Dear Grade XI

I am assuming that you all will be utilizing this day off to prepare for your tests tomorrow. Following are
some tips that you need to keep in mind while preparing for your English Language test:

Carefully read the test syllabus document so that you are aware of what you need to review for the test.

Take a close look at the guidelines, formats and also the final writings to review your mistakes, so that
you do not end up making them again in the test.

For passage A

Factual Comprehension- 15 marks

 When you attempt the comprehension, read the questions first to identify their types.
 Then move to reading of the passage and annotate important facts as you read the passage.
 Begin to answer the questions, when you do, look at the number of marks the question
contains.
 A two mark question will usually have two relevant ideas in the passage.
 If you get a ‘list’ question, number your two or three responses.
 Write short to the point responses. You could begin the answer using a pronoun or an article.
 In the vocabulary question, you are required to write detailed responses, explaining the in
context meaning as the question carries two marks.

Do NOT:

 Repeat the question in the answer.

 Begin with a conjunction like: because.

For passage B

Summary- 15 marks

Relatively known as continuous writing. This task would require you to:

 Read the question to ascertain the objective.

 Circle key words in the question.
 Annotate ONLY facts from the reading passage, also number them.
 You could also write replacement words for certain words or phrases you annotated in the
reading passage.
  Begin to write the summary of 120 words.
 Remember that 10 marks are for content development, so you will have to use around 9 to 10
facts from the passage. Even if you find more facts from the passage, you will only use 9 or 10 in
the order of importance, for the summary.
 5 marks are denoted to the quality of writing, which will be awarded for being able to change
the ideas into your own words, entirely, and using a variety of sentence structures. (Active,
passive, simple, complex sentences.)
 Create compound sentences using conjunctions to give an effect of continuity.

Practice any summary from the past papers booklet.

For Passage C

Vocabulary- 10 marks

Question2a- Will require you to find replacement words from the passage , when looking for a
replacement word which gives the same ‘effect’ you are not looking for a synonym, rather, a word that
creates the same impression as the word in the question. To be able to select the correct answer, one
should do effective reading of the passage by making notes to assess implicit details, which in turn will
help in being able to find words that create a similar impression as the words given in the question.

Question 2b- Write detailed in context meanings of the words/ phrases given in the question.

Question 2c- This is a writer’s effect question, when writing the response you will have to focus on feel
factor and describe the effect that the writer tried to create by the use of certain words/phrases. It is
also important to quote a phrase from the passage to further strengthen your response/explanation.

Question 2d- This is a detailed writer’s effect question, which would require you to write a response of
200-300 words.

Ideally, you will begin your answer by discussing the overall effect of the words and phrases given in the
passage. Then with the help of quoting three or four phrases, you will discuss the literal and implicit
meaning of those words to highlight the effect created by the writer. You will conclude the response by
discussing the impact it has on you as a reader. This template for the answer will be used for both
responses of the question individually.

Practice- The vocabulary and writer’s effect questions related to the passage called ‘My first job’ from
your past paper booklet. We had recently attempted a directed writing task on ‘Report Writing’
following the same passage.
Question 3- Directed Writing

You will be required to write a response of 250-350 words on any One of the following:

 Formal/Informal letter
 News/formal report
 Journal entry
 Magazine article
 You need to be prepared to attempt any ONE of these writing tasks and for this you need to
revise the formats and guidelines.
 Review sample writings, or your own final writings to reflect on mistakes made.
 You will be required to write a response of 250-350 words.
 Follow the instructions given in the question, if the question directs you to begin with a certain
phrase, follow that, otherwise use the standard format shared with you.
 When you attempt this task, it is advised to first read the question and circle keywords from the
question.
 Ascertain the voice, audience, register, purpose.
 Then annotate relevant ideas from the passage labelling them as R1, R2 and R3 with a pencil
 You will use the annotated details both explicitly and implicitly to develop your final writing.

Time management is a crucial part of your test. You will have two hours to attempt all of this, so work
yourself backwards. Attempt passage C first, then passage B and end it with attempting the factual
comprehension related to passage A.

Good luck!