Embedded Files
WRITTEN BAC Exam
WRITTEN BAC Exam
The exam is 3 hours long and includes a reading comprehension and written expression.
READING COMPREHENSION : It consists of 2 or 3 documents, followed by comprehension questions. Students must quote from the text (when asked to), use complete sentences, and most importantly use their own words. You will need to explain, justify your answers and show that you understand the different aspects of the texts.
WRITTEN EXPRESSION: Students may have to write a dialogue, a diary entry, continue a story, write a letter or a newspaper article. They need to know and understand the techniques of how these are reproduced.
The reading comprehension is graded out of 10, and the writing is out of 10 as well.
REPHRASE
REPHRASE
WHAT IS REPHRASING ?
WHAT IS REPHRASING ?
If your teacher wrote the words 'Unclear' or 'Awkward' on one of your essays, you might want to rephrase that passage... Instead of writing a long, too complex idea or repeating a sentence, pretend you are explaining that idea simply to a friend. In other words, reformulate what you want to say. To do so, ask yourself the question:
'What am I trying to say with that sentence?’
In Baccalauréat papers, paraphrasing is when you take what the author wrote and reformulate it using different words. Paraphrasing is not copying. It shows you understand other people’s ideas and can write them in a way that makes sense to you. The typical instructions in Bac papers are:
“EXPLAIN / IN YOUR OWN WORDS”
Avoid word-for-word: instead, show you understood what you read and that you are capable of rephrasing the text with different turns of phrase, synonyms, etc.
Here is HOW you can get better at rephrasing to nail all your exams...
YOUR BEST FRIENDS...
YOUR BEST FRIENDS...
Thesaurus (for synonyms)
Thesaurus (for synonyms)
Dictionary (for definitions, word translations, pronunciation)
Dictionary (for definitions, word translations, pronunciation)
REPHRASING TECHNIQUES
REPHRASING TECHNIQUES
USE SYNONYMS
USE SYNONYMS
Replace key words with synonyms or definitions
Ex: Several high school students are taking pictures of themselves in front of a coffee shop.
>>> Quite a few high school students are taking selfies in front of a cafe.
Your turn! (the key words are underlined)
a. Amazon is one of the biggest shops in the world.
b. The chef judges how much food to cook according to the number of guests she thinks will come to the restaurant.
c. Why are tweets restricted to 140 characters?
d. Rubik made a cube to help his students understand shapes.
e. Approximately 100,000 people went to the protest on Saturday and Sunday.
CHANGE THE SENTENCE ORDER
CHANGE THE SENTENCE ORDER
Transform into the active voice and add synonyms when possible
Ex: Many buildings were destroyed by the earthquake.
>>> The earthquake destroyed many buildings / caused a lot of damage
Your turn:
a. Our kitchen is cleaned by my father every Sunday morning.
b. The Christmas toys were delivered to the orphanage by the high school students.
c. The letter was dropped off by the man in the red truck.
d. The new Smartphone model will be finished by the design team next year.
e. A new album will be released by Big Bang in 2017
COMBINE TWO SENTENCES IN ONE
COMBINE TWO SENTENCES IN ONE
WITH RELATIVES (who, which, that )
The Han River runs through Seoul. It is South Korea’s second longest river.
>>> The Han River, which is South Korea’s second longest river, runs through Seoul.
Practise!
1. My friend loves to make Italian food. She is a professional chef.
2. Ji-sung Park is from Korea. He is a former soccer player for Manchester United.
3. Kyoto has beautiful temples. It’s a city in Japan.
4. Have you ever read The Stranger? It’s a novel by Albert Camus.
5. Jane’s dog sat under a tree and chewed on a bone. Her dog is a husky.
WITH CONNECTIVES (because, although, while, as soon as, if, since, yet, but, so, or/nor…)
Ex: The computer was making a loud noise. The fan was broken.
>>> Because the fan was broken, the computer was making a loud noise.
Practise:
1. Benedict Cumberbatch is a great actor. His last movie was not very good.
2. The student studied very hard. His test score was 92%.
3. We took pictures of the elephant. The elephant was drinking water from a pond.
4. You can’t watch TV. You have to finish your homework first.
5. I started to ask a question. The store clerk walked away.
DEVELOP YOUR ANSWERS
DEVELOP YOUR ANSWERS
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
"In your own words compare Nick Frame's and Susan Lowe's attitudes towards the children?"
COMPARE:
COMPARE:
a POOR answer:
a POOR answer:
Nick seems to like them a lot. Susan is not nice and she tells that they are horrible.
an AWESOME answer:
an AWESOME answer:
Nick Frame's attitude towards the children might be described as caring and considerate whereas Susan Lowe has a number of disparaging things to say about their behaviour. Indeed, she looks down on them and despises them when she refers to them as "horrid little brats".
Can you spot?
Can you spot?
the use of modals (to qualify nuance), of link-words, of rich and accurate vocabulary, of phrasal verbs (more idiomatic), of a quote to back up the answer?
***TIP : extend short sentences using 'because', 'as', 'since', 'that's why'...***
***TIP : extend short sentences using 'because', 'as', 'since', 'that's why'...***
Use P.P.E technique
Use P.P.E technique
Page updated
Report abuse