Embedded Files
Specification
Specification
Assessment Guidance
Assessment Guidance
Mock Exam January 2025
You will sit the following exam:
• English Language Paper 2 (2 hours)
See the guidance and advice relating to Paper 2.
Key Dates
Key Dates
Exam dates:
Exam dates:
Paper 1
Assessment Details
Assessment Details
Revision Resources
Revision Resources
SUMMARY:
Here is the key information on how to revise for English Language; you can find more details below:
Here is the learner guide for both papers: 472780-learner-guide-for-cambridge-igcse-first-language-english-9-1-0990-for-examination-from-2020-.pdf
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER 1 (2h):
1. You should have a copy of the TOP TIPS LANG PAPER 1.pdf on OneNote. Do read this carefully to familiarise yourself with exam technique.
2. Watch some YouTube paper walkthroughs (links below) of the paper.
3. Complete past papers (linked below), initially marking the papers you complete yourself using the mark scheme, before sharing what you have done with your teacher via your Marked Work folder on OneNote.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER 2 (2h):
1. For Section A, you should have a copy of TOP TIPS LANG PAPER 2 - DIRECTED WRITING.pdf on OneNote. Do read this carefully to familiarise yourself with exam technique.
2. Watch some YouTube paper walkthroughs (links below) of the paper.
3. For Section B, read as much flash fiction and examples of good descriptive writing as a you can. See links below.
4. Complete past papers (linked below).
More details on how to revise can be found below.
HOW TO GUIDE FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS:
You should have the following 'How to…' guide on your OneNotes. Do use it to target any skills you need to develop:
· … improve your vocabulary.pdf
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER 1 (2h):
You should have a copy of the TOP TIPS LANG PAPER 1.pdf on OneNote. Do read this carefully to familiarise yourself with exam technique.
Use these resources to help you:
· LEARNING CHECKLIST FOR PAPER 1.pdf
Watch some YouTube paper walkthroughs (links below) of the paper.
Try watching some of these YouTube paper walkthroughs:
· Full New Paper CIE 0990/0500 Paper 1 IGCSE English Language
· Exam Overview Language Paper 1: CIE IGCSE 0500/0990
Complete past papers (linked below), marking the papers you complete using the mark scheme before sharing what you have done with your teacher via your Marked Work folder on OneNote.
Here are some additional past papers which you have not yet tackled in class:
· May Jun 2023 - Motivational Speaking
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER 2 (2h):
For Section A, you should have a copy of TOP TIPS LANG PAPER 2 - DIRECTED WRITING.pdf on OneNote. Do read this carefully to familiarise yourself with exam technique.
Watch some YouTube paper walkthroughs (links below) of the paper.
· Section A:
o In short: Revise Cambridge IGCSE English Language Paper 2 - Directed Writing
o A more extensive video series:
· How to approach the Directed Writing question for CIE IGCSE 0500/0990 Language Paper 2 (Part 1)
· How to approach the Directed Writing question for CIE IGCSE 0500/0990 Language Paper 2 (Part 2/3)
· How to approach the Directed Writing question for CIE IGCSE 0500/0990 Language Paper 2 (Part 3)
· Section B:
o How to approach the descriptive writing question for CIE IGCSE 0500/0990 Language Paper 2
o How to approach the narrative writing question for CIE IGCSE 0500/0990 Language Paper 2 (Part 2)
For Section B, read as much flash fiction and examples of good descriptive writing as a you can. See links below.
Use these handouts to help with any aspects of narrative / descriptive writing you find challenging:
· … structure a piece of descriptive writing.pdf
o … improve your description.pdf
o … magpie good description.pdf
o … use connectives for fiction.pdf
o … vary sentence openers (ADDSPICE).pdf
o … vary your sentence lengths.pdf
However, given that a quarter of your marks are for either narrative writing or descriptive writing, it is important to read lots of different style models. Try to work out what makes each an effective piece of writing.
· Descriptive writing examples:
o From “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again”, by David Foster Wallace.pdf
o From “Girl on a Motorcycle”, by Rachel Kushner.pdf
o From “Lipstick and Robots”, by Michael Bracewell.pdf
o From A Wood of One’s Own, by Ruth Pavey.pdf
o From Edgelands, by Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts.pdf
o From M Train, by Patti Smith.pdf
o From Orwell’s Roses, by Rebecca Solnit.pdf
o From Strandings, by Peter Riley.pdf
· Narrative writing examples:
o 'The Flowers' by Alice Walker.pdf
o 'Sticks', by George Saunders.pdf
o 'The Werewolf' by Angela Carter.pdf
o 'A Strange Impulse' by Lydia Davis.pdf
o 'Airshow', by Jon McGregor.pdf
o 'An Imperial Message' by Franz Kafka.pdf
o 'Descent of Species' - from Sum by David Eagleman.pdf
o 'Hills Like White Elephants' by Ernest Hemingway.pdf
o 'Indian Camp' by Ernest Hemingway.pdf
o 'Likeable' by Debra Olin Unferth.pdf
o 'Little Things' by Raymond Carver.pdf
o 'Miracles' by Lucy Corin.pdf
o 'That Colour', by Jon McGregor.pdf
o 'The Baby' by Donald Barthelme.pdf
o 'The Flash' by Italo Calvino.pdf
o 'Unnecessary Things' by Tatyana Tolstaya.pdf
o 'You'll Have to Save That for Another Time' by Dave Eggers.pdf
Typically, many students find the descriptive writing tasks easier; however, if you are a real reader and love telling stories, then please do try the narrative writing task.
Complete past papers (linked below).
Here are some past papers for you to work through:
· May Jun 2020 - Exchange Visits
· May Jun 2020 - Space Tourism
· May Jun 2022 - Outdoor Learning
REVISION TIP:
If you find narrative / descriptive writing really hard, try the following:
Write out the full Section B: Composition narrative / descriptive writing prompts into ChatGPT (including the expected word count) and then to improve the answer you are given there.
· Look at the ChatGPT generated response alongside the mark scheme for the paper and think about if you could improve. Start by editing it with this process in mind: … edit your writing (according to George Saunders ‘Afterthought 2’ from 'A Swim in a Pond in the Rain').pdf:
· Then think about the following more specific questions:
o Narrative writing:
· Is the plot well-defined and strongly developed?
· Are there enough descriptive details, characterisation, convincing details, and an effective climax? ( … tell a story.pdf)
o Descriptive writing:
· Are there many well-defined and developed ideas and images? ( … improve your description.pdf / … magpie good description.pdf)
· Does the piece paint a convincing overall picture with varieties of focus?
· Style and accuracy:
o Is the vocabulary precise and well-chosen?
o Are there varied sentence lengths? ( … vary your sentence lengths.pdf)
o Are there varied sentence openers? ( … vary sentence openers (ADDSPICE).pdf)
o Is the punctuation varied? ( … vary your punctuation.pdf)
Past Papers
Past Papers
Paper 1
Paper 1
Exam
Exam
Mark Scheme
Mark Scheme
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