to say in your speech. This can be achieved in several ways. For example raise a thought-
provoking question, make an interesting or controversial statement, recite a relevant quotation or
even a joke.
2. The Body of your speech will always be the largest part of your speech. Formulate a series
of points that you would like to raise. The points should be organized so that related points follow
one another so that each point builds upon the previous one. This will also give your speech a
more logical progression, and make the job of the listener a far easier one. Don't try to
overwhelm your audience with countless points. It is better to have fewer points that you make
well than to have too many points.
3. The Closing: the Closing of your speech must contain some of your strongest material. The
ending of a speech is your last opportunity to get your audience on your side.
o Summarize the main points of your speech
o Provide some further food for thought for your listeners
o Be direct with your audience. Give them orders using the imperative form of the verb-for
example: ‘Join with me in…’, and ‘Do not listen to those who say..’
69
o Finish with a clear reminder of the issue you are campaigning for: ‘Students everywhere
must unite to demand longer holidays’
USEFUL DEVICES:
 Rhetorical devices
 Emotive language
 Semantic choices: vocabulary & imagery
 Structural techniques: patterning (patters of three), repetition, lists, questions,
opposites
 Phonological features: alliteration and assonance, consonance, rhyme, intonation
and stress, volume and speed.
SAMPLE TEXT -SPEECH
Dr Martin Luther King Jr addresses a crowd of 200,000 in Washington DC in 1963
… I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of slaves and the sons
of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have
a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, sweltering with the heat of oppression,
will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a Nation where they will not
be judged by the colour of their skins, but by their conduct and their character.
I have a dream that one day in Alabama, little black boys and little black girls will be able to
join hands with little white boys and little white girls as brothers and sisters.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be
made low, the rough places will be made plane, the crooked places will be made straight.
This is our hope. This is our faith that I go back to the south with. With this faith, we will be
able to hew out the mountains of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to
transform the jangling discord of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With
this faith, we will be able to work together; to go to jail together; to stand up for freedom
together, knowing that we will be free some day. …
70
FEATURE EXAMPLE EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE
Asking a rhetorical
question
Patterns of three
Opposites
Repetition
Exaggeration=hyper
bole/metaphors/
similes/ figurative
language
Using pronouns
“we” and “us”
Appealing directly
to the reader
Using language
emotively to appeal
to your readers’
feelings
Short sentence to
sum up final
message
71
Sample speech 2: THE GIRL WHO SILENCED THE WORLD FOR FIVE MINUTES
The following is the transcript of the speech that Severn Suzuki gave to the Plenary Session at the
1992 Earth Summit in Rio Centro, Brazil. Severn was twelve years old. SASS feels there is no
better example of a young person standing up and speaking on behalf of something in which they
truly believe, for the betterment of themselves and the world around them.
Hello, I'm Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O. - The Environmental Children's Organisation.
We are a group of twelve and thirteen-year-olds from Canada trying to make a difference:
Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and me. We raised all the money ourselves to
come six thousand miles to tell you adults you must change your ways. Coming here today, I have
no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future.
Losing my future is not like losing an election or a few points on the stock market. I am here to
speak for all generations to come.
I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the world whose cries go unheard.
I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet because they have nowhere
left to go. We cannot afford to be not heard.
I am afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in the ozone. I am afraid to breathe the
air because I don't know what chemicals are in it.
I used to go fishing in Vancouver with my dad until just a few years ago we found the fish full of
cancers. And now we hear about animals and plants going exinct every day -- vanishing forever.
In my life, I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, jungles and rainforests full of
birds and butterfilies, but now I wonder if they will even exist for my children to see.
Did you have to worry about these little things when you were my age?
All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have all the time we want and all the
solutions. I'm only a child and I don't have all the solutions, but I want you to realise, neither do
you!
* You don't know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer.
* You don't know how to bring salmon back up a dead stream.
* You don't know how to bring back an animal now extinct.
* And you can't bring back forests that once grew where there is now desert.
If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!
Here, you may be delegates of your governments, business people, organisers, reporters or
poiticians - but really you are mothers and fathers, brothers and sister, aunts and uncles - and all of
you are somebody's child.
I'm only a child yet I know we are all part of a family, five billion strong, in fact, 30 million species
72
strong and we all share the same air, water and soil -- borders and governments will never change
that.
I'm only a child yet I know we are all in this together and should act as one single world towards
one single goal.
In my anger, I am not blind, and in my fear, I am not afraid to tell the world how I feel.
In my country, we make so much waste, we buy and throw away, buy and throw away, and yet
northern countries will not share with the needy. Even when we have more than enough, we are
afraid to lose some of our wealth, afraid to share.
In Canada, we live the privileged life, with plenty of food, water and shelter -- we have watches,
bicycles, computers and television sets.
Two days ago here in Brazil, we were shocked when we spent some time with some children living
on the streets. And this is what one child told us: "I wish I was rich and if I were, I would give all the
street children food, clothes, medicine, shelter and love and affection."
If a child on the street who has nothing, is willing to share, why are we who have everyting still so
greedy?
I can't stop thinking that these children are my age, that it makes a tremendous difference where
you are born, that I could be one of those children living in the Favellas of Rio; I could be a child
starving in Somalia; a victim of war in the Middle East or a beggar in India.
I'm only a child yet I know if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding
environmental answers, what a wonderful place this earth would be!
At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us to behave in the world. You teach us:
* not to fight with others,
* to work things out,
* to respect others,
* to clean up our mess,
* not to hurt other creatures
* to share - not be greedy.
Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?
Do not forget why you're attending these conferences, who you're doing this for -- we are your own
children. You are deciding what kind of world we will grow up in. Parents should be able to comfort
their children by saying "everyting's going to be alright", "we're doing the best we can" and "it's not
the end of the world".
But I don't think you can say that to us anymore. Are we even on your list of priorities? My father
always says "You are what you do, not what you say."
Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown ups say you love us. I challenge you, please
make your actions reflect your words. Thank you for listening
WATCH THE VIDEO AT www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJJGuIZVfLM
73
PERSUASIVE SPEECH-PRACTICE- PAPER 2

74
Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 5 marks for the
quality of your writing.
Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices should
include

75
Part 2
3) Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, Life in a Trench, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
(a) Notes
What are the hardships of the living conditions, according to Passage B?

76
The hardships of the living conditions in the trench are:
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about the
hardships of the living conditions in the trench.
possible.
Your summary should include all 15 of your points in Question 3(a) and must be 200
to 250 words.

77
PAPER 2- SPEECH WRITING- TASK 2

78
Be careful to use your own words.

your writing.
(20 marks)
Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices should include imagery.
Explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively in the context.

79
Part 2
3) Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, December 4- Lima, Perú, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
(a) Notes
What are the benefits of having Marcia Gomez as your neighbour, according to Passage B?
80
Write your answer using short notes. You do not need to use your own words.
The benefits of having Marcia Gomez as your neighbour:

 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ……………………………………………………………………………….
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ……………………………………………………………………………….
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about the benefits of having
Marcia Gomez as your neighbor.
You must use continuous writing (not note form) and use your own words as far as possible.

81
WRITING A FORMAL REPORT- REVISION
FORMAL REPORT- WRITING HELP
An informative report is a formal piece of writing, usually to one’s superiors, colleagues or

members of a committee, the style must reflect this. It presents information concerning the
progress which has been made on a project, a meeting that has taken place or decisions which
have been made concerning future action. It can also assess the good and bad points of an event,
a project, a candidate.
LAY- OUT
To: __________________
From: __________________
Subject: __________________
Date: ___________________
 Introduction: Paragraph 1
State the purpose and content of your report. Give some indication of what you are reporting on
and what the circumstances are.
 Main Body: Paragraphs 2-3-4 (the exact number and division of paragraphs will depend on
the specific instructions for each report task)
Present each aspect of the subject under suitable subheadings. Reports of an event, such as a
school trip, have a chronological structure; others look in turn at several aspects of a proposition
or several candidates for a job or award.
 Conclusion: Final Paragraph
General evaluation /summary of points. E.g. ‘Although there have been many school trips over
the last few years, it was unanimously agreed that this was the best because of the attractiveness
of the destination and the remarkable team spirit amongst the group.’
82
USEFUL LANGUAGE
To begin reports:
 The purpose/aim/intention of this report is to outline/present/ discuss the meeting held

on…/ the progress of …./ the decision of the ….
 This report contains the information/details of /concerning ….which you requested…
 The information below summarizes the events which took place….
To end reports:
 On the whole, it would be fair to conclude that…

 To conclude, the current state of affairs is that…
TIPS TO CONSIDER BEFORE WRITING A REPORT
o Report should be written in a FORMAL style: complex sentences (e.g. Having spoken to the
employee in person, it is convenient to …), non-colloquial English, frequent use of the passive,
advanced vocabulary and linking words.
o DO NOT use phrasal verbs, idioms and short forms.
o Before you write your report is being written by and who the report is addressed to.
SAMPLE TEXT
You have been asked to visit a place with a view to using it for receptions, and to write a report about it.
Read the model report and answer the following questions:
a) What information is given about the location, services and security?
b) Is Oakley Hall recommended or not?
c) What tenses have been used?
d) Finally, list the good and bad points in the table below.
83
GOOD POINTS BAD POINTS
USEFUL LANGUAGE: LINKING WORDS
Join the sentences with appropriate linking words.
1 The amusement park has several exciting rides which are included in the entrance fee. Some are not
suitable for young children or the elderly.
2 There is a wide variety of shops in the airport terminal. They tend to charge extremely high prices.
3 The food served at the restaurant healthy and reasonably priced. It can taste rather bland at times.
4 Classes at the language school are small and well taught. Many students feel that they are not given
enough individual attention.
84
FORMAL REPORT- PAPER 2- TASK 1

85
Base your report on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own words.
your writing. (20 MARKS)
Part 2
86
3. Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, Doom and Gloom, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
(a) Notes
What are the encouraging aspects of life in the 21st century and how can the world keep moving
forward, according to Passage B?

87
The encouraging aspects of life in the 21st century and how the world can keep moving forward:
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ……………………………………………………………………………….
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ……………………………………………………………………………….
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
3) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about the encouraging aspects
of life in the 21st century and how the world can keep moving forward.

88
FORMAL REPORT- PAPER 2- TASK 2
Part 1
Passage A
Order and disorder
Ms Jhabvala entered the school compound as usual and sighed. She sighed because the buildings before
her reminded her of a medieval fortress, not a school. They were cruel and forbidding. What had once been
flowerbeds were now sandy deserts where poorly disciplined children threw soil in each other’s eyes. She
sighed again as she passed through the creaking door of her daily prison, along the echoing, miserable
passages, her footsteps the only sound in this place of torture.
Now her mind clicked into action, rehearsing the last details of the lessons she was to teach today. Never
mind the Principal’s ideas about learning, that children should choose what they wanted to do, that they
should have freedom. Ms Jhabvala had heard the shouting and disorder from too many classrooms. She had
seen the morose faces of sad children waiting to be taught but never able to make up their minds as to what
might interest them. These classrooms were lifeless, without energy.
Ms Jhabvala was the only person on the premises, except for the caretaker who was still unlocking doors.
She always arrived early so that everything would be ready and she would be thoroughly prepared. She
passed through Mr Raj’s room. It looked ransacked as if a wild beast had blundered through. Scattered
tables and chairs and ripped papers littered the room and broken furniture was heaped into a mountain at
the back. Ms Jhabvala stopped and looked at the symmetry of the ruin; ironic, she thought, that it was the
most orderly thing in the room. The walls were pitted with holes and spattered with sticky substances. Not
like mine, the teacher thought, thinking of her students’ neat work displayed in her bright, friendly classroom.
But, as she reminded herself, no one cared. Like Mr Raj, they had all given up long ago.
At last she arrived at her own room, a haven of peace and industry. She switched on the computers,
checked the programs and put piles of textbooks on her table. Ten minutes later she looked out and saw
hordes of children slouching into school, despondent, not caring much about anything. Some fights broke
out, unnoticed by the few teachers who also drifted in, carrying their battered briefcases. Ms Jhabvala did not
imagine that these contained anything except pens, pencils and a few snacks.
The noise spread to the adjoining classrooms, and soon there were sounds of teachers trying to make
themselves heard above the screams and coarse laughter. Ms Jhabvala opened the door to her neat line of
beaming students. They wished each other good morning and Ms Jhabvala straightened a few stray bits of
clothing, and the children filed quietly in. One of them had brought a wooden sign with ‘Ms Jhabvala, her
special room’ painted on it to go on the outside of the door. The teacher took her own register (she was the
only one to do so) and the lesson started. Forty minutes later, they had read a story, learned something
about punctuation and language, and were busy writing poems that would decorate the wall before the end
of the week. The brightest children were given special work to do.
As they went, one little girl said, ‘I wish we could stay in your class all day. We have to go to Mr Raj
now, and we never do anything.’
Ms Jhabvala paused a minute as they went, to think how hard it had been for her. When she first came to
the school, no one had wanted to learn at all. But she had persevered, rewarding them for being positive or
just pleasant. She’d hardly ever lost her temper, and had always managed a smile. The other teachers had
given in to stupid ideas about teaching and the curriculum. Language and mathematics had been given little
time and there were huge gaps in the children’s knowledge, about science, for example. There was a good
deal of sport, though most of that was not about fitness. ‘They just loaf about,’ she thought. If you asked
children what they wanted to do, they’d always say ‘Watch a DVD’, but after a time that bored them too. So
the days were chaotic, and everyone lacked any sense of purpose. Soon they grew tired of each other’s
company.
Ms Jhabvala’s train of thought petered out at this point. Anyway her next class was waiting. She opened the
door and proudly hung up her new wooden sign.
89
1 Imagine you are a schools inspector and you have recently visited the school described in
Passage A. You are not pleased with what you have observed.
Write your report, in which you:
• outline and explain the reasons for your dissatisfaction;

• make some recommendations to improve matters.
Base your report on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own words.
your writing.
(20 marks)
(a) the school and its surroundings in paragraph 1;

(b) Mr Raj’s classroom in paragraph 3.

[Total: 10]
Part 2
Passage B
The English lesson
Dicey had an English textbook open in front of her and the teacher, Mr Chappelle, was introducing
the next unit of study. They’d spent the first three weeks on learning grammar and now they were
going to read some stories. Dicey was sorry the grammar had finished. She liked the precision of it.
Besides, it was easy.
‘Conflict’ was written on the board in Mr Chappelle’s square printing. He couldn’t write in a straight
line. He was young and skinny and had carroty red hair that he kept trying to brush flat with his
hands, but it always popped back. He had a pale face: pale blue eyes, pale skin, even his freckles
were pale brown. He was one of those teachers who taught standing up, but he didn’t move
around much, just stood in front of the blackboard. He always rolled a piece of chalk in his fingers.
On the first day of class he had introduced himself as the English and Drama teacher. In Dicey’s
opinion he wasn’t very dramatic.
‘If we define conflict as requiring two opposing forces, what might we look for?’ he asked the class.
‘For how conflict might appear,’ he added. ‘In what forms,’ he added. ‘In a story,’ he added.
90
Nobody sat near Dicey, who sat alone. She scratched at the shoulder of her T-shirt and waited to
hear how stupid the answers to the question would be. There was only one other person in the
class who thought of interesting answers and that was a girl who sat in the front row, diagonally
across from Dicey. This girl usually waited until all the stupid guesses had been made before she
raised her hand. Dicey never raised her hand, but if Mr Chappelle asked her she’d answer.
Dicey leaned back and waited to see what the answers to Mr Chappelle’s question would be.
‘Conflict between two men,’ they began. Mr Chappelle wrote ‘two men’ on the board. Since it was
correct, a whole lot of hands went up. ‘A woman and a woman.’ ‘A man and a woman?’ ‘A boy and
a boy?’ ‘A girl and a girl?’ The predictable list went on. Mr Chappelle wrote everything on the
board. Dicey made her own list inside her head, because you could have conflict between
someone with power and someone without any, between someone honest and a liar. The voices
faded away as she continued with her own thoughts. You could even have a conflict between
somebody and himself: and that was an interesting idea.
The girl at the front had her hand up, and Mr Chappelle was waiting for the rest of the class to
settle down (‘A man and his dog?’) to call on her. ‘Yes, Wilhemina?’
The rich voice spoke out. ‘What about conflict between an individual and the society he lives in?’
Mr Chappelle wrote out the letters on the board, slowly, as if he was thinking.
‘What do you mean by that, Wilhemina?’ Mr Chappelle asked.
‘Well,’ the girl began. Dicey couldn’t stop herself from leaning forward in her seat to hear better. ‘A
lot of the time, conflicts are between one person and the people he lives with. Or she lives with. If
the society thinks one way and the person thinks another.’
Mr Chappelle was listening carefully, you could tell. Dicey figured, from the way he wrote down
everything everybody said, even when it repeated the same basic idea, that his brain didn’t work
very fast. ‘Can you give us any examples?’
The rest of the class shifted in their seats, getting bored. Too bad for them, Dicey thought to
herself.
3) Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, The English Lesson, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
(a) Notes
What is the evidence that Mr Chappelle was not a very good teacher, according to Passage B?

The evidence that Mr Chapelle was not a very good teacher:
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
91
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of the evidence that Passage B provides to show that Mr
Chapelle was not a very good teacher:

92
DIARY ENTRY -WRITING HELP-REVISION

DIRECTED WRITING – DIARY ENTRIES – SAMPLE TEXTS
The diary entry below was written by a girl called Zlata in Sarajevo, former Yugoslavia, in 1992.
She calls her diary 'Mimmy'.
Read it and mark on the text the common characteristics of the style of writing used in diaries.
Diaries are obviously written in the first person – using I or We – but what can you say about the
following?
• tense
• tone
• type of language
• sentence length/type
• structure
This diary entry below sounds a bit narrative at times. How can this diary be improved? Where
would you include more of the writer’s feelings? How would you rephrase some lines?
Dear Mimmy,
Today was truly, absolutely the worst day ever in Sarajevo. The shooting started around
noon. Mummy and I moved into the hall. Daddy was in his office, under our flat, at the
time. We told him on the interphone to run quickly to the downstairs lobby where we’d
meet him. We brought Cicko [Zlata’s canary] with us. The gunfire was getting worse, and
we couldn’t get over the wall to the Bobars, se we ran down to our own cellar.
The cellar is ugly, dark, smelly. Mummy, who’s terrified of mice, had two fears to cope with.
The three of us were in the same corner as the other day. We listened to the pounding
shells, the shooting, the thundering noise overhead. We even heard planes. At one
moment I realised that this awful cellar was the only place that could save our lives.
Suddenly, it started to look almost warm and nice. It was the only way we could defend
ourselves against all this terrible shooting. We heard glass shattering in our street. Horrible. I
put my fingers in my ears to block out the terrible sounds. I was worried about Cicko. We
had left him behind in the lobby. Would he catch cold there? Would something hit him? I
was terribly hungry and thirsty. We had left our half-cooked lunch in the kitchen.
When the shooting died down a bit, Daddy ran over to our flat and brought us back some
sandwiches. He said he could smell something burning and that the phones weren’t
working. He brought our TV set down to the cellar. That’s when we learnt that the main
post office (near us) was on fire and that they had kidnapped our president. At around
20.00 we went back up to our flat. Almost every window in our street was broken. The
place is knee-deep in glass. We’re worried about Grandma and Granddad. Tomorrow, if
we can go out, we’ll se how they are. A terrible day. This has been the worst, most awful
day in my eleven-year-old life. I hope it will be the only one.
Mummy and Daddy are very edgy. I have to go to bed.

Cia
Source: Adapted from Zlata's Diary: a child's life in Sarajevo, Viking, 1994
93
Scott's Diary
17th Jan: Great God! This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to it without the
reward of priority. Well, it is something to have got here, and the wind may be our friend tomorrow.
18th Jan: Well, we have turned our back now on the goal of our ambition with sore feelings and must face
800 miles of solid dragging - and goodbye to the daydreams!
23rd Jan: I don't like the look of it. Is the weather breaking up? If so God help us, with the tremendous
summit journey and scant food.
18th Feb: Pray God we get better travelling as we are not so fit as we were and the season advances apace.
5th Mar: God help us, we can't keep up this pulling, that is certain. Among ourselves we are unendingly
cheerful, but what each man feels in his heart 1 can only guess.
29th Mar: It seems a pity, but 1 do not think 1 can write more. R. Scott. For God's sake look after our
people.
Summarizing features of diary entries

o Informal language (short forms – incomplete sentences- informal linkers)
o Exclamations and interjections
o Rhetorical questions
o Direct and indirect speech
o Variety of tenses
o Incomplete sentences
94
DIARY ENTRY- PAPER 1- TASK 1

95
Base your journal on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own words.
your writing. (20 marks)
Part 2
96
97
3. Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, Land of the Living Wind, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
(a) Notes
What are the features of the desert areas beyond the village areas and the cultivated plantations
described in Passage B?
The features of the desert areas beyond the village areas and the cultivated plantations are:
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ……………………………………………………………………………….
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ……………………………………………………………………………….
 ………………………………………………………………………………
 ………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about the features of the desert
areas beyond the village areas and the cultivated plantations.

98
DIARY ENTRY/JOURNAL- PAPER 2- TASK 2
Passage A
In this extract Redmond O’Hanlon describes a journey into the jungle by canoe. James, a poet, has
been eventually persuaded to accompany Redmond.
Into the heart of Borneo
At midday we climbed into our dugout canoe and set off up-river towards the interior. After about
ten miles the fields gave way to well-established secondary forest, and then the primeval jungle
began.
The river seemed to close in on us: the 60-metre-high trees crowded down the slopes of the hills,
almost to the water’s edge, an apparently endless chaos of different species of tree, every kind of
green, even under the uniform glare of a tropical sun. Parasitic growths sprouted everywhere, ferns
fanned out from every angle in the branches, creepers as thick as legs gripped each other and
tangled down to the surface of the water, their tips twining down in the current like river-weed.
The river itself began to twist and turn too, the banks behind us appearing to merge together into
one vast and impenetrable thicket, shutting us in from behind. At the same time, the trees ahead
stepped aside a meagre pace or two to let the river swirl down ahead. The outboard motor set on a
wooden frame at the stern of the canoe pushed us past foaming little tributaries, islets, shingle
banks strewn with huge rounded boulders, half hidden coves scooped round by whirlpools. Here
the river was clear, deep green from the reflection of the trees. We really were voyaging upriver! I
thought it was an optical illusion, but the canoe was actually climbing up a volume of water great
enough to sustain an almost constant angle of ascent, even on the stretches of water between the
jagged steps of the rapids.
We stopped by a pile of driftwood to hide a drum of petrol to be retrieved a few days later on the
return journey. A monitor lizard, reared up on its front legs, watched us for a moment with its
dinosauric eyes and then scuttled away between the broken branches. A Brahminy kite, flying low
enough for us to hear the rush of air through the primary feathers of its wings, circled overhead
watching us, its fleckedbrown belly white in the sun. Then the bird soared away, mewing its shrill
call.
Further up, the rapids became more frequent and more turbulent and, at each one, heavy waves of
water would crash over and into the boat. James, sitting opposite me on the boards in the centre of
the canoe and facing upstream, was reading his way through the poems of the 18th century writer
Swift, a straw boater on his bald head, his white shirt buttoned at the neck and at the wrists.
‘Some of these poems are pretty feeble,’ James would mutter, displeased.
‘Quite so, but – er – James?’
‘Yes?’
‘Rapid 583/2, Green Heave, strength six-out-of-ten, is approaching.’
With a second or two to spare, James would shut his book, mark his place with a twig, slip it neatly
under the edge of the tarpaulin, sit on it, shut his eyes, get drenched, open his eyes, squeeze the
water from his beard with his right hand, retrieve his book and carry on reading.
99
Every 450 metres or so, a lesser fish-eagle would regard us with its yellow eye, flying off only as
we drew almost level, flapping gently just ahead of the canoe to the limit of its territory.
James, his huge head laid back on the hump of our kit under the tarpaulin, was having one of his
fiveminute snoozes. The vein on his right temple was throbbing, a sure sign that his brain was
awash with extra dissolved oxygen, and that some piece of programming, vital to the production of
a future poem, was in progress.
‘James!’
An eye opened.
‘What is it?’
‘Just this – if you do see a log floating upriver, let me know.’
‘Crocodiles?’
‘Well, not the one that attacks you. Not up here. But an old book I read said we might see the
freshwater species. The four-and-a-half-metre one with the one-and-a-half-metre snout and all
those teeth.’
‘Really, Redmond,’ said James, raising himself on an elbow and looking about, ‘you’re absurd!’
1 Imagine that you are James. Write an entry in your journal, intended to be read by members of
your family when you get home. In your journal entry you should:
• explain how you feel in this environment

• comment on your relationship with Redmond
• express your thoughts about the next few days of this adventure.
Begin your journal entry: ‘Sometimes, I wonder what I’m doing here…’.
Base your diary entry on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own words.
your writing.
[Total: 20]
(a) the trees and the undergrowth in paragraph 2, beginning ‘The river seemed …’;
(b) the monitor lizard and the Brahminy kite in paragraph 4, beginning ‘We stopped by …’.

[Total: 10]
100
Part 2
Passage B
Animals of the Amazon forest
When I tried to think of all the animals I wanted to see, those old travellers’ tales kept flooding into
my thoughts, the tales of weird and dangerous creatures everywhere in the forest. But reality is not
like this. In the forests, most animals are small. The problem of moving through trees when danger
threatens has prevented any really large animals surviving for long within the forest proper,
particularly anywhere far from water. Most animals are highly camouflaged, which creates a
problem of its own: how does each recognise its mate? Moving around in daytime would make the
camouflage useless, so most animals stay motionless during the day and only move about at dusk.
Then it is more difficult to be seen, but they can be heard. That is why the forest is hushed by day
but noisy with recognition signals by night.
On my first afternoon I walked through the Amazon forest, along an overgrown trail which would
eventually return to the river. I reached a fork in the path and, as the way to the right seemed to
move towards higher forest, I followed it. It was not far from a stream, and knowing that there was
more likelihood of seeing animals a bit larger than insects the closer to the water I got, I trod
carefully and stared intently into the dark middle distance. My intentness was rewarded. Something
about 50 centimetres long darted out from the right and raced ahead of me into the dark forest. It
was a rodent, a paca, unmistakable with its brown flanks spotted with white. I must have walked
close to its daytime hide-out and frightened the creature. Pacas are right to be fearful, for their
meat is very tasty and they are hunted by Indians for food.
I looked around me and saw hundreds of trees, a few of the many millions in the forest. I had seen
just one paca. That, I thought, would be that, for the rest of the walk. The chances of seeing
anything larger were exceedingly slim. The reason for this lies in the extraordinary adaptations that
all creatures have been forced to evolve to survive in this waterlogged forest.
What would be simple ground beetles in other parts of the world here have comb-toothed claws to
cling to tree leaves, since heavy rain and flooding demand a means of escape upwards into the
trees. In the Amazon, birds whose Old World relations spent a long time on the ground are
adapted to perching and have long, curved claws to ensure a solid grip on the branches. Frogs,
which in other lands hatch out as tadpoles in ponds, find no such still waters here and instead lay
their eggs in the bromeliad flowers. Here there is the only fully aquatic marsupial in the world, the
water opossum, with webbed feet for swimming (the female’s pouch somehow protects her young
as she swims).
Then there are the monkeys, which seem more at home in the trees than monkeys anywhere else
– indeed many never come down to the ground at all. They are different from Old World monkeys
and some have developed an amazingly useful fifth limb, a prehensile tail. On the underside is a
patch of sensitive skin, like the palm of the hand, which turns these animals into super-acrobats of
the trees.
3. Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, Animals of the Amazon forest, and then answer Question 3(a)
and (b).
(a) Notes
101
What are the problems that animals have in living in the Amazon rainforest and the ways in
which they adapt themselves, according to Passage B?
The problems that animals have in living in the Amazon rainforest and the ways in which
they adapt themselves are:
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about the problems
that animals have in living in the Amazon rainforest and the ways in which they adapt
themselves .
possible.
Your summary should include all 15 of your points in Question 3(a) and must be 200 to 250
words.

102
Writing an account
An account presents factual information in chronological order as SEQUENCE OF

EVENTS. The aim is mainly informative, but there are links with descriptive and narrative
writing.
Do not include: interjections- direct and indirect speech- rhetorical questions.

Do not sound too emotional. Focus on the factual information (as it should merely be a
chronological sequence of events) rather than on feelings, thoughts or emotions as
you are expected to do in diary entries. See the style and register of the examples below.
The example above has personal involvement as if it were an autobiographical account of

particular hours or days in someone’s past. Instead, this second example below is purely
informative, without any personal involvement on the part of the writer. However, it still is
an account since it follows a chronological structure.
103
What’s an Amish wedding like?
104
Below is an example of what the instruction to write account may look like in the exam:
Now, read this other instruction to write a diary entry/journal from “A Visit to La Patagonia”
and compare it with the one of the account above.
TASK: Journal vs. Account
THE GREAT CONDUCTOR (Reading Passage)
a) Imagine you are the orchestral conductor. When you get home after the Beethoven
concert you keep thinking about what happened. Write an entry in your diary in which
you explore your thoughts, feelings and reflect on the unexpected happenings that took
place that evening.
b) Imagine that you are the orchestral conductor, talking to your wife later in the day.
Write an account of your day.
Include:
 Your preparation for the concert
 The unexpected happenings at the beginning of the concert
 How you kept on conducting despite what happened.
Base your account on what you have read in the passage. Address all bullet points. Be
careful to use your own words.
Begin your account, ‘Now, you will want to hear all about what happened to me today’.
105
SCRIPT VS. DIALOGUE
If you are asked to write a dialogue or conversation, you are likely to be given a clear indication of how to set
it out. You may be instructed to set it out as a play script with the names of the speakers on the left-hand
side of the page and the word they speak on the right. If you want to give a ‘direction’ about how the person
speaks, put it very briefly in brackets after his/her name.
WRITING HELP
DIRECT SPEECH PLAY SCRIPTS

Look at the use of direct speech in the epilogue(end If the epilogue to Janey (see opposite) were to be
piece) of Bernard Ashley's novel, Janey. written as a play script for actors, it could be set out
like this:
She bumped into Mary on her way home, rushing all
important in her blazer for a seventy-five bus. (A row of suburban houses. As MAY rushes
“How’s it goin’, Mare?” she asked. importantly for a no. 75 bus, her friend JANEY
“All right, Janey. Got me gold! It’s bein’ engraved. bumps into her.)
How you going yourself?”
“Mustn’t grumble. Worse troubles at sea.” JANEY: How’s it goin’. Mare?
She saw the old smile in Mary’s eyes, the
mates they’d used to be. MARY: Al! right, Janey. Got me gold. It's bein'
“Here, Mare, couldn’t lend us two tens till engraved. How you going yourself?
tomorrow, could you?” It was on the spur of the
moment, but somehow thought out all the same. JANEY: Mustn't grumble. Worse troubles at sea.
“I dunno,” Mary frowned, made a show of (JANEY notices MARY'S friendly expression. Then,
feeling in her pockets. Then she suddenly proved the quickly but deliberately.) Here, Mare, couldn't lend
smile had been genuine. “Here y’ave Janey, till us two tens until tomorrow, could you?
tomorrow…” But she didn’t hand the coins over till
Janey had told her some more. “You ain’t robbin’ a MARY: (at first frowns and makes a show of feeling
bank tonight, then? That makes a change, don’t it?” in her pocket, then suddenly proves the smile is
“Yeah – given it up!” Janey said, straight. genuine.) Here y'are, Janey, till tomorrow. . .
“Ringing the police instead.
“Stroll on!” Mary laughed, no neared to
(MARY still doesn’t hand over the coins as if
understanding the girl. waiting for JANEY to tell her some more.)
You ain’t robbing a bank tonight, then?
She ran off to her gymnastics: while Janey
That makes a change, don't it?
went on where she’d just left off, forgetting he
bruises for the leaps and springs of her mind,, away
up the street towards the twin telephone boxes, the JANEY: (straight.) Yeah - given it up! Ringing the
pair that were never out of order. She didn’t know police instead.
what food it would do, or even if anyone would listen
to some kid’s voice putting the finger on the Catholic MARY: (laughing but looking perplexed.) Stroll on!
Club job. But of one thing she was certain: from now (MARY runs off to her gymnastics: while
on Janey Pearce wasn’t going to be fighting her JANEY carries on as she left off, walking with
battles on her own. determination towards twin telephone boxes.)
1. Use double "___" or single '____' inverted commas 1. Print in CAPITAL LETTERS: the names of
around each speaker's words.
speakers and of any characters named in the
2. If you put she said, (or similar), before the speech,
put a comma before the inverted commas: stage directions.
She said, "All___" Then start the speech with a capital 2. Set out the names of speakers directly
letter. underneath each other.
3. If you put she said in the middle of a speech, follow 3. Do not put quotation marks around speeches.
these words with a comma or a ful1stop: 4. Leave a blank line between each new speaker.
“All___,” she said, “you___ .” 5. Setting descriptions appear at the beginning
“All ___,” she said. “You___ .” of each scene and describe location, time and
Use a small letter after she said, and a capital letter
mood.
after she said.
4. Every time there is a new speaker, start a new Put these in brackets.
line/paragraph. 6. Stage directions describe actions and
behaviour, such as entrances and exits, body
language and style of speech. Put these in
brackets. Setting and stage directions are
usually printed in italic type.
106
Use variety of reporting verbs.

Try this!
Put the verbs below into rhe right box:
SAY SHOUT
remark yell point out hint blurt out roar

groan mutter whisper scream growl snarl
107
DIALOGUE/CONVERSATION- PAPER 2
108
Base your dialogue on what you have read in Passage A, but be careful to use your own
words.
Up to 15 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 5 marks for the quality
of your writing.
(20 MARKS)
Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer. (10 MARKS)
Part 2
109
3. Summary writing.
Read carefully Passage B, Chinese Wedding Traditions, and then answer Question 3(a) and (b).
(a) Notes
What are the traditions that Chinese families often follow, according to
Passage B?

110
The traditions that Chinese families often follow are:
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
3) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what Passage B tells you about the traditions that Chinese
families often follow.

111
SCRIPT WRITING
If you are asked to write a dialogue or conversation, you are likely to be given a clear indication of how
to set it out. You may be instructed to set it out as a play script with the names of the speakers on the
left-hand side of the page and the word they speak on the right. If you want to give a ‘direction’ about
how the person speaks, put it very briefly in brackets after his/her name.
TASK: SCRIPT
Imagine that you are working in a research laboratory investigating the harmful effects of noise. You
have some neighbours who are worried that their children enjoy playing music very loudly. They come
to you for advice.
Base what you write on the material below, but be careful to use your own words.
You may include additional details to make the article more authentic, but these must be related to the
reading material provided.
Write between 250 to 350 words.
Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 15 marks for the quality of your
writing.
112
113
PAPER 3 QUESTION 1 (DIRECTED WRITING)

TIPS
 Candidates answer one question on a passage or passages totalling 650–750 words,
printed on the question paper insert. This question may be sub-divided.
 Candidates use, develop and evaluate the information in a
discursive/argumentative letter or article.
 Candidates write about 250–350 words.
 This question tests the following writing assessment objectives (15 marks):
o use register appropriate to audience and context
o make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
 This question also tests the following reading assessment objectives (10 marks):
o demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
o demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
o analyse, evaluate and develop facts, ideas and opinions.
 For this question, you will need to put yourself into role, and address your audience
directly. The opening needs to introduce clearly the situation and purpose of the task,
and will be rewarded if it puts the reader in the picture.
 You need to be clear and often persuasive in tasks like these, so imagining that you
are addressing someone in front of you might help you to keep that in mind. Do not be
overly casual though - this is a formal piece of writing. Even if it is for your peers in a
school magazine, written language for publication is less colloquial than spoken
language.
 You should try to use as many ideas from the passages as possible as they will all be
relevant, but you will have to change the way you express them; all the material you
use from the passages must be modified to suit the new genre.
 Do not write as yourself unless you are specifically told to do so and keep in mind why
you are writing.
 There will almost certainly be two texts, perhaps in different genres e.g. a letter and a
dialogue. The question will require you to assimilate information from both texts so
114
you must not ignore one of them, but don’t just lift from the text(s) word for word. You
need to find the ideas and use them.
 The recommended structure for the response will be offered in the wording of the
question, and you should follow this.
 There will be at least two factors to focus on – for example advantages and
disadvantages. You will need to make two lists before you start in order to make sure
you have enough material for both sides of the question.
 The third element of this question is evaluation; you will have to decide which of the
options is better, present reasons why you have formed this opinion and justify it.
 Keep your focus on what the question is asking you to do. Do not get distracted by
peripheral issues; for instance if you are asked how money should be spent, don’t
discuss the fund-raising methods.
 Though you cannot make up things which are not in the passages, you should try to
use your own ideas in the way that you extend those of the passages, provided that
they are ‘based on the reading material’.
 The ending needs to be definite and provide an effective and satisfying conclusion to
the piece.
115
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
An article is a piece of deliberately structured writing for publication ... which aims to inform, comment,
persuade or entertain. It might aim to inspire or to stimulate the reader to think, or to provoke to action. An
article often includes the author’s point of view, and sometimes develops an argument.
AN ARTICLE- WRITING HELP
1. Read the article. Match these Space: The Big Frontier

headings with the paragraphs
(A-E). 'What's beyond that hill?' 'What's on the other side of that river?'
Curiosity and the desire to explore have been with us since our
 Life on Mars ancestors left Africa (1) to spread out over the world. By the
 The Space Race beginning of the 21st century, virtually all of Planet Earth has been
 The Last Frontier visited, photographed, described, mapped. We have left our mark
 Globetrotters (and our rubbish) in the four corners of the globe. Now only one
 Into Deep Space frontier remains to explore : space.
2. Find sentences in the text that The age of space exploration began in 1957, when Sputnik 1 was
mean the same as these launched by the Soviet Union. The first successful manned flight took
colloquial sentences. place in 1961, when Yuri Gagarin was shot into space. This triggered
Paragraph letters are in the 'space race' between the USA and the USSR, culminating in the
brackets. moon landing in 1969. After this, there was something of an
anticlimax and the number of manned missions dropped off, largely
1 )The space age kicked off when (2) due to the end of the space race. Nevertheless, space probes like
they sent up Sputnik 1. (B) Pioneer and Voyager continued to be sent out (3) in order to explore
the neighboring planets such as Mars and Venus. The American
2) But they carried on sending out shuttle and the Russian Mir Space Station were also ground-
robot ships to have a look breaking, (4) as they developed the practicalities of space travel.
round.(B)
Recently, there has been another burst of interest in space (5) as a
3) Space exploration is in again result of the Hubble Telescope. lt was launched in 1990 (6) so that
because of that new telescope. astronomers could observe space without interference from the
(C) Earth's atmosphere. The Hubble has provided views of such
phenomena as distant galaxies, dying stars and black holes. (7)
4) U's so good that it's found Because of its precision, over fifty new planets have been located
loads of new planets. (C) beyond our solar system. Other exciting developments have been
5) They're going to launch robot the Prospector and Pathfinder probes (8) for exploring our solar
ships to find places like Earth. (D) system, looking for water on the Moon and primitive life on Mars.
3. Classify the linking words The International Space Station is now being built in the Earth's orbit
underlined in the text and soon will be working as a permanently manned scientific base,
a) reason (explains the cause of (9) so as to research life in space and provide a stepping stone (10)
an action in case future manned missions are sent out. Further space probes,
b) purpose (shows the aim of an such as Deep Space, will be sent out (11) in order that they might
action) detect small Earth-like planets where there might be life. A
permanent base will probably be established on the Moon in the next
twenty years and a manned mission to Mars might take place some
time after. Later in the century, some scientists believe we may
develop the technology (12) so as to be able to begin interstellar
exploration, starting with our nearest star, Proxima Centauri, four
light years away.
Space exploration is still in its infancy and is restricted by many

technical problems but the possibilities are incredible. While
humankind's innate curiosity remains, we will keep exploring. The
sky is no longer the limit.
LAY-OUT
EYE CATCHING HEADLINE
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Introduce the topic. Say why it is important or interesting.
Since earliest times, people have always enjoyed dancing.

Dancing has formed an important part of social and religious events.
Paragraph 2: Background or history

Provide some background about when it started and major developments up to now.
What has led to the events today?
The folk dances of the middle ages developed into classical ballet in the eighteenth
century.
Paragraph 3: Now
Say what is happening at the moment? The article is likely to return to the present-day
situation at this point, discussing and giving different viewpoints of the person or event,
with details and examples and quotations. Though the writer’s own viewpoint may be
inferred, alternative views must be given equal weight and other voices heard.
Paragraph 4: The future

Say how things will develop in the future.
In my opinion, there will be a return to more traditional ballet.

The suggestion that one day robots will dance is ridiculous.
They could never ...
Paragraph 5: Conclusion
Summarise the main points and say again why you think your subject will continue to
be important.
To sum up, ballet has its roots in ...

As long as people feel the need to dance, there will be a place for ballet.
Useful Vocabulary
Writing about origins:

Since earliest times, ... / Ballet has its roots back in ... / The age of ballet began in ... / The
history of ballet goes back to ... / The first performance of modern ballet took place in ... /
Over ... years ago,
Writing about the present:

Recent/y, there has been renewed interest in ... / Recent developments in the field include ... /
Other exciting developments have been ... / One of the most ground-breaking ... / State of the
art technology has been used ... / Cutting edge techniques have been introduced ...
Writing about the future:

The outlook is bright. / The outlook is gloomy. / The future looks rosy. / The future looks
grim. / Who knows what will happen in the future, but ... / Many experts predict that ... /
Some forecasts predict ... / The field of ... has enormous potential / The sky's the limit
TIPS to keep in mind before writing an article!
 Unlike a news report, which is informative, a magazine article

comments on a topical situation and is discursive or
argumentative.
 Paragraphs are longer in an article than in a report and the
facts are expressed in a less condensed way. E.g. in a news
report you might say 36-year-old ex-schoolteacher and mother
of two, Margaret Smith, says… whereas in an article, it might
be Margaret Smith, who is in her mid-thirties, has two
children, and used to be a teacher in a junior school,
believes that..
 Before hand, decide on what the purpose of the writing is (e.g. to
describe, to inform, to advise, etc) and who the intended readers
are (e.g. general public, fellow students, colleagues) these factors
will determine the style and language.
SAMPLE MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Here you have got another model article. Read it and pay close attention to
its structure and to t he circled areas. What is the writer trying to do in those
parts? How are these parts important to the structure?
SAMPLE: PERSUASIVE MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Some articles are more persuasive than others. Have a look at this example below and
compare it with the one you read before. Mark on the text those differences that you notice.
EXAM TIP!
Persuasive writing is intended to convince someone to do something which is for their benefit or
that of the writer. To be effective it must be focused clearly on the purpose, on the audience being
targeted, and on the choice of vocabulary to evoke the required emotional response (e.g. guilt,
sympathy, fear). Be firm but polite to be persuasive, extreme language can defeat your objective.
Discursive vs. Argumentative
Discursive writings (letters or magazine articles) discuss. They present an argument in
a more balanced way than argumentative and persuasive writing and do not argue for or
against a point throughout the writing. Instead, they evaluate all arguments and all
aspects of the topic in turn. Therefore, these writings do not aim to persuade the reader
that the writer’s opinion is the only valid one, but to make him consider a current issue
from various angles.
 Discursive magazine articles or letters

In magazine articles or letters, you may be asked to discuss a topic, to discuss views or
to discuss advantages and disadvantages. There are different possible ways of
approaching this type of writing. See below the two suggested models.
Model 1
LAY-OUT
*Main Body
Paragraph : Arguments for
Paragraph : Arguments against
* If you feel that there are more arguments for than against a topic, give
them before the final paragraph to lead the reader to this conclusion.
Let’s suppose you are asked to discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of being your own boss.
Have a look at this extract from the body of a discursive article.
One of the main advantages of being self-employed is the fact that you are completely
self-reliant and can make decisions on your own. This can give you a great sense al
freedom and allows you to do exactly what you want without interference from anyone
else. What is more, your working day can be planned for your convenience, allowing you
to work when you want rather than when you have to. Finally, if your business is
successful, people will know that you alone should be given the credit.
However, there are disadvantages to being your own boss. Many sell-employed people
have said that to build a successful business, you have to be prepared to work long hours
and sacrifice your personal life. As B. C. Forbes once said, “lf you don’t drive your
business, you will be driven out of business.” Moreover, a 1996 government study found
that over a quarter of the businesses run by newly self-employed people failed within the
first two years.
Depending on the topic you are asked to write about, you may choose to structure
the body of your writing (e.g. discursive magazine article) in this other way. Let’s
suppose you are discussing “The Role of Marriage in Today's Society”.
Model 2
Main Body
Paragraph : First viewpoint & opposing argument
Paragraph : Second viewpoint & opposing argument
*the main body can consist of more than two paragraphs depending on the number of viewpoints
you want to talk about
Model 2
Psychologists have said that people have a deep need for emotional security
which marriage provides. Knowing that one has a partner in life makes it easier to cope
with the problems of daily life. On the other hand, the fact that many single people are
content to live alone suggests that the "emotional need" theory is incomplete.
British novelist Fay Weldon once stated , "Marriage has nothing to do with emotion
and everything to do with property." According to the supporters of this view, people
marry in order to increase their wealth, either by marrying a rich partner or because, as
the saying goes, “two can live as cheaply as one.” It is true that financial considerations
are often the primary reason that people marry. Yet there are countless examples of
people “marrying for love” regardless of their mate's lack of money.
The Discursive Clock
LINKING WORDS & PHRASES
To introduce points: one major advantage / disadvantage of, a further advantage, one point of
view in favour of/against
To list points: in the first place, first of all, to start with, secondly, thirdly, finally, last but not least
To add more points to the same topic: what is more, furthermore, also, in addition to this/that,
besides, apart from this/that, not to mention the fact that
To make contrasting points: on the other hand, however, in spite of, while, nevertheless,
despite, even though, although, it can be argued that
To introduce examples: for example, for instance, like, especially, such as, in particular To
conclude: to sum up, all in all, all things considered, in conclusion, on the whole, taking
everything into account, as was previously stated.
Conclusion expressing balanced considerations/opinion indirectly:
All things considered, clear/apparent/ evidence

To conclude, it is obvious/ from the points above
To sum up, evident arguments
On balance,
Taking everything into account, it can be said/claimed that…
In the light of this evidence, the obvious conclusion to be drawn is that...
 ARGUMENTATIVE MAGAZINE ARTICLES OR LETTERS

 You have to commit yourself to a line of argument. You are either against or in favour.
 A strong argument includes refutation of the other point of view so counter-arguments

should be mentioned at the beginning to show that you are not being purely ignorant or
prejudiced in your response.
Extract from an argumentative magazine article about English becoming the most
important world language.
In my opinion, it is absolutely selfish to have to force anyone to speak

English. I do not think that English should become the most
Therefore, there are many reasons to justify why English should not
become the most important world language.
STEPS TO FOLLOW
Show your position
Viewpoint opposite to yours: show awareness that there is an alternative viewpoint and give its
main arguments.
Demolish the alternative viewpoint by exposing its weaknesses.
Your View: Give all the points/reasons you can think of why your position is the sensible one,
supporting each point with evidence in the form of example, detail, quotation and personal
experience.
Note: you may invert the steps. You may show your view and give your points to support it first,
and then deal with the opposite viewpoint.
-Conclusion expressing opinion directly
On balance, I am convinced that …

All things considered, It is my belief/opinion that…
Taking everything into account consideration, I am inclined to believe that…
To conclude, I agree/do not agree that/with
To sum up,
Useful expressions and linking words/phrases
-To add more points to the same topic: in addition to this, furthermore, besides, apart from, what is more, as
well as, not only…but also.
-To make contrasting points: on the other hand, however, still, nevertheless, it may be said/argued/claimed
that…
Others/ many people oppose this viewpoint…
disagree…
claim that this argument is incorrect/misguided.
Opponents of…argue/believe/claim that…
-To introduce examples: for example, for instance, such as, in particular, particularly, especially, this is
clearly shown/illustrated by the fact that…, one/a clear/striking/typical example of this…
-To emphasize a point: clearly obviously, it is obvious, naturally, of course, needless to say.
-To make partially correct statements: to a certain extent/degree, in some cases, up to a point.
-To clarify/explain a point: in other words, that is to say, this may mean that.
More useful expressions:

- It may be said/argued/claimed that…
- Many people strongly disagree with…
- While it is true to say that…, in fact…
- Although…, it cannot be denied that…
- Measures/Steps must/should/could be taken in order to solve/overcome/deal with…
- One possible way to overcome the problem of… would be…
- People/Governments should focus their attention on ways to improve the situation of
- If attempts were made to address the problem, the result would be…
- It is my belief that…
- It appears to me… / To my mind…
- In conclusion,… / On balance…/All points considered…/To conclude…
TASK 1- WRITING A MAGAZINE ARTICLE
With the passing of time we all have changing expectations of ourselves and of other people.
Spend some time with this amusing article by Jonathan Miller in which he writes about his
children, in particular his teenage daughter. You will notice that at times he writes with heavy
irony, using, you might think, rather pompous language, for instance ‘or take upon herself the
exhausting imposition of transporting an empty crisp packet to a bin’. Probably a large number of
you will find yourselves identified with this teenager.
Heaven preserve the family from teenage girls
D ID anyone notice that last year was, courtesy of the United Nations, the Year of the Family? One clue
might have been that every newspaper writer to have had a baby promptly regaled the rest of us with a
string of articles about baby’s first nappy change, the difficulty of reconciling the interior decorating
scheme with baby’s first high chair and the angst of hiring baby’s first nanny.
Babies are, in fact, fundamentally uninteresting except to their swooning parents. Today’s
teenagers, on the other hand, turn out to be extremely interesting, as there is no precedent for them.
I am at present the keeper of one fully fledged teenager, a 1981 model, who celebrates her l4th
birthday later this month. In September I shall add a male teenager to my collection. He is only 12 but
already showing many symptoms.
As my teenager is abroad on the school ski trip
today and has in any case pronounced this column ‘boring’, it is safe to share a few observations, which,
having consulted other parents of similarly aged daughters, I believe to be not untypical.
The modern female teenager is a vegetarian. This diet does not actually encompass the consumption
of many vegetables, merely the refusal to eat meat. Neither, in any conventional sense, are meals taken.
Feeding behaviour is instead akin to that of a ruminant, with more or less continual grazing on sweets,
Coca- Cola and chips, with an occasional McDonald’s filet-o-fish.
She is extremely clean. Baths and showers are taken at least twice daily. These are not quick dunk-
and-scrub affairs, but pro longed aquatic manoeuvres, involving the employment of vast quantities of hot
water spiced with overpriced unguents, lotions and potions. It does not matter how many of these are held
in stock in the bathroom — more are always required.
Despite this obsession with bodily hygiene, her bedroom is a nesting ground for vermin of all types,
as clothes, shoes, sheet music, incomplete homework, empty bottles of Body Shop preparations and copies
of Just Seventeen magazine are piled into tumuli on the floor.
Susceptibility to squalor is perhaps not unique to this generation of adolescents; what is novel is the
sheer qua of material possessions with which they are capable of demonstrating their indifference to
conventional standards of domestic order.
Notwithstanding her technical facility with satellite receiver, video recorder and computer
equipment of all types, she has yet to work out the basic operation of the washing machine or vacuum
cleaner.
She has achieved a sophisticated understanding of finance, knowing that money does not grow on
trees, but comes through a hole in the wall, accessed by means of her father’s cash card. Although she has
hundreds and hundreds of pounds a year passing through her bank account, receiving a lavish monthly
allowance, with cash top-ups from grandparents at birthdays and at Christmas, she expects that all
significant costs will be met by her parents.
She is fit for postgraduate employment in the civil service, having maintained an obsessional
secrecy over all information concerning her social life.
She is embarrassed to be seen in public with her parents, who are, variously, ‘sad’ and ‘tragic’.
Although not so sad and tragic as to be above delivering, on her l7th birthday, a white
Volkswagen Beetle convertible (she hopes).
Despite the vast sums that are expended and the bulging closet of garments available, her clothing
is always inappropriate to the season; she will happily go out in the middle of winter wearing only a T-shirt.
When she is not being completely charming — a transient condition invariably related to her need
to be driven to a distant shopping precinct to resupply herself with unguents or compact discs she employs
to her parents and sibling manner of address interspersed with frequent contemptuous groans and grunts.
These sound effects are triggered whenever a suggestion is made that she might tidy her bedroom, or lake
upon herself the exhausting imposition of transporting an empty crisp packet to the bin.
You might ask why I continue to finance this creature, and the answer, of course, is that in
approximately 10 or 15 years she will, I trust, provide me with the material to write a column on the joys of
2lst century grandparenting, allowing me in my dotage to coo at children who go home after tea.
JONATHAN MILLER
ORAL QUESTIONS
1. Paragraph one mentions three problems parents have to face when a baby arrives at the
family. Explain in your own words.
2. Explain what the writer means when he says ‘Babies are, in fact, fundamentally uninteresting
except to their swooning parents.’
3. Why does Jonathan Miller feel ‘free’ to write this article? Give two reasons.
SUMMARY WRITING.
Read the article carefully and then answer questions A and B.
(a) Notes
What are the features that characterize the typical modern female teenager, according to the
passage?
The features that characterize the typical modern female teenager:
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 15]
(b) Summary
Now use your notes to write a summary of what the article tells you about the behavior or a
typical modern female teenager..
Your summary should include all 15 of your points in Question 3(a) and must be 200 to 250
words.
WRITING
Write an article in response to Jonathan Miller’s. In your article you should examine adults /
parents’ behaviour from a teenager’s point of view. You should use a similar style to the one used
in Miller’s article.
TASK 2: ARGUMENTATIVE MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Base what you write on the material you have read on the webpage and the objections given below, but be
careful to use your own words. Address each of the two bullets.
writing.
TASK 3: DISCURSIVE MAGAZINE ARTICLE (DIRECTED WRITING)
writing.
ARGUMENTATIVE LETTER
Base what you write on the material below, but be careful to use your own words. Address
each of the three bullets.
You may include additional details to make the article more authentic, but these must be
related to the reading material provided.
Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 15 marks for the
quality of your writing. (25 marks)
DISCURSIVE LETTER
Base what you write on the material below, but be careful to use your own words. Address each of the
three bullets.
writing. (25 marks)
137
PAPER 3- QUESTION 2
DESCRIPTIVE and NARRATIVE COMPOSITIONS
EXAMINER TIPS
 Candidates answer one question from a choice of two descriptive and two narrative
titles.
 Candidates write about 350–450 words.
 This question tests the following writing assessment objectives (25 marks):
o use register appropriate to audience and context
o make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
DESCRIPTIVE COMPOSITIONS
- It is difficult to write interesting descriptions, so this type of composition should not be

attempted unless you have had practice and success at this type of writing. To write a
strong descriptive answer you will need to use a wide range of vocabulary and even use
imagery to engage reader interest.
-You will need to use a variety of sentence structures. All forms of repetition should be
avoided – unless you are deliberately using it carefully for effect.
-You will need to evoke all five senses to create an environment and atmosphere, as well
as details of size, shape and colour. Make colour precise, e.g. ‘scarlet’, ‘azure’, ‘off-white’,
‘bluish-grey’.
- Try to avoid common, overused, vague, short and childish vocabulary, such as ‘nice’,
‘big’, ‘little’, ‘a lot of’, ‘good’, and ‘bad’.
-Each noun probably needs one or more adjectives in front of it to give sufficient detail.
-Don’t let your description become static – give structure and progression to your
description e.g. moving towards or through something, such as a street market or busy
shopping mall, or going through a period of time, an hour or a day for instance, and
recording the changes.
-Descriptive compositions must not become a narrative, which means character and
event should not take over or be dominant.
138
STRUCTURE- STEPS TO FOLLOW
A temporal or spatial framework will give structure and progression to your

description
e.g. moving towards or through something, such as a street market, or going
through a period of time, an hour or a day for instance, and recording the
changes.
Step 1: Setting
Step 2: Positioning
Step 3: Approaching
Step 4: Arriving
Step 5: Farewell
139
Useful tips for an effective description
 Description must rely on use of imagery (metaphors/similes) to engage

reader interest. Remember that imagery is meant to help the reader to
imagine something by comparing it to something else. E.g. The hillside
bloomed with scarlet men marching/ The sea is like a giant, grey, hungry
dog/ The baby’s skin was as soft as…
 Use exotic and unusual vocabulary, and a variety of sentence

structures. All forms of repetition should be avoided.
 Use all five senses to create an environment and atmosphere, as well as

details of size, shape and colour.
 Avoid common, overused, vague, short and childish vocabulary, such as

‘nice’, ‘big’, ‘little’, ‘a lot of’, ‘good’, and ‘bad’.
 Each noun needs one or more adjectives in front of it to give sufficient

detail.
 Use adverbs for verbs and adjectives
 Do not over use very
 Descriptive compositions must not become a narrative, which means

character and event should not be dominant.
140
141
142
SAMPLE DESCRIPTIONS
143
144
Below you will find sample descriptions. As you read them, whenever possible, mark on the
margin the features examiners suggest you must include to get as many marks as you can for
content, structure, style and accuracy.
145
SAMPLE DESCRIPTIVE COMPOSITION 1

146
147
148
SAMPLE DESCRIPTIVE COMPOSITION 2:

149
150
SAMPLE DESCRIPTIVE COMPOSITION 3

151
VOCABULARY: POINTS TO CONSIDER

Each paragraph starts with a topic sentence which introduces the subject of the paragraph. A
variety of linking words should be used lo connect ideas.
 To describe physical appearance, details should be given as follows: height/build, age,

facial features, hair, clothes, moving from the most general aspects to the more specific
details.
e.g. John is a tall, slim man in his mid forties. He has a thin face, blue eyes and a large nose.
His short hair is greying at the temples. He is usually casually dressed.
 To describe character and behaviour you can support your description with examples.
e.g. Sally is very sociable. She loves going to parties and dances. If you want to mention any
negative qualities, use mild language (tends to, seems to, is rather, can occasionally be, etc.).
e.g. Instead of saying Sally is arrogant, it is better to say Sally tends to be rather arrogant.
 Variety in the use of adjectives will make your description more interesting. e.g.: good-
natured, well-behaved, gorgeous, etc.
VOCABULARY SECTION
Task 1
Avoid using simplistic adjectives or adverbs (e.g. good, bad, nice, well, etc)
as these will make your composition sound uninteresting. Try to use more
sophisticated adjectives or adverbs (e.g. luxurious, extravagant, threateningly, etc.)
which will make your composition more exciting to read. A variety of verbs
(e.g. murmur, whisper, mutter instead of ‘say”) will make your story more lively.
e.g. “Hide it,” he murmured and put a small box into my hand. (instead of ‘said’)
She was wandering the streets aimlessly, trying to make a decision. (instead of
‘walking’)
The following adjectives or adverbs can be used instead of other simplistic ones. Put
them into the correct box. Can you think of any more words?
absolutely, delightful, enormous, entirely, horrible, massive, miniature,

microscopic, superb, terrific, thoroughly, horrifying, extremely, gigantic, tiny,
nasty, disgusting, huge, terrible, wonderful, unpleasant, fabulous
152
Now replace the words in bold in the following paragraphs with suitable words from the boxes
above.
A) The 1) big old castle stood at the top of a(n) 2) big mountain in the middle of a(n) 3) big
forest. I was 4) very terrified as I approached and jumped fright when I heard a(n) 5) bad scream
from the direction of the castle.
My heart was in my mouth as I knocked on the 6) big front door, and the sound of 7) small
scurrying feet behind the door made me imagine 8) big, 9) bad rats running away to hide. I
wanted to run away, too, but I was 10) very exhausted, and had to find somewhere to sleep for
the night.
B) It was a(n) 1) nice evening, and after a(n) 2) nice sunset the stars were a million 3) small
points of light in the sky. “A(n) 4) nice end to a(n) 5) very 6) nice day,” Brian thought to himself
and after the 7) bad week which had just passed, he was 8) very pleased to breathe a(n) 9) big
sigh of relief and put the 10) bad memories behind him.
Task 2
The adverbs below describe the way a person might speak or act. Explain what each adverb means, then
choose suitable words from the list to complete the sentences.
sarcastically, angrily, threateningly, frantically, hurriedly, miserably,

confidently, suddenly, urgently, nervously, patiently, calmly
1 The woman on the third-floor balcony of the burning building waved her arms ………………to attract the
fireman’s attention.
2 “Get out of here!” Bill shouted …………………….. , his face turning red.
3 “My dog has run away!” the little girl sobbed ………………………….
4 ……………………, without any warning, her guide spun round and held a knife to her throat.
5 The detective looked at him in disbelief. “Oh, yes, of course a criminal like you wouldn’t want £5
million,” he said ……………………..
6 She gathered her papers together …………………….. and rushed off to the meeting, which had already
begun.
7 “If you tell anyone, you’ll be sorry,” said the kidnapper …………………………
8 “Don’t worry, I’ll kill the dragon,” the knight said ……………………. to the king.
153
TASK 3: WAYS OF
HOW MUCH DO YOU REMEMBER FROM LAST YEAR?
Put the following verbs into the correct boxes. Try to think of further words to add to each box. Now use
suitable words from the boxes to complete the following sentences.
gaze - dash - giggle - hiss - murmur - peer - stroll - wander - yell - sigh
- chuckle - mutter - peep - moan - shriek - grin - whisper - exclaim - rush
WALK/RUN
1 We ……………………… lazily along the waterfront, enjoying the warm sunshine as we watched the
fishermen mending their nets.
2 At the sound of the doorbell she …………………eagerly to the front door, excited to be meeting him again
after so many years.
SAY
3 “Stupid old fool!” he ……………………..angrily to himself, pushing rudely past the elderly man limping
down the steps.
4 “Oh, well,” Jill ………………………“perhaps it doesn’t really matter — but I wish you’d asked me first
before telling everyone about it.
5 “Don’t look round now, but I’m sure that man sitting behind us is the escaped prisoner I was reading
about in the paper,” I ……………………… nervously to John.
6 “Help!” Karen ………………………….. hysterically. “Somebody help me!”
LOOK
7 The couple ……………….. lovingly into each other’s eyes, completely unaware of the people hurrying
past.
8 Kevin ……………………. through the windscreen, hardly able to see where he was going in the pouring
rain.
154
SMILE / LAUGH
9 David …………………. cheerfully as he waved to the crowd, accepting their applause for the magnificent
race he had run.
10 Sally and Lynne ………………… with embarrassment when the two boys crossed the room and asked
them to dance.
TASK 4: VERBS CONNNECTED TO THE SENSES
Use of the senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste) to set the scene or describe people, places,
events or objects involved in your story helps to increase the reader’s interest.
Look at the following list of verbs, all of which refer to sounds and light, and fill in the correct verbs in the
gaps below. Some verbs may be used more than once. Which of these could be used in a story entitled “A
Haunted House”?
bang, crackle, creak, flash, flicker, hoot, howl, pound, rattle, rumble, roar, rustle, twinkle, wail
1 leaves / paper
2 wind / wolves
3 chains
4 stars
5 lions / crowd / fire
6 thunder / lorries
7 waves / rock music / heart
8 sirens / cats
9 staircase / floorboards
10 flames
11 doors / guns / explosion
12 owls / cars
13 candies
14 lightning
155
Vocabulary Practice
TASK 1
 Fill in the table with words from the list below. Using words from the completed chart describe
your partner’s physical appearance, then write a short paragraph describing the appearance of a
relative of yours.
round, oval slanted, ginger, of medium height, middle-aged, mole, teenaged,

curly, blond, tall, wrinkled, thick, balding, just over six foot, tanned, slim, scar,
elderly, muscular, in his teens, well-built, in his mid-forties, overweight, curved,
wavy, pale, crooked, freckled, dimples, straight, skinny, beard, shoulder-length,
almond-shaped, short, moustache, long-legged, round-shouldered, in his late
forties, full, height cheekbones
HEIGHT:
BUILD:
AGE:
COMPLEXION:
FACE:
HAIR:
EYES:
NOSE:
LIPS:
SPECIAL FEATURES
TASK 2
 Decide which adjectives describe positive or negative qualities. Choose any five of them
and write sentences justify each quality, then write a short paragraph describing the character of
one of your relatives.
patient, boring, pessimistic, mean, ambitious, generous, mature, interesting,

hostile, immature, friendly, impatient, tactful, good-natured, short-tempered,
156
thick-skinned, easy-going, hard-working, deceitful, fair, shy, helpful, aggressive,

reserved, outgoing, polite, cheerful
LINKING SENTENCES
Sentences can be linked together in a variety of ways. Read the examples and say which words
are used to link descriptions of similar qualities and which to join descriptions of opposing
qualities.
Similar qualities (both positive or both negative)
e.g. She is kind-hearted. She is cooperative.

She is kind-hearted and a/so cooperative.
She is kind-hearted and cooperative as well.
She is kind-hearted, as well as (being) cooperative.
In addition to being kind-hearted, she is also cooperative.
She is both kind-hearted and cooperative.
Opposing qualities (one positive and one negative)
e.g. He is usually well-behaved. He can be naughty at times. He is usual/y well-behaved but can
be naughty at times. He is usual/y well-behaved; ¡n spite of this / nevertheless /however, he can
be naughty at times. Although / In spite of the fact that he is usual/y well-behaved, he can be
naughty at times.
 Manner and Mannerism
Instead of only using adjectives to describe a person’s character, you can also include examples
of the way they speak/look/smile, etc. in order to give a clearer picture and to make the
description more lively. e.g. His blue eyes light up whenever he sees his grandchild. Although
the adjectives kind and affectionate could be used to describe the person, giving examples of
mannerism makes the description more vivid.
157
USEFUL VOCABULARY
Character adjectives, when used in moderation, can be helpful to bring a description of a person
into focus. Using a dictionary if necessary, group these words according to their meaning. Try
making associations. E.g. gregarious = sociable or sociable shy
callous
placid
sullen
vivacious
listless
irksome
boorish
self-effacing
frivolous
condescending
gregarious
petulant
frank
lacking energy
irritating
loutish
unfeeling
moody
calm
lively
arrogant
honest
sociable
bad-tempered
modest
superficial
shy
158
PERSONALITY ADJECTIVES
Oral work: Infer the meaning of these adjectives from the examples
Positive
adventurous: an adventurous traveller.
ambitious: She's an ambitious girl and will go far.
careful: He's careful and thinks before doing anything.
cheerful: She's cheerful - even on Monday mornings!
communicative A communicative person gives opinions and talks a lot.
competitive: He's competitive and does his best.
considerate: She's considera te - she thinks about other people's feelings.
co-operative: They're co-operative and willing to help.
creative: He's a creative student - full of ideas.
decisive: A decisive boss makes decisions quickly.
easy-going: She's easy-going and everybody likes her.
hard-working: He's hard-working and gives 100%.
helpful: She's helpful and willing to lend a hand.
imaginative: She's a very imaginative pupil and writes fantastic stories.
independent: Independent people prefer to make their own decisions.
inventive: an inventive writer.
kind: He's kind and friendly to others.
liberal: Liberal people respect other people's ideas and behaviour, especially new ideas.
likeable: She's likeable - people find her friendly.
logical: He's logical and makes careful decisions.
natural: He's a natural athlete and doesn't need to try hard.
outgoing: She's outgoing and makes friends easily.
polite: She's polite and always says Thanks'.
practical: He's practical and makes sensible decisions.
realistic: She's realistic - not trying the impossible.
reasonable: A reasonable parent is fair and sensible.
relaxed: She's relaxed and doesn't get angry easily.
reliable: I like reliable people who do what they say they're going to do.
sensible: She's sensible and never does anything silly.
sensitive: A sensitive person shows sympathy towards people who have difficulties.
sociable: He's sociable and enjoys being with others.
sympathetic: She was sympathetic when I told her my dog had died - she listened and said she was sorry.
tolerant: Their behaviour was terrible but he was tolerant and didn't complain.
unselfish: He's unselfish and puts other people first.
159
DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
a) Describe a time and place, real or imaginary, when you felt trapped. Concentrate
on your surroundings and your feelings at the time.
(b) You come across a group of people eating and speaking together around a
table. Describe how they reveal their personalities, relationships and emotions.
c) Describe a time when you were waiting for something unpleasant or fearful to
happen.
Describe the place where you were at the time and your feelings as you
waited…and waited.
a) The sounds of laughter and loud voices attract your attention to a room in your
house. The door is closed. Describe what you can hear, as well as what you can
see, as you gently open the door.
160
NARRATIVE COMPOSITIONS
EXAMINERS’ TIPS
-Decide on a tense and then stick to it; do not jump between present and past. The
normal narrative tense is past and those who try to write in the present usually forget
to do so after a while, so it is safer to start off in the past.
-Know what your last sentence is going to be before you write your first. A narrative
has to build up to a climax and lead towards a conclusion which is planned before it
starts or it will end lamely or incomprehensibly, or the pace will be too slow or too
fast.
-Don’t try to do too much; you can’t cover many events and many years in one short
composition. Select key moments and skip over the rest, changing the pace
according to the intensity of the moment.
-Don’t try to include too many characters (generally no more than than three is best).
Don’t try to give them all speech.
-For the top band, complexity of narrative and structure is required e.g. framing the
story; flashback or forward time jump; two parallel strands being brought together.
However, do not attempt these devices unless you are sure you can manage them.
-Use dialogue by all means (if you can punctuate and set it out correctly) but don’t
overdo it. You shouldn’t turn your story into a play, save speech for important
moments.
-If you do use dialogue, find synonyms for ‘he said/she said’.
-Even narrative needs description. You need to help your reader imagine characters
and places by adding significant details to bring them alive.
-Choose to tell your narrative in first or third person and stick with your choice; do not
switch viewpoint accidentally, as this is confusing for the reader.
-Don’t use a first person narrator if you want to die at the end of your story! It is
generally safer to use third person narration as it gives you more flexibility and a
wider viewpoint.
-Don’t end your story with ‘And then I woke up in hospital’, or ‘It was all a dream’. Try
to avoid clichés of any kind, including stereotypical characters and predictable
outcomes.
-Use similes, but avoid obvious ones such as ‘as red as a rose’. Make comparisons
unusual, but still apt, by giving them a moment’s thought and making them more
specific e.g. ‘as red as a matador’s cape’.
-Use plenty of interesting details to engage your reader and make them want to read
on.
161
-Don’t exaggerate; too much blood or too many unlikely events become ridiculous,
and fear is more believable when it is mental rather than physical.
-Use your own knowledge and experiences as inspiration. It is better to think of

something that actually happened to you, or someone you know, or which you read
in a book or saw in a film, than to try to make up something entirely from scratch. It
will sound more convincing. You will need to adapt, embellish and exaggerate the
original idea to make it relevant, fresh and memorable – just retelling the plot
synopsis or giving a factual account is not likely to interest your reader.
-Keep a balance in the different parts of the narrative. An over-long introduction

reduces the effect of the middle section where things build up to a climax, and you
need to leave yourself time to create a memorable ending.
-Stories need a conclusion, where things are either resolved or purposely left
unresolved as a cliff-hanger (though on the whole readers prefer to know how a story
ended). You must not give the impression that you just stopped writing because you
ran out of time, ink or ideas.
STORY OPENINGS AND ENDINGS
There are different types of story openings:
 Setting the scene/atmosphere

 Starting in the middle (readers have to figure what has happened before):
o in the middle of sequence of events
o in the middle of a dialogue
 Shocking statement: “I did what I had to do: I killed her”
 Intriguing statement (it arouses curiosity) – “Everyone thought he was dead”/ “I had
always wanted to do it so I finally plucked up courage to carry out my plan”
 Flashback: “The last time he was chased by the police, he had broken into a house”
 Flash-forward: “She finally married the man oh her dream. How she ended up
married to that man is a funny story”
 Introducing the main character.
162
ACTIVITY:
STORY OPENINGS: What types of opening sentences are these ones?
• It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking twelve.
• Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton.
• As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself
transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
• So, the dreadful old woman was dead at last.
• There was nothing special about door number Forty-Seven.
• Last night I dreamed I was at Kansas again.
• An arbitrary choice then, a definitive moment: October 23rd, 1990
• “Attention,” a voice began to be heard in the distance.
• When Bill Simpson woke up on Monday morning, he found he was a girl.
• “Lizzy!” she exclaimed, flinging open the door. “Are you okay?”
• It wasn’t human.
• The Iron Man came to the top of the hill.
• “How did that alligator get in the bath?” demanded my father one morning at
breakfast.
• The house shook, the windows rattled, a framed photograph slipped off the shelf and
fell down to the floor.
POSSIBLE ENDINGS FOR YOUR STORY:
o A short piece of humorous, dramatic or ironic direct speech - e.g. There is

something I didn’t tell you: the cat can talk!
o An unexpected twist
o A return to the beginning: either repeating the first sentence or referring to the
event which began the story.
o Happily-ever-after
o A “gloomy” conclusion- e.g. And that was the last time I saw my friend.
o A cliff-hanger – e.g. Nobody knows if they ever learned the truth
Rules for setting out a dialogue in a narrative
 Start a new line or paragraph of a change of speaker

 Use double inverted commas at the beginning and end of the speech.
 Use a full stop, comma, question mark or exclamation mark at the end of every
speech (and inside the final inverted comma)
 Use a capital letter to begin a speech, even in the middle of a sentence
163
Enrich your writing!!!
Narrative techniques (use of direct speech, weather description, use of dramatic language to create
mystery, suspense, reference to feelings, moods, etc.) can be used when describing people. This will
make your composition more interesting to the reader.
See how an ordinary beginning can be made more exciting:
Instead of saying: I first met Steven, the secretary of the manager of Sunningtan Ltd, last Monday.
You could say:
A cold wind was blowing down the street last Monday morning as I pushed open the heavy glass door
of Sunnington Ltd. Chilled and nervous, I walked up to Mr Tibbs' secretary. A pair of friendly dark eyes
met mine. So this was Steven! (weather description, your feelings, suspense).
“Mr Tibbs is at a meeting. Would you like to wait? He’ll be about ten minutes.” He had a sharp clear
voice, and a narrow intelligent face. I could see why Mr Tibbs, the manager of Sunningtan Ltd, spoke
so highly of Steven. (direct speech, mystery)
Compare the following pieces of writing:
A
The teacher came into the room. She sat down on her chair and spoke to the class. They
listened to what she said and then did the work she gave them. At the end of the lesson the
teacher dismissed the class. They left the room.
The teacher strode briskly into the room. She perched fiercely on her chair and sternly
addressed the class. They paid close attention to what she instructed them to do and then
fearfully attempted the work which she had dictated to them. At the end of the lesson the
teacher ordered the class to dismiss. They crept silently from the room.
Try this! Rewrite the original paragraph above by using different verbs, adverbs and
adjectives to create a more pleasant and welcoming atmosphere.
164
Continuous Writing
Make sure that the continuation of your story is consistent with the tenses, the tone and the
register in the text given.
At the end of the corridor, the closed door was waiting. The clock that sat in the middle
of the narrow passageway counted down the minutes, before the interrogation would
begin.
“Heena Patel!” came a cold voice from behind the headmaster’s office door. Heena
stood up, leaving only Sally in the corridor. She dragged her guilty feet along the freshly
varnished floor of the menacing corridor. She turned to see Sally hiding behind the long
blonde hair that covered her face.Just for a second, Heena caught a glimpse of her face,
as a grey tear camouflaged itself in the miserable expression that now inhabited her
face.
There were no lights in the corridor and as the afternoon became evening, a casting
shadow gradually made its way the length of the corridor. Sally sat slouched, terrified
that Mr Shah, the Headmaster, would find out their terrible deed.
Try this! Write your own continuation of the story. Think carefully about how you will
structure your narrative.
 How will you develop the characters already introduced?

 How many more episodes should you include? What will they be?
 Should you finish your story with a clear-cut resolution which ties up all the issues or
should you leave your readers in mid-air, wondering what will happen next?
Here are some suggestions as to how the story could be continued.
- Decide why Heena and Sally are in trouble. Perhaps they’ve been accused of theft
or bullying. Are they guilty? Were they both involved in the episode? You don’t have
to give away the ending at this point but you must decide what it will be.
-You could continue by following Heena into the Headmaster’s office and describing
the interview. What is the Headmaster’s attitude towards Heena? What are her
thoughts and feelings as she listens to what he has to say? What is she accused of?
There’s a good opportunity here to show you can handle direct speech.
-You could prolong the suspense of your story by switching back to describe what
Sally is thinking as she waits outside and can see the silhouettes of Heena and the
Headmaster through the door, but can’t hear what is being said.
-Perhaps Sally is guilty of the crime and Heena is being bullied by her to take the
blame. You could continue the story by describing how thw Headmaster discovers
the truth and what happens.
165
SAMPLE NARRATIVE COMPOSITIONS
SAMPLE NARRATIVE 1
166
167
168
SAMPLE NARRATIVE 2
169
SAMPLE NARRATIVE 3
170
171
Narrative writing- Tasks
• Write a story or an episode of suspense in which a character is facing a problem relating to

time running out. [25]
• ‘The Rescue’. Write a story in which a rescue plays a central part. [25]
• The central character in a story realises that s/he has lost something vital. Write the next
part of the story in which a sense of panic is built up. [25]
• Everyone thinks you are an ordinary teenager, living an ordinary life. No-one knows, nor
must they ever find out, that you have powers which can only ever be used for the good of
humankind. Write about a day in ‘The Secret Life of…’.
• ‘The figure sprinted away from the angry crowd and headed towards a gap between the
buildings.’ Use this sentence to start a story. [25]
• ‘The Short Cut.’ You are very late and you need to get home quickly. Up ahead is a short
cut, cut you’ve been warned not to use. If you don’t get home soon there’ll be serious
trouble… Write a story about what happens next. [25]
• Write a story in which missing a chance or missing an opportunity is central to the plot.
172
Discourse Markers
Creating cohesive prose can be easily achieved by using discourse
markers, in the tables below are a range of discourse markers that have a
range of purposes in written text. It is absolutely imperative that you use
discourse markers in a poetry response because it is another way of
indicating to the examiner that you are writing in a comparative way.
Transitions that indicate you want to add information to what

you are saying
Besides Furthermore
In addition Indeed
In fact Moreover
Firstly, secondly…
Transitions that indicate a cause or reason

As a result Consequently
For that reason Therefore/thus
Since Because of
Transitions that indicate a purpose or reason why

For fear that In the hope that
In order to With this in mind
Transitions that indicate you are giving an example

For example For instance
In particular Particularly
Specifically To demonstrate
To illustrate This exemplifies
Transitions that indicate a result or an effect

Accordingly Finally
Consequently Hence
Therefore Thus
Transitions that show you are comparing or contrasting

Although However
In comparison In contrast
173
Basic Principle: punctuation marks should be used to enhance

the clarity and meaning of your writing – they should not be
used sporadically and erroneously just because you know what
they are.
1. The Colon (:)
Rules Governing the Use of the Colon
 The colon is used to indicate that what follows it is an explanation or

elaboration of what precedes it.
 A colon is preceded by a complete sentence; what follows the colon

may or may not be a complete sentence.
 A colon is not usually followed by a capital letter except where normal

rules governing the use of the capital letter apply – for example, names
of people or places.
Examples of Appropriate Colon Usage

 Africa is facing a terrifying problem: perpetual drought.
[Information after the colon explains the ‘problem’.]
 The situation is clear: too many teenagers are drinking too much
alcohol.
 [Information after the colon explains what the ‘situation’ is.]
 In the closing moments of The Crucible, Proctor understands one

certitude: to allow the confession to stand would be to live a lie.
 [Information after the colon explains what Proctor understands.]
Exercises:
Accurately place the colon in the sentences below:
- When he left the Whitehouse he was clear he had left in shame.
- In the deepening shade he saw just one thing the abyss.
- The Crucible transcends time for one reason it confronts us with the
perils of denial.
174
2. The Semicolon (;)
Rules Governing the Use of the Semicolon
A semicolon is used for one purpose: to join two complete sentences into
a single written sentence when the following conditions are met:
 The two sentences are felt to be too closely related in subject matter
to be separated by a full stop.
 There is no conjunction (and) or disjunct (but) which would require a

comma.
 The reasons for using a colon do not apply to the construction.
Examples of Appropriate Colon Usage
 Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937; the first volume of The Lord of
the Rings followed in 1954.
 Women’s conversation is largely cooperative; men’s is competitive.
 Students should aim to complete their coursework on time; their

failure to do so can often lead to severe penalties.
Note how the semicolon in each example is used to separate two complete
sentences.
Exercises:
Accurately place the semicolon in each of the sentences below:
- Steven Spielberg directed in Munich in 2005 War of the Worlds was

completed just six months later.
- Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer in Britain alcohol is

the second most significant cause of other cancers.
- As John Proctor lifts Elizabeth his salvation is affirmed his goodness

reclaimed amidst the amoral horrors of the theocrats.
175
Conjunctions that Require the use of the Semicolon
Certain conjunctions (transition words) require a preceding semicolon –

they are however, therefore, hence, thus, consequently, nevertheless and
meanwhile (plus other words that serve a similar function)
For example:
- Saturn was long thought to be the only ringed planet; however, this is
now known not to be the case.
- The two warring sides have refused to withdraw from the airport;
consequently aid flights have had to be suspended.
Accurately place the semicolon in the following example:
- Proctor and Elizabeth’s relationship in Act Two is characterised by an

inherent stasis however by Act Four this has been supplanted by a
regained sense of love and adoration.
3. The Dash ( – )
The dash has only one purpose in written prose: a pair of dashes mark a
significant interruption in a sentence.
Rules Governing the Use of the Dash
 Dashes are used in pairs and show the beginning and end of a
digression.
 Dashes should be used only when the digression is absolutely relevant

to the point that is being made in the sentence but causes the
information to be significantly interrupted.
 Dashes should be used sparingly to avoid the overall cohesion of the text
becoming disjointed and unintelligible.
Examples of Appropriate Dash Usage
 An honest politician – if such a creature exists – would never agree to

such a plan.
 The destruction of Guernica – and there is no doubt that the

destruction was deliberate – horrified the world.
176
 When the Europeans settled in Tasmania, they inflicted genocide –

there is no other word for it – upon the indigenous population, who
were wiped out in thirty years.
Exercises:
Accurately place a pair of dashes in the sentences below:
- The Iraq war has claimed over 400,000 civilian lives nearly four times
the number Saddam Hussein is thought to have murdered since the
beginning of the conflict in 2003.
- Theoretically, there is a link between poverty and academic

performance albeit a
- circumstantial link which
is something the
government needs to
rectify.

IGCSE Language Booklet - 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

IGCSE Language Booklet - 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

5th Year

IGCSE FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH

STUDENT’S NAME: ____________________________

Paper 2 Question 2 Words for effect …………………………………………………….2

Paper 2 Question 1- Writing Formats- Examiner tips ……………………………….28

Newspaper Report …………………………………………………………………………30

Formal Letter ………………………………………………………………………………..61

Formal Report ……………………………………………………………………………….81

Diary Entry vs. Account ………………………………………………………………….. 92

Script vs. dialogue …………………………………………………………………………105

Directed Writing- Paper 3 question 1…………………………………………………... 113

Magazine article …………………………………………………………………………….115

Argumentative letter ……………………………………………………………………… 133

Discursive letter …………………………………………………………………………….135

Paper 3 Question 2- Descriptive Composition ………………………………………...137

Narrative Composition ……………………………………………………………………...160

Discourse Markers …………………………………………………………………………..172

o Ways of walking, speaking, looking.

Assessment and evaluation criteria:

IGCSE First Language English at Extended Level

PAPER 2 - READING PASSAGES (EXTENDED)

Candidates answer three questions on two passages which may be on a similar

Question 1 Extended response (20 marks)

This question, in response to Passage A, may be sub-divided.

Question 2 Language question (10 marks)

Words for effect. This question, in response to Passage A, may be sub-divided.

Question 3 Summary question (20 marks)

This question is in response to Passage B.

PAPER 3 DIRECTED WRITING AND COMPOSITION

Section 1 Directed Writing (25 marks)

Candidates answer one question on a passage or passages totalling 650–750

Section 2 Composition (25 marks)

PAPER 2 – QUESTION 2- WORDS FOR EFFECT

Understanding how writers achieve effects

- An experience has been described

- You can see the scene that has been described

 Finally you need to understand what caused this effect on you.

- The specific meaning of a word

Sample answers: Paper 2 Question 2

SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 2 (WFE) BAND 2

SAMPLE ANSWER- QUESTION 2- (WFE) BAND 3

SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 2 (WFE) BAND 4

Paper 2 (extended) - Question 3- SUMMARY WRITING

Summary Writing Process

3. Transfer to list in note form

4. Structuring the summary in continous writing

5. Writing the summary

The summary should be written:

There should be clarity, concision and no repetition.

REMEMBER!!!! Do not include:

quotations- figurative language- long descriptions/strings of adjectives.

SAMPLE ANSWERS: PAPER 2- QUESTION 3 (SUMMARY)

SAMPLE ANSWERS: QUESTION 3

SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 3A AND B (summary)- BAND 2

SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 3A AND B (summary)- BAND 3

SAMPLE ANSWER: QUESTION 3A AND B – BAND 5

NEWSPAPER REPORT- WRITING HELP

News reports have several typical stylistic features:

1. Headline: Eye-catching and short

2. News event: What? When? Where? Who?

3. Background: Why? Previous history, lead-up to this event, causes

4. Report of actual news event: a detailed account of what happened