Cambridge O Level English Language
Student’s Book Answers
The Student’s Book answers have been written by the authors and are for guidance only. They
contain points that students could select in their answers; note that other answers may be
acceptable.
General Marking Guidance
Teachers using these answers are advised to keep the following points in mind at all times:
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The answers provided for the Reading Comprehension and Summary exercises indicate the
main details that are required for a correct response but, with the exception of those for the
very straightforward, one-mark fact-retrieval questions, these exemplar answers should not be
considered as definitive or exclusive. Be prepared to use your professional judgement to
reward responses other than those given in the answer booklet as long as they show a clear
understanding of the question.
Teachers, knowing their students’ aptitude and abilities, may amend and re-focus the printed
comprehension questions as they consider appropriate.
Throughout the various chapters in the book, we have provided specimen student responses to
the main question types (Summary, Composition, etc.), supported by comments and analysis.
Teachers should take note of these comments and apply them in their marking of students’
responses to similar tasks within the book.
It is not practicable to give specific guidance for marking students’ responses to the
Summary, Directed Writing and Composition tasks. We have noted below the main points to
be considered, and teachers should adapt these to meet the requirements of their own
department’s marking policy.
Summary questions:
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For the Reading element of the task, teachers should evaluate the range of relevant ideas
referred to in the response and how effectively these have been selected and applied.
For the Writing element, teachers should evaluate how clearly the ideas have been expressed,
the fluency of the writing and how concisely the response has been written.
In addition to the above, teachers should assess how effectively the response has been
organised, the student’s use of their own words and/or grammatical structures, and the
application of appropriate vocabulary which clarifies meaning.
Directed Writing questions:
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For the Writing element of the task, teachers should evaluate how coherently and effectively
the content of the response has been conveyed, the range and appropriateness of the
vocabulary used, and how well the student has used a range and variety of sentence structures
and types, including complex sentences. The accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar
should also be taken into account.
Composition questions:
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Content and Structure: Teachers should evaluate how effectively a student has used a range
of descriptive or narrative techniques to convince and engage their readers and, in particular,
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the use of language to convey clearly what is thought or imagined and the writer’s ability to
structure and organise the response clearly in order to achieve deliberate effects.
Style and Accuracy: For this aspect of the task, teachers should assess the range, precision
and effectiveness of the vocabulary used in the response and how well the student has used a
range and variety of sentence structures and types, including complex sentences. The accuracy
of spelling, punctuation and grammar should also be taken into account.
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Chapter 1 Reading and writing skills
Unit 1 Becoming a better reader
Exercise 1 (page 14)
1
Possible answers to summaries of the paragraphs:
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2
On the first leg of the journey on the Simplon-Orient-Express, from London to Paris, a
sumptuous four-course dinner is served in a beautiful dining car.
 At the Paris station, Gare de l’Est, passengers can compare their experience with the
original 1883 travellers and most travellers of today.
 As night falls the train travels through eastern France and into northern Switzerland and
passengers can wake to see a completely different landscape of lakes and mountains.
 In the morning, the train passes through the mountains of Liechtenstein and Austria and,
after a stop in Innsbruck, heads south through the Brenner Pass to Italy while lunch is
served.
 As the train heads to Verona, it is clear that the landscape is now Mediterranean, not
central European.
 After passing through the countryside around Vicenza and the city of Padua, the passengers
can take afternoon tea before they arrive in Venice where they can walk out of the station
onto the bank of the Grand Canal.
Possible questions students might ask (these are examples only):
 Where does the Simpson-Orient-Express start and finish?
 Answer: London Victoria to Venice
 Which countries does it go through?
 Answer: England, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy
 What meals are served?
 Answer: Dinner, breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea
 What cities does it go through?
 Answer: London, Paris, Innsbruck, Trento, Verona, Padua and Venice
 On what date did the first Orient Express depart
 Answer: 4 October 1883
Students should then discuss how the sequence of landscapes and meals conveys the progress
of the journey and the comfort which the travellers enjoy, in order to make the connection
with the writer’s viewpoint and purpose (to convey why the journey is so enjoyable) and
understand the second half of the Exercise
Exercise 2 (page 19)
1
The behaviour of Southern Right Whales:
 They come close inshore.
 They feed by swimming near the surface with their mouths open so they take in small
creatures with the seawater.
 Their home is in the Antarctic but every three years they come to Australia to breed.
 They go back home in October.
 The females do not eat while they are in Australian waters.
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2
Why Southern Right Whales are suitable for hunting:
 They could be hunted in small (land-based) boats.
 After being killed they floated.
 Their blubber was rich in valuable oil.
What the writer felt about her experience of visiting Australia and of watching whales:
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It was a long journey
Sad that the whales were once endangered
Pleased they are now safe
Disappointed that at first they saw nothing, then thrilled when they appeared
Thrilled on the second day when they saw so many whales
Could not understand why so many whales had been killed
Impressed by everything they had seen in Australia but especially the whales
Exercise 3 (page 21)
1
Explanations should be similar to the following examples:
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2
3
Of all living creatures, humans have the best developed ability to communicate with each
other.
 At the beginning, the electric telegraph was not seen as a serious form of communication /
it was not considered to be necessary as there were already other methods of
communication.
 A huge network of wires allowing communication all around the world had been
developed.
The signals carried by submarine cables were too slow to carry the vibrations from human
voices.
Although more cables had been laid, many more telephone calls were being made and the
system could not cope. The solution was the use of satellite transmission.
Unit 2 Becoming a better writer
Exercise 1 (page 27)
Sample sentences:
1 My cousins have been staying with us; I was sad when they had to go home but we will see
them next month.
All the family were mournful after the death of my grandmother.
The abandoned house was a forlorn place and needed some people to take care of it.
As the light outside became darker the room became gloomy and started to make me feel
slightly afraid.
The man in the last house in the village was morose, hardly speaking to anybody and always
in a bad mood.
2 This exercise is difficult and I am having to work very hard to answer the questions.
He was a demanding teacher, always pushing us to try new things.
When we looked inside my grandfather’s old watch we saw it was an intricate system of tiny
parts and were not sure if we could find someone to repair it.
After I tripped on the stairs, my knee was painful for several weeks.
George was a troublesome pupil and made it difficult for his classmates to concentrate.
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3
4
I am learning to speak a foreign language but I am finding it difficult.
It is good to converse with a range of different people as you can discuss many different
topics.
My sister was angry and muttered something but I could not make out what she was saying.
The President proclaimed that there would be a new National Holiday on 1 June each year.
We are not allowed to talk during the school assembly.
A new house has just been built beside the river but we don’t know who is going to live there.
The hut high in the mountains was a strange dwelling but the young man enjoyed living there.
Lakes and rivers are the normal habitat for most freshwater fish.
I enjoyed our holiday abroad but it was good to get back home.
The President lives in a huge mansion in the centre of the city.
Exercise 2 (page 28)
Sample sentences:
1 I was delighted to accept the prize for best student. (I received the prize.)
We had to except the answer Team B gave for question two in the quiz because it did not
correspond to the question. (We had to leave it out.)
2 Altogether, the points made by Party X seemed better than those made by Party Z. (Taking
everything into consideration.)
The group came from many parts of the country, but we set up the camp all together. (We did
it as a whole group.)
3 The pupil had a bad conscience when she knew she had lied to the teacher about what had
happened in the playground.
After the accident, the man remained conscious so he could tell the hospital staff what had
happened.
4 The pirates kept the hoard of gold in a cave. (Hoard usually refers to a collection of objects of
value, hidden for future use.)
A horde of insects made a nest in our roof. (Horde usually refers to an uncontrolled collection
of individuals.)
5 I needed a lot of patience when helping my cousin to do his homework as it took him a very
long time.
When I went to the hospital, there were fifteen patients who needed to be seen before me.
6 Mary alluded to Jane being with her when they had left school early but never actually said
her name.
Our football team almost won the championship three times, but the prize eluded them as they
lost each time.
7 The clothes I wear are kept in drawers or hung up in a cupboard.
We use different cloths for cleaning furniture and for cleaning ourselves.
8 The performer tried to elicit a round of applause from the audience by telling lots of funny
stories.
J was arrested because he had illicit material in is home. (The material was illegal.)
9 There was a flash of lightning a few seconds before we heard the thunder.
My brother’s bedroom was very dark, but he has been lightening it by painting the walls
white.
10 When I woke up early in the morning it was very quiet as there were no noises in the house.
The show was quite good, but I have been to other shows that I thought were better.
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Exercise 3 (page 29)
Refer to the textbook for an example of a spider diagram.
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Chapter 2 Travel and exploration
Unit 3 Reading comprehension
Exercise 1 (page 37)
Parts 1–5:
Questions and answers might include:
How far north of Kuala Lumpur are the Batu Caves?
Answer: 13 kilometres
How many visitors a day come to the caves?
Answer: About 5000
How many steps are there up to the caves?
Answer: 272
How much time does the procession for the festival of Thaipusam take?
Answer: Eight hours
When was the statue of Lord Murugan erected?
Answer: 2006
Which is the largest of the Batu Caves?
Answer: Temple cave
Which endangered animal lives in the Dark Cave?
Answer: The trapdoor spider
Apart from visiting the caves, what else might tourists do in this area?
Answer: Rock climbing
Which monkeys live in the area?
Answer: Macaque monkeys
6 Answers might include: the most important, a must-see, focal point, an interesting array, a
towering golden statue, the largest in the world, undoubtedly be entertained, nice views,
largest and most popular, ornate depictions, brilliant limestone formations, special caving tour,
attractive set of bridges, some of the best rock climbing, expect to be entertained, great
subjects for photos.
7 The structure of the description leads the reader through the caves in the order a visit would
make: the steps and entrance, the three caves in the order, then the surrounding hills.
8 Repetition of: the 272 steps, and the description of the monkeys
Exercise 2 (page 42)
Refer to the ‘Guidance and answers’ in the textbook.
Exercise 3 (page 46)
1
2
3
4
Statements:
 As far back as the second century BCE
 The ancient king Alexander the Great is said to have asked
That it was a very difficult, task, perhaps even impossible.
The Nile is the world’s longest river – they wouldn’t have known that when they started.
He became deaf in that ear.
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5
6
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8
9
The explorers did not go on these journeys to become well-known but because they loved
going to places that were unknown to people in their own country and needed to have
excitement in their lives.
He was able to speak 29 languages and disguised himself as an Arab to travel to Mecca and
then described his adventure to audiences back home.
They had lost much of the equipment needed to measure the height and size of the lake which
would have proved the point.
It had been agreed that Speke and Burton would announce the results of their expedition
together when they returned to Britain. However, Speke got home before Burton and claimed
to have made the discovery about the source of the Nile. They argued about this so Speke went
back to check the source but died during the trip.
a i
Anger
ii
Keep going despite the difficult circumstances
iii
Wet, boggy land that is difficult to walk on
b Some local people were afraid of the river and felt it had the divine power to show its
anger. The explorers felt they had no choice but to keep going despite the difficult
circumstances. The rainy season turned the firm land into a bog that was very dangerous.
Exercise 4 (page 49)
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5
6
a Between a mother bear and her cub
b The river had carried the cub (but not the mother) past the group of watchers.
Kamchatkan brown bears are not as aggressive as other bears / grizzlies.
They feed mostly on fish / salmon, plus nuts and berries.
The low density of the population
A third of the peninsula is designated as a wilderness reserve
Answers might include the landscape (volcanoes, walls of rock, steam vents, hot springs), the
vegetation (ancient species of flora) or the wild animals such as the bears.
a eating large amounts / all they can
b all at the same time
c unspoilt, undisturbed wild countryside
d was the most obvious thing to be seen, blocked everything else from sight
Features that might be included:
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the largest spawning ground for red salmon
almost a third of the peninsula is designated as a wilderness reserve
more than 300 snow-dusted volcanoes, 29 of which are active.
Mount Koryaksky, whose 3,456-meter summit
the most spectacular coastal scenery anywhere
a geological jigsaw of four overlapping stratovolcanoes that has resulted in a labyrinth of
craters, steam vents, and hot springs.
the mountain’s ice-capped summit
Valley of Geysers
ancient species of flora
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7
8
Three from (among many others):
 afraid (‘nothing separating us from eternity’, ‘overdue for a mauling’)
 ecstatic (‘having the time of their life’)
 fascinated (‘we watched’ plus any of the details)
 impressed (‘it’s hard to beat’, ‘what nature!’, ‘awe-inspiring look’)
Phrases discussed might be:
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‘hemmed in by near-vertical walls’ – the very steep sides of the caldera seem to close in,
making the writer feel trapped
‘slab of rock the size of a backyard swimming pool’ backyard swimming pools are usually
quite small – the comparison emphasizes the skill of the pilot and the potential danger
involved in the landing.
‘geological jigsaw’ the rocky mountainous shapes of the volcanoes appear, almost by
design, to be closely interlinked with each other.
‘labyrinth of craters, steam vents and hot springs’ the craters, steam vents and springs form
a complicated network of passages or paths in which it is easy to lose one's way
‘pulsating, sulphurous bowl-shaped caldera’ it is like a vast witch’s cauldron boiling and
giving off an infernal smell
Exercise 5 (page 51)
To make them realise that they were somewhere very special and the reader then expects to
read about something that is amazing.
2 It is shaped like an oval rugby ball but divided into three colours.
3 Just before the sun comes up. The first paragraph mentions dawn breaking.
It gives the time of the display most exactly. Although the sun was coming up (as it was
dawn), the light had not reached the forest floor, where it was still dark, so it was very early in
the morning. That adds to the specialness of the event, and also emphasizes how bright the
colours of the birds appear, especially to the writer and his companions as they are still
adjusting to the half-light of early dawn.
4 The males sit on the branches calling out while the females move around choosing who to
select as their mate.
5 The eye seemed very small for an animal that lives in a dark place and the bill was almost
completely covered with feathers.
6 There are two different species, the family name means bright forest bird, it is the national bird
of Peru.
7 Watching the two males competing with each other by opening their wings and calling out
loudly was like something you might see in a theatre.
8 and 9
Answers might include:
Appearance:
 size of a collared dove, though much plumper
 a prominent crest
 colour: luminous orange on the head and body, with black wings and a pearl-grey back
Behaviour:
 series of harsh squeals and grunts
 melted out of the gloom onto the forest floor
 at least half-a-dozen birds were gathered in their arena
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 showing off their wares to the females,
 sidling up and down the branches
 making jerky, almost mechanical movements
 flicking their wings,
 turning up the volume and intensity of their calls
10 Suggested reactions are:
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before: excited. The writer is anticipating a sight worthy of paradise/one of the greatest
bird spectacles in the world/he has travelled for miles to experience this incredible place.
during: fascinated. The writer is fascinated by his first impressions of the bird/initially
there are just sounds/it appears to melt magically into sight as the sun rises/the courtship
display engages the audience and seems to be under a powerful floodlight like a theatrical
spectacular.
after: unsatisfied. The birds’ display has overwhelmed the onlookers/the ‘standoff’
between the two males suggests more mundane behaviour and perhaps helps to break the
spell of the display/as the day gets underway and the birds have departed, the magic of the
festival begins to fade and the writer and his companions are left wanting to have more of
it.
Exercise 6 (page 54)
1
Answers might include:
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Positive effects: It brings in money and creates jobs.
Negative effects: it can cause damage to the environment and can use up resources needed
by people who live in the area.
2 If too many people visit certain areas, they could cause so much harm through damaging the
environment that it is not worth any benefits that might be gained.
3 Boats anchoring on the coral, people walking on coral, catching marine animals to take
photos.
4 a Emissions from road, rail and air travel increase photochemical pollution, acid rain and
global warming.
b Australia and New Zealand now have companies that have camper vans that are less damaging
to the environment.
5 a The increased building of places for holiday-makers.
b To clear land so it can be used for other purposes and to provide fuel.
6 By closing down the three islands to tourists, it stopped the income from the tourists in order
to save the environment – though not everyone would be happy about this.
7 and 8 Answers might include:
Tourism is a good thing:
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one of the favourite activities of people
positive impact of travel on our own mental well-being and personal development.
economic advantages, such as employment opportunities, foreign exchange earnings, and
growth in the service sector
increasing tourists’ awareness of the natural habitat
people relish the opportunity to make their own itinerary and get right off the beaten track
helping out in protecting the environment in our own little way.
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Tourism is a bad thing:
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a harmful effect on the environment.
pressure on the environment in regions where the resources are already inadequate.
natural habitat loss, increased pollution, soil erosion
coral bleaching accelerated by human activity
air pollution from tourist transportation
The expanded construction of recreational facilities for tourists adds more pressure on
landscape and natural resources
land clearing
uses water resources which results in the degradation of water supplies and water shortages
tourism’s infrastructure is also responsible for considerable damage
Exercise 7 (page 56)
Shelter from the cold/dark not necessarily safe
Rash, impulsive, thoughtless, or similar
That all the doors and windows were open
He was going to leave/return to the road; the sight of the room/fire, etc.
Two of:
 he didn’t shut the door
 he raised his hat
 he wasn’t surprised to see the traveller
 he was going to walk past without saying anything
6 An inn
7 That the mist had attacked/eaten the man/that the man had disappeared suddenly
8 Points might include (among many others):
 repetition of ‘blazing/blaze’ – but also repetition of ‘solitude’
 ‘struck cold to my heart’ juxtaposed with ‘cheer of attractive surroundings’
9 Quaint (not ‘enquiring’!)
10 Answers might include:
 hopeful – for shelter, comfortable interior
 surprised – at the open doors and windows
 apprehensive – sinister air of expectancy
 puzzled – at the man’s behaviour
 uncomfortable – because empty of people
 resigned/accepting – other people were expected
 curious/interested – at all the oddities/the unusual situation
11 The original short story is a mystery tale in which a family gathers to hear the will of a
recently deceased relative and are all killed by poison at the meal, but students should not
necessarily be expected to arrive at the “right” answer.
What is important is that they should understand the way in which the writer has set the scene
in these opening paragraphs to build up the tension and recognise the clues that she has
planted for what is going to happen.
Clues that might be discussed include:
 setting with thick mist and obstacles he could not comprehend
 shelter not a refuge
1
2
3
4
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‘terrible’
‘sinister air of expectancy’
behaviour of a man who perhaps was a servant
reference to people expected and meal prepared
‘oppressive…solitude’
Unit 4 Descriptive writing
Exercise 1 (page 62)
This is an introductory exercise – there are no specific answers and teachers should encourage
students to develop their impressions as part of a whole class discussion.
Exercise 2 (page 66)
Points that might be included:
1 wildest and most desolate of scenes, enormous, vast, floor of a giant crater, cliff-like walls,
disordered, drab and greyish rock
2 looming, scarce, strange, writhed, crown of fire, atmospheric veil, intolerable effulgence,
blazing sceptre, stormy trailing of the aerial garment
3 stab my eyes, cried aloud, blinded, staggered, covered my head, clutched one another, spun
about
Exercise 3 (page 66)
As with all exercises of this type, there are no specific correct answers. Students should be
encouraged to identify key features of Descriptive Writing referred to throughout this unit and
attempt to explain how they help to enhance the writer’s account. In particular, they should
consider the use of adjectives, similes and metaphors; the writers’ vocabulary choices including the
choice of verbs and adverbs; the way the structure of the passages develops the writers’ viewpoints
and any effects achieved through the range and variety of sentence types. The table on page 61
provides guidance.
Exercise 4 (page 70)
The text provides sufficient details to use as the basis for a response.
Exercise 5 (page 70)
Guidance for marking this type of exercise can be found on page 1 under the heading General
Marking Guidance.
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Chapter 3 New experiences
Unit 5 Summary writing
Exercise 1 (page 77)
1
See the answers given in text in Exercise 2 on page 78
Exercise 2 (page 78)
1 a and b Correct:
 Sharks are fiendishly dangerous
 The ragged-tooth shark, or raggie, loses teeth throughout its life
 Raggies are not aggressive at all
 Sharks are only interested in food
 Their walnut-size brains
 Lemon sharks thought to be a dangerous species
 Whitetip reef sharks, a harmless species
 Oceanic whitetip, which is known for attacking humans
Incorrect:
 Sharks have no feelings
 Sharks react to human blood and then attack
2 Possible feelings are:
 apprehension (‘sharks are fiendishly dangerous’)
 fear, excitement (‘instantaneous jolt of adrenaline’)
 reassured (‘strangely comforting’)
 interested, fascinated (‘stared at each other’, or other details)
 relaxed (‘calms the mind’)
Exercise 3 (page 78)
See the Example response of the notes and Final written summary on pages 76–77.
Exercise 4 (page 82)
See answers to Exercise 5 below.
Exercise 5 (page 82)
1
2
3
Points omitted because they were not about what the writer saw nor his thoughts, for example:
the names, details and behaviour of the pilot and co-pilot.
Examples might include: towering above, far greater distance, visibility conditions were
perfect, appreciating, see the whole spread of the landscape, overview.
Examples might include: it is uncomfortably cold, he felt very cold, The rock forests have
given away to, view of the ground became less distinct.
Exercise 6 (page 83)
1 and 2 Points that might be included:
Preparation beforehand:
 Most of them took a course to learn how to be a member of a sailing crew
 Jonathan (the organiser) took a course to learn how to be a skipper
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They learnt the principles of sailing
They practised the practical skills they needed (tying up to jetties, anchoring, tying knots)
They found a company who booked them a suitable yacht
They asked other instructors for advice
Enjoyed while in the British Virgin Islands:
 Seeing all the different islands
 The food and drink
 Lying on the beach or swimming with turtles and stingrays
 The freedom
 The achievement
Exercise 7 (page 86)
Points that might be included:
Before:
 Apprehension / Fear (time to meet my doom)
During:
 Reacting to the physical changes (I felt the momentum pick up, etc)
 More apprehension (clung tightly to seat, braced myself)
 Disbelief that it happened so fast (it was already over)
 Exalted and excited (screaming, laugh hysterically, etc)
 More confident
After:
 Empowered and thrilled
 Braver and stronger
 Realised that taking risks is a good thing
 Realised that one needs to be prepared for the unexpected
Unit 6 Narrative writing
Exercise 1 (page 93)
1 and 2
Refer to the example in the textbook, page 89.
3 The words below are the suggested preferred options. Teachers, however, should encourage
students who have chosen differently to justify and discuss their choices.
 calm
 pitiless
 rampaged
 ancient
 safety
 strongly built
 tore
 flimsy
 homes
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Exercise 2 (page 97)
The following answers suggest appropriate comments that might be expected from students. Be
prepared, however, to credit valid comments not mentioned below and to reward positively
responses that are supported by reference to or quotation from the text.
1 The opening sentence implies a recurrent sense of fear (‘every year’). Words such as
‘apprehension, ‘confronted’, ‘never got too close’ suggest something disturbing about the
memory. The final sentence repeats and reinforces the time scale stated in the first sentence.
2 The flashback starts earlier in time than the traumatic event referred to previously (reference to
starting school). We get to know more about the narrator’s personal feelings and her early life.
She emphasises the security and happiness she felt as a young child within her family group,
in contrast to the apprehension in the first paragraph.
3 This paragraph reinforces the impression of the narrator’s untroubled earlier life. And looking
forward it gives the factual details needed to understand the feelings of difference that she
describes in the next paragraph.
4 The adult narrator, looking back, clearly remembers the details of appearance, clothes, etc. as
being the cause of her feeling different. This helps the reader to empathise with her character
as a child, and her thoughts and feelings at the time. Within the structure of the narrative, some
of these details also become important later.
5 But the adult narrator is also aware (as the child was not) that the most significant difference
was is an intellectual one. The difference in the attitudes of her family and those of her
classmates are clear in these paragraphs. Unlike the other children, the narrator and her sister
came from a family ‘where curiosity was encouraged,’ and they were ‘rarely banished from
adult company’. The greater maturity of outlook explains why she seemed difficult as a pupil
in the classroom and was not liked by other children and the teachers. Although not directly
relevant to the episode with the Christmas tree, this understanding greatly increases the
reader’s sympathy for the narrator.
6 This paragraph sets the scene and emphasises the importance of the Christmas tree to the life
of the school as a whole – it was ‘huge and lavishly decorated’ and there was ‘a real
atmosphere of excitement’. It also conveys the tree’s importance to the narrator, who shared
the excitement and would stand and gaze at the tree.
7 The writer has planted several clues as the narrative is developed. We have known from the
beginning that the mishap was with a Christmas tree. Paragraph 4 tells us that her clothes were
too large for her. The reader knows that she felt awkward, perhaps clumsy, at school.
Paragraph 8 says that she was fascinated by the tree. In this paragraph there is the added detail
of the icy weather, and so the writer’s heavy and, presumably ill-fitting, winter coat became
the instrument by which she broke the spell the tree’s beauty had cast on her.
8 These paragraphs are written from the viewpoint of the adult narrator as she came to terms
with the effect of this experience. They link back successfully to the beginning, but students
may differ in whether they consider them an effective ending to the story.
9 There is no right or wrong answer to this question and students should be encouraged to
explain their personal reaction to the story and the way it has been told. Some may think that
this paragraph widens the perspective of the account and provides a resolution which was
clearly important to the writer; others may think that the additional information concerning the
teacher’s allergy to the flowers detracts from the atmosphere created and weakens the force of
the ending. What is important is to credit all attempts by students to justify their conclusions
by appropriate textual references and quotations.
10 This should be marked according to the school’s policy for marking Narrative Writing tasks.
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Exercise 3 (page 99)
From Section 1:
1 Points that might be included:
 The building: small stone barn, divided into two rooms
 The children: wild boys and girls, farm children, poor (description of clothing)
 Subjects they were taught: reading and writing (mnemonics), arithmetic (counting frame),
history, geography
2 That it was not very definite or precise or advanced
3 The law was that every child had to go to school
There had been more children born / The birth rate had gone up.
4 a They talked strangely, and smelt different. They wore unusual clothes and brought with
them peculiar things to eat.
b Unlike Laurie’s family they were not all female, and they did not make him feel cared for
and secure.
From Section 2:
5 Answers might include: to make it more vivid, to focus on the experience of Laurie Lee
himself, to give his viewpoint, or similar. He uses short sentences and restricted patterns of
speech that a four-year-old would use.
6 Answers might include: much more detail but in short sentences piled on top of one another.
It is effective because it is conveys the baffled reaction of the four-year-old to the rapid events.
From Section 3:
7 Laurie Lee spent his first day sitting in the classroom picking holes in paper. When he arrived
home he was very cross.
8 The teacher said ‘for the present’, meaning for the moment, for the time being; Laurie Lee
thought that if he sat in the classroom where he had been told, he would be rewarded with a
gift, the other meaning of ‘present’.
9 Answers might include: He got used to it. He no longer felt like a victim. He enjoyed the new
toys and the new skills.
From the whole passage:
10 Headings might be:
 Section 1: Learning about going to school
 Section 2: Arriving at school for the first time
 Section 3: Settling in at school
They divide the piece chronologically, according to time.
11 Look for a description of/information about the classroom and teacher that comes from the
perspective of pupils who are more familiar with both aspects and which reveals a greater
knowledge and understanding than the naivety of the original. Unlike the original which was
written by an adult looking back on his experience, the conversation should describe the
setting and the characters of the teacher and Laurie as seen by a child of a similar age but with
more experience of the school.
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Exercise 4 (page 102)
1
Responses should explain what they consider the writer’s views in relation to the events
described in the school of the future which Margie attends but more importantly how the story
casts light on the education of the present day – not just that at the time the story was written
but also how its details influence readers into evaluating the schooling that they themselves are
experiencing. Answers should refer closely to the language of the story as well as key events
and the attitudes of Tommy and Margie.
2
The County Inspector has a positive opinion about the education system in 2155.





3
Students have access to extensive quality resources [development: telebooks; more than a
million books can be accessed on-screen; paper books deteriorate; mechanical teachers
have vast knowledge to pass on]
There is no waste of resources [development: telebooks are not thrown away to end up in
landfill; paper is not wasted]
It is efficient [development: students submit their homework which is marked immediately
and they get instant feedback]
Learning is individualised: [development: the curriculum and the mechanical teacher can
be adapted to suit each student’s age and ability]
It is convenient [development: students are taught at home at set times; there is no need to
waste time travelling to and from school]
This should be marked according to the school’s policy for marking Narrative Writing tasks.
Exercise 5 (page 104)
Guidance for marking this type of exercise can be found on page 1 under the heading General
Marking Guidance.
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Chapter 4 The environment
Unit 7 How writers achieve effects
Exercise 1 (page 110)
Refer to the ‘Guidance and answers’ in the textbook.
Exercise 2 (page 112)
1 and 2 Questions might focus on the following phrases (among many others):
The battered and the splendid, home to harbour, they huddle on land, a sinister dwarf city, a
real field, a strange air of dissipation, malodorous mounds of earth, their sides more
precipitous … their pinnacles more angular, perfect symmetry, the knot the clue the hub
Exercise 3 (page 115)
From ‘Destruction in the City’:
1 The earthquake he had felt at home was minor.
2 collapsing buildings / falling debris
3 a They were too far from the water front.
The water mains were broken.
b They were blowing up buildings to create fire-breaks.
4 He thinks it was a terrible waste.
From ‘A Narrow Escape’:
5 They suggest that the city after the earthquake was like a horrific war zone, in which the city’s
inhabitants had little chance of victory.
6 That they were weak/helpless compared to what was happening round them
7 Phrases to discuss might include: wild with fright, crazy with fear, bedlam, pandemonium and
hell, fought like wildcats, beat his head against the pillars
8 The man right next to him being killed
Looking at both sections together:
9 Phrases to discuss might include: in every direction flames were seething, the streets on all
sides were filled with bricks and mortar, completely collapsed, buildings had moved bodily,
the only way out was to dynamite, the fire engines … were helpless
10 Jerome B. Clark is just outside the ferry building, not really in the city; he is a bit of an
onlooker. He concentrates on the fire and the damage, not on people (or animals).
G.A. Raymond is in the middle of the city; he starts by mentioning the actual shaking of the
earthquake and his own reactions and fear. There are a lot of people and animals in his
account. But he doesn’t mention any attempts to put the fire out or to save people.
11 Points that neither mention and might be discussed include: how long the earthquake itself
lasted; how both men escaped; how much of the city was demolished beyond their immediate
surroundings.
Exercise 4 (page 117)
1 a woodland / farmland
b because everything around it looks normal – and fertile
2
Details could include:
 proud of but desperate about his pupils
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3
4
5
6
7
8
9
 proud of the history of his town
 sad that the children are unhealthy
 anxious at the level of radiation
The disaster is invisible.
a It has been blocked off , barricaded.
b To force her to move out/stop her going back to live and/or die there
because the panic was obvious from the way everything had been left
that like the villages the town will soon be evacuated
because the countryside produces food and the sign is saying that the food is dangerous
It continues the effect of the normal countryside, and emphasises the oddness of the disaster.
a kindly
b It conveys the threat, the hidden menace.
Exercise 5 (page 118)
1
2
3
4
5
There had been heavy rain in 1939 but there was much less rain after that time.
In 1942 in Coorain in Australia. Even if the reader does not know the place it is easy to
imagine what it felt like from the description.
The picture shows what a dust storm looks like.
We learn about her father’s and mother’s despair at seeing everything they have worked for
destroyed by the dust storm, and the memory it brought back to her father of his time in
France in the First World War.
It may be that as an adult the author has a better understanding of what happened than she did
at the time and a greater appreciation of her parents’ feelings.
Exercise 6 (page 120)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
It rained heavily in 1939 but less in 1940, and in 1941 almost no rain fell apart from a damp
cold rain in May and June.
Without rain the grass could not grow so there would be nothing for the sheep to eat.
The cold rain and wind combined with their lack of food.
Drought
It was very hot. In the west, there was a huge cloud that seemed to be black and yellow in the
centre with red at the edges moving very quickly across the landscape. It was very quiet and
all the birds had taken shelter.
Points might include:
 ‘He would be silent’ – he was so worried about what was happening that he couldn’t talk in
the way he normally did.
 ‘His usual high spirits declined’ – he was unable to see anything positive in what was
happening.
 ‘Silenced by the dread’ – he was so afraid of what might happen that he could not speak.
Points that might be included:
 Items such as buckets and rakes could be blown away or could break windows if blown
against them.
 The sand and grit can damage your eyes.
 The lack of visibility makes it difficult to know where you are.
 If animals become tired and lie down, they can be buried under the sand.
 The sand gets into food.
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

It is difficult to sleep.
Bushes and other plants are ripped from the ground and the branches of trees crash against
the buildings.
 Structures such as rainwater tanks can be blown over.
8 It builds up the tension as the family wait out the storm, unable to go out and see what damage
has been caused. It emphasises the stress by comparing it to the terrible experiences her father
had had during the First World War and by the fact that the writer had to try to comfort her
father though it is more common for a father to comfort a child.
9 a i impossible to bear
ii caused, started
iii sleep
b They are effective in increasing the tension as they describe how difficult it was to keep
going for all that time. Her father was taken back to awful experiences during the First
World War and even when he did manage to fall asleep for short periods he would wake
screaming and upset the whole family.
10 Although the writer can see signs for hope, the father knows from experience that there will be
more storms so he cannot speak positively.
Unit 8 Writing to argue or persuade
Exercise 1 (page 124)
The correct order of paragraphs is: 1, 5, 4, 3, 6, 2
They are linked by the opening phrases of each paragraph which signal the topic sentence of each:
1 After decades of debate and discussion…
5 The first and most obvious thing…
4 Moreover, it seems…
3 There are, however,…
6 And finally, perhaps…
2 In conclusion, there is…
Exercise 2 (page 126)








“Climate change is the biggest crisis in the history of humanity.” – Opinion
“Global sea levels have risen by about 20cm since the start of the twentieth century.” – Fact
“I don’t think there is any convincing evidence that climate change is caused by humans.” –
Opinion
“Governments around the world have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” – Fact
“We are not acting quickly enough to counter the effects of climate change.” – Opinion
“Global warming must be a hoax because it snows every winter.” – Opinion
“The past decade was the hottest on record.” – Fact
“The meat and dairy industries are responsible for 15 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.” –
Fact
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Exercise 3 (page 131)
1
a Benefits:

Medical benefits: saving lives – less high blood pressure, cancer, heart disease etc
b Reasons for popularity:



World-saving: resources such as water used in food production, land usage, and grain used
to feed livestock
New ideas becoming ore accepted and not thought of as weird
Realisation the vegetarian diet makes sense
2 and 3 Methods of persuasion
Points might include:
 Asks for sympathy for being called weird etc
 Lists “hard facts” - but are they?
 Suggests simple remedies, like feeding grain directly to people instead of to livestock – but
are they too simplistic (with no thought of practicalities or medical drawbacks)?
 Emotive examples of children dying from starvation
 Statistics, such as ‘if American reduced meat intake by 10% it would feed 40 million
people’ – but can they be proven?
 Analogies such as votes for women and slavery give the impression eating meat is just as
bad as they were.
Exercise 4 (page 133)
1 Benefits




Healthy – rich source of antioxidants etc; better health outcomes
Low in fats, almost same amount of protein, taste just as good
Production causes lower emission of greenhouse gases than raising livestock
Half the carbon footprint of a chicken (but five times a bean patty)
Downsides:





2
Often highly processed with large amounts of additives
Mass produced in factories so quality not outstanding
Often lack important nutrients (e.g. B12)
Production uses toxic chemicals (e.g. Hexane)
When GM plants used, often more herbicides needed
Guidance for marking this and Exercises 5 and 6 can be found on page 1 under the heading
General Marking Guidance.
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Chapter 5 People and community
Unit 9 Further summary writing
Exercise 1 (page 137)
See notes and sample answer provided in the Student’s Book.
Exercise 2 (page 143)
Points might include:






Her therapists suggested it because the wheelchair used was comfortable for her disability.
She proved to be good enough (tactical awareness and raw courage) for the Paralympic squad.
She was a great team-player.
She was always looking for things she could do, rather than what she could not.
She felt nothing worse than breaking her neck could happen (and she had already done that).
She was an exhibitionist.
Exercise 3 (page 145)
1
2
Points might include:
 A player from each of the top 8 teams has Twitter account name on her shirt
 80,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook
 Interactive relationship with fans
 Allows them to bypass the newspapers to get information to fans
Opinions:





Social media has increased the status of women’s football.
Men’s game takes priority because it is bigger and involves more money.
Digital media can help overcome the lack of newspaper coverage.
Twitter and Facebook have helped to progress the women’s game.
Girls are enjoying playing and it has become more acceptable for girls to play football.
Exercise 4 (page 145)
1 Points might include:
People’s health:
 Lose weight in a healthy way without feeling tired and keeping it off
 Less likely to develop serious dieases like heart disease and cancer
 Get good nutrients (protein etc) without the nasty fats
 Avoid contaminated meat which causes food poisoning
The Earth:




Saves animals and prevents their suffering
More efficient to produce plant-based food than animal-based in terms of resources
So can feed more hungry people
Causes less pollution and less global warming
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Unit 10 Directed writing
Exercise 1 (page 152)
Emmeline Pankhurst’s arguments that might be discussed include:
 Women are putting their lives at risk to fight for the right to vote, which would be the same if
American men were being asked to risk their lives to gain citizenship.
 American men had lost their lives in the battle to free slaves and that is what British women
are doing.
 She is willing to spend time in prison for her beliefs
Speech features include:
 Clearly stated viewpoint repeated at the end: women must have the right to vote
 Rhetorical questions: ‘I ask American men in this meeting …’
 Points clearly stated through the use of paragraphs.
 Use of persuasive phrases: ‘either women are to be killed …’
 Points are balanced between general and personal examples.
Exercise 2 (page 153)
See the notes for a speech in the Student’s Book.
Exercise 3 (page 163)


Reasons why people want to use their cars might include: Convenience, accessibility, freedom
of when and where to travel, comfort, enjoyment, sense of control, efficiency in an emergency
Reasons to limit their use might include: air pollution, time wasted on the roads and in jams,
expense, people not taking enough exercise, danger/accidents
Guidance for marking this type of exercise can be found on page 1 under the heading General
Marking Guidance.
Exercise 4 (page 165)
Points that could be included in the article:
 No grades until students are 15
 No timetable
 Teachers don’t lecture to the students
 Students decide what they want to study and when they want to take an exam
 Only compulsory subjects are maths, German, English and social studies
 Students as young as twelve to fourteen are given €150 ($118) to plan and go on trip or try an
adventure
 Helps students to take responsibility for their own decisions and gives them confidence
 Prepares them for adult working life
 Makes it easier to learn
 Gets the best results
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Exercise 5 (page 170)
Points that might be included:
Description:
 Forests and waterways
 Themes based around Fairy, Travel, Adventure and Other realms
 Tableaux with characters in costume
 Rides
Guidance for marking this type of exercise can be found on page 1 under the heading General
Marking Guidance.
What the youth group might enjoy:
 The attention to detail in the houses of fairy tale characters
 The Fairy Tale Tree which told stories
 The fakir on the flying carpet
 The use of waste bins called Holle Bolle Gijs to stop people dropping litter
 Efteling Museum
 Diorama of railways, houses and lives of fairy-tale characters
 Villa Volta
 Spacious room in the hotel and good play area for children
 Food stalls are not expensive
What they might not enjoy:
 Quite a lot of walking
 Information in the museum is only in Dutch
 Rollercoaster
Exercise 6 (page 171)
Ideas/opinions from the texts that might be included:
 There is a right and a wrong way to raise awareness
 Disruptive stunts cause problems for large numbers of ordinary people
 Disruptive stunts turn people against the cause they are supposed to be promoting
 The dangers are so serious that protests have to catch people’s attention
 Many years of campaigning more quietly have not worked
 The issues are now becoming urgent
 Some of the messages now seem to getting through
Guidance for marking this type of exercise can be found on page 1 under the heading General
Marking Guidance.
Exercise 7 (page 172)
Ideas/opinions from the texts that might be included:
 Need to support local businesses
 Individuals may feel helpless but added together can make a difference
 Shopping locally would make town centres and high streets more attractive
 Shopping locally would support the local economy (more jobs)
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
Large companies might be persuaded to drop unethical practices e.g. they might pay their
workers better, and stop avoiding taxes
 But is it the consumers’ business to police manufacturers’ or retailers’ ethical practices
 Environmental benefits from using local materials, reducing shopping and distribution
 The items are probably the same wherever you buy with the same carbon footprint, just
labelled differently
 Online shopping is just as convenient as shopping locally, now that most online firms offer
next or same-day delivery
 Online shopping is usually cheaper because of size economies
Guidance for marking this type of exercise can be found on page 1 under the heading General
Marking Guidance.
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Chapter 6 Preparing for assessment
Unit 12 Practice examination-style papers
Paper 1 Reading
Section A
Question 1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i Snow
ii It had broken his fall so that he landed softly.
The mountaineer realised that he was not in bed but lying in the middle of a heap of snow on
the mountainside.
i He tried moving his arms and his legs to find out whether they were damaged (and found
they were intact).
ii Two of:
He had lost several buttons from his clothes.
His knife had fallen out of his pocket.
He had lost his hat and his ice axe.
The man could now see where he was going because of the moonlight.
The slope is now gentle instead of the precipices that he has fallen down.
In the darkness before he fell asleep the mountaineer had not realised how close he was to
trees and any signs of life.
i desolate
ii The man was suffering from hunger, so he felt he was eating something and probably got a
little nourishment from it.
i There was a wall in a very odd position, separating the houses from the slopes beyond
them.
ii The inhabitants look respectable and prosperous, not dangerous; they look as if they will
help him (and he needs food).
Three from:
 unbelieving (gazing blankly at the cliff)
 heartened (because the birds were signs of life within reach)
 thankful (to have found a spring of water and be able to rest safely)
 puzzled (because the houses and wall looked odd and unfamiliar)
 reassured (because the people looked prosperous and respectable)
Question 2
a
b
c
Phrases discussed might be:
 the ghastly light of the rising moon
 vast pale cliff towering above
 rising moment by moment out of a subsiding tide of darkness.
 its phantasmal, mysterious beauty
that it was a mixture of fear and relief, that the mountaineer did not know what to feel, that he
was out of control, or similar
The personification makes it sound like a person who is alive.
It also sounds threatening (‘reared’ suggests the action of a dangerous animal).
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d
e
i It emphasises the difficulty the mountaineer was having in moving along the gorge.
ii It suggests that the journey at this point became more difficult again and perhaps was
hopeless after all.
It conveys economically the contrast between the grass inside and the grass outside the wall
by using two short vivid words. It emphasises the difference between the two.
Section B
a
b
Points might include:
 the huge swell of people.
 a dot matrix indicator
 occupants leaning from open windows
 a landscape of fields still worked by families with hoes and rakes.
 in the distance a solitary tractor or other machine
 still, serene and peaceful landscape.
 every stage of rice production
 a couple of perky dogs
 a wall being erected
 walls of rock rising sheer from the fields
 a narrow gorge beside a mud brown river
 stacks of bamboos being punted
 very dark land
 dismally lit stations
Points might include
 The writer has observed a mixture of old and new (‘impressively state-of-the-art’ but ‘that
seems old fashioned to us’ and ‘like a series of period tableaux’)
 He thinks it is developing fast: ’immense characterless building in a side square crowned
with neon signs’, ‘giving notice of the spread of development to come’)
 He feels the difference between city and country is very marked (the descriptions and ‘the
difference from the city is profound’
 He found China a comfortable place to travel in: (‘comfortably’ and ‘all the food on our
long journey has been interesting and tasty’
 Hardworking and efficient: the train leaves on time, the wall is going up ‘at remarkable
speed’, the description of the boys
Paper 2 Writing
Section A
Question 1
Points for evaluation might include:
Both texts:
 Both are one-sided arguments with no recognition of opposing viewpoint.
 There is a difference between testing for medicines and for cosmetics / cleaning products.
Text 1:
 Academic / scientific stance does not address ordinary people’s concerns.
 Not all groups who protest are ‘extremist’.
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



Technology improving all the time (so must encourage more use)
Does not allow that alternative methods can work.
All labs should agree protocols, not just ‘most’.
Protocols are not enough to avoid making animals suffer.
Text 2:
 Over-emotional approach and language impair argument.
 Important to keep even cosmetics / cleaning products safe for the public to use.
 Feelings for animals are over-sentimental.
 No alternative methods offered.
Guidance for marking this type of exercise can be found on page 1 under the heading General
Marking Guidance.
Section B: Composition
Teachers should remember that any piece of creative continuous writing is the product of a unique
individual writer and there is, therefore, no easy way to summarise what makes a successful
response to these questions. Look for the following qualities, but be prepared, also, for unexpected
but acceptable interpretations and approaches to the topics and reward them accordingly.
Content
Descriptive Tasks:
One or more of the following features will probably be incorporated in a cohesive picture of the
subject (but do not expect them all to be exhibited in any one composition):






Focus on the subject: for example, there may be close focus on detail, or the topic may be
presented from a wider perspective. The writer may move from detail to general or general to
detail. The approach may be factual/chronological or impressionistic.
Creation of atmosphere: for example, the writer may describe an atmosphere that is
welcoming and pleasing or sinister and foreboding. There may be an attempt to vary the mood
related to different times of the day or seasons of the year, or to present the subject within a
specific period of time.
Viewpoint: the writer may present opposing views of the subject such as close-up or from a
distant vantage point or panoramically. Some responses may deliberately focus on presenting
contrasting impressions of the subject.
Engagement of the senses: Descriptions are likely to attempt to convey the appeal of the
subject to the different senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell. The most successful will
incorporate this into the overall description; less successful ones tend to treat this aspect
mechanically as a checklist.
Features of Settings: Descriptive Writing tasks usually require descriptions of places or of
people. Take into account the way responses introduce people into what is intended to be a
description of place - does this enhance the descriptive effect or does it tip the description too
far into a narrative account? Conversely, does the inclusion of background scenic details
enhance the impression of a person being described or detract from the effect the writer is
trying to create?
Character of the writer: the writer of the description will probably also be acting as the
observer of the subject and provide a point of focus for the reader. The writer may, therefore,
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

appear as an impartial commentator or alternatively introduce comments that are intended to
influence the reader’s responses to the subject. In more successful responses, rather than
directly telling the reader what to think about the subject, writers will imply their attitudes to it
by appropriately chosen vocabulary.
Narrative framework: Many writers will set their description within a narrative framework, for
example, ‘It was a winter’s day when I visited…’ This is perfectly acceptable but less
successful responses are likely to overuse the narrative approach and spend more time saying
what the writer did than concentrating on bringing the surroundings alive for the reader.
Remember: For all of the above elements the most successful responses will be consistent in
their approach and show confident control of the chosen technique.
Narrative Tasks:
One or more of the following features will probably be incorporated in a convincing story a (but
again do not expect them all to be exhibited in any one composition):
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Story line: the most successful responses will be well planned and thoughtfully structured with
a sophisticated and coherent narrative line. Writers will be fully aware of the need to construct
a coherent story within a limited time period.
Scenario: the most successful responses are likely to establish a clear context for the narrative
with a focused exposition of both setting and characters. Description of the setting will be
sufficient to present a convincing background for the events that are to follow but will not be
so detailed that the description reduces the narrative tension.
Characters: the main protagonists of the story will be introduced efficiently, and their
character traits will be conveyed through well-chosen details and conveyed implicitly to the
readers by their reactions to each other, by explicit description of their feelings and through
the use of direct speech.
Structure: it is expected that writers will be aware of the need for a story to have a beginning,
middle and end and the most successful responses will show confident control of the time
frame of the narrative through techniques such as beginning the story in the middle or the end
of the sequence and using flashbacks or flashforwards to lead to its climax and resolution.
Sequence: the narrative should move smoothly through a carefully structured sequence of
events which develop organically from and into each other. Skillful paragraphing will enhance
this and will support the build-up of tension leading to an effective and convincing climax or
to a definite and clearly signaled ending or intentionally planned cliffhanger.
Remember: For all of the above elements the most successful responses will be consistent in
their approach and show confident control of the chosen technique.
Written Expression
The main features on which to focus when assessing the quality of written expression are listed
below. Teachers should remember that assessment of this element requires a holistic approach and
to credit the positive aspects of what has been written. Do not penalise for single spelling errors etc.
The most successful responses are likely to be (highly) accurate in expression with only occasional
slips.
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Sentence structures will be varied, fluent and controlled to produce particular effects.
Tense sequences will be consistent and controlled with correct or mainly correct verb forms.
Vocabulary will be wide, carefully chosen and appropriate for purpose.
Punctuation will be usually accurate and helpful in conveying meaning.
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Cambridge O Level English Language Second Edition – Answers
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Spelling will be nearly always/mainly accurate with some slips in more ambitious vocabulary.
Paragraphs will have unity, be coherently linked and show evidence of careful planning.
Middle level responses are likely to communicate clearly with patches of clear, accurate expression
despite errors which, although serious, do not significantly hinder communication.
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Sentence structures may have some variety but may be repetitive in format. Simple and
compound sentences will generally be controlled but there will be limited evidence of
accurately constructed complex sentences.
Tense sequences may be uncertain at times with inaccurate verb forms requiring re-reading in
order to gain full understanding.
Vocabulary will be straightforward and generally accurate but there is likely to be some
confusion in using appropriate idioms.
Punctuation will be generally accurate with full stops usually used to separate sentences. There
may be problems with the use of direct speech punctuation.
The spelling of straightforward vocabulary will be mainly accurate and consistent but there are
likely to be errors in more ambitious vocabulary.
Paragraphs will be in evidence with some unity, but links may be missing or inappropriate.
In low level responses, overall meaning may not be in doubt, but errors are sufficiently frequent
and serious to impede communication and, at the lower end of the range, may be so serious that the
intended meaning is blurred or obscured.
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Simple sentence structures may be used accurately but not consistently.
Tense sequences are likely to be uncertain with errors in verb forms leading to confused
meaning.
Vocabulary may be limited, repetitive and imprecise with (serious) misuse of idioms.
Simple punctuation may be used accurately but there are likely to be serious and frequent
sentence separation errors.
Spelling of simple vocabulary may be accurate (but not always consistent) with frequent errors
in more difficult vocabulary.
Paragraphs if present are likely to be used without cohesion.
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