Tutoring in IGCSE English First Language (0500)

Students will study a variety of writing styles which will help them develop awareness of
different registers, different purposes of writing as well as audience being addressed.
Additionally, they will develop their personal writing style through the exploration of different
reading materials such as short stories, articles, excerpts from novels, etc. They will also
explore the ways in which authors use language to achieve effects, learning how to critically
approach literary texts and produce an informed personal response to the material.

Types of texts students will learn to produce:

1.  Articles
2. Leaflets
3. Brochures
4. Advertisements
5. Descriptive writing
6. Narrative writing
7. Speeches
8. Opinion pieces
9. Argumentative writing

Exam:

Paper 1: Reading
Students answer 3 compulsory questions on 3 texts which may be on a similar topic.

Question 1: Comprehension and summary task (30 marks)

Comprehension Task

•  This question requires students to respond to Text A.
•  Students respond to a series of sub-questions. These include short answers testing
  understanding of both explicit and implicit meanings.

Summary Task

• This question requires students to respond to Text B.
• Students write their summary as continuous writing of no more than 120 words.

Question 2: Short answer questions and language task (25 marks)

Short-answer questions

•  This question requires candidates to respond to Text C.
• Students respond to a series of sub-questions which require answers of different lengths.

Language task:

• This question requires candidates to respond to Text C.
• Students write about 200-300 words.

Question 3: Extended response to reading (25 marks)

• This question requires students to respond to Text C.
• Students write about 250-350 words, responding in one of the following text types: letter, report, journal, speech, interview and article.

Paper 2: Writing

• Section A: Directed Writing (40 marks)
  • Students answer one compulsory question on one or two texts totalling 650-750
    words in length.
  • Students use, develop and evaluate the information in the text(s) to create a
    discursive/argumentative/persuasive speech, letter or article.
  • Students write about 250 – 350 words.
• Section B: Composition (40 marks)
  • Students answer one question from a choice of four titles: two descriptive and two narrative.
  • Students use the title to develop and write a composition.
  • Students write about 350 – 450 words.

Exam preparation:

1. Practice with past papers and sample questions
2. Time management strategies for exams
3. Techniques for effective close reading and annotation
4. Access to model responses