ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE: PAPER 1
Question 1: Text A (Article) TIPS:
Types of questions asked: 1. Use your own words!
2. Quote only if asked (with
1. The meaning of words
How to figure out the meaning of difficult words:
quotation marks and a
line reference).
• What does it sound like? Does it look/sound like
other words you know or other words in the text? 3. NEVER “lift” (copying
• What part of speech is it? Is it a noun, adjective, verb, adverb? from the text without
• Are there prefixes or suffixes? And what is the root then? using quotation marks or
• Look at the mood of the paragraph. Is it negative or positive? Does this your own words).
help you to find a possible meaning?
4. Base your answer on the
2. Tone and mood text ONLY. If a specific
• Tone: the writer’s attitude towards the subject. Can be positive or negative. paragraph is mentioned,
• Mood: the feeling evoked in the reader. use that paragraph to
find the answer.
3. Writer’s intention and point of view, or the purpose of the text
• Why did the writer include specific details? Does he want to prove a point, 5. Don’t repeat the question
draw attention, give his/her opinion, persuade the reader to think in a in your answer.
certain way, tell a story, give information?
• The writer’s intention is the influence he/she wants on the reader. What 6. Write in full sentences
should the reader feel/do/believe after reading the text? unless a short answer is
required.
4. Themes and message
• Theme: the main idea. This is usually a key term (e.g. love) or a contrast 7. Look at the mark
(life vs. art) allocation.
• Message: the ‘lesson’ that the reader learns from the text (e.g. It’s never
1 mark = 1 point/fact
too late to try something new).
8. Find the key concepts in
5. Denotation and connotation of words
the question and make
• This can help you find the meaning of words. It can also help you explain
sure you refer to all of
what a writer means by a phrase.
• Denotation: literal dictionary meaning (e.g. pig = pink round “oink oink”) them in your answer.
• Connotation: additional, hidden, often metaphorical meaning (e.g. pig = a
rude person, or someone with poor table manners, usually male)
6. Implications and assumptions
• Implied meaning: reading between the lines. E.g. if someone says a woman is not exactly beautiful, he
implies that she is unattractive.
• Assumption: things you accept as true even though you can’t see/prove it. E.g. if you say, “Learners
don’t like homework”, the assumption is that these are school children and homework is part of school.
• When answering these questions, look for the hidden message.
7. Text structure
• One-sentence paragraphs draw attention, focus the topic, prove a point etc.
• The introduction is meant to introduce the topic. It usually consists of a ‘hook’ (attention grabber) and a
topic statement. Does it do this in your text?
• The conclusion usually sums up the whole text. It doesn’t contain new information, but may express the
writer’s view or give final advice.
• Exam questions on structure usually ask if you think the structure is effective. Try to answer BOTH ‘yes’
and ‘no’ (mixed answer).
8. Stylistic devices/techniques
• The most common ones:
o Rhetorical questions
o Repetition
o Quotations of famous people’s words
o Giving examples
o Giving statistics or credible sources
• The writer wants to prove a point, give a balanced account, make the reader think, etc.
,9. Comparisons and contrasts
• Two types
o Something IN the text is compared to/contrasted with something else IN the text.
o Something IN the text is compared to/contrasted with something OUTSIDE the text.
• There are always TWO sides: A is compared to B, or A is contrasted with B.
10. Recognising stereotypes, prejudice and bias
• These are generalised false believes about a group of people.
• Examples: “Men can’t cook”, “All women love shoes”, “Cats are stupid”, “BMW divers always drive too
fast”
____________________________________________________________________
Try it: Activity 1
NOTE: These are only practice texts and therefore shorter than those in the exam.
Read the text below and answer the questions that follow.
1 Scattered amid a relentless barrage of news about COVID-19 case surges, quarantine orders,
and medical supply shortages on Twitter this week, some happy stories softened the blows:
Swans had returned to deserted Venetian canals. Dolphins too. And a group of elephants had
sauntered through a village in Yunnan, China, gotten drunk off corn wine, and passed out in a
tea garden.
2 These reports of wildlife triumphs in countries hard-hit by the novel coronavirus got hundreds
of thousands of retweets. They went viral on Instagram and Tik Tok. They made news
headlines. If there’s a silver lining of the pandemic, people said, this was it—animals were
bouncing back, running free in a humanless world.
3 But it wasn’t real.
4 The swans in the viral posts regularly appear in the canals of Burano, a small island in the
greater Venice metropolitan area, where the photos were taken. The “Venetian” dolphins were
filmed at a port in Sardinia, in the Mediterranean Sea, hundreds of miles away. No one has
figured out where the drunken elephant photos came from, but a Chinese news report
debunked the viral posts: While elephants did recently come through a village in Yunnan
Province, China, their presence isn’t out of the norm, they aren’t the elephants in the viral
photos, and they didn’t get drunk and pass out in a tea field.
Define “relentless” and [Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com. 22 March 2020]
“barrage” in your answer.
1. What does the writer mean by “a relentless barrage” in the context of paragraph 1? (2)
2. Name and explain ONE assumption made in the words “animals were bouncing back, running
free in a humanless world” (paragraph 2). (3)
What was is before?
And what is it now?
3. Is the change in tone in paragraph 3 effective? Explain. (3)
4. Discuss the purpose of the one-line paragraph (paragraph 3). (2)
5. Account for the use of quotation marks in paragraph 4 (The “Venetian” dolphins...). (2)
false facts are shared to indicate that it is not the truth.
5. (Account for = explain/give a reason for something.) The dolphins were not from Venice. The quotation marks take the place of the word “so-called” that is often used when
4. Introduce a contrast. Make the point that the good news was fake. Grab the reader’s attention.
a surprise to readers.
3. The tone in paragraph 2 is hopeful and positive whereas the tone is paragraph 3 is blunt, abrupt and negative. It is effective, because it is sudden and to the point. It comes as
2. One assumption is that animals fare better when there are no humans around. Another is that animals worldwide are ready to take over the moment humans step back.
overwhelming.
1. Relentless – without stopping, barrage – bombardment. The writer compares the news reports about the corona virus to non-stop bombing, implying that it is continuous and
ANSWERS (Cover while you work on the activity.)
, Try it: Activity 2
NOTE: This is the second part of the article used in Activity 1 above.
Read the text below and answer the questions that follow.
1 Kaveri Ganapathy Ahuja’s controversial tweet about the swans that “returned” to Venice
canals has hit a million likes. “Here's an unexpected side effect of the pandemic,” her tweet
reads. “The water flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the
swans returned.” Ahuja, who lives in New Delhi, India, says she saw some photos on social media and decided to
put them together in a tweet, unaware that the swans were already regulars in Burano before the coronavirus tore
across Italy.
2 “The tweet was just about sharing something that brought me joy in these gloomy times,” she says. She never
expected it to go viral, or to cause any harm. “I wish there was an edit option on Twitter just for moments like this,”
Ahuja says.
3 Nonetheless, she hasn’t deleted the tweet and doesn’t plan to, arguing that it’s still relevant because waters in
Venice are clearer than usual—a result of decreased boat activity—and that’s what matters, she says. She’s
tweeted about the “unprecedented” number of likes and retweets she’s received on the tweet. “It’s a personal
record for me, and I would not like to delete it,” she says.
4 Paulo Ordoveza is a web developer and image verification expert who runs the Twitter account @picpedant, where
he debunks fake viral posts—and calls out the fakers. He sees firsthand the “greed for virality” that may drive the
impulse to propagate misinformation. It’s “overdosing on the euphoria that comes from seeing those like and
retweet numbers rise into the thousands,” he says.
5 Getting a lot of likes and comments “gives us an immediate social reward,” says Erin Vogel, a social psychologist
and postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. In other words, they make us feel good. Studies have found that
posting to social media gives one’s self-esteem a temporary boost.
Define “controversial” in your answer, as [Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com. 22 March 2020]
well as evidence from paragraphs 1 – 3.
1. Referring to paragraphs 1 – 3, critically discuss why Ahuja’s tweet is called “controversial” (line 1). (3)
2. What does it mean when something “goes viral” in the context of paragraph 2? (2)
What is in paragraph 1?
And how is paragraph 3 different?
3. Explain the contrast found in paragraphs 1 and 3. (3)
4. Discuss the stylistic technique used by the writer in paragraphs 4 and 5 to strengthen her
message. (2)
5. Evaluate whether the writer’s diction in paragraph 4 is effective in portraying posting on social media
as a dangerous, destructive activity. (3)
5. Yes, it does. The word ‘overdosing’ compares posts on social media to using drugs. It is therefore implied that social media is addictive, destructive and dnagerous.
4. The writer quotes expert opinions to prove her point. She uses both an internet expert and a psychologist as sources.
3. In paragraph 1 Ahuja innocently shared something she believed to be true. In paragraph 3 she knows that her post constituted fake news, but still refused to delete it.
2. Information is spread very fast and by many people on social media.
attention online.
she spread false information. She also refused to delete her post, because it received many likes and retweets. This is controversial, because she is willing to lie in order to attract
1. Controversial = people don’t agree on it. In paragraph 2 Ahuja explains that she wanted to post about something positive, which she did, but in paragraph 3 she admits that
ANSWERS (Cover while you work on the activity.)
Question 1: Text A (Article) TIPS:
Types of questions asked: 1. Use your own words!
2. Quote only if asked (with
1. The meaning of words
How to figure out the meaning of difficult words:
quotation marks and a
line reference).
• What does it sound like? Does it look/sound like
other words you know or other words in the text? 3. NEVER “lift” (copying
• What part of speech is it? Is it a noun, adjective, verb, adverb? from the text without
• Are there prefixes or suffixes? And what is the root then? using quotation marks or
• Look at the mood of the paragraph. Is it negative or positive? Does this your own words).
help you to find a possible meaning?
4. Base your answer on the
2. Tone and mood text ONLY. If a specific
• Tone: the writer’s attitude towards the subject. Can be positive or negative. paragraph is mentioned,
• Mood: the feeling evoked in the reader. use that paragraph to
find the answer.
3. Writer’s intention and point of view, or the purpose of the text
• Why did the writer include specific details? Does he want to prove a point, 5. Don’t repeat the question
draw attention, give his/her opinion, persuade the reader to think in a in your answer.
certain way, tell a story, give information?
• The writer’s intention is the influence he/she wants on the reader. What 6. Write in full sentences
should the reader feel/do/believe after reading the text? unless a short answer is
required.
4. Themes and message
• Theme: the main idea. This is usually a key term (e.g. love) or a contrast 7. Look at the mark
(life vs. art) allocation.
• Message: the ‘lesson’ that the reader learns from the text (e.g. It’s never
1 mark = 1 point/fact
too late to try something new).
8. Find the key concepts in
5. Denotation and connotation of words
the question and make
• This can help you find the meaning of words. It can also help you explain
sure you refer to all of
what a writer means by a phrase.
• Denotation: literal dictionary meaning (e.g. pig = pink round “oink oink”) them in your answer.
• Connotation: additional, hidden, often metaphorical meaning (e.g. pig = a
rude person, or someone with poor table manners, usually male)
6. Implications and assumptions
• Implied meaning: reading between the lines. E.g. if someone says a woman is not exactly beautiful, he
implies that she is unattractive.
• Assumption: things you accept as true even though you can’t see/prove it. E.g. if you say, “Learners
don’t like homework”, the assumption is that these are school children and homework is part of school.
• When answering these questions, look for the hidden message.
7. Text structure
• One-sentence paragraphs draw attention, focus the topic, prove a point etc.
• The introduction is meant to introduce the topic. It usually consists of a ‘hook’ (attention grabber) and a
topic statement. Does it do this in your text?
• The conclusion usually sums up the whole text. It doesn’t contain new information, but may express the
writer’s view or give final advice.
• Exam questions on structure usually ask if you think the structure is effective. Try to answer BOTH ‘yes’
and ‘no’ (mixed answer).
8. Stylistic devices/techniques
• The most common ones:
o Rhetorical questions
o Repetition
o Quotations of famous people’s words
o Giving examples
o Giving statistics or credible sources
• The writer wants to prove a point, give a balanced account, make the reader think, etc.
,9. Comparisons and contrasts
• Two types
o Something IN the text is compared to/contrasted with something else IN the text.
o Something IN the text is compared to/contrasted with something OUTSIDE the text.
• There are always TWO sides: A is compared to B, or A is contrasted with B.
10. Recognising stereotypes, prejudice and bias
• These are generalised false believes about a group of people.
• Examples: “Men can’t cook”, “All women love shoes”, “Cats are stupid”, “BMW divers always drive too
fast”
____________________________________________________________________
Try it: Activity 1
NOTE: These are only practice texts and therefore shorter than those in the exam.
Read the text below and answer the questions that follow.
1 Scattered amid a relentless barrage of news about COVID-19 case surges, quarantine orders,
and medical supply shortages on Twitter this week, some happy stories softened the blows:
Swans had returned to deserted Venetian canals. Dolphins too. And a group of elephants had
sauntered through a village in Yunnan, China, gotten drunk off corn wine, and passed out in a
tea garden.
2 These reports of wildlife triumphs in countries hard-hit by the novel coronavirus got hundreds
of thousands of retweets. They went viral on Instagram and Tik Tok. They made news
headlines. If there’s a silver lining of the pandemic, people said, this was it—animals were
bouncing back, running free in a humanless world.
3 But it wasn’t real.
4 The swans in the viral posts regularly appear in the canals of Burano, a small island in the
greater Venice metropolitan area, where the photos were taken. The “Venetian” dolphins were
filmed at a port in Sardinia, in the Mediterranean Sea, hundreds of miles away. No one has
figured out where the drunken elephant photos came from, but a Chinese news report
debunked the viral posts: While elephants did recently come through a village in Yunnan
Province, China, their presence isn’t out of the norm, they aren’t the elephants in the viral
photos, and they didn’t get drunk and pass out in a tea field.
Define “relentless” and [Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com. 22 March 2020]
“barrage” in your answer.
1. What does the writer mean by “a relentless barrage” in the context of paragraph 1? (2)
2. Name and explain ONE assumption made in the words “animals were bouncing back, running
free in a humanless world” (paragraph 2). (3)
What was is before?
And what is it now?
3. Is the change in tone in paragraph 3 effective? Explain. (3)
4. Discuss the purpose of the one-line paragraph (paragraph 3). (2)
5. Account for the use of quotation marks in paragraph 4 (The “Venetian” dolphins...). (2)
false facts are shared to indicate that it is not the truth.
5. (Account for = explain/give a reason for something.) The dolphins were not from Venice. The quotation marks take the place of the word “so-called” that is often used when
4. Introduce a contrast. Make the point that the good news was fake. Grab the reader’s attention.
a surprise to readers.
3. The tone in paragraph 2 is hopeful and positive whereas the tone is paragraph 3 is blunt, abrupt and negative. It is effective, because it is sudden and to the point. It comes as
2. One assumption is that animals fare better when there are no humans around. Another is that animals worldwide are ready to take over the moment humans step back.
overwhelming.
1. Relentless – without stopping, barrage – bombardment. The writer compares the news reports about the corona virus to non-stop bombing, implying that it is continuous and
ANSWERS (Cover while you work on the activity.)
, Try it: Activity 2
NOTE: This is the second part of the article used in Activity 1 above.
Read the text below and answer the questions that follow.
1 Kaveri Ganapathy Ahuja’s controversial tweet about the swans that “returned” to Venice
canals has hit a million likes. “Here's an unexpected side effect of the pandemic,” her tweet
reads. “The water flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the
swans returned.” Ahuja, who lives in New Delhi, India, says she saw some photos on social media and decided to
put them together in a tweet, unaware that the swans were already regulars in Burano before the coronavirus tore
across Italy.
2 “The tweet was just about sharing something that brought me joy in these gloomy times,” she says. She never
expected it to go viral, or to cause any harm. “I wish there was an edit option on Twitter just for moments like this,”
Ahuja says.
3 Nonetheless, she hasn’t deleted the tweet and doesn’t plan to, arguing that it’s still relevant because waters in
Venice are clearer than usual—a result of decreased boat activity—and that’s what matters, she says. She’s
tweeted about the “unprecedented” number of likes and retweets she’s received on the tweet. “It’s a personal
record for me, and I would not like to delete it,” she says.
4 Paulo Ordoveza is a web developer and image verification expert who runs the Twitter account @picpedant, where
he debunks fake viral posts—and calls out the fakers. He sees firsthand the “greed for virality” that may drive the
impulse to propagate misinformation. It’s “overdosing on the euphoria that comes from seeing those like and
retweet numbers rise into the thousands,” he says.
5 Getting a lot of likes and comments “gives us an immediate social reward,” says Erin Vogel, a social psychologist
and postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. In other words, they make us feel good. Studies have found that
posting to social media gives one’s self-esteem a temporary boost.
Define “controversial” in your answer, as [Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com. 22 March 2020]
well as evidence from paragraphs 1 – 3.
1. Referring to paragraphs 1 – 3, critically discuss why Ahuja’s tweet is called “controversial” (line 1). (3)
2. What does it mean when something “goes viral” in the context of paragraph 2? (2)
What is in paragraph 1?
And how is paragraph 3 different?
3. Explain the contrast found in paragraphs 1 and 3. (3)
4. Discuss the stylistic technique used by the writer in paragraphs 4 and 5 to strengthen her
message. (2)
5. Evaluate whether the writer’s diction in paragraph 4 is effective in portraying posting on social media
as a dangerous, destructive activity. (3)
5. Yes, it does. The word ‘overdosing’ compares posts on social media to using drugs. It is therefore implied that social media is addictive, destructive and dnagerous.
4. The writer quotes expert opinions to prove her point. She uses both an internet expert and a psychologist as sources.
3. In paragraph 1 Ahuja innocently shared something she believed to be true. In paragraph 3 she knows that her post constituted fake news, but still refused to delete it.
2. Information is spread very fast and by many people on social media.
attention online.
she spread false information. She also refused to delete her post, because it received many likes and retweets. This is controversial, because she is willing to lie in order to attract
1. Controversial = people don’t agree on it. In paragraph 2 Ahuja explains that she wanted to post about something positive, which she did, but in paragraph 3 she admits that
ANSWERS (Cover while you work on the activity.)
