How to Tackle Paper 1 and Paper 2 Reading

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

The reading section at a glance

Both Checkpoint 6 papers are 1 hour long and worth 50 marks. Each paper has Section A Reading (25 marks) and Section B Writing (25 marks). The suggested time for each section is about 30 minutes. Paper 1 is Non-fiction (information texts, articles, reports, letters, biographies and similar). Paper 2 is Fiction (an extract from a story).

Two students can understand a text equally well and still get very different marks. The difference is exam technique: reading the instruction properly, giving the right number of points, quoting correctly and managing the 30 minutes. That is what this page teaches, followed by a full original practice section for each paper.

The golden rules (both papers)

1. Circle the instruction. 'Give one word', 'tick one', 'give two reasons', 'use a quotation', 'in your own words'. The instruction is marked as strictly as the answer. Two words for 'one word' can score zero, even if one of them is right.
2. Underline the keywords. The paragraph or lines, the name, the feeling or event you are looking for. This tells you exactly where to look.
3. Marks = points. 1 mark = one clear point. 2 marks = two points, or one point with evidence and explanation. 4 marks = usually two points, each with a quotation. Never give one idea for a 4-mark question.
4. Answer only from the text. Your own knowledge does not earn marks unless the question asks for your opinion.
5. Never leave a blank. A sensible attempt can earn a mark. A blank cannot.

Paper 1 Non-fiction: step by step

1. Read the title, any subheadings and the first line of each paragraph (about 1 minute). Decide the text type and purpose.
2. Read all the questions first. Circle the instructions and underline the keywords.
3. Now read the text with purpose: when you reach a part a question is about, mark it with the question number.
4. Answer in order. Check each answer against the circled instruction before moving on.
5. Exception: if the text is a recount (a true account of events or a person's life), read the whole text first, because questions about the person need the full picture.

Paper 2 Fiction: step by step

1. Read the whole extract first. Fiction builds up: you need the whole story to understand characters and mood.
2. While reading, underline: each character the first time they appear, the setting (where and when), relationships (who trusts whom, who is in conflict), and any strong moment (a powerful image, a short sentence, a change of mood). Questions very often ask about these moments.
3. Then read the questions, circle instructions, underline keywords.
4. For tick-box questions, check how many boxes and whether the question asks for the true or the NOT true statement.
5. Answer, then check.

The question types you will meet

These are the kinds of question that appear in Checkpoint 6 reading, described in our own words, with the method for each.

Tick-one questions

1. Read the question stem twice. Does it ask for the best answer, the main purpose, or what is NOT true?
2. Read all four options before choosing.
3. Cross out options that are clearly wrong or not in the text.
4. Beware the half-right trap: an option that is true about the text but does not answer THIS question.
5. Tick exactly the number of boxes asked. Two ticks for 'tick one' = zero.

How to quote

• Copy the words exactly, inside inverted commas: 'hundreds of clocks ticked'.
• Keep it short: one word to about eight words. Copying a whole paragraph shows you have not found the precise evidence.
• Make sure the quotation proves your point. If your point is 'he is nervous', the quotation must show nervousness.
• Build it into your sentence: The writer says the room 'seemed to whisper', which makes it sound alive.

Longer answers: Point + Quote + Explain

For 2-, 3- and 4-mark questions about a character, a viewpoint or how a writer creates an effect, build each point in three moves.

For 'two reasons, each with a quotation' (4 marks), write two of these, clearly separated: 'Reason 1: ... Quotation: ... ' / 'Reason 2: ... Quotation: ...'. The examiner must be able to see two different points.

Command words

Timing plan for the 30 minutes

Checklist

• I circled every instruction and underlined every keyword.
• My number of points matches the marks.
• My quotations are short, exact and in inverted commas.
• I ticked the right number of boxes.
• I answered 'own words' questions without copying.
• I left no blanks.
• I finished reading in about 30 minutes.

Practice Paper 1: Non-fiction reading (25 marks, about 30 minutes)

Read the magazine article. Then answer all the questions. The paragraphs are numbered to help you. Open each answer only after you have written your own.

Up on the Roof: How One School Grew a Garden in the Sky

[1] Two years ago, the roof of Nile View Primary School was a dull, empty space covered in grey concrete. Nobody went up there except the caretaker. Today, it is a garden bursting with tomatoes, mint, peppers and sunflowers, and it is the most popular place in the school.

[2] The idea came from a Year 5 class who were learning about plants. 'We kept asking why our playground had no green spaces,' explains Yusuf, who is now in Year 6. 'Then our teacher pointed at the ceiling and said, “What about up there?”'

[3] At first, the head teacher, Mr Hassan, was worried. Would the roof be strong enough? Who would water the plants during the long summer holidays? An engineer was invited to check the building, and the roof was declared safe. A simple drip irrigation system was then installed: thin pipes that let a few drops of water fall onto each plant's roots, so very little water is wasted.

[4] Those were not the only problems the students had to solve. Strong winds blew over the first seedlings, which were still young and weak. The students built low wooden walls to shelter them. They also learnt to make compost – a rich soil made from rotting fruit peel and dead leaves – so they would never need to buy fertiliser.

[5] The results have been remarkable. Bees and butterflies now visit the roof every day to pollinate the flowers. Classes use the garden for science lessons, and the school kitchen serves salad grown just a few metres above the dining hall. Teachers say the roof is also about five degrees cooler in summer than it used to be, because the plants shade the concrete.

[6] Best of all, the students are proud.

[7] So why don't more schools try it? Most city schools have a flat roof that sits empty all year. A roof garden costs very little, teaches children real skills and makes the whole building a greener, cooler place to learn. If a group of ten-year-olds can turn grey concrete into a garden, surely any school can.

1. 1. Look at paragraph 1. Name two things that now grow on the roof. (1 mark)

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   Any two: tomatoes, mint, peppers, sunflowers. (Both needed for the mark.)

2. 2. Find one word in paragraph 1 that means 'boring and not bright'. (1 mark)

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   dull. ('grey' describes the colour only, and 'empty' means nothing inside, so they do not match the full meaning.)

3. 3. What is the main purpose of this text? Tick one. A) to give step-by-step instructions for building a roof garden B) to inform readers about a school's roof garden and encourage other schools to make one C) to tell a made-up story about a caretaker D) to complain about concrete playgrounds (1 mark)

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   B. It gives facts about the garden (paragraphs 1-5) and ends by encouraging other schools ('surely any school can'). A is a trap: it explains how problems were solved, but it is not a list of steps.

4. 4. The title calls the roof garden 'a garden in the sky'. Explain why the writer uses this phrase. (2 marks)

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   Any two: it makes the garden sound magical or surprising / exciting (1) / it creates a picture of a garden high up above the city, because the roof is so far from the ground (1) / it grabs the reader's attention, so they want to read the article (1).

5. 5. Give two reasons why Mr Hassan was worried at first (paragraph 3). (2 marks)

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   He was not sure the roof would be strong enough (1). He did not know who would water the plants during the summer holidays (1).

6. 6. Why does the writer use questions in paragraph 3? (1 mark)

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   To show the worries going through Mr Hassan's mind / to make the reader think about the problems too, before the answers are given.

7. 7. Match each term to its meaning: (a) drip irrigation (b) seedlings (c) compost (d) pollinate. Meanings: i) young plants that are still weak ii) rich soil made from rotting peel and leaves iii) carry pollen between flowers iv) thin pipes that drop water onto roots. (2 marks)

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   (a) iv (b) i (c) ii (d) iii. 4 correct = 2 marks, 2-3 correct = 1 mark.

8. 8. 'An engineer was invited to check the building.' Which verb form is 'was invited'? Tick one: A) simple past active B) simple past passive C) present perfect passive D) present simple passive (1 mark)

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   B) simple past passive (was + past participle / the engineer did not do the inviting, someone else did).

9. 9. 'Strong winds blew over the first seedlings, which were still young and weak.' Write down the relative pronoun. (1 mark)

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   which

10. 10. Why has the writer used a pair of dashes in paragraph 4? (1 mark)

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    To add extra information: they explain what compost is ('a rich soil made from rotting fruit peel and dead leaves').

11. 11. How does the first sentence of paragraph 4 link to paragraph 3? (1 mark)

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    'Those were not the only problems' refers back to the problems in paragraph 3 (the roof's strength and the watering) and tells the reader that more problems are coming.

12. 12. Paragraph 6 is only one short sentence. Explain why the writer does this. (2 marks)

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    Any two: it stands out on its own, so the reader notices it (1) / it emphasises the most important result, that the students are proud (1) / it changes the pace after the long, factual paragraph 5 (1) / 'Best of all' shows this matters more than every other result (1).

13. 13. Look at 'about five degrees cooler in summer'. What kind of word is 'cooler', and what two things are being compared? (1 mark)

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    A comparative adjective, comparing the roof now with the roof before the garden. (Both parts needed.)

14. 14. In your own words, explain how the students protected the young plants from the wind. (1 mark)

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    They made short walls out of wood to keep the wind off them. (Copying 'built low wooden walls to shelter them' does not get the mark.)

15. 15. This text is a magazine article. Give two features of a magazine article and an example of each from the text. (4 marks)

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    Any two features, 1 mark each + 1 mark each for a correct example: a headline/title ('Up on the Roof: How One School Grew a Garden in the Sky') / a quotation from a real person (Yusuf: 'We kept asking why our playground had no green spaces') / facts and numbers ('two years ago', 'five degrees cooler') / a rhetorical question ('So why don't more schools try it?') / organised paragraphs, each on one topic (problems in paragraphs 3-4, results in paragraph 5) / a strong ending that speaks to the reader ('surely any school can').

16. 16. Does the writer think other schools should make roof gardens? Give your answer and two reasons from the text. (3 marks)

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    Yes (1). Any two reasons, 1 mark each: it costs very little ('costs very little') / it teaches children real skills ('teaches children real skills') / it makes the building cooler and greener ('a greener, cooler place to learn') / most schools have an empty flat roof they could use ('sits empty all year') / the writer says 'surely any school can'.

Practice Paper 2: Fiction reading (25 marks, about 30 minutes)

Read the story extract carefully, from start to finish, before you look at the questions. Underline the characters, the setting and any strong moments. Paragraphs are numbered.

The Box in the Workshop

[1] The workshop smelled of dust, oil and old wood. Karim had been coming here every Friday since he was small, but today felt different. Today, Grandpa Fathi was not humming, and the old radio in the corner, which always played his favourite songs, was switched off.

[2] 'Sit,' said Grandpa, pointing at the stool beside the workbench. His voice was quieter than usual, as soft as the sawdust that lay everywhere like golden snow.

[3] Karim sat. Around them, hundreds of clocks ticked on the walls, each one slightly out of time with the others, so that the whole room seemed to whisper. Tick. Tock. Tick.

[4] Karim loved this place. Every shelf was crowded with broken radios, rusty keys and jars of screws that Grandpa promised to sort 'one day'. When Karim was little, he had believed the workshop was a magic cave where anything lost in Cairo would eventually turn up.

[5] Grandpa reached under the bench and lifted out a small wooden box. It was dark with age, and a tiny brass lock glittered on its front. Karim had never seen it before, and he had searched every corner of this workshop.

[6] 'Your great-grandfather made this,' Grandpa said slowly, 'and he gave it to me when I was your age. He told me to open it only when I was ready.' He placed the box carefully in Karim's hands. It was surprisingly heavy, and Karim's heart began to race.

[7] 'Did you open it?' Karim asked.

[8] Grandpa smiled for the first time that morning. 'Of course. But I was not ready the first time... and I am not sure you are ready now.'

[9] Karim turned the box over. There was no key, no handle, no hinge. On the bottom, someone had carved three tiny letters and a crescent moon. His fingers traced the shapes. Something inside the box shifted with a soft click, as if it had woken up.

[10] Every clock in the room stopped.

[11] The silence was enormous. Outside, a car horn blared in the street, but in here, nothing moved. Karim held his breath and stared at the box. Grandpa did not look surprised at all; he looked like a man who had been waiting a very long time for this moment.

[12] 'Well,' he whispered, his eyes shining, 'it seems the box has decided for you.' Karim looked down. Very slowly, the tiny brass lock began to turn.

1. 1. Where is the story set? (1 mark)

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   In Grandpa Fathi's workshop (in Cairo). 'In a workshop' is enough.

2. 2. Give one detail from paragraph 1 that shows today is different from usual. (1 mark)

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   Either: Grandpa was not humming / the radio was switched off.

3. 3. 'the sawdust that lay everywhere like golden snow' (paragraph 2). Explain what this simile makes the reader picture. (2 marks)

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   Any two: the sawdust covers everything in a soft layer, like snow on the ground (1) / it is light and golden in colour, so the workshop seems warm and beautiful (1) / it makes the workshop seem peaceful and a little magical (1).

4. 4. 'the whole room seemed to whisper' (paragraph 3). (a) Name the technique. (b) What effect does it have? (2 marks)

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   (a) Personification (1). (b) It makes the room seem alive and full of quiet sounds from the ticking clocks, which creates a mysterious, slightly secret mood (1).

5. 5. Why does the writer write 'Tick. Tock. Tick.' as three very short sentences? (1 mark)

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   Any one: it lets the reader hear the clocks (onomatopoeia) / it slows the story down / it builds tension, as if time is counting down to something.

6. 6. Look at paragraph 4. What did Karim believe about the workshop when he was little? Answer in your own words. (2 marks)

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   He thought it was a magical place (1) where every lost thing in the city would one day be found (1). (Copying 'magic cave' and 'anything lost in Cairo would eventually turn up' word for word does not earn the marks.)

7. 7. Find one word in paragraph 5 that shows the lock was shiny. (1 mark)

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   glittered

8. 8. 'Grandpa said slowly'. What word class is 'slowly'? (1 mark)

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   An adverb (it tells us how Grandpa said it).

9. 9. Which of these words from paragraph 11 is an abstract noun? Tick one: A) silence B) street C) box D) man (1 mark)

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   A) silence. You cannot see or touch silence: it is an idea or state, so it is abstract. Street, box and man are concrete nouns.

10. 10. Why has the writer used an ellipsis in paragraph 8 ('the first time... and I am not sure')? (1 mark)

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    Any one: it shows a pause while Grandpa thinks before he speaks / it builds suspense, making the reader wonder what happened the first time / it suggests he is holding back incomplete information he does not want to share yet.

11. 11. Paragraph 10 is just one sentence: 'Every clock in the room stopped.' Explain the effect of this. (2 marks)

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    Any two: the short paragraph stands out and shocks the reader (1) / it is a sudden, strange event that suggests something magical has happened (1) / the ticking sound that filled the room is suddenly gone, so the moment feels silent and tense (1) / it creates suspense because the reader wants to know why (1).

12. 12. How does Karim feel in paragraph 11? Tick one: A) bored and sleepy B) tense and amazed C) angry and upset D) calm and relaxed (1 mark)

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    B) tense and amazed. He 'held his breath and stared at the box'.

13. 13. 'Something inside the box shifted with a soft click, as if it had woken up.' What does 'as if it had woken up' suggest about the box? (1 mark)

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    That the box seems to be alive / magical, as if it is reacting to Karim's touch.

14. 14. What impression do you get of Grandpa? Give two points, each supported with a quotation. (4 marks)

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    Any two points, 1 mark each + 1 mark each for a matching quotation. Examples: he is wise and careful about the secret: 'I am not sure you are ready now' / he is patient: 'a man who had been waiting a very long time for this moment' / he trusts and loves Karim: 'He placed the box carefully in Karim's hands' / he is excited underneath his calm: 'his eyes shining' / he is serious today: 'not humming' / 'His voice was quieter than usual'.

15. 15. How does the writer build suspense in this extract? Give two methods, each with a quotation. (4 marks)

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    Any two methods, 1 mark each + 1 mark each for a quotation. Examples: a mysterious object with no way to open it: 'There was no key, no handle, no hinge' / a short one-sentence paragraph for a sudden event: 'Every clock in the room stopped.' / an ellipsis showing Grandpa holding something back: 'the first time... and' / the contrast of noise outside and stillness inside: 'Outside, a car horn blared... but in here, nothing moved' / an ending that leaves the reader waiting: 'Very slowly, the tiny brass lock began to turn.'