Tips on how to revise for English 1.
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Students need to know the content of the examination questionby-question. Flash cards/notes with timings, key words, tips, etc, would be useful. Read an article and ask them to explain the content to you. (Both Higher and Foundation have questions that ask students to show their inference skills.) Practise active reading. (Students need to understand how to highlight/underline with a purpose in mind.) Understand the difference between INFERENCE and ANALYSIS. (Higher: Q1 and 3 require inference skills; Q2 and 4 require analytical skills. Foundation: Q1b and 2 are inference; Q3 and 4 analytical.) In any piece of writing, write it like an English examination. Every exam. now has marks available for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. The basics matter. Paragraphing alone is worth 1/3 of the marks for the writing section.
The life of an isolated tribe in the Amazon jungle has been documented by a crew flying overhead in a helicopter. The pictures show in vivid detail gardens for maize, sweet potato, pumpkins, bananas and peanuts. Cotton is also grown: the men in the photos have cotton waistbands and some have headdresses. The Brazilian Indian affairs department has evidence of 29 un-contacted tribes (peoples who have no contact with the outside world) in the Amazon but believes that there could be up to 70. One theory is that tribes like this moved nearer to the head of the Amazon river 100 years ago to escape a rubber production boom that enslaved many Indians. The tribe of 3,000 to 4,000 near Brazil’s border with Peru are huntergatherers. The men, their bodies decorated with red dye, are armed with bows and arrows.
Explain what you learn about the Amazon tribe. The life of an isolated tribe in the Amazon jungle has been documented by a crew flying overhead in a helicopter. The pictures show in vivid detail gardens for maize, sweet potato, pumpkins, bananas and peanuts. Cotton is also grown: the men in the photos have cotton waistbands and some have headdresses. The Brazilian Indian affairs department has evidence of 29 un-contacted tribes (peoples who have no contact with the outside world) in the Amazon but believes that there could be up to 70. One theory is that tribes like this moved nearer to the head of the Amazon river 100 years ago to escape a rubber production boom that enslaved many Indians. The tribe of 3,000 to 4,000 near Brazil’s border with Peru are huntergatherers. The men, their bodies decorated with red dye, are armed with bows and arrows.
Explain what you learn about the Amazon tribe. The life of an isolated tribe in the Amazon jungle has been documented by a crew flying overhead in a helicopter. The pictures show in vivid detail gardens for maize, sweet potato, pumpkins, bananas and peanuts. Cotton is also grown: the men in the photos have cotton waistbands and some have headdresses. The Brazilian Indian affairs department has evidence of 29 un-contacted tribes (peoples who have no contact with the outside world) in the Amazon but believes that there could be up to 70. One theory is that tribes like this moved nearer to the head of the Amazon river 100 years ago to escape a rubber production boom that enslaved many Indians. The tribe of 3,000 to 4,000 near Brazil’s border with Peru are huntergatherers. The men, their bodies decorated with red dye, are armed with bows and arrows. back
Tips on how to revise for English 1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
Students need to know the content of the examination question-by-question. Flash cards/notes with timings, key words, tips, etc, would be useful. Read an article and ask them to explain the content to you. (Both Higher and Foundation have questions that ask students to show their inference skills.) Practise active reading. (Students need to understand how to highlight/underline with a purpose in mind.) Understand the difference between INFERENCE and ANALYSIS. (Higher: Q1 and 3 require inference skills; Q2 and 4 require analytical skills. Foundation: Q1b and 2 are inference; Q3 and 4 analytical.) In any piece of writing, write it like an English examination. Every exam. now has marks available for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. The basics matter. Paragraphing alone is worth 1/3 of the marks for the writing section. FLAP at the questions – it needs to be functional. Read for writing – opinion pieces in newspapers are particularly helpful.
Inference (what) For these questions, the most important thing is to refer to the WRITER’S ideas. “I am desperate for a coffee.” This would suggest that the writer…
Analysis (how) For analysis, the examiner will want references to the EFFECT of devices (often language choices) on THE READER. “I am desperate for a coffee.” The use of the word ‘desperate’ is effective because it allows the reader to feel how anxious and exhausted the writer is so that they can imagine…. EFFECT is often what it makes the reader think, feel, understand, imagine, do. back
Tips on how to revise for English 1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.
Students need to know the content of the examination question-byquestion. Flash cards/notes with timings, key words, tips, etc, would be useful. Read an article and ask them to explain the content to you. (Both Higher and Foundation have questions that ask students to show their inference skills.) Practise active reading. (Students need to understand how to highlight/underline with a purpose in mind.) Understand the difference between INFERENCE and ANALYSIS. (Higher: Q1 and 3 require inference skills; Q2 and 4 require analytical skills. Foundation: Q1b and 2 are inference; Q3 and 4 analytical.) In any piece of writing, write it like an English examination. Every exam. now has marks available for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. FLAP at the questions – it needs to be functional. The basics matter. Paragraphing alone is worth 1/3 of the marks for the writing section. Read for writing – opinion pieces in newspapers are particularly helpful.
Websites – The Guardian
Websites – The Daily Mirror
