Cambridge IGCSE Urdu as a Second Language: Paper 1 Reading and Writing — Revision Notes (0539)

Condensed for the final weeks. For the full explanation, use the Urdu Paper 1 study guide.

The paper’s six exercises

Paper 1 is worth 60 marks, 2 hours, all in Urdu (no dictionaries):

Exercise	Task	Marks
1	Short answer questions — skim/gist-read a short text	8
2	Multiple matching — sentences to short paragraphs	9
3	Note-making under supplied headings	9
4	Summary, up to 100 words, own words as far as possible	10
5	Short functional writing (e.g. email), ~120 words	8
6	Extended writing, ~200 words	16

Exercises 1–3 test reading skill of increasing depth; exercises 5 and 6 carry the most marks (24 of 60) and both require the specified purpose, format and audience to be clearly reflected in the answer.

Comprehension — the method

1. Read the questions first.
2. Read the passage once for overall sense.
3. Locate the relevant section and read around it — inference answers are rarely in one sentence.
4. Answer in your own words where instructed.
5. Match answer length to the marks available.

Question types — treat them differently

Type	Wants	Watch for
What / who / when	Located detail	Quote-and-move-on is fine
Why	Inference	Copying the text scores nothing
Writer’s attitude	Tone from word choice	Look for evaluative language
Meaning in context	Surrounding sentences	The clue is always nearby

Register — heavily credited

Task	Register	Address
Letter to an official	Formal	aap throughout
Report, article	Formal / neutral	Impersonal
Message to a friend	Informal	tum acceptable
Speech	Formal but direct	Audience-aware

Drifting between registers mid-piece costs marks even when every sentence is individually correct — examiners read for a single, consistent level of formality across the whole response, not just correctness sentence by sentence.

The accuracy points that decide the grade

• Gender agreement — noun, adjective and verb must all agree.
• Verb forms — tense, person, and consistent respect level (tu / tum / aap).
• Postpositions — ne, ko, se, mein, par. The ergative ne is required with transitive perfective verbs.
• Izafat and compound constructions in formal writing.
• Script accuracy — dots and diacritics. A misplaced dot changes the word entirely.
• Punctuation to Urdu convention.

A worked comprehension example

Question: Why did the writer decide to leave the village? — the passage states he found no work and his children’s school had closed.

WEAK    Copies the two sentences verbatim
        -> shows location, not understanding

STRONG  Gives the reason in your own Urdu: economic necessity (no
        employment available) combined with concern for his
        children's education

CHECK   Does the answer address WHY, not WHAT?
        Is it in your own words?
        Is the length right for the marks available?

Writing structure

Plan before writing — five minutes saves the organisation marks.

Introduction   state the purpose / set the scene
Body           3-4 paragraphs, ONE main idea each
Conclusion     resolve, summarise, or state the request

For discursive writing, decide the line of argument first. For narrative, decide the ending first.

Exam traps

• Copying the passage where own words are required.
• Long answers to one-mark questions and short answers to six-mark ones.
• Mixing respect levels within one piece.
• Omitting the ergative ne.
• Ambitious vocabulary used wrongly — a simpler correct word scores higher.
• Leaving no time to check: a five-minute reread catches most agreement errors.
• Writing a functional piece (Exercise 5) that ignores the specified purpose, format or audience — appropriateness is credited separately from accuracy, so an accurate but wrongly-pitched answer still loses marks.
• Answering “what happened” when the question asks “why” — this is the single most common way comprehension marks are lost, since a located quotation cannot substitute for an inference.

Self-test

1. What should you do before reading the passage?
2. Which address form suits a letter to a head teacher?
3. When is the postposition ne required?
4. Why does a misplaced dot matter in Urdu script?
5. What is the fastest way to lose organisation marks?
6. How many marks does Paper 1 carry in total, and which two exercises carry the most?
7. What is the target length for the extended writing exercise (Exercise 6)?

Answers: 1. Read the questions, so you know what to look for while reading. 2. aap — formal register throughout, with respectful opening and closing. 3. With transitive verbs in the perfective (completed past) — the ergative construction. 4. Urdu letters are distinguished by the number and position of dots; changing them produces an entirely different letter and therefore a different word. 5. Writing without a plan, so the piece drifts and paragraphs carry no single clear idea. 6. 60 marks; Exercises 5 and 6 (the two writing tasks) carry 24 of the 60 marks between them. 7. Approximately 200 words.

For the full breakdown of all six exercises and a worked comprehension example, see the Urdu Paper 1 study guide; for exam-style practice with full worked answers, see the Urdu Paper 1 practice questions.