Achieving Success
in Urdu and Arabic
At GCE AS and A2 levels
with Edexcel
Slide 1
Training from Edexcel
Aims of this talk:
• Receive key observations from Summer 2009 Examiners’
Reports on the new AS papers
• Consider potential areas for improvement in candidates’
performance.
•
Tips on preparing for the A2 units : focus on translation
and essay writing
• Support:
 Handouts
 Free downloads via Edexcel websites
Slide 2
Training from Edexcel
Examiners’ Reports:
Common concerns and advice
Follow the required procedures:
• Instructions on cover page
• Rubric: know exactly what is required
• Answer in full within the word limit
• Keep focussed on question
• Avoid slang, repetition, vague language.
Slide 3
Training from Edexcel
Translation from and into English:
• Look for obvious phrases which require a
knowledge of idiomatic expressions, avoiding
word-for-word anglicised renderings
• Do not leave gaps by omission
• Develop confidence by practising with short,
familiar pieces of English, and gradually
lengthen / less familiar extracts
Slide 4
Training from Edexcel
Translation (continued)
• Read the passage through carefully
• Check carefully for obvious pitfalls (adjectives,
agreements, gender, case, tenses)
• Devise your own checklist based on your recurrent
errors!
• Do not offer alternatives. Make up your mind on which
phrase translates the original best.
• Do not paraphrase.
• Re-read your translation and check that it makes sense.
Slide 5
Training from Edexcel
URDU: Creative / Discursive Essay
ARABIC: Topics and Texts
• Choose the right essay! - fully understand title and all its
implications
• Analyse title – plan clear structure
• Ensure content is relevant and always related back to
title
• Produce a balanced argument in your discursive essay,
with clear and logical conclusion
Slide 6
Training from Edexcel
Practical tips:
• Pre-learned essay phrases can enhance writing but
beware of clumsiness and over-use.
• Examiners want to read what you have to say and not
what has been borrowed from others.
• Avoid long introductions . Tackle the subject fairly
promptly.
• Keep to prescribed word limits:
 answers that are too long lose marks for content
(defective structure/organisation)
 answers that are too short are self-penalising
Slide 7
Training from Edexcel
Practical tips:
 Clearly indicate which question is being attempted
 Cross out rough work neatly
 Write clearly, on alternate lines
 No gel pens / tippex / footnotes / asterisks, etc
Slide 8
Training from Edexcel
URDU: Research-Based Essay
A successful RBE:
• reflects candidate’s views and opinions ,
• has an analytical or evaluative dimension,
• answers the essay question set as fully as possible,
• does not rely too heavily on English sources ,
• shows evidence of individual research and
reflection,
• conveys candidate’s genuine enthusiasm for and
interest in the chosen topic .
Slide 9
Training from Edexcel
Support
Edexcel websites: free downloads
• URDU:
Oral Training Guide featuring sample assessments and related commentaries
plus tips on requirements of tests:
http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/GCE2008-Urdu-OTG.pdf
ARABIC:
Past papers, mark schemes, exemplification booklet, Specification and
Sample Assessment Materials
http://www.edexcel.com/quals/gce/gce08/lang/arabic/Pages/default.aspx
Slide 10
Training from Edexcel