IGCSE EXAM PREPARATION

Comprehension

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

What do exercises 1 and 2 look like?

The text for Exercise 1 will be taken from an advertisement, brochure, leaflet guide, report or manual, and will often have headings and sub-headings. The

Exercise 2 text is usually a report or newspaper or magazine article, and it will include a graph, chart or some other visual.

Iman Ali

What do I have to do?

Iman Ali

Exercise 1

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

Originate

About

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

Exercise 2

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

Tips for Exercises

1 & 2

Iman Ali

Read quickly (skim) through the text – concentrate on finding the main idea in each

paragraph. As you read, underline any names, numbers or dates. Use the pictures and

other visuals to help you understand.

• Read the questions carefully and make a note of any questions that need two pieces of

information in the answer. If there are two lines, this means that you should write one

answer on each line.

Iman Ali

• Underline the question word and think about what it means:

‘Where’ means ‘a place’;

‘How’ means ‘in what way’,

and ‘Why’ means look for a reason or cause.

• Try to match the words in the question with the correct point in the text. (This is called

‘scanning’). This also means to glance at text or simply read hastily.

Iman Ali

• Don’t write full sentences in your answer. Keep your answers short – a date or number

or a few words will be enough to get a mark. Too much writing can waste your time,

and, if you give too much information, you might include wrong details which could

mean you lose a mark.

• You can copy the words from the text – you don’t need to use your own words. If you

write in your own words, you won’t lose a mark as long as you include all the correct

information needed in the question.

Iman Ali

• Look out for and learn the meaning of signpost phrases such as ‘apart from’, or ‘rather

than’, or ‘According to the graph’, and make sure you understand what they refer to.

DO NOT write in the ‘For Examiner’s Use’ side. That is ONLY for the examiner’s use!!

Iman Ali

There are no half marks! If the question is worth one mark and asks you for two details, you must supply both pieces of information to get the mark. If you only supply one detail instead of two, you get 0 not ½.

In the final question of Exercise 2 in the Extended paper there are always four marks available. These marks are awarded for four pieces of information from the text, usually around the same theme.

Iman Ali

Iman Ali

GOOD LUCK & THANK YOU! :D