Revise for IGCSE in ESL exam.docx

1、Revise for IGCSE in ESL examRevise for IGCSE in ESL examGeneral Points Regarding TIME The exam lasts for 2 hours (= 120 mins for the extended and 90mins for the core level) and there are a total of 84 marks for the extended and 56 for the core level. You should aim to manage your time as follows: Ex

2、tended level Ex. 1 and 2 about 20 mins Ex. 3 (form-filling) - about 10 mins Ex. 4 (note-taking) - about 12 mins Ex. 5 (summary) - about 15 mins Ex. 6 (informal writing) - about 30 mins Ex. 7 (formal writing) - about 30 mins Core level Ex. 1 and 2 about 15 mins Ex. 3 (form-filling) - about 10 mins Ex

3、. 4 (note-taking) - about 10 mins Ex. 5 (summary) - about 5 mins Ex. 6 (informal writing) - about 20 mins Ex. 7 (formal writing) - about 20 mins NB: The suggested times for Exercises 5-7 include editing time. Do not write frantically until the invigilator calls out, “The exam is over. Please stop wr

4、iting now.” You must spend a few minutes re-reading your work and making necessary changes not just corrections, but possibly also adding improvements such as transition phrases (“As a result of this”, “On the other hand”, “Finally” etc) or more expressive vocabulary (e.g. so fun thrilling / exhilar

5、ating).General Points Regarding READING Tasks Do not waste time reading the text before you look at the questions. Do glance through it quickly so you know what type of text it is (e.g. travel brochure, magazine article) and what the topic is. Then go straight to the questions and let each question

6、guide your more detailed reading. You will not lose marks for grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors (unless, of course, your answer is impossible to understand!). For most questions, a short answer is fine. There is no rule that you should write in full sentences. In fact, you would be wasting

7、 valuable time if you wrote lots of long answers. The first 15-20 questions require fast (but accurate!) reading: think of the 1 mark questions as needing about one minute of reading on average. Practise reading texts in newspapers, magazines or textbooks and making notes of the main points. This ca

8、n help you prepare for both the note-taking and summary writing tasks. General Points Regarding SUMMARY Tasks Read the instructions carefully: what are you being asked to write about? Half the marks are awarded for including relevant points, half for quality of language. Underline or box the relevan

9、t points in the original text before you try to write your summary. Do not write a long introduction! You might need to write something like “There are three main advantages of home schooling. Firstly ” but basically you should go straight to the point: do only what the instructions ask you to do! O

10、rganise the points in some way e.g. chronologically, or Problem-Solution, or Advantages-Disadvantages. Whatever seems right for the task! Simple connectives such as Firstly/Secondly/Thirdly or In addition/Also or Consequently can help to make your summary more coherent. Use your own words/phrases wh

11、ere possible. Feel free to change the order of points if that seems logical. Do not write too much: you will not receive any credit for points made after the word limit. (On the other hand, do not get stressed about writing a few words too many. You are allowed to go up to 120 words for the extended

12、 level and 70 for the core level). General Points Regarding LISTENING If you want to do some Listening practice, remember you have 2 CD-ROMs in your copy of “IGCSE English as a Second Language” by Peter Lucantoni. For most of the questions, all you need is a brief answer (often just one word). Do no

13、t just listen for words; listen to the meaning of what is being said! Try to predict what is coming next. Use the pauses for writing: if you write too soon, you may miss something you should be listening to! In the note-taking tasks, think about the type of word that is required. For example, if a h

14、eading says “Purpose”, then it is likely that you need a list of verbs (e.g. To raise awareness, To conserve wildlife, To educate schoolchildren). By contrast, if a sentence says “This boat has attracted more _ than any other boat in the race”, then you should expect a noun to fill the gap e.g. publ

15、icity, funding, attention, visitors, trouble, photographers? If you write 2 answers and the first one is wrong, no points will be awarded. Spelling usually does not matter. However, if an incorrect spelling could cause confusion about your meaning, then it will be marked incorrect. For example, bore

16、d is good; bord is incorrect but acceptable; but board is unacceptable. General Points Regarding WRITING TasksThere are some useful things you can do: Use a thesaurus () to build up a variety of vocabulary e.g. ways of expressing common concepts: The trip was good.enjoyable, interesting, educational

17、, informative, fascinating, eye-opening, inspirational, life-changingI felt scared.anxious, apprehensive, nervous, fearful, terrifiedI saw a man running down the street. sprinting, running at full peltI saw a woman stepping off the pavement into the road.spotted, noticed, observedThe council should

18、make a skate park.construct, create, Opponents say that foxhunting is an important part of English culture.argue, claim, insist, maintainShe is a really nice person.warm, generous, considerate, helpful, easygoing, supportive Re-read model essays such as those below and think about how they are organ

19、ised. Read your notes on various OPINION or for/against topics or (see a couple of examples below); use these to scribble essay plans. Re-read good examples of informal/formal letters Notice and practise writing common phrases found in formal letters: Re-read your notes on how to begin/end informal

20、letters; make notes for a letter to a friend about a recent experience (e.g. taking part in a performance, winning a competition, meeting your hero, meeting an old classmate, visiting a foreign country, learning a new skill); work out what each paragraph is going to be about; make a note of likely c

21、onnectives (the following day, by the end of our conversation, as a result, because of this, in the end etc.); write the letter! Re-read old essays and think about your most common errors (especially tenses, missing a/the, plural -s, uncountable nouns, prepositions of time/place -in Jakarta, in Marc

22、h, at night etc.; vocabulary go shopping, to be interested in, to apply for); write new sentences that follow the correct patterns (e.g. My brother went shopping while my two sisters and I went fishing.) Revise lists of connecting words/phrases: Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly, Finally For example, For i

23、nstance, In addition, Also, Furthermore, What is more, As a result, Because of this, Consequently, Therefore, On the one hand, On the other hand, It is true that However, , however, In contrast, On the other hand, Similarly, Another argument against _ is that Another disadvantage of _ is that Inform

24、al LettersAn informal letter should be fairly informal but dont overdo it! The examiner will not be impressed by text messaging shorthand such as U for you. Likewise, avoid excessive use of slang: your objective is to demonstrate your knowledge of standard English vocabulary and grammar. The content

25、 of informal letters is difficult to predict. However, they often include an account of recent events. If you have to write a letter like this, then take care with your verbs! Also, try to use some time phrases (e.g. Shortly after that, Later, That afternoon, After dinner, ) Try to use a good range

26、of vocabulary too, avoiding dull words such as nice, fun and scary.BEGINNINGS It was good to hear from you. Sorry for not replying sooner. I have been very busy. Sorry for taking so long to reply. I have been revising for my exams. CONCLUSIONS Well, thats all my news for now. Its getting late, so Id

27、 better stop now. Id better stop now. Its past midnight and I have an exam tomorrow. Id better finish Im running out of space. I can hardly wait to meet you. Please write again soon. Please keep in touch. Give my regards to BEST WISHES Lots of Love Regards Thinking of you Useful vocabulary:Ring me u

28、p, pick me up, keep my fingers crossed that, drop me a line, catch up on our news, let me know, put pen to paper, put you up, Sample informal letter:You are abroad spending your holidays in a very exciting places you have always wanted to visit. The people you travel with are really nice so you enjo

29、y their companionship. Write a letter to your friend describing what you have been doing so far and what you still plan to do.Dear Amy,Thank you a lot for your last letter. It was a nice surprise to hear from you. Its taken me ages to reply but I had to organise some things concerning my trip.As you

30、 probably remember Ive always wanted to visit some unusual places. And now, at last, off I went! But youd never guess where Ive chosen to spend my holiday. Its Antarctica! You would never think of it, would you? Im so excited about the whole event!The people I travel with are incredible. Its their f

31、ourteenth expedition there. They know every path in the snow by heart and they are very helpful. They share their knowledge and experience with me. Would you believe that here everything is different? You even need to set your tent in a special way. Its all very challenging. Tomorrow we plan to move further North so I may not be able to stay in touch for a while.Anyway, hope you are enjoying your holiday. I hope we will meet soon so that we can catch up on our news. Drop me a