Cambridge International AS Level Language and Literature

in English (8695)
For examination in June and November 2021, 2022 and 2023

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 Cambridge learners

"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think." SOCRATES

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 SOCRATES

Why Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language?

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Why Cambridge International AS Level Language and Literature in English?

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Difference between EGCSE & AS

EGCSE A LEVEL

PONT POINT

EXPLAIN EXAMPLE

EXAMPLE ANALYSE

LINK LINK

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Discursive and argumentative writing

There are basically two differences between discursive and argumentative writing:

Þ Discursive writing requires providing points for and against

Þ Argumentative writing requires providing points either for or

against

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Taking and developing several lines of argument

hypothesis
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis

of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

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Use this!

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 1) There are NO WRONG ANSWERS if you show evidence
You need to:
-POINT
-EVIDENCE
-EXPLAIN THE POINT
-LINK it to the question

· You may underline your evidence in the paragraph

2) You need to know QUOTES and show:

-KNOWLEDGE
-UNDERSTANDING
-PERSONAL RESPONSE
-COMMUNICATION

3) Pay attention to the TASK to SELECT the info BEFORE you start

Use a PLAN for extra credits!

4) Take into account

-PURPOSE
-AUDIENCE
-FORM
-CONTEXT

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 Write a PLAN before YOU START

THINK FIRST

You’ve got an hour to write a well-structured, thought out, top-mark-worthy essay. You open the paper,
read the questions, panic and start writing.

Well stop.

Many students end up with a disorganized, incoherent essay after delving in without stopping to think
about what they’re going to write. It is through planning that you can prevent this. Spending that time
thinking about what ideas you have will ensure that you engage and reflect upon the question properly,
and that is what the marker is looking for. Plan ahead

Structure is probably the most important element of an essay, alongside the content. However, a lot of the time, it
is the structure of your essay that needs work. It’s usually the one thing your tutors are constantly commenting on
and it’s the one thing you’re telling yourself you need to improve on. This is because if you don’t structure your
sentences correctly, your writing will sound strange and your marker will not be able to make sense of your ideas,
leading you towards a bad grade.

Planning your essay allows you to write strategically, and having some basic knowledge means you can come up
with your key points before deciding on an order. So, if structure is your weakness, always plan and clarify your
ideas before you begin.

Another reason you should plan is because brainstorming the topic is almost essential for you to know what
you’re going to be talking about. There is nothing worse than getting half way through an essay and realizing
you’ve got nothing more to say. Having a rough idea of some key points will not only put your mind at ease but
also aid your structure. You want to feel as comfortable as you possibly can in an exam, and having this sense of
direction, it’ll make writing your essay a lot easier. If you know what you’re talking about, you’re also automatically
going to write faster so there is no need to worry about that 5 minutes you’ve spent beforehand.

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Definition and Examples of Rhetorical Devices

Parallelism

You try to draw some parallel between parts of the same sentence. It involves using similar
structure/construction in several clauses. This is mainly used to give a good pattern to the passage.
An example is “what you do in the dark will be revealed, what you do in the open will be revealed”.

Irony

Irony is a good device that entails using an expression to give an opposite meaning. Here, what you
say is exactly the opposite of what you mean. This is used to show some emphasis and actually bring
some level of humor to your argumentative essay. For example, “I hate life because it is very sweet”.

Repetition

To repeat words within the same poetic line or within the same sentence in no particular order. This
has a way of making the sentence or even phrases very emphatic and also beautiful to read. Many
people do not see this as a stylistic device or figure of speech, but that is actually what it is. For instance
“what is worth doing is worth doing well”.

Personification

This is described as the concept of attributing the characteristics of human beings to animals and
inanimate objects. You make it look as if they have human feelings and behavior. This will always make
your narrative more lively and interesting. And that is what your argumentative essay needs to make
it less official-like and more reader-friendly. An example is “The proofs hang over this statement to
crash it when the time comes”.

Hyperbole

This is the stylistic device for argumentative writing that is also known as deliberate exaggeration. It is
seldom used, and it simply means the use of highly exaggerated terms to draw emphasis and
attention to your message. An example is “The room was seemingly capable of holding millions of
people”.

Allusion Definition

Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary
or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is just a
passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the
allusion and grasp its importance in a text.

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Write In One Sitting
Write the first draft of your story in as short a time as possible. If you’re
writing a short story, try to write it in one sitting.

Develop Your Protagonist

Stories are about protagonists, and if you don’t have a good protagonist,
you won’t have a good story. The essential ingredient for every
protagonist is that they must make decisions. Victor Frankl said, “A
human being is a deciding being.” Your protagonist must make a
decision to get herself into whatever mess she gets into in your story,
and likewise, she must come to a crisis point and decide to get herself
out of the mess.

Create Suspense and Drama

To create suspense, set up a dramatic question. A dramatic question is something like, “Is he going to
make it?” or, “Is she going to get the man of her dreams?” By putting your protagonist’s fate in doubt,
you make the reader ask, What happens next?
Note: To do this well, you need to carefully restrict the flow of information to the reader. Nothing
destroys drama like over-sharing.

Show, Don’t Tell

Honestly, the saying “show, don’t tell” is overused. However, when
placed next to the step above, it becomes very effective.
When something interesting happens in your story that changes the
fate of your character, don’t tell us about it. Show the scene! Your
readers have a right to see the best parts of the story play out in front
of them. Show the interesting parts of your story, and tell the rest.

Share Your Work You write better when you know

someone will soon be reading what you’ve written. If you write in the
dark, no one will know if you aren’t giving your writing everything you
have. But when you share your writing, you face the possibility of
failure. This will force you to write the best story you possibly can.

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Hector Hugh Munro (Dec 18, 1870 - Nov 14, 1916) was a witty British author who
published under the pen name SAKI or H.H. Munro. The inspiration for the pen name "Saki"
is unknown. As a writer, Munro (Saki) was a master of the short story form and is often
classified as a sarcastic / ironic writer.

Munro was born in Akyab, Burma (now known as Myanmar, South Asia) in 1870. In 1872
while she was on a trip to England, his mother Mary was charged by a cow. She suffered a
miscarriage, never recovered, and died in 1872 when Munro was only two years old. After
her death, the Munro children were sent from Burma back to England where they lived with
their grandmother and aunts in a strict puritanical household. In his early career, Munro
became a police officer in India and was posted to Burma where he contracted malaria
before returning to England in 1895.

When the war broke out, Munro refused a commission joined the British armed forces as a
regular trooper where he was certain to see battle. He was killed in action by a German
sniper. His last words were reported as, "Put that bloody cigarette out!" In one of those
unfortunate twists of fate, the papers that Munro had left behind were destroyed by his sister
Ethel, who wrote her own account of their childhood. Munro never married.

Munro had a penchant for mocking the popular customs and manners of Edwardian
England. He often did so by depicting characters in a setting and manner that would contrast
their behavior with that of the natural world; often demonstrating that the simple and
straightforward rules of nature would always trump the vanities of men. Readers that would
like to explore the short stories of H.H. Munro (Saki) should consider starting with the
following works:

● The Interlopers
● Esme
● The open window

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