CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS

Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education

MARK SCHEME for the May/June 2015 series

0511 ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

0511/21 Paper 2 (Reading and Writing), maximum raw mark 90

This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of
the examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not
indicate the details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began,
which would have considered the acceptability of alternative answers.

Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner
Report for Teachers.

Cambridge will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes.

Cambridge is publishing the mark schemes for the May/June 2015 series for most
Cambridge IGCSE®, Cambridge International A and AS Level components and some
Cambridge O Level components.

® IGCSE is the registered trademark of Cambridge International Examinations.

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IGCSE English as a Second Language Extended tier Reading/Writing (Paper 2)

This component forms part of the Extended tier assessment of IGCSE English as a Second Language
and tests the following Assessment Objectives:

AO1: Reading
R1 identify and retrieve facts and details
R2 understand and select relevant information
R3 recognise and understand ideas, opinions and attitudes and the connections between related
ideas
R4 understand what is implied but not actually written, e.g. gist, relationships, writer’s purpose/
intention, writer’s feelings, situation or place

AO2: Writing
W1 communicate clearly, accurately and appropriately
W2 convey information and express opinions effectively
W3 employ and control a variety of grammatical structures
W4 demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a range of appropriate vocabulary
W5 observe conventions of paragraphing, punctuation and spelling
W6 employ appropriate register/style

Overview of exercises on Paper 2

Reading Marks for Writing Marks for Total

objectives reading objectives writing available
tested objectives tested objectives marks

Exercise 1 Reading (1) R1, R2 9 – 9

Exercise 2 Reading (2) R1, R2, 15 – 15

R4

Exercise 3 Information R1, R2 6 W1, W5 2 8

transfer R4

Exercise 4 Note- R1, R2, 9 – 9

making R3

Exercise 5 Summary R1, R2, 6 W1, W2, 5 11

R3 W3, W4,
W5

Exercise 6 Writing (1) – W1, W2, 19 19

W3, W4,
W5, W6

Exercise 7 Writing (2) – W1, W2, 19 19

W3, W4,
W5, W6

90

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Exercise 1: Leave nothing but footprints

(a) (river) boat [1]

(b) become deep AND fast (flowing) / when there is heavy rain they are deep AND fast flowing
[1]

(c) create (new) habitats [1]

(d) fruit / fruit-eating [1]

(e) headquarters [1]

(f) dense forestation [1]

(g) cap/shirt with long sleeves/water (bottle) / camera

ANY TWO FOR ONE MARK [1]

(h) remove plants AND drop litter BOTH NEEDED FOR ONE MARK [1]

(i) permit / permit has to be obtained [1]

[Max total for exercise 1: 9 marks ]

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Exercise 2: The Footsteps of an astronaut

(a) commander (of the Apollo spacecraft) [1]

(b) launch (phase) [1]

(c) astronauts could move around easily / crew didn’t suffer injuries [1]

(d) motion sickness [1]

(e) during (final) descent onto the moon / heading towards landing area on the moon [1]

(f) collected samples / collected rock(s) / collected moon dust AND

conducted experiments
BOTH IDEAS REQUIRED FOR ONE MARK [1]

(g) circled the moon in the command module [1]

(h) 36 – 38 AND three (IN EITHER ORDER) [1]

(i) 1972 [1]

(j) (the lack of) gravity [1]

(k) teaching aviation [1]

(l) modest
not emotional
brave
private
proud of achievements ONE MARK FOR EACH DETAIL [4]

[Max total for exercise 2: 15 marks]

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Exercise 3:

CAREERS DAY APPLICATION FORM

Section A: Personal details

Full name: Charlotte Davies

Tick FEMALE

Contact details: email [email protected]

Number of guest tickets required: 2

Full name(s) of guest(s) (if applicable): Christopher Davies Jacqueline Davies /

Christopher and Jacqueline Davies
(BOTH DETAILS REQUIRED)

Name and address of school/college: The Beacon International College

Stockwell Road Dulwich

Section B: Event details

Day and date of attendance: Tuesday 7 February

How would you like to receive the tickets? electronically / email / online

Presentation(s) you would like to attend (maximum of two permitted):

Working with the Media AND Opportunities in Market Research
(BOTH DETAILS REQUIRED)

Car parking permit required: Delete YES

Where did you learn about the event? (local career(s)) website

Section C: Future employment details

Give brief details of career preferences (if known):

journalism AND advertising
(BOTH DETAILS REQUIRED)

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Section D

In the space below, write one sentence of between 12 and 20 words stating where you would prefer
to work in the future and why.

Example sentence:

I would prefer to work in south London because I have many friends and relatives living in the area.

2 marks: no fewer than 12 and no more than 20 words; proper sentence construction; correct
spelling, punctuation and grammar; relevant to context.

1 mark: no fewer than 12 and no more than 20 words; proper sentence construction; 1- 3 errors of
punctuation / spelling / grammar that do not obscure meaning; relevant to context.

0 marks: more than 3 errors of punctuation / spelling / grammar; and/or irrelevant to context, and/or
not a proper sentence; and/or fewer than 12 words or more than 20 words.

Absence of a full stop at the end should be considered as 1 punctuation error.

Absence of an upper case letter at the beginning should be considered as 1 punctuation error.
Omission of a word in a sentence should be considered as 1 grammar error.

[Max total for exercise 3: 8 marks]

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Exercise 4: Living longer with love and beans

Examples of ‘blue zone’ areas and the people who live in them

• Barbagia -many people of 100 years of age.

• Ikaria - highest percentage (of people) over 90
• Okinawa – (population) lives 7 years longer than in America
• Nicoya peninsula – lowest rate of middle-age death

Similar lifestyle characteristics of ‘blue zone’ areas

• daily routines
• preserve tradition / modernisation not so advanced
• appreciate age / celebrate age
• (strong) connection to the land / (strong) connection to nature
• healthy diet / eat a lot of beans

Ideas introduced in Minnesota

• public gardens
• nature trail
• exercise programmes / exercising together

[Max total for exercise 4: 9 marks]

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Exercise 5: Cooking is fun for young people

Content: up to 6 marks

Advantages for young people if they cook:

1) easy to eat something that has been prepared with their own hands

2) they’ll enjoy dishes they wouldn’t have eaten previously

3) able to produce flavoursome meals

4) friendships established between the children

5) it’s fun

6) learn different skills / develop team skills / appreciate each other’s contributions

7) have a better diet / health benefits (for the rest of their lives)

8) may follow a career related to cooking

9) spend (quality) time as a family

Language: up to 5 marks

0 marks: no understanding of the task / no relevant content / meaning completely obscure due
to serious language inaccuracies

1 mark: copying without discrimination from text / multiple language inaccuracies

2 marks: heavy reliance on language from the text with no attempt to organise and sequence
points cohesively / limited language expression making meaning at times unclear

3 marks: some reliance on language from the text, but with an attempt to organise and
sequence points cohesively / language satisfactory, but with some inaccuracies

4 marks: good attempt to use own words and to organise and sequence points cohesively /
generally good control of language

5 marks: good, concise summary style / very good attempt to use own words and to organise
and sequence points cohesively

[Max total for exercise 5: 11 marks]

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Exercise 6: Incident on a school trip

Exercise 7: ‘Your life can only be good if you have a lot of money’

Transcribing the prompts with no original development by the candidate will limit both content and
language marks to the 2–3 band. However, if candidates also include some original ideas, higher
marks can be awarded.

The following general instructions, and table of marking criteria, apply to both exercises.

• Award the answer a mark for content (C) [out of 10] and a mark for language (L) [out of 9] in
accordance with the General Criteria table that follows.

• Content covers relevance (i.e. whether the piece fulfils the task and the awareness of
purpose/audience/register) and the development of ideas (i.e. the detail/explanation
provided and how enjoyable it is to read).

• Language covers style (i.e. complexity of vocabulary and sentence structure) and accuracy
(of grammar, spelling, punctuation and use of paragraphs).

• When deciding on a mark for content or language, first of all decide which mark band is most
appropriate. There will not necessarily be an exact fit. Then decide between 2 marks within
that mark band. Use the lower mark if it only just makes it into the band and the upper mark if
it fulfils all the requirements of the band but doesn’t quite make it into the band above.

• When deciding on a mark for content, look at both relevance and development of ideas.
First ask yourself whether the writing fulfils the task, in terms of points to be covered and the
length. If it does, it will be in at least the 4–5 mark band.

• When deciding on a mark for language, look at both the style and the accuracy of the
language. A useful starting point would be first to determine whether errors intrude. If they do
not, it will be in at least the 4–5 mark band.

• The use of paragraphs should not be the primary basis of deciding which mark band the
work is in. Look first at the language used and once you have decided on the appropriate
mark band, you can use the paragraphing as a factor in helping you to decide whether the
work warrants the upper or lower mark in the mark band.

• If the essay is considerably shorter than the stated word length, fewer than 105 words, it
should be put in mark band 2–3 for content or lower for not fulfilling the task. The language
mark is likely to be affected and is unlikely to be more than one band higher than the content
mark.

• If the essay is totally irrelevant and has nothing to do with the question asked, it should be
given 0 marks for Content and Language, even if it is enjoyable to read and fluent.

• If the essay is partly relevant and therefore in mark band 2–3, the full range of marks for
language is available.

[Max total for exercise 6: 19 marks]

[Max total for exercise 7: 19 marks]

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GENERAL CRITERIA FOR MARKING EXERCISES 6 AND 7 (Extended tier)

CONTENT: relevance and development

Mark Mark LANGUAGE: style and accuracy
of ideas
band band (AO: W1, W3, W4, W5)
(AO: W1, W2, W6)

8–9–10 Highly effective: 8–9 Precise:

Relevance:
Fulfils the task, with consistently appropriate Style:
register and excellent sense of purpose and Ease of style. Confident and wide-
audience. ranging use of language, idiom and
Award 10 marks. tenses.
Award 9 marks.
Fulfils the task, with consistently appropriate
register and very good sense of purpose A range of language, idiom and
and audience. tenses. Award 8 marks.
Award 8/9 marks.
Accuracy:
Development of ideas: Well-constructed and linked
Original, well-developed ideas. Quality is paragraphs with very few errors of any
sustained. Outstanding. kind.
Award 10 marks.

Shows some independence of thought.

Ideas are well developed, at appropriate
length and convincing. The interest of the
reader is sustained.
Award 9 marks.

Ideas are well developed and at appropriate

length. Enjoyable to read.
Award 8 marks.

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6–7 Effective: 6–7 Competent:

Relevance:
Fulfils the task, with appropriate register and Style:
a good sense of purpose and audience. Sentences show variety of structure
Award 7 marks. and length. Attempt at sophisticated
vocabulary and idiom. Award 7 marks.
Fulfils the task, with appropriate register and
some sense of purpose and audience. Sentences show some style and
Award 6 marks. ambitious language. However, there
may be some awkwardness making
Development of ideas: reading less enjoyable. Award 6
Ideas are developed at appropriate length. marks.
Engages reader’s interest.
Accuracy:
Mostly accurate apart from minor
errors which may include infrequent
spelling errors. Good use of
paragraphing and linking words.
Award 7 marks.

Generally accurate with frustrating

errors. Appropriate use of
paragraphing.
Award 6 marks

4–5 Largely relevant: 4–5 Satisfactory:

Relevance: Style:
Fulfils the task. A satisfactory attempt has Mainly simple structures and
been made to address the topic, but there vocabulary but sometimes attempting
may be digressions. a wider range of language.
Award 5 marks. Award 5 marks.

Does not quite fulfil the task although there Mainly simple structures and
are some positive qualities. There may be vocabulary. Award 4 marks.
digressions.
Award 4 marks. Accuracy:
Meaning is clear and of a safe
Development of ideas: standard. Grammatical errors occur
Material is satisfactorily developed at when attempting more ambitious
appropriate length. language. Paragraphs are used,
showing some coherence. Award 5
marks.

Meaning is generally clear. Simple

structures are usually sound. Errors
do not interfere with communication.
Paragraphs are used but without
coherence or unity. Award 4 marks.

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2–3 Partly relevant: 2–3 Errors intrude:

Relevance: Style:
Partly relevant and some engagement with Simple structures and vocabulary.
the task. Inappropriate register, showing
insufficient awareness of purpose and / or Accuracy:
audience. Meaning is sometimes in doubt.
Award 3 marks. Frequent errors do not seriously
impair communication.
Partly relevant and limited engagement with Award 3 marks.
the task. Inappropriate register, showing
insufficient awareness of purpose and / or Meaning is often in doubt. Frequent,
audience. distracting errors which slow down
Award 2 marks. reading.
Award 2 marks.
Development of ideas:
Supplies some detail but the effect is
incomplete and repetitive.

0–1 Little relevance: 0–1 Hard to understand:

Very limited engagement with task, but this Multiple types of error in grammar /
is mostly hidden by density of error. Award spelling / word usage / punctuation
1 mark. throughout, which mostly make it
difficult to understand. Occasionally,
No engagement with the task or any sense can be deciphered. Award 1
engagement with task is completely hidden mark.
by density of error.
Award 0 marks. Density of error completely obscures
meaning. Whole sections impossible
If essay is completely irrelevant, no mark to recognise as pieces of English
can be given for language. writing. Award 0 marks.

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