English Exam Tips

English Language Exam (Foundation)

How the paper is structured:
Section A:
  1. Question 1 will be about Source 1, you will have to pick out 4 things you learn from the source and list them. – 4 marks
  2. Question 2 will be about Source 1, you will have to show you understand the text in some way or another. 4 - marks
  3. Question 3 will be about Source 2, it will usually ask you to say what you learn about the source or what language techniques were used. – 8 marks
  4. Question 4 will be about Source 3, it will usually ask you to state what you learn about the source or how the writer writes to persuade, describe or inform. - 12 marks
  5. Question 5 will ask you to compare two sources of your choice on presentation, you comment on how images are use, and the structure of the text. Remember not to comment on language! – 12 marks

Section B:
  1. Question 1 on section B will ask you to write a piece of creative writing. – 16 marks
  2. Question 2 on section B will ask you to write a piece of creative writing. – 24 marks

In Section B you will write two pieces of creative writing, you will usually have to write to a purpose, you might have to write to:
  * Inform – Give information to the reader, write as if they have never heard of it.
  * Describe – Describe something to the person, remember to use lots of language techniques for this. E.g. Metaphors
  * Persuade – Persuade the reader into buying something, doing something, going somewhere, use lots of persuasive techniques and imperative verbs. Try to relate to the reader to get them on your side and show understanding of their feelings.

Tips to revision:
  * Revise the types of language techniques and features.
  * Read some books and annotate them