CSEC ENGLISH A SAMPLE GUIDE

8/9/2019 CSEC ENGLISH A SAMPLE GUIDE

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/csec-english-a-sample-guide 1/38

for CSEC®

A Caribbean Examinations Council® Study Guide


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/csec-english-a-sample-guide 2/38A Caribbean Examinations Council® Study Guide

Imelda Pilgrim • Maria Darlington

Anthony Perry • Joyce Stewart

for CSEC®


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/csec-english-a-sample-guide 3/38iii

Contents

Introduction 1

Unit 1 The basic skills 2

1.1 Purpose and audience 2 1.2 Word choice 4 1.3 Word order 10 1.4 Punctuation 20 1.5 Paragraphing 28 1.6 Putting it all together 34

Unit 2 Reading and writing informative texts 36

2.1 Understanding purpose and audience 36 2.2 Identifying sequences 42 2.3 Fact and opinion 46

2.4 Select and use detail 48 2.5 Interpret and respond to graphics 54 2.6 How writers use words 60 2.7 Reading and writing to summarise 68 2.8 Writing to inform and explain 76

Unit 3 Reading and writing creative texts 80

3.1 Register, tone and mood 80 3.2 The writer, the narrator and

the speaker 86 3.3 Characterisation 92 3.4 Creating character 98

3.5 Skills in descriptive writing 102 3.6 Writing descriptions 108 3.7 Structuring stories 112 3.8 Writing stories 118

Unit 4 Reading and writing persuasive andargumentative texts 124

4.1 Fact and opinion 124 4.2 Bias and slant 128 4.3 Techniques of persuasion 132 4.4 Techniques of argument 140

Unit 5 Doing well in your exams 148

5.1 Doing well in Paper 1 148 5.2 Doing well in Paper 2 158

Unit 6 Practice exam questions 168

Paper 1: Multiple-choice questions 168 Paper 2: Practice exam questions 176

Glossary 182 Index 184

Acknowledgements 188





ACTIVITY

4 Read texts A–C. For each one, identify and record the purpose and audience. List at least two clueswhich helped you to identify these. You could record your ideas on a chart like the one below.

Text Purpose Audience Clues

Example To inform andpersuade Adults who liketo dine out Details about the placeWords such as ‘unlimited’ and ‘mouth-watering’Reference to a ‘unique dining experience’

A

B

C

Text A

Once upon a time, not all bullfrogs were plain

like their cousins, the lizards. Bredda Croakywas a special bullfrog. His skin glowed with allthe rich colours of hibiscus flowers. He used tocroak all day long, so that other animals wouldadmire him.

Anansi the spider didn’t like this. He grew jealous of Bredda Croaky and tired of hisboastful croaking.

One day …

H. Patten and John Clementson, Clever Anansi and Boastful Bullfrog

Text B Text C

Ramshackle homesbulldozed in Brazilian capital

IO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Yesterday

uthorities began the demolition o

ilapidated homes in some of the Brazilian

apital’s most unstable slums. Following

ast week’s oods, which killed over 200 eople around the city, many homes were

onsidered at high risk from mudslides. Over

300 houses in the Morro de Uruba favela

ere bulldozed after residents had been

evacuated on Sunday.

io mayor, Eduardo Paes, has warned that

,000 families occupying seven of the city’s

slums would soon face eviction in order to

estroy at-risk homes.



1.2 Word choice

A Formal and informalAs you have seen in Section 1.1, writers write for purpose andaudience. These are the factors that determine both what they sayand how they say it. Sometimes the writing can be informal andsometimes a formal style of writing is required.

Diaries are often written using an informal style. This is because adiary entry is usually written by the writer as a personal record of theirthoughts and activities. Blogs are a relatively new form of writing thatare written online. In some ways similar to a diary, a blog often gives anaccount of the day-to-day detail of one person’s life. However, a bloghas a much wider audience. Blogs are often written in an informal style

to give the impression that the writer is talking directly to the reader.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

In this section you will:

• identify when a formal orinformal style is appropriate

• express ideas in Creole andCaribbean Standard English

• recognise the differencebetween the active andpassive voices

• learn how to use metaphorand simile

• improve your skills in theuse of a dictionary and athesaurus

• experiment with using awider range of vocabulary.

ACTIVITY

2 Read the following entry, taken from a blog written usingmany characteristics of Creole. The most obvious of these arehighlighted for you.

For each one, identify how the word or phrase would be writtenin Caribbean Standard English (CSE). You could use a table like theone below. The first three have been done for you.

Creole Caribbean Standard English (CSE)

Me sea-wall walk My walk on the sea wall

o’ plastic of plastic

why we still why are we still

Me sea-wall walk shocked me to the core today.Mounds o’ plastic and oil drums banging against the steps, on the sea-

side of the harbour.

I wonder if it is true, that there is a real link between pollution and cancer. And if there is, then why we still allow it in green land of Guyana? Why we supermarkets wrap vegetables and fruit in plastic? (Listen, thefood don’t look appealing like that, supermarket owners. It look ready toserve up death in miniature shrouds). Why the chicken people sell chicken in it? Making it hallal (kosher) doesmake it wholesome? Why we salt-fish people wrap the fish in it? Why food vendors continue to sell food in it, then we dump it, blocking-up we drains and rivers?

Why we let it float out to sea and poison the sea-life? If it is true that pollution is deadly, why we media don’t shout about it? nobody don’t give a damn no more.

ACTIVITY

1 Separate the following intotwo lists:

a those that are likely to be

written in an informal styleb those that are likely to be

written in a formal style.

A diary entry; a letter ofapplication for a job; anote to a friend; an emailto a friend; a letter to aprincipal; a newspaperarticle; an exam essay; anadvert targeting teenagers;a poster for a book sale.



There are many times when writing in an informal style is notappropriate. One of these is writing in examinations. While you mayuse Creole when writing direct speech within a narrative, you mustuse CSE at all other times. As you may well spend much of your timetalking in Creole, this means that you need to think carefully aboutthe words you use and the order in which you place them.

B The active and passive voices

So far you have considered how the use of Creole can create a moreinformal style and tone. The word tone is used here to describe theattitudes and feelings of the speaker to his or her subject. You cancreate either an informal or a formal tone using Caribbean StandardEnglish. For example:

One way of creating a more formal tone is through your use of theverb.

Many verbs can be active or passive.

When the verb is active, the subject performs the action, for example:

This is called the active voice.

When the verb is passive, the subject is on the receiving end of theaction, for example:

This is called the passive voice.

The passive voice is often used to create a more formal tone.

3 Using informal language write the text for your own blogentry. Your purpose is to share your ideas, feelings and/orexperiences with your audience. Your audience is likely to bepeople of your own age. You could focus on a particular thingthat has happened to you this week. Aim to write 150–200words.

4 Highlight the places in your writing where your use of languageis clearly different from CSE. By the side, identify how the wordor phrase would be written in the more formal CSE.

ACTIVITY

1 Copy the table below. Sortthe sentences that followinto active and passive.Highlight the subject andthe verb in each sentence as

shown in the example.Active Passive

I placed thebook on thetable.

The book was placed on the table.

a A game was played by thechildren.

b The children played agame.

c The prayer was readquietly by the woman.

d She read the prayer quietly.

e You are consideredinnocent by this court.

f This court considers youinnocent.

g A book was moved by theboy.

h The boy moved a book.

I think it’s going to be a really great carnival this year.

(informal tone)

It is thought that this year’s carnival will be a trulyspectacular affair. (formal tone)

I placed the book on the table.

The book was placed on the table.

subject

subject

verb

verb



C Figurative language

Writers do not always use words literally. They sometimes use wordsto help create a specific image and expect their readers to interpretthese words.

In the above poem the writer is using words figuratively. She refersto herself as a specific object, a stone that has gathered dirt, to helpthe reader understand the point she is making. This type of figure of

speech is called a metaphor.

Sometimes, rather than say something is something else, a writer willsay something is like something else. For example:

This type of figure of speech is called a simile.

ACTIVITY

1 Read the poem above and answer the questions that follow.

a Clearly a writer cannot be a rock. What does the image of a rocksuggest to you? What is the writer suggesting by saying this?

b What is the effect of her describing herself as a tiny, rollingstone?

c Can you suggest what she is referring to in the line: ‘All this dirtthat stuck to me’?

d What does the line ‘Of dirt that all got crushed together’suggest to you about the writer’s feelings about her life?

I’m Not a Rock!

I can’t be your rock anymoreI’m just a tiny, rolling stoneThat hasn’t got a place in lifeThat hasn’t got a homeSomehow got stopped as I rolled byBy forces in my wayAnd all this dirt that stuck to me’sNow begun to wash away

I cannot be your rock at allI’m really just a lot …Of dirt that all got crushed togetherI am not a rock!

Miranda Sealy, ‘I’m Not a Rock!’

She stood firm like a rock in times of trouble.

She was like a tiny, rolling stone that gathered dirtalong the way.



Extended similes and metaphors

Sometimes a writer will develop and extend a simile, for example:

Sometimes a writer will develop and extend a metaphor. In thefollowing passage the poet develops the idea of the city singing. Thehighlighted words show you how the metaphor has been extended.

If you listen, you can hear it.

The city it sings.

If you stand quietly, at the foot of a garden, in the middle of a

street, on the roof of a house.It’s clearest at night, when the sound cuts more sharply across the

surface of things, when the song reaches out to a place inside you.

It’s a wordless song, for the most, but it’s a song all the same, and

nobody hearing it could doubt what it sings.

And the song sings the loudest when you pick out each note.

The low soothing hum of air-conditioners, fanning out the heat

and the smells of shops and cafes and offices across the city,

winding up and winding down, long breaths layered upon each

other, a lullaby hum for tired streets.

Jon McGregor, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things

ACTIVITY

5 Extend the following similes.

a His anger rose quickly and fiercely like a fire …b The teacher swept through the room like a hurricane …

ACTIVITY

2 Which of the following figures of speech aremetaphors and which are similes?

a Love is a fragile blossom about to flower.

b The newborn baby was as cute as a cupcake.c The kite danced in the air like a carnival queen.

d The lake was a shimmering mirror, gracefullyreflecting the towering hills.

e He focused the telescope and watchedcarefully like a menacing bird of prey.

f The crocodile opened his mouth to reveal arow of shining white daggers.

3 For each of the phrases a–f, state what effectis created by the use of the figure of speech.

4 Try writing your own metaphors and similesby completing the following sentences using

language figuratively.

Love is …

The moon shone on the sea like a …

The swimmer was a …

He ate hungrily like a ….

The school children crashed through the playgroundlike a bunch of wild animals preparing to corner anddevour their prey.



D Using a wide range of vocabulary

To do well in your exam, you need to show thatyou have a wide vocabulary and the ability tochoose the best words to suit your purpose.

Using a dictionary

One of the most useful tools you have at your

disposal is a dictionary. It helps you to:• find the meaning of a word you do not know

• pronounce the word correctly

• spell the word correctly.

A dictionary is organised in alphabetical order.It is not just the first letter of the word thatcounts. When you have several words startingwith the same two, three or even more letters,you have to go further into each word to find itsalphabetical order.

ACTIVITY

1 Place each of the following sets of words into alphabetical order.

a drastic icing best public free money risk envelope trial silver

b ready rush rattle reason ring robot range roller rider red

c grief grind frit grill grime grid grizzly grin grip grievance

When you want to find a particular word in a dictionary, you should look at the words in bold at the topof the pages. These are the first and last words on that page. They are called guide words. If the wordyou are looking for comes between these two words alphabetically, you are on the correct page.

2 Look at the four words and below the guide words from four pages in a dictionary. Which pagewould you turn to in order to find each word?

skull skate skyscraper skill

Page 966 sixteen sketch Page 968 skin-tight skylark

Page 967 skew skint Page 969 skylight slap

Your dictionary will help you broaden your vocabulary. Start to use it frequently.

ACTIVITY

6 Think about the sounds you hear in a playground and list them.

Now use your ideas to develop your own extended metaphor. You could use the following sentences as your opening.

If you listen, you can hear it. The playground is an orchestra.



Using a thesaurus

The English language is rich in synonyms: words that share asimilar or related meaning. Lists of such words are contained in abook called a thesaurus. Take, for example, the simple word big. Thefollowing words are all synonyms of big:

bulky, burly, enormous, extensive, gigantic, great, huge, immense,inflated, large, massive, ponderous, swollen.

Is it any wonder that examiners despair when students, hoping togain a CXC qualification in English, continue to use the word big?

Using words precisely

A writer can better engage the interest of a reader, and impress anexaminer, by using words with precise meaning. Take the simplesentence: The man walked down the path. Consider how each of thefollowing creates a different impression of how he walked:

With each of these alternatives, the writer is creating a preciseimpression for the reader.

A simple sentence can be further enhanced through the use of

carefully chosen adjectives and adverbs.Take again the simple sentence: The man walked down the path.

The elderly man walked hesitantly down the muddy path.

Adjective: a word which tells you more about a noun (person,place or thing)

Adverb: a word which tells you more about a verb (a word of action)

ACTIVITY

7 Show a wider vocabulary range by writing down the followingsentences and then adding well-chosen adjectives and adverbs:

a The girl spoke to her friend.

b The house stood on the hill.

c The toy was thrown into the room.

d The game was played in the field.

e The laptop was placed on the desk.

8 Using different colours, highlight the adjectives and adverbsyou have used in the sentences.

ACTIVITY

5 Now take the simplesentence:

The girl said this yesterday.

Think of as many differentwords that could be used

to give a more preciseimpression of how the girl‘said this’, for example‘whispered’. List youralternatives.

6 Now look up ‘say’ in athesaurus to see if you canadd to your list.

The man ambled … The man swaggered …The man limped … The man hurried …

The man stumbled … The man staggered …

The man tip-toed … The man strolled …

ACTIVITY

3 Write down as many wordsas you can which have asimilar meaning to the simpleword small.

4 Use a thesaurus to add toyour list.



1.3 Word order

10

A Sentence structures: functions and typesA sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense.

Sentences can have different functions. The main functions are:

• a declaration or statement, for example: ‘Tigers are found ineastern and southern Asia.’

• a question, for example: ‘What happened next?’

• an exclamation, for example: ‘We won the competition!’

• an imperative or directive, for example: ‘Drink six to eightglasses of water a day.’

There are various ways in which sentences can be structured. Thereare three main types of sentence structure:

A simple sentence is the first kind of sentence you learnt to write. Itconsists of one main clause which makes complete sense on it own.For example:

The bus was late. We walked home.

main clause main clause

A compound sentence has two or more main clauses, usuallylinked by the coordinating conjunctions ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘but’. For

example:

The bus was late and we walked home.

main clause conjunction main clause

In a compound sentence, each clause could stand as a sentencein its own right. A compound sentence can contain several mainclauses, for example:

The bus was late and we walked home but it was a long way and we got caught in the rain .

In complex sentences, the clauses are not of equal importance.One clause (the subordinate clause) is dependent on the other (themain clause). A subordinate clause cannot stand as a sentence in itsown right, for example:

He said that the show would start when the audience was seated.

main clause subordinate clause

In the example above the two clauses are linked by thesubordinating conjunction ‘when’. Other examples ofsubordinating conjunctions are ‘because’, ‘while’, ‘although’,‘since’, ‘until’ and ‘after’. These are placed at the beginning of thesubordinate clause.

LEARNING OUTCOMES


• learn about the differentfunctions and types ofsentences

• make sure there is agreementbetween subject and verb,and noun and pronoun

• practise using the correct

tense for a verb• examine the differences

between script, direct speechand reported speech

• think about how to varysentence structure

• experiment with differentsentence structures andlinking words.



Another useful way of forming a sentence is shown below:

The young couple walked along the beach and they spotted aswimmer in trouble near the rocks.

Walking along the beach, the young couple spotted a swimmer introuble near the rocks.

I wore my finest outfit and I cheerfully joined the carnival parade.

Wearing my finest outfit, I cheerfully joined the carnival parade.In the examples above, the second sentence uses the -ing form of theverb is used.

The -ing form of the verb can be used with various other words,such as ‘when’, ‘before’, ‘while’, ‘after’, ‘without’, ‘instead of’. Forexample:

After leaving school, the teacher drove home.

Instead of listening to advice, the student decided to revise in herown way.

You must sign the indemnity form before entering the race.

Aim to experiment with the way you write your sentences.

ACTIVITY

6 Restructure the followingsentences, using the -ing form of the verb at the start.

a The boy runs in the race

and he trips over at thelast hurdle.

b The children walked toschool and they saw a veryunpleasant road accident.

c I saw my best friend on theother side of the street andI called out to her.

d I believed that all wouldturn out for the best and Iput my faith in God.

ACTIVITY

1 Identify each of the sentences below assimple, compound or complex.

a The young man walked down the streetsmiling happily because he had got the job

he wanted.b He walked towards the reception but there

was no one at the desk.c He stopped abruptly.d Although it was almost dark, he could still

see clearly.e They enjoyed the carnival and they won the

prize for best float.

2 Copy and annotate each of the abovesentences to show main clauses, subordinateclauses and coordinating or subordinating

conjunctions.3 Experiment using the conjunctions ‘and’,

‘or’, ‘but’ to form compound sentences bycombining two or more of the followingsimple sentences.

a The shopping centre was crowded.b The young couple went for a coffee.c There was a long queue.d They joined it.e A little girl was crying.f The security man spoke to her.

4 When writing sentences, writers make decisionsaccording to their purpose and audience. Theyvary the structure and type of their sentencesaccording to the needs of their readers. Read the

following extract. Identify the structure of eachsentence. Why do you think the writer has notused complex sentences?

5 Continue the story about Sam and Jasmine,which is written for young children. Use onlysimple and compound sentences. Aim to writebetween eight and ten sentences.

Sam and Jasmine love

to go to the beach. They

like to play on the sand

or sometimes they swim

in the sea. They are both

good swimmers. The

waves are often high

but they don’t mind.Sometimes their Daddy

takes them to the rock-

pools. They take their nets and they look for

little fish. The fish usually escape.



B Agreement within sentences

It is important that the different parts of a sentence match eachother. There are some common mistakes that students make and thatexaminers would like them to avoid.

Subject/verb agreement

The verb in a sentence must agree with its subject in number and inperson:

Subject Verb (singular) Verb (plural)

The child sits

The children sit

The teacher watches

The teachers watch

Mr Jones (i.e. He) waits

Mr Jones and Mr Andrews (i.e. They) wait

Notice how it is the singular verb that often ends in an ‘s’!

Sometimes the subject of a sentence is a collective noun, which is aword that refers to a group. For example: crowd, team, flock, herd. Insuch cases the verb needs to be singular:

However, if the collective noun is a plural, i.e. crowds, teams, flocks,

herds, the verb needs to be plural:

In a long sentence it is easy to forget the subject and so fail to writethe correct form of the verb, for example:

If you ignore the subordinate clause (who used to go to the same

school as George) you can see that this is wrong:

As ‘Wayne and Carole’ is plural, i.e. ‘they’, the verb should matchthis, i.e. ‘were meeting’.

If in doubt, ask yourself: What is the main subject of this clause/ sentence? Is it singular or plural? Is the verb correct?

.

eam s o cr c e er s ra n re u ar .

,eor e, was mee in him in town.

.



Making pronouns match

Pronouns often replace a noun in a sentence and help us to avoidrepetition, for example:

The oysboys went fishing and th y caught several large fish for dinner.

noun pronoun

The most common types of pronouns are:

• personal pronouns: I/me, you, he/him, she/her, we/us, they/them, it

• possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, its.

It is important to make sure that any nouns and pronouns used are inagreement.

ACTIVITY

3 Correct the following sentences to make the underlined nouns and pronouns agree.

a One of the women selling in the market is well known for their sweet-tasting pineapples.

b When my son came in, I told he to go down to town and see the Court’s celebrations.

c The children were crying because they had lost they sweets.

d Peter and I put us food in bags and set out on their bikes for the day.

e It rained at the carnival but she was still a great day out.

ACTIVITY

1 Correct the following sentences to make theverb agree with the subject.

a There are a herd of goats in the field.

b The army are fighting the enemy.c Various teams of student is competing in

the contest.

d The ladies’ group are going to the shops.

e Our parish are supporting that charity.

2 Select the correct form of the verb for each ofthe following sentences.

a The shopkeeper said that imported goodsand local fruit (is/are) never sold in his place.

b When I’m running I feel free, as though all my troubles (is/are) left behind me.c The boy and his mother (searches/search) for his books.

d Neither the dog, which is very large, nor the cat, which is very small, (likes/like) to drink water.

e The price of household goods and clothing (is/are) very reasonable in that store and (makes/make) itvery competitive.



Making tenses match

A tense is a verb form that most often indicates time.

English verbs have two basic tenses: past and present.

These can be simple or continuous, for example:

present pastI run (simple) I ran (simple)I am running (continuous) I was running (continuous)

They can also be perfect, for example:

present perfect past perfectI have run I had runI have been running (continuous) I had been running (continuous)

It is important to make sure that your tenses match within asentence, for example:

She looks across the field and smiles at the child who is playing

happily.The boy slipped and fell into a ditch because he was not lookingwhere he was going.

The children had been running for the bus, but they stopped whenthey realised it was late.

It is possible to mix tenses in the same sentence, but you must alwaysuse the correct form, for example:

past past present

When I first came here I went to the local church, but now I go

to the one in town.

Notice how the word ‘now’ indicates the move from the past to thepresent.

Future time can be expressed in English in a number of differentways using ‘will’ or present tenses, for example:

The children will arrive tomorrow.

The children are going to arrive tomorrow.

The children will be arriving tomorrow.

The children are arriving tomorrow.

The children arrive tomorrow.

ACTIVITY

5 The following sentences are each written in the future tense.

a His mother is going to tell him off.

b The teacher is setting a test tomorrow.

c We will talk when we next meet

d There will be a book sale at the shop next week.

How many other ways can you write them in the future tense?

ACTIVITY

4Correct the followingsentences to make theunderlined verbs agree.

a As she sat by the window,she thinks about the daysshe had spent on vacation.

b After she had reachedhome, my mother beginsto prepare dinner.

c He sat on top of a coveredwell and holds a cold

bottle of Ting in his hand.d Facebook was the site on

the internet I love the mostand I am grateful it wasinvented.

e I have live here all my lifeso I understand why thepeople are doing this.

f This is once a beautifulhouse but now it is just aruin.



C Writing speech

There are three different ways of recording the spoken word: script,direct speech and reported speech.

Script

This method is usually used by writers of plays. It may also be used towrite the transcript of a speech or conversation.

The main features of script are shown below:

Direct speech

Direct speech is often used in narratives or stories. It may also be usedin newspaper reports. The exact words spoken are still used but they

have to be introduced so that the reader knows what is going on.Study the use of direct speech in the narrative and work out thecorrect answers to the questions that follow it on page 16.

On the beach as the sun goes down and night is falling.

ariq: (angrily turning to face Matthew) Who told you I’d be

here

atthew: Nobody told me. I just guessed this was where you’d

come. We always used to come here when we were kids. I ust

guessed … that’s all.

ariq: Well we’re not kids anymore. I’ve got nothing to say to

ou. (shrugs and begins to walk away)

atthew: (following behind) Wait There’s something I have to

tell you. Something that puts you in the clear.

Night was falling on the beach as the sun dipped behind the

horizon. Tariq heard a sound behind him and turned to face his

old friend Matthew.

‘Who told you I’d be here?’ he asked angrily.

‘Nobody told me,’ Matthew replied. ‘I just guessed this was

where you’d come. We always used to come here when we were

kids. I just guessed … that’s all.’

‘Well,’ Tariq responded, with a softer tone to his voice, ‘we’re not

kids anymore. I’ve got nothing to say to you.’ He shrugged and

started to walk away.

‘Wait!’ Matthew shouted following him determinedly. ‘There’s

something I have to tell you. Something that puts you in the

clear.’

ACTIVITY

1 Write your own six to tenlines of script. Decide:

• where the conversationwill take place

• the names of the twocharacters

• what they will say to eachother.

You could base it onconversations you have had inschool.

Remember to use the mainfeatures shown above in yourwriting.



Reported speech

Reported speech, or indirect speech as it is sometimes called, is oftenused in official reports and newspaper articles. Reported speech givesthe same information as direct speech, but in a different way.

ACTIVITY

2 The spoken words are contained within:

a capital letters

b inverted commas

c apostrophes.3 Each time someone begins to speak, the writer:

a leaves a line out

b continues writing on the same line

c starts a new paragraph.

4 Every sentence spoken starts with:

a an exclamation or a full stop

b a capital letter or inverted commas

c a new line or a question.5 Every piece of speech is followed by:

a a question mark

b an exclamation mark

c a punctuation mark.

6 Look back at the script you wrote in Activity 1. Rewrite it as narrative.

7 Underline the spoken words in your script and check that you have presented them correctly.

ACTIVITY

8 Copy and complete this table, rewriting the direct speech as reported speech:

Direct speech Reported speech

‘Who told you I’d be here?’ he asked angrily. He was angry and asked who had told him that

he would be there.‘Nobody told me’, Matthew replied. ‘I justguessed this was where you’d come. We alwaysused to come here when we were kids. I justguessed … that’s all.’

Matthew replied that nobody had told him andthat he had just guessed this was where hewould be. He reminded him that they alwaysused to go there when they were kids andrepeated that all he had done was guess.

‘Well,’ Tariq responded, with a softer tone to hisvoice, ‘we’re not kids anymore. I’ve got nothingto say to you.’

‘Wait!’ Matthew shouted, following himdeterminedly. ‘There’s something I have to tellyou. Something that puts you in the clear.’

As you can see, reported speech requires quite a few changes from direct speech. There are:

• changes of pronouns, for example: nobody told me nobody had told him

• changes of tense, for example: I just guessed he had just guessed

• changes of words to do with time and place, for example: I’d be here he would be there

• changes of verbs, for example: always used to come here always used to go there.

9 Rewrite the direct speech in your own narrative as reported speech. Read it aloud to check that itmakes clear sense.



D Sentence structures and linking words

Good writers consider how to vary sentence structures and length tomake their writing more diverse and interesting. There are many waysof doing this.

Look at the following sentences:

These simple sentences are very repetitive.However, as you saw earlier, short sentencescan be built up into longer sentences by usingthe conjunction ‘and’. But that too can make

sentences sound very repetitive if used too much:

However, there are several other ways in which the details in thissentence could be organised to give emphasis to different points, for

example:

Experimenting with different sentence structures is one of the bestways of ensuring that your writing in the examination is varied andinteresting.

John and Sam are close friends. They metat primary school. They are both 15 yearsold. They both enjoy listening to music.

John and Sam are firm friends and they met at primary school and they areboth 15 years old and they both enjoylistening to music.

Although John and Sam met at primary school, they arenow 15 and still firm friends who enjoy listening to music.

Having met at primary school, John and Sam are firm friends and, both being 15 years old, enjoy listening tomusic.

John and Sam, firm friends who first met at primary schooland are now 15, enjoy listening to music.

At 15 years old, John and Sam, who met at primary schooland are still firm friends, enjoy listening to music.



In order to vary sentences structures you need to be able to:

• vary the order in which you present detail to the reader

• use the right linking words and phrases.Linking words and phrases have a number of different purposes.

ACTIVITY

1 Experiment by rewriting the information contained in thefollowing short sentences in one longer sentence. Try to writethree different longer sentences for each set of sentences, asin this example:

Swarmi ran for the school team. He came first in the 100metres. His team mates applauded him.

a Kylie was crowned carnival queen. She was delighted. Shewon a free makeover for her mother.

b Larissa and Kamal went to the park. They sat on a bench.They talked about their holiday.

c The girl looked through the window. It was dark inside. Shecould see a mysterious figure.

ACTIVITY

2 The most widely used linking words and phrases are listed below. They have a number of differentpurposes. Copy the following table and sort the words and phrases according to their purpose. Youwill find that two columns contain more words than the others.

Words

associated

with time

Words which

identify a

person or thing

Words which

explain

Words which

qualify

Words which

develop

Words which

allow

after who because if so that although

3 Choose ten of the linking words or phrases listed above. For each word you choose, write a sentencecontaining that word.

when in order to whom before because if until

who that in order that unless while as since

although whose even if so that which after

• Having come first in the 100 metres when running for the school team, Swarmi was applauded by his teammates.

• Swarmi’s team mates applauded him because he came first in the 100 metres when running for the school team.

• When running for the school team, Swarmi came first in the 100 metres and his team mates applauded him.



There is a link between the length of sentences and the kind of thingthe writer is trying to say in them. Short sentences are usually clearand to the point. They are ideal for giving instructions.

ACTIVITY

4 If you were a motorist, which of the following sets of directionswould you find most helpful? Explain the reasons for yourchoice.

5 Using short sentences, write a set of clear directions forhow to get from your home to another place you know well.

A t t he road junc tion

turn rig h t. Proceed

f or a bou t 200 me tre s.

A s soon a s you pa s s

t he tra f fic lig h t s ,

turn le f t. Con tinue

f or a p pro xima tely 2

kilome tre s. Pa s s t he

ci ty park. T he sc hool

you are looking f or i s

immedia tely on your

le f t.

W h e n y o u g e t t o t h e r o a d j u n c t i o n , w h i c h i s o f t e n v e r y b u s y , e s p e c i a l l y a t l u n c h h o u r , y o u s h o u l d t a k e a r i g h t - h a n d t u r n . Y o u ’ l l p a s s s o m e s h o p s a n d a s u p e r m a r k e t a n d p o s s i b l y a b a n k b e f o r e y o u g e t t o s o m e t r a f fi c l i g h t s a b o u t 2 0 0 m e t r e s a l o n g t h e r o a d . W h e n y o u g e t t o t h e s e t r a f fi c l i g h t s t u r n l e f t a n d c o n t i n u e d r i v i n g a l o n g t h i s r o a d t h r o u g h s o m e m o r e b u s y s t r e e t s w i t h l o t s o f s h o p s a n d s o m e b u s i n e s s c e n t r e s . Af t e r a b o u t 2 k i l o m e t r e s y o u ’ l l c o m e t o t h e c i t y p a r k , w h i c h i s w h e r e a l l t h e m a i n p a r a d e s s t a r t . G o a l i t t l e b i t f u r t h e r o n p a s t t h i s p a r k a n d y o u ’ l l fi n d t h e s c h o o l s e t b a c k a b i t o n t h e l e f t - h a n d s i d e o f t h e r o a d .



1.4 Punctuation

A The basicsWe do not use punctuation when we speak, so why do we need touse punctuation when we write? Read the extract below and workout some answers to this question.

thesunsetslowlyoverthedistantdeepblueoceanschontalwatcheditwistfullybeforeslowlyrisingfromherchairontheverandaandmovinginsideshewasstruckimmediatelybythecooloftheairconsystemitbreathednewlifeintoherandtoldhertohurryandpreparetheeveningmealasherchildrenwouldsoonbearriving.

You have probably worked out that when we speak we use:

• pauses to separate words and sentences

• tone to give emphasis to questions and exclamations.

When we write we need to:

• leave spaces between words so the reader can see clearly whereone word ends and another starts

• use punctuation to help the reader make sense of what we havewritten – without punctuation, it is almost impossible for a readerto follow what we have written.

You are now going to revise and practise how to punctuate sentencesusing:

• capital letters

• full stops

• question marks

• exclamation marks

• semicolons.

Capital letters

Capital letters are used for a range of different reasons:

• At the start of each sentence: The lady stopped and put her bagdown. She looked around her with a puzzled expression. This townhad changed so much.

• For the personal pronoun I.

• For the first letter of proper nouns (people’s names, place names,names of days and months): On Tuesday Clarence will see Karenand he’ll ask her if she’s coming to the dance in June.

• For the first letter of titles of people and organisations: They askedthe Principal, Mr Jameson, to attend the meeting of the VoluntaryAssociation Committee.

LEARNING OUTCOMES


• work out why we usepunctuation when we write

• revise how to use a widerange of punctuation marks

• practise using a rangeof punctuation marksappropriately.

AZ



• At the beginning of a new piece of direct speech: Angrily, hereplied, ‘They didn’t tell us where they were going.’

• For the main words in titles of books, plays, games, films, etc. Hisfavourite book is T he C ay and his favourite film is T he Lord of the Rings.

Full stops

.The main use of a full stop is to mark the end of a sentence:

The alley was dark and narrow and full of shadows. Thechildren crept nervously through it.

If you do not use full stops to punctuate sentences correctly, readerswill find it very difficult to follow what you have written.

ACTIVITY

1 The following extract has all the correct punctuation apart from capital letters. Rewrite the extractplacing capital letters where needed.

hindus in trinidad celebrate the lesser-knownreligious festival of ganga dashara in ‘youthfulstages’ of the marianne river in the month of

june. devotees spend the day paying homageto several hindu deities, the most importantbeing ganga ma, the river goddess whobrought water to the earth.

a second religious river festival known asoshun takes place in august at the mouth ofthe salybia river in balandra. this orisha festivalis similar to ganga dashara in many ways.

2 Twenty capital letters were needed to correctthe extract. Check your work and see if you identified them all. If not, try again.

ACTIVITY

3 The following paragraph contains six sentences. The sentences have no capital letters at the startand no full stops at the end of them. Read the paragraph through first to make sense of it andto identify the six sentences.

leeches are segmented worms with a sucker at each end forest species hang by their rear suckerwhen a victim brushes past, they catch hold using the front sucker and start feeding leeches that feedon humans are common in rainforests in India they come out during the monsoon leeches usually falloff after feeding, but can attach themselves inside the nostrils of animals and, more rarely, to peoplewho drink from streams

BBC Wildlife Magazine, April 2006

4 Now rewrite the paragraph using capital letters and full stops in the correct places.

5 Read your punctuated version aloud. It should make clear sense. If it does not, you need to rethinkwhere you have placed your punctuation marks.



Question marks and exclamation marks

There are two other punctuation marks that can be used at the endof a sentence.

? The question mark is used to mark the end of a question:How old are you? Who is that girl sitting at the back ?

! The exclamation mark is used to show expression and it is acommand/imperative. It also marks the end of a sentence:Get out now!

! The exclamation mark may also be used at the end of aninterjection: Oh no!

Semicolons

; The semicolon can be used to take the place of a full stopbetween sentences that are closely linked in meaning, forexample: The first book was more interesting, with tales of

mystery and adventure; the second one was just plain boring.

;The semicolon may also be used to separate items in a list,when the items are too long to be separated by commas: Theclass raised the grand total by staging a wide range of events:

a sponsored run through the centre of town; daily cake stallsthroughout November; a book sale in the church hall; and, to theirteachers’ great delight, a sponsored silence.

The use of the semicolon is often very subtle. Look out for it in yourgeneral reading and make a note of how different writers use it.

B Commas and brackets

Commas to separate items on a list

,When you are writing lists in a sentence you need to separatethe items with commas. The final comma before the ‘and’ isusually left out. For example:

If you ever explore this area you find you can go swimming in thewarm ocean, play football on the green, visit a range of exciting

shops and eat the most delicious foods.

ACTIVITY

6 Decide which of the following sentences should end in a fullstop, a question mark or an exclamation mark and rewrite the

paragraph.

ave you ever re d a book you just couldn’t put down —

ell, if not, you need to try Smokescreen — It’s the action —

ook with everything needed to keep you on the edge of your

seat until the very last page — Like all the other books in this —

eries this one’s a winner — Read it now — —



Commas to mark off extra information

,When you give extra information about something orsomebody, you use commas to separate it from the mainsentence. For example:

Alf Johnson, 32, claimed he had bought the car the day before.Mr Johnson, a father of four, was unable to show a receipt andJudge Benjamin Carr, a most respected member of the Courtof Justice, found him guilty of theft.

Commas to separate different parts of a sentence

,Commas help the reader to make sense of what you havewritten. They mark a pause, in the same way as we wouldpause when speaking. Say the following sentence aloud:

Although the bus was late he still got to school on time.

To make clear sense of the sentence, you need to pause after ‘late’.That is where you place your comma:

Although the bus was late, he still got to school on time.

ACTIVITY

1 Copy the following sentences. Place commas between theitems in the lists to make the sentences easier to follow.

a He opened the bag warily and inside found a crumpled notea rusty key some foreign coins a faded photograph and a

suspicious-looking parcel.

b Anti-virus software is provided to protect computers againstinfected files provide support systems and automaticallyupdate virus definitions.

ACTIVITY

2 Copy the following sentences. Underline the words that giveyou extra information and put commas around them:

The street watched in wonder when Charlie Sooner the well-known local hero was up to his tricks again.This time Charlie 72 climbed a ladder to rescue hisneighbour’s cat. Mrs Elkin Charlie’s neighbour for 27 years had called for help when her cat had chaseda bird up a tree and got stuck. Charlie war veteranand grandfather of eight didn’t hesitate.



The best ways to learn how to use commas well are to:

• take notice of how other writers use them

• read your writing aloud, to help you work out where you need toplace the commas.

Brackets

()Brackets may also be used to separate a section of writingfrom the main text so as not to disrupt the flow of thesentence. For example:

C Apostrophes and inverted commas

Apostrophes

’The apostrophe has two uses:

• to show where one or more letters have been missed out(omission)

• to show that something belongs to someone or something

(possession).

ngs on, t e cap a o ama ca, s s tua e on e r c p a ns oiguanea (an ancient Arawak Indian name pronounced Lig-a-nee) etween the cays and banks of the eastern coast and the mightylue Mountains.

arr ve a e or e us y more an r y m nu es u , ue

he rains, it still had not arrived.

ACTIVITY

3 Read the following sentencesaloud. Decide where commasshould be placed.

a He still got to school on

time even though the buswas late.

b On the other hand theremight be a way to fix itsafely.

c Having set the alarmincorrectly Carl was verylate for work.

d Before you open the gatemake sure the dog is in the

kennel.4 Rewrite the sentences placing

the commas correctly.

ACTIVITY5 Read the following extract from a computer manual. Notice

how the commas have been used to help the reader followthe meaning.

6 Write a passage that could be used in a manual or guide. Itcan be based on a thing or a place that you know somethingabout. Aim to write 60–70 words and use sentences that needcommas.

Your computer can catch a virus from disks, a local network orthe internet. Just as a cold virus attaches itself to a human host,a computer virus attaches itself to a program. And just like acold, it is contagious. Like viruses, worms replicate themselves.However, instead of spreading from file to file, they spread from

computer to computer, infecting an entire system.



Using apostrophes for omission

’Instead of saying I am, we often use the shortened form ofI’m, missing out the letter a. The apostrophe is used inwriting to show that a letter or letters have been missed out.

we are we’re is not isn’t

they have they’ve cannot can’t

The apostrophe is placed in the exact spot where the missing letteror letters would have appeared.

Using apostrophes for omission

’We rarely say the house of my friend . We would be morelikely to say my friend’s house. In this case the apostrophe isused to show that the house belongs to the friend. The friend

is the possessor. Where you place the apostrophe depends onwhether the possessor is singular or plural.

Singular Plural, ending in s Plural, not ending

in s

When the possessoris singular, as in thecase of Paul , theapostrophe is placedafter the word andan s is added.

When the possessoris plural and alreadyends in an s, we justadd an apostrophe.

When the possessoris plural but does notend in an s, we addan apostrophe andan s.

For example: thefriend of Paul Paul’s friend

For example: theschool of the girls the girls’ school

For example: thechildren of the men the men’s children

ACTIVITY

1 Copy and complete the following.

it is _________ John is _________ they are ------------ they would _________

I have _________ I will _________ should not ------------ we have _________

2 Copy and complete the following message. Use apostrophes to shorten the underlined words.

3 There are a few commonly used words that do not follow the normal rule. You need to learn these.

will not becomes won’t

shall not becomes shan’t

I would really like to join you on your birthday. Unfortunately, I have a meeting planned for the same date. Hopefully, I will be able to leave a bit early so it shouldnot be too late to meet up with you. It will be good to see you again. Hope you arekeeping well and have not had too many problems with work.



It is important to remember that the possessive words yours, his,hers, its, ours, theirs are not written with an apostrophe. The wordit’s should only have an apostrophe when it is being used as theshortened form of it is.

Inverted commas

‘’ You have already revised how to use inverted commas in

direct speech. Look back to pages 15–16 to refresh yourmemory.

The second main use for inverted commas is when a writer is quotingfrom another text, for example: The recipe instructed the chef to ‘stirin the spices’.

Study the use of inverted commas for quotation by completing thefollowing activities.

ACTIVITY

4 Copy and complete the following:

a the daughter of the woman ____________________________

b the football kits of the boys ____________________________

c the homes of the women ____________________________

d the passengers of the boat ____________________________

e the staffroom of the teachers ____________________________

f the toys of the children ____________________________

ACTIVITY

5 The following passage should contain seven apostrophes toshow possession. Rewrite the passage putting the apostrophesin the correct places.

Abduls mother told him not to go to Muhammedshouse at all during the weeks holiday. However, while she was at work, he borrowed his brothers bikeand went straight there. There was no one in, though the younger childrens toys were still out on thelawn. Abduls window was open and Muhammedclimbed in through it, intending to wait for him.Unfortunately for Muhammed, he was spotted by the neighbours dog and then by the neighbour …



ACTIVITY

6 Read the advert for holidays in Barbados.

7 Now study the extract below, from a student’s writing about the advertisement. The annotations helpyou to understand how to quote correctly from a text.

8 Copy the followingpassage, whichis also about theadvertisement.Add invertedcommas anda colon whereneeded.

The place for you! Barbados is a small but beautiful island with stunning beaches, friendly

people, much to see and do, a serene atmosphere, and some of the best

Caribbean resorts available.

Looking for an island for your Caribbean honeymoon? In Barbados

ou will nd the best Caribbean resorts for your romantic getaway.

Choose from the many Barbados resorts and hotels that offer Caribbean

oneymoon and wedding packages.

Whether it’s for a Caribbean honeymoon, a family vacation or a group

oliday, resorts in Barbados have the ideal accommodation for you.

Let us help you nd the perfect Barbados resort for your Caribbeanoliday! Use our Barbados hotels search or select one of our Caribbean

vacation packages with a choice of several hotels on the Caribbean.

www.barbados.org/HotelsandResorts.htm

The writer targets the reader directly by using the word ‘you’ at the close of the title. The reader is shown

that Barbados is suitable for different types ofholidays, ranging from ‘a Caribbean honeymoon’ to a ‘group holiday’. The appeal to different groups isemphasised in the offer of ‘ideal’ accommodation forall. The advertiser reveals its function in the sentence:‘Let us help you find the perfect Barbados resort foryour Caribbean holiday!’

The opening list with its stunning beaches, friendly people,much to see and do is designed to tempt the reader. The notion that this is the best place to go to is emphasised by the use of the word perfect. It is recommended as a romantic location throughits direct appeal to newly weds Looking for an island for yourCaribbean honeymoon? The directives use and select further target and persuade the reader.

Quotation marksare placedbefore andafter the wordstaken from theadvertisement.

More than onequotation canbe used in the

same sentence.

A quotation canbe used to giveemphasis to aparticular wordor phrase.

A colon canbe used tointroducea longerquotation.



1.5 Paragraphing

A What is a paragraph?Most writing is organised into paragraphs. This helps the reader tofollow more easily the points being made. Each paragraph marks anew stage or idea in the writing. In handwritten texts a new paragraphis usually signalled by the writer starting a new line about an inch infrom the margin. In typed texts a writer sometimes leaves a line out.

The first sentence of a paragraph is sometimes called the topicsentence. It often gives you a clue as to what the paragraph is goingto be about. Read ‘A Star is Born’ on page 29 and use the topicsentences to help you identify what each paragraph is about.

Sentence order

Sentences should follow a logical order within a paragraph. Here is asentence breakdown of the first paragraph of the passage:

Sentence 1 – statement about Rihanna’s childhood

Sentence 2 – information about her birth

Sentence 3 – information about her parents

Sentence 4 – information about the school she attended whenher parents split up

Sentence 5 – information about her interest in music at this time

As you can see, there is a logical order in the way the details aregiven to the reader.

As well as having a logical order, the sentences of a paragraph mustbe coherently linked. Highlighting parts of the sentences can help youto see the connections between sentences. The highlighted parts ofthe following paragraph show you the connections of ideas withinand between sentences.

LEARNING OUTCOMES


• use topic sentences tohelp you to identify what aparagraph is about

• learn how to link ideas withinand between sentences in aparagraph

• decide on a logical order fora series of paragraphs

• learn how to link paragraphs

• learn how to plan forparagraphing.

ACTIVITY

1 Look again at the paragraph above. List:

• all the direct references to Rihanna

• all references to the time when her parents split up.

There was nothing too unusual about Rihanna’s childhood. She was born

as Robyn Rihanna Fenty on 20 February 1988 in the Parish of St Michael,

Barbados. Her father Ronald was Bajan and her mother, Monica, was

Guyanese; they split when Rihanna was fourteen. At the time she wasattending the Combermere High School in Waterford, St Michael. She

always enjoyed singing to friends and family and it was at about this time

that she formed a musical group with a couple of her classmates.



There was nothing too

unusual about Rihanna’s

childhood. She was born as

Robyn Rihanna Fenty on 20

February 1988 in the Parish

of St Michael, Barbados.Her father Ronald was

Bajan and her mother,

Monica, was Guyanese;

they split when Rihanna

was fourteen. At the time

she was attending the

ombermere High School

n Waterford, St Michael.

She always enjoyed singing

to friends and family and

t was at about this timethat she forme a musical

roup with a couple of her

classmates.

Things changed for the

young Rihanna in December

2003. A friend introduced

her to Evan Rogers, a music

producer from New York

ity who was on holiday in

Barbados. From that point

on, she never looked back.

Together with Rogers, andco-producer Carl Sturken,

she produced a demo CD

containing twelve songs.

The demo disc was sent to

various record labels and

people in the music industry

and eventually it led to her

signing a deal with the label

Def Jam Recordings.

Success was soon to follow.

n August 2005, the Def Jam

abel launched Rihanna’s

ebut album entitled

Music of the Sun which

made number 10 on the

US Billboard 200 chart. In

ess than a year, Rihanna’s

second album entitled A

Girl Like Me was released.

t turned platinum and its

rst single, ‘SOS’, topped

the charts, with a second

entitled ‘Unfaithful’ also becoming an international

it.

n her short time at the top

Rihanna has sold millions

of albums all over the world

and has been awarded a

number of titles including

‘World’s Best Pop Selling

Female Artist’ in 2007’sWorld Music Awards and

‘Favorite Pop/Rock Female

Artist’ in 2008’s American

Music Awards. In 2008 she

also received her very rst

Grammy Award: ‘Best Rap/

Sung Collaboration’ for her

single ‘Umbrella’. Rihanna

has been conrmed for this

year’s edition of the famous

Rock in Rio festival. The

event is one of the biggest

music festivals in the world

and will take place in Rio de

aneiro, Brazil.

A Star is Born

ACTIVITY

2 Now copy the second paragraph from thepassage below. Track the references to thehighlighted words through the paragraph andhighlight them.

3 Write a coherent paragraph about yourselfthat could be included in a biography.Remember that ideas:

• need to follow a logical order

• should make links within and betweensentences.

4 Highlight the links you have made within yourparagraph.

Things changed for the young Rihanna in December

2003. A friend introduced her to Evan Rogers, a music

producer from New York City who was on holiday in

Barbados. From that point on, she never looked back.

Together with Rogers, and co-producer Carl Sturken,

she produced a demo CD containing twelve songs.

The demo disc was sent to various record labels and

people in the music industry and eventually it led to

her signing a deal with the label Def Jam Recordings.



B Ordering and linking paragraphs

As you have seen, you need to organise your ideas in a logical orderwithin a paragraph. The paragraphs themselves also need to besequenced in a logical order.

As you will have realised, there are a number of different ways in whichthese paragraphs could be organised logically. The journalist finallydecided to place his first four paragraphs in the following order:

• The history of tourism in the Caribbean• Why tourists come to the Caribbean

• Popular tourist destinations

• The importance of tourism to the Caribbean economy

Having a paragraph outline made the writing easier. As the journalistwas not using subheadings, he then had to ensure that his paragraphswere linked in a logical way. While each paragraph moves the reader onto a new area, the paragraphs are linked by their opening sentences.

ACTIVITY1 A journalist is writing an article entitled ‘Tourism in the

Caribbean’. Below is a list of the seven different areas heintends to cover in seven paragraphs. Decide the best orderfor him to cover these areas.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

a The importance of tourism to the Caribbean economy

b Why tourists come to the Caribbean

c How tourism can be improved

d Problems created by tourism

e Popular tourist destinations

f What the local people say about tourists

g The history of tourism in the Caribbean

ACTIVITY

2 Read the four paragraphs written by the journalist on the next page.

3 Correctly match the following annotations tothe opening sentence of each paragraph.

• Refers to tourists of the past and today

• Refers to tourists of the past

• Refers to tourists of today and tourists ofthe future

• Refers to tourists of today

4 The journalist still has three paragraphs towrite. They are about:

• how tourism can be improved

• problems created by tourism

• what the local people say about tourists.

Write an appropriate opening sentence foreach of these paragraphs.





C Planning for paragraphs

The writer of the article about tourism in the Caribbean found ithelpful to have an outline of what he wanted to write about in eachparagraph. Before you can develop a paragraph plan, you need tothink about your subject and gather ideas connected with it.

Take, for example, the following task:Write an article for a school magazine in which you inform otherstudents and parents about a recent school event.

Start by identifying the purpose (what you are hoping to achieve)and the audience (who you are writing for) and highlight these in thequestion.

The next step is to make a note of ideas connected with the subject. You could list these or use a spidergram, as shown below.

Once you have ideas, they need to be grouped and put in order. Youcould use four headings your ideas, for example:

Each paragraph heading can now be used as a ‘hook’ on which tohang your ideas, and you may think of new ideas to add. For example:

Paragraph 1 – preparations

Paragraph 2 – performances

Paragraph 3 – judging

Paragraph 4 – success

Talent contest

Staff/pupils – auditions

and rehearsals

7 p.m. on 6 June – parents

come – everyone verynervous

Singing/dancing/magic/comedy – worstand best acts – votes for

best act

Judges – no teachers– community

leaders

Money going to supportschool sports teams

Hall packed – tickets $2

Principal speech atstart – applause atend – everyone happy



• Preparations: auditions and rehearsals – 7 p.m. on 6 June schoolhall – parents come – Principal’s speech

• Performances: everyone very nervous – singing/dancing/magic/ comedy – worst and best acts

• Judging: judges – no teachers – community leaders – votes forbest act – tension – winner

• Success: hall packed – applause at end – everyone happy – tickets$2 – $300 raised for school sports teams

Linking words

As you saw on Activity 3 on page 30, writers sometimes linkparagraphs through the topic sentences. It is also possible to makeconnections between paragraphs by using a range of linking wordsand phrases. Here are some words and phrases that are useful forlinking paragraphs.

LINK

Look back at page 18. Makea list of the linking words andphrases given to you there.Add the words and phrasesprovided here to that list andlearn them all.

ACTIVITY

1 Choose one of the following writing tasks.

• Write an article for your local newspaper advising parentson the most effective ways of dealing with their teenagechildren.

• ‘Jewellery should not be allowed in schools.’ Write an essaygiving your views on this subject.

• Write a letter to an aunt who has been living in the USfor the past 20 years and is visiting you and your family.Describe the place you live in and tell her of your plans forher visit.

2 Identify your audience and purpose.

3 Draw a spidergram and put down as many ideas as you canconnected with your subject.

4 Decide on four paragraph headings under which to groupyour ideas.

5 Sort your ideas according to these paragraph headings,adding new ideas if you have them.

Ho we ve r

…

F i r s t l y …

Secondly …T h i r d l y …

F i na l l y …

Ne ver t he less …

A s we l l a s …

S i m i l a r l y …

I n co n t

ras t to .

..

A s a dir ect con sequen ce of t his …

Furthermore …N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g …

This does not mean that …

With regard to …



1.6 Putting it all together

LEARNING OUTCOMES


• review your learning in thisunit

• complete a piece of extendedwriting

• complete an extensionactivity.

ACTIVITY

1 Word choice

Rewrite the following paragraph by changing and adding wordsto show you have a wide range of vocabulary.

2 Word order

In the following paragraphs, the writer has made several errorswith subject/verb agreement, use of pronouns and use of tenses.Rewrite the paragraphs, correcting the errors.

I’ve been interested in running ever since I was about 10 and watch Usain Bolt winning three gold medalsin the Beijing Olympics. I find that running area great way to keep fit and lose weight. You don’tneed to have the proper running shoes or clothes togo running though they does help. I only wears my Puma trainers for running so that me don’t wear them out too quickly.

Since I start running, I’ve joined a club and nowhave a coach and my times is really improving.He make us work hard but she worth it. Last week Iran my personal best in the 200 metres. When merunning me feel free, as though all me troubles isleft behind and I don’t need to worry about anythinganymore. My mother’s also very happy about it. Hersays it keep me out of trouble!

We were waiting for the bus when it arrived. The driver tookus to the bus station in town. When we got there we decided

to go to the shops. Having spent about two hours shopping, we decided to meet up with some other friends. They met usin town. The first thing we did was go back to their house

to drop off our bags as they were so heavy. Then we set offback to town. We stopped at a café and had some lunchbefore going on to the market. There were lots of things to see

there, including a really good toy stall where I bought myChristmas presents for all my nephews and nieces.



3 Paragraphing

Look back at the paragraph plan you made on page 33. You arenow going to use it to help you write four paragraphs on yourchosen essay title. Remember to:

• write for purpose and audience

• use similes and metaphors if appropriate• vary your vocabulary

• vary your sentence structures

• write in organised and linked paragraphs

• use punctuation accurately to help your reader follow your ideas.

4 Punctuation

The following paragraph has been written without punctuation.Copy it and punctuate it correctly.

the future holds many dreams and many worries for all of us i dontknow any student who knows what he or she wants to do onleaving school do you theres a part of me which would just like toforget about getting qualifications and a job and travel the worldhowever i know that if i did that my mum would kill me and myaunty sarah would probably never talk to me again mr sweeneymy geography teacher thinks i should try to become a surveyorand i think i might enjoy that id need good grades in my exams sothat I could go on and study further

E x t e

n s i on

Punctuation

An ellipsis is a form of punctuation. It appears as threedots following a word.

An ellipsis may be used in the middle of a quotation to indicatethat some words have been left out, for example:

The Minister said that, despite the current economicdepression, ‘the signs with regard to employment andoverseas sales … were promising for future security’.

Some writers may use an ellipsis at the end of a story to suggestthat something is about to happen, for example:

The boy turned sharply. He knew now what lay behind that

dark and threatening door. Slowly, he turned the key …

At other times they may use it in the middle of a story to marka pause in the action or the passage of a period of time, forexample:

All was quiet in the homestead as the sun set behind thedistant mountains …

Day broke and with it came the cries of the children.

Look out for the use of the ellipsis when you are reading. Collectexamples of it being used effectively and experiment with usingit occasionally in your own writing.

…



for CSEC®

A Caribbean Examinations Council® Study Guide

Developed exclusively with the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®), this study guide willprovide candidates in and out of school with additional support to maximise their performance

in CSEC® English A.

Written by an experienced team comprising teachers and experts in the CSEC® English A

syllabus and examination, this study guide covers the elements of the syllabus that you must

know in an easy-to-use double-page format. Each topic begins with the key learning outcomes

from the syllabus and contains a range of features designed to enhance your study of the

subject, such as:

Engaging activities to transfer theory into practice and extend understanding

Links to illustrate where skills are shared between topics.

Examination-style practice questions to build confidence ahead of your examinations

This comprehensive self-study package includes a fully interactive CD, containing multiple-

choice questions and sample examination answers with accompanying examiner feedback, to

build your skills and confidence as you prepare for the CSEC® English A examination.

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC®) has worked exclusively with NelsonThornes to produce a series of Study Guides across a wide range of subjects at CCSLC®,CSEC® and CAPE®. Developed by expert teachers and resource persons, these StudyGuides have been designed to help students reach their full potential as they studytheir CXC® programme.

Date post:	01-Jun-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	imanuel31
View:	556 times
Download:	8 times

CSEC ENGLISH A SAMPLE GUIDE

Documents