English Language — IGCSE

Answer: Self-mark against the point list below: one mark per relevant point, up to six. Do not award a mark for a point you copied from the passage without rephrasing.

1. Point 1 — they dug a shallow trench along the uphill side of the plot
2. Point 2 — the trench captured storm water so it soaked in rather than running off
3. Point 3 — they planted spinach, beetroot and tomatoes that survived
4. Point 4 — produce went to the primary school kitchen twice a week
5. Point 5 — surplus was sold at the roadside in used drums on Saturdays
6. Point 6 — school attendance rose (or: children did better because they had eaten)

Summary is a collecting exercise, not a writing exercise. Six short lines, one idea each, is worth more than a well-written paragraph that repeats two points.

Answer: Self-mark: one mark per explained quotation (up to three), plus marks for linking the effects to the idea of a turning point. A quotation with no effect explained earns nothing.

1. Quote and effect 1 — "the first storm finally broke" : "broke" suggests something held back for too long being released
2. Quote and effect 2 — "It paused, sank, and stayed" : the sequence of short verbs slows the reader down, turning a downpour into a deliberate act
3. Quote and effect 3 — "green in a place that had been grey" : colour contrast marks the change plainly and visually
4. Link back — together the choices present the rain as a response to a decision rather than luck

Choose three quotations you can actually say something about, rather than three clever ones you cannot. The effect is the mark, not the device.

Answer: Self-mark against the criteria below. Award yourself honestly — the point of self-marking is to find the gap before an examiner does.

1. Purpose and audience (2 marks) — from the first sentence it is clear this is a letter to an editor, for publication, from a resident
2. Content (3 marks) — specific detail: where, how long, who is affected, what has been asked of whom so far, what is wanted
3. Tone and register (2 marks) — reasonable and firm; a letter that insults anyone loses this mark
4. Accuracy (3 marks) — punctuation of the letter form, paragraphing, tense consistency, spelling

Two minutes of planning: one line for purpose, one for audience, three for content points. Directed writing marks are given for directing, not for description.

Answer: A

1. The clause "which had trained for six months" can be lifted out
2. It is bracketed by a comma at each end

Punctuation pairs: brackets, dashes and paired commas all need two ends. Scanning a sentence for unmatched pairs catches most of these before you have thought about meaning.

Answer: Self-mark against the four bands below, and be harder on yourself than a teacher would be. A composition is marked on the whole piece, not line by line.

1. Structure and shape (3 marks) — a clear opening, a middle that develops one idea rather than five, and an ending that lands; paragraphing used to control time or mood
2. Content and detail (3 marks) — specific, sensory, believable detail rather than general statements; the reader can see the place and the people
3. Sentence control and effects (3 marks) — deliberate variety: short sentences for tension, longer ones for reflection; at least one technique used for a purpose, not sprinkled in
4. Accuracy (3 marks) — tense consistency, punctuation of speech and clauses, spelling of common words, agreement between subject and verb

Spend the first two minutes planning three paragraphs and the last three proofreading. A composition that runs out of time mid-sentence loses structure marks no amount of good vocabulary can recover.

Answer: A plan that fixes the ending first, chooses one main incident, and names the detail that will carry the mood.

1. Fix the ending before writing: it decides whether the piece builds or wanders (1 mark)
2. Choose one incident, not three: a single developed scene earns more than a rushed sequence (1 mark)
3. Pick the opening image: something concrete the reader can see in the first sentence (1 mark)
4. Name the detail that carries the mood, so it is not invented at paragraph four (1 mark)
5. Decide the tense and stick to it — flashback only if the plan can hold it (1 mark)
6. Match the plan to the title, so every paragraph earns its place (1 mark)

The plan is not marked, which is exactly why most candidates skip it. Two minutes of planning is the cheapest mark-fixing tool in the whole paper.

Answer: The gardeners are careful not to overstate what they caused. They present the attendance figures as information rather than proof, and define their achievement modestly and practically — as learning to prepare rather than to hope.

1. They refuse to claim a causal link they cannot prove
2. They describe a smaller, more defensible achievement
3. The contrast suggests modesty about results and confidence about method

When a question quotes a contrast ("did not claim… did claim"), the answer is usually about the two things being deliberately set against each other. Say what the contrast achieves.

Answer: Self-mark: quote plus explained effect, three times, with a link to busyness or improvisation.

1. Quote and effect 1 — "have stopped pretending to be a transport service and have become a queue" : it shows the market taking over a street and its ordinary uses
2. Quote and effect 2 — "the whole towel is a shop" : the exaggeration is funny and it shows how little is needed to trade
3. Quote and effect 3 — "the queue is the only advertisement she has ever needed" : it suggests reputation replacing promotion, which tells you the market has its own order
4. Link back — small inventions and a queue that knows to arrive early create a place that organises itself

Pick imagery that carries an attitude, not just a picture. "Smoke moves sideways" describes; "the whole towel is a shop" judges, and judgement is where analysis marks live.