Cambridge O Level English Language 1123: Revision Notes

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the English Language: Reading and Writing study guide.

The two papers at a glance

	Paper 1 – Reading	Paper 2 – Writing
Time	2 hours	2 hours
Marks	50	50
Weighting	50%	50%
Reading AO	80% of the paper	20%
Writing AO	20%	80%

Both papers carry equal weight, and both test reading and writing — Paper 2 still awards 20% for reading, because the directed writing task requires you to use a source text.

Paper 1 structure

Section A — Comprehension and Use of Language (25 marks), based on Text A, a narrative text of about 900 words from the twentieth or twenty-first century.

Question	Marks	Tests
Q1 Comprehension	16	Explicit and implicit meanings
Q2 Use of Language	9	How the writer achieves effects on the reader

Section B — Summary and Short response (25 marks), based on Text B, about 550–600 words.

Question	Marks	Tests
Q3a Summary	10 reading + 10 writing	Selecting information; organising it
Q3b Short response	5	Implicit meanings and attitude

The summary must be continuous writing of no more than 150 words. Bullet points and exceeding the limit both cost marks.

Worked example. Source: “The scheme reduced congestion by 20%. It also cut air pollution. However, small shopkeepers reported a fall in trade, and some elderly residents found the new routes confusing.” Select the points first — congestion fell by a fifth; air quality improved; small businesses lost trade; older residents struggled with the new routes — then join them into continuous prose in your own words: “Traffic levels dropped by a fifth and the air became cleaner, though small retailers saw takings decline and older people found the altered routes difficult to follow.” All four points, no lifted phrasing.

Paper 2 structure

Section A — Directed Writing (25 marks). Read one or two texts totalling about 400–450 words; produce a discursive, argumentative or persuasive speech, email, report, letter or article of about 250–350 words.

Marks split 15 writing + 10 reading — the reading marks come from using, developing and evaluating the source material, not merely referring to it.

Section B — Composition (25 marks). One extended piece, all 25 marks for writing.

The assessment objectives

Reading (R1–R5): explicit meanings · implicit meanings and attitude · analyse, evaluate and develop facts and opinions with support from the text · how writers achieve effects · select and use information for a purpose.

Writing (W1–W5): articulate experience and ideas · organise and structure for deliberate effect · range of vocabulary and sentence structures · register appropriate to context · accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar.

W5 means accuracy is directly credited — proofreading is not optional.

Technique that maps to the marks

• Q2 Use of Language: quote briefly, then explain the effect on the reader. Naming a device alone scores nothing (R4). Weak: “The writer uses a metaphor to make it more interesting.” Strong: “The metaphor ‘the crowd was a river’ suggests the people moved as one uncontrollable mass, emphasising the narrator’s helplessness within it.”
• Q3a Summary: identify every relevant point first, then write continuously in your own words within 150 words.
• Directed Writing: honour form, purpose and audience; develop and evaluate the source ideas rather than copying them.
• Composition: choose from two descriptive and two narrative options based on what you can sustain, not what sounds impressive — a simple plot told well beats an elaborate one told badly. (Argumentative writing belongs to the directed writing task, not composition.) Plan before writing; range and accuracy carry as much weight as content.

Exam traps

• Exceeding 150 words on the summary, or writing it in bullets.
• Copying phrasing from the passage where own words are required.
• Ignoring register in directed writing — W4 is a stated objective.
• Writing outside 250–350 words on Paper 2 Section A.
• Treating Paper 2 as writing only, and so not using the source text.
• Dictionaries are not permitted in either paper.
• Recurring accuracy errors worth drilling: subject–verb agreement, consistent tense, sentence separation (avoiding comma splices), and apostrophes for possession against plurals.
• Read the questions before the passage, then read once for overall sense before locating and re-reading the relevant section.

Self-test

1. How long is each paper and what is each worth?
2. How many marks does the Use of Language question carry?
3. What is the word limit for the summary?
4. What proportion of Paper 2 is awarded for reading?
5. Which assessment objective covers register?
6. Name the composition options on Paper 2 Section B.
7. Why does reading the questions before the passage help?
8. Describe the two-step method for writing a good summary.

Answers: 1. Both 2 hours, 50 marks, 50% each. 2. 9 marks. 3. No more than 150 words, written as continuous prose. 4. 20% — awarded for using, developing and evaluating the source text in the directed writing task. 5. W4 — use register appropriate to context. 6. A choice of four: two descriptive and two narrative (argumentative writing belongs to directed writing, not composition). 7. It focuses your first read of the passage on what you actually need to find, rather than absorbing every detail equally before knowing which parts matter. 8. List every relevant point first, then join them into continuous prose in your own words, excluding examples, repetition and personal opinion, and staying within the word limit.