Review/revision
P1 Writing Practice
These pages contain sample Paper 1 prompts and advice for how to prepare for the exams. This page provides a range of sample tasks that may be set in Paper 1 Writing. This page gives you an overview of...
Assessment
Paper 1 Mock exam 2
This is a complete Paper 1 mock exam that can be used for summative assessments or mock examinations. There is an explanation of the design of the exam, the paper itself, and marking notes to help you...
Assessment
Paper 1 Mock exam 1
This is a complete Paper 1 mock exam that can be used for summative assessments or mock examinations. There is an explanation of the design of the exam, the paper itself, and marking notes to help you...
Review/revision
Sample Paper 1 tasks
This page provides a range of sample tasks that may be set in Paper 1 Writing. Note that the specifications for paper setters are that each task should contain: a context ... a brief description of the...
eBook
About America
American culture is a major part of the Anglophone world due to the influence of the media. Many of us have formed our opinions based on what we view or read about America. This page contains a reading...
Assessment
A diagnostic sample
The essence of improving students' command of the language in English B is to (i) analyse each student's command in detail so as to identify flaws and weaknesses, and then (ii) draw the student's attention...
Assessment
Language analysis
'Analytical marking' describes a disciplined, methodical approach where an examiner studies a text in detail to find solid evidence of performance. These indicators are then classified and ranked consistently...
Assessment
Anatomy of errors
When marking, obvious language errors can blind us to a student's actual linguistic competence. Simply counting mistakes is a simplistic way to judge performance. Instead, we must analyse the *types*...
Assessment
Bloopers, analysed
A 'blooper' is an embarrassing error that reveals flaws in a student's linguistic understanding. These flaws, along with their root causes, generally fall into five distinct categories: grammar, vocabulary...
Assessment
Writing criteria, unpacked Free
This page offers a detailed breakdown of the assessment criteria for Paper 1. It covers both Standard and Higher Level. You can use this as a reference tool to check your understanding of how the examiner...