GCE Advanced Level - StudyGuide.PK

Section 2Some candidates did not complete this section, leaving a few answers blank. Others seemed to haverushed through it, giving minimal answers to some questions. Centres need to advise candidates abouttiming their way through the test, so that each part is given appropriate attention.A few candidates answered in German instead of English, thus losing 30 marks. Centres should remindcandidates of the language required for answers in each part of the paper.For those who made a reasonable attempt at answering each question more thoroughly, the main problemwas finding enough relevant points for questions worth more than two marks: Questions 18 (b), 19 (b), 20 to24. Good candidates were able to make most points succinctly, whereas weaker candidates conveyed muchless at greater length.Paper 9099/03Reading and WritingGeneral commentsDespite the comparatively small number of candidates, there was, as usual, a large range of achievement inthe paper, although hardly any candidates found it totally beyond them. Most questions were answeredappropriately by almost all candidates, with stronger candidates sometimes tending to write too little ratherthan too much.Comments on specific questionsQuestion 1This question proved fairly straightforward. Not all candidates understood the word fiel in the first sentence,but otherwise this presented few difficulties.Question 2Parts (c) and (e) caused the most problems, but there were several completely correct answers, and fewcandidates scored below 3 out of 6.Question 3Providing the line numbers where answers could be found clearly helped to concentrate candidates on theright information in this question, and most candidates were able to give at least part of the required answer.Many were able to give full answers, although some seemed to miss the ‘blackmail element’ with regard tosingle mothers and employees.Question 4Good candidates, who were the majority, coped fairly easily with this question and could clearly understandand manipulate the language comfortably. Weaker candidates often found the linguistic demands beyondthem and simply wrote the words in a different order.Questions 5 and 6There was, as usual, a considerable difference between the many good candidates, who clearly understoodthe second text well and were able to answer the questions in a way which showed this understanding, andthose whose understanding was rather more vague. A few of these very good candidates were too brief intheir answers and lost marks through failing to mention some details, but most were able to give full answers.Weaker candidates usually showed some comprehension, but lifted too much directly from the texts to gainas much as their comprehension probably deserved. Of course, vocabulary from the text can be used, butcandidates need to manipulate the language to show clearly that they understand what they are writing.Many candidates gained a large number of Content marks in Question 6 by using the two texts sensibly,while a few picked on one or two points and discussed them at some length; these candidates will havespent a good deal of time gaining few marks.37