Key Stage 3 English Language Exams

Two English Language exams suitable for Year 7 and Year 8/9 respectively. Each exam has a reading section (Section A) and a writing section (Section B). There are two versions of the Year 8/9 exam, one of which has extra scaffolding to help students structure their essay response. The reading sections are both based on responding to the articles named below, which I cannot include here due to copyright issues but can easily be found on Google.

Year 7 exam:

Section A Reading - 8 comprehension and analysis questions based on the article ‘Remember When: Memories of Childhood Holidays in Mombasa’ by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. There is a glossary of challenging vocabulary in the article. The first four questions are based on comprehension and information retrieval and the last four focus on language analysis. Questions 6, 7 and 8 require longer responses and offer students the opportunity to demonstrate extended analytical responses without requiring a full essay response which students at this stage might not yet be ready for. (Google the title of the article to find it on The Independent website).

Section B Writing - Students have a choice of three writing questions. They should respond to one of these. The options are a descriptive piece based on a choice of two images, a creative piece and writing to inform the reader about a personal experience.

Year 8/9 exam:

Section A Reading - An extended essay question based on the extract from ‘Taking on the World’ by Ellen MacArthur. (Google the title of the extract to find it in the Edexcel IGCSE 2012 Anthology). There are two versions of this question, one of which has extra scaffolding to help students to structure their essay response. This is useful for students who are not yet confident in formulating independent essays.

Section B Writing - Students have a choice of three personal reflective writing questions. They should respond to one of these. The options are a descriptive piece based on a choice of two images, a creative piece and writing to inform or explain.

Any questions, please ask!