Transcript Revising the comprehension paper

Revising the
comprehension paper
Aim
To know what you need to do in
each section of Paper 2
Inference practice
 Explain what the two meanings of the
language used in the cartoons is
Section A - Editing
 Identify which tense it is written in in the first
line – it will help you to identify tense errors
elsewhere.
 Be careful with spelling errors – could it be a
word that you don’t know?
 Look for errors in punctuation, grammar,
spelling, concord (subject/verb agreement),
word spacing etc etc.
 You can underline more than 10 errors – you
will get the marks for the ones you underline
correctly.
Section B – Modified Cloze
 Identify the verb form being used first – it will help you to
complete the correct form later on but BE CAREFUL –
may be using another tense (e.g. continuous, perfect etc)
 You need to put in the correct form of the word in brackets.
The answer may be the same as the word in brackets,
depending on the tense.
 Watch out for irregular verbs e.g. p.p. of lead is not
‘leaded’, it is led.
 Also be aware of auxiliaries and modals e.g. (is + another
verb) as you may need to change both verb forms.
 Remember CONCORD – plural noun may take a different
verb form to a singular noun.
Section C: Comprehension
cloze
 Write in the most likely word – there may
be a selection of answers, or there may
be only one, so be as precise as you can
be.
 Use the context of the sentence and the
passage to help you (has the word been
used before?)
 Check carefully and don’t rush through it.
Section D: General
pointers
 Take time to read the passage before you attempt the
questions.
 Read the questions, then re-read the passage, seeking
the answers.
 Look for the answer in the text, but be careful that what
you are writing down answers the question –
sometimes lifting means that you will not get the mark
for it.
 Take note of the marks available – 1 mark questions
may be a simple answer, 2 or 3 mark questions will
require more detail and a range of points.
 Take note of which paragraph the question is about –
don’t take an answer from another paragraph as you
will inevitably be wrong.
Section D: Question types
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
‘Extract’ question – e.g. ‘Which country did Tiger Balm
originate from’ – simply requires you to find the answer
and write down.
‘Own Words’ question – e.g. ‘In your own words, tell us
how the Aw brothers divided the work amongst
themselves’ – you must paraphrase, or you WILL NOT
get the marks.
‘Quote/Phrase’ question – ‘Quote a phrase to show
that many people use Tiger Balm Oil’ – be selective, as
a phrase is not the whole sentence!
‘Language interpretation’ question – e.g. ‘What does
‘change the fortune’ mean?’ – try to interpret what this
phrase could mean.
‘Inference’ question – e.g. ‘What does ‘household
name’ tell you about the success of Tiger Balm oil?’ –
the answer is not stated directly, so you must interpret
and read between the lines
Section D: vocabulary
question
 Look at how the word is being used in the sentence:
identify what word class it is (e.g. adjective, verb, noun,
adverb).
 If you think you know what the word is already, check
how it is being used, as the same word can have
different meanings (remember the cartoons?)
 You can use a phrase or a word to replace the word
used, but always link with ‘and’ e.g. ‘moved and put in
a new place’ would be accepted, but ‘moved, put in a
new place’ ‘moved’ would be the only accepted
answer, as anything after the comma would be
removed.
Section D: summary
question
 10 marks for points, 5 marks for language (mainly
grammar, spelling & use of paraphrasing/own words)
 Try to identify key points being made, and don’t get
distracted by exemplification (examples) of that point.
 You must paraphrase, or you will score a very low
language mark (only 1-2 marks).
 Make sure you spell things from the passage correctly –
you will be heavily penalised if not.
 You can get away with 125 words – but any more will
be crossed out and not marked (and the marker will
count your words so don’t try to be sneaky with saying
you’ve written less than you have)
 Leave plenty of time for the summary question – it is
worth 15 marks / 80 marks.
Timing on the
comprehension paper
Total time for paper: 1 hour, 40 minutes
(100 minutes total)
SECTION A: 10 minutes (10m)
SECTION B: 15 minutes (15m)
SECTION C: 15 minutes (15m)
SECTION D (questions): 35 minutes (25m)
(summary): 20 minutes (15m)
CHECKING ANSWERS: 5-10 minutes