Exam Timings

The language exam will last for 2 hours and it is split into 4 main sections. Each section has a different number of marks allocated to it and you should be careful not to spend too long on questions that are not worth a lot of marks.

Section A	This is always a question that will give you an unseen extract and ask you to write about it. It is testing your ability to read a new text and understand it without the help of your teacher. There will be 3 or 4 questions in this section with the last question always being worth the most marks. Questions 1 and 2 are usually worth very few marks so race through those by keeping your answers very short and spend the majority of your time on the last question. Make sure you check the marks allocated to each question very closely here so you do not write a big answer for a question that is only worth one mark. If a question is worth one mark it is likely that you should only write one point and if there are three marks then you should make three points. If there are twelve marks available for a question and you are asked to write about three bullet points then you should have three paragraphs in your essay and make 4 points about each bullet point. Some questions ask you to write in your own words in this case it is important that you do not quote as then you will not be writing in your own words and will get no marks.	20 marks	40 mins
Section B(i)	This is always a question based on one of the Language Anthology Section A extracts that we have studied in class. You will be asked to write an analytical essay about these extracts in exactly the same way that you would usually write an essay about your literature texts. As such it is really important that you remember to write PEE paragraphs and include quotations from the text to support your points. This question is testing your ability to read and so spelling and grammar are not awarded but they are still important in creating a good impression. This question is worth 10 marks and so you should spend about 20 minutes on it.	10 marks	20 mins
Section B (ii)	This is always a question which asks you to write in a certain style, it can be persuasive, explanatory, informative, descriptive or any other style When you answer this question you should remember the following: Work out the GAP before you start writing Make sure you write in the correct Genre Make sure you appeal to the correct Audience Make sure you write to achieve the correct Purpose Plan 3-4 main points that you want to make Use these 3-4 main points as the basis for your paragraphs Use sophisticated vocabulary Vary your sentence length and structure Use colons, semi-colons and pairs of commas Don’t stick to the truth make up interesting but realistic things	10 marks	20 mins
Section C	This is always a question that asks you to write to inform, explain or describe. This question is worth one third of the total marks for the paper so make sure that you leave yourself enough time on it to do it justice. Spend a few minutes at the start planning your answer. Remember the following: Work out the GAP before you start writing Make sure you write in the correct Genre Make sure you appeal to the correct Audience Make sure you write to explain and not persuade or describe, although your answer may have an element of these other Purposes Plan 5-6 main points that you want to make Use these 5-6 main points as the basis for your paragraphs Use sophisticated vocabulary Vary your sentence length and structure Use colons, semi-colons and pairs of commas Don’t stick to the truth make up interesting but realistic things	20 marks	40 mins