The Exam: Overview

British & IGCSE › Checkpoint 6 English (Cambridge Primary 0058)

Welcome to the Year 6 English course. This page is your map of the Cambridge Primary Checkpoint English exam. Read it first, before any other page. It tells you what the two papers look like, how many marks each part is worth, what kinds of questions and writing tasks to expect, and how to use this course week by week. Parents: there is a short summary in Arabic at the end of the page.

When you know the shape of the exam, nothing on the day will surprise you. Every lesson you study will have a clear place in your head: "This helps me with the reading questions" or "This helps me with the writing task."

What is Cambridge Primary Checkpoint?

Cambridge Primary Checkpoint is a test that students take at the end of Stage 6 (Year 6), the last year of Cambridge Primary. The English test has the code 0058. Before 2023 it had a different code (0844), and it followed an older curriculum. If your teacher gives you an old 0844 paper, the reading and writing skills are still useful practice, but the newer 0058 papers show the current style best.

• Checkpoint papers are marked by Cambridge, not by your own teachers.
• There are two papers: Paper 1 is about non-fiction (real-life texts such as reports, articles and reviews) and Paper 2 is about fiction (stories).
• Each paper tests reading and writing. Speaking and listening are part of your lessons at school, but they are not tested in Checkpoint.

The two papers at a glance

Exam words you need to know:

Section A: Reading — what the questions ask

In Section A you read a text and answer a set of numbered questions. Some questions have parts (a), (b), (c). Most questions are worth 1 or 2 marks; a few longer ones are worth up to 4 marks. The questions usually follow the order of the text, so the answer to question 1 is near the start and the answer to the last question may need the whole text.

The table shows the kinds of questions that keep appearing in recent Checkpoint papers, explained in simple words. Every type has its own page in this course.

Let the marks guide your answer. The number of marks in brackets tells you how much to write:

Section B: Writing — what the tasks ask

Section B is one writing task worth 25 marks. There is a space on the paper to plan. The plan does not get marks, but a quick plan makes your writing organised, and organisation (Structure of texts) is worth 7 marks on its own.

Paper 1 (non-fiction). Recent papers have asked for a review (of something you enjoyed when you were younger, written for a children's magazine), a news report for a school newspaper about an event at school or in the local area, and a balanced argument that gives both sides of a local question and the views of people who live there. Other non-fiction types can also appear, for example a persuasive letter, a leaflet or advert, an information text (non-chronological report), instructions or an explanation, a recount, a diary, a biography and an article. This course has a pack for each of them.

Paper 2 (fiction). Recent papers have asked for the opening of a story about characters who travel a long way to help someone, a continuation of the story in the reading extract using your own ideas, and a story about a special place where something is discovered. So the fiction task can be a story opening, a story continuation, or a complete story on a theme. Good stories describe the setting and the characters, not only the events.

Both writing tasks are marked in the same five categories: Creation of texts 5, Vocabulary and language 3, Structure of texts 7, Grammar and punctuation 7, Word structure (spelling) 3. The next page, How your writing is marked, explains each one in simple words and shows you how to reach the top.

When is the exam?

Checkpoint is taken on fixed days set by Cambridge, in exam series during the year (recent papers come from series in March, April and October). Your school chooses the series and gives you your exact timetable. The papers, marks and timings are the same in every series.

Some schools also give a Progression Test for Stage 6 during the year. It usually follows the same pattern as the Checkpoint papers (Paper 1 Non-fiction and Paper 2 Fiction), and it is marked by teachers at your school. Ask your school if you will take one. This course prepares you for both.

What the curriculum covers

Cambridge Primary English is organised into strands (groups of skills). The Checkpoint papers test the Reading and Writing strands. You will see these names in your school reports, and the writing strands are the same names used to mark your writing.

How to use this course

1. Start here (2 pages). This overview and How your writing is marked. Learn the five writing categories and the two planning techniques, G.A.A.P. and G.C.S.P.P.
2. Reading: grammar and punctuation (6 pages). Parts of speech, phrases and clauses, sentence types, connectives, punctuation, grammar in use. Do these first: they win reading marks and they also raise your writing marks.
3. Reading: understanding texts (6 pages). Text types and features, purpose and viewpoint, inference and themes, language effects, vocabulary skills, and reading exam technique.
4. Paper 1 writing (18 packs). One pack for each non-fiction genre: what it is, its features, how to structure it, useful phrases and words, a strong sample with notes, common mistakes and a practice task.
5. Paper 2 writing (11 packs). Story-writing basics, describing a setting, describing a character and creating suspense, then a pack for each fiction genre with a strong sample.

On every reading page: read the explanation slowly, cover the answers, try every practice question, then open the answers and read why each one is right. On every writing pack: learn the structure and ten of the vocabulary words, read the sample and its notes, then write the practice task by hand in 30 minutes and check it with the five categories.

A 12-week study plan

Use this plan in the last twelve weeks before the exam. Each week needs about 3–4 hours: two or three short reading sessions (30–40 minutes each) and one timed writing task. Short, regular study is better than one long session at the weekend. If you have more time, do the plan twice and add full papers the second time.

On the exam day

• Bring two pens that work, a pencil and an eraser. Write neatly: the examiner must be able to read your answers.
• Read the whole text once before you answer any question. Then read each question twice and underline the key words (find, explain, own words, quotation, tick one).
• Answer every question. A sensible guess can earn a mark; an empty space never does.
• Move to the writing after about 30 minutes. Spend 3–4 minutes planning, about 22 minutes writing, and 3–4 minutes checking.
• In the writing, use paragraphs, cover every point in the task, and check your spelling and full stops at the end.

Check yourself

1. How long is each Checkpoint 0058 paper, and how many marks is it worth?

   Show answer

   Each paper lasts 1 hour and is worth 50 marks: Reading 25 and Writing 25.

2. Which paper is about stories?

   Show answer

   Paper 2 Fiction. Paper 1 is Non-fiction.

3. How much time should you spend on the reading section?

   Show answer

   About 30 minutes, then about 30 minutes on the writing.

4. A student writes 55 words in the writing section. What is the highest mark possible?

   Show answer

   7 out of 25. Pieces of 21–60 words can score 7 at most, however good they are.

5. Name the five writing categories and their marks.

   Show answer

   Creation of texts 5, Vocabulary and language 3, Structure of texts 7, Grammar and punctuation 7, Word structure (spelling) 3. Total 25.

6. A question says [2]. What does a full answer need?

   Show answer

   Two points, or one point with a quotation or an explanation.

7. Give three kinds of fiction task that have appeared in recent papers.

   Show answer

   A story opening, a continuation of the story in the extract, and a complete story on a theme (for example a special place and a discovery).

8. Are speaking and listening tested in Checkpoint?

   Show answer

   No. They are part of the curriculum, but Checkpoint tests reading and writing only.