The Exam: Overview

British & IGCSE › Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (0510)

This page is your map of the whole Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language exam. Read it before anything else. It tells you which papers you will sit, how long each one is, how many marks every exercise carries, how the writing is marked, and how to plan your time and your revision. Parents will find a short Arabic explanation at the end.

The qualification in one paragraph

Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language tests four skills: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Reading and Writing are tested together in Paper 1. Listening is Paper 2. Speaking is Paper 3. The same course is offered under different syllabus codes. The code decides two things: the grading scale (A*-G or 9-1) and whether your Speaking mark counts towards your final grade. Many Year 9 and Year 10 students in Egyptian British schools are entered for 0510, so this course is written for 0510, but the papers are the same for the other codes.

The three papers at a glance

Look at the weighting for 0510: Paper 1 is worth 70% of your grade and Listening 30%. That means reading and writing together decide most of your result. Spend most of your revision time on Paper 1 - but do not ignore Listening, because 30% is a lot of marks to lose.

No more Core and Extended

Before 2024, students were entered for either Core or Extended papers. Core students could not get the top grades. Since the first exams in 2024, this tiering has been removed. Every student sits the same Paper 1, the same Listening paper and the same Speaking test, and every student can get any grade from A* to G. This is good news: you do not need to choose a level, and a strong performance on the day can take you all the way to A*.

Grades and what they mean

• Overall grade (0510): A*, A, B, C, D, E, F or G. Below G is 'ungraded'. It is worked out from Paper 1 and Paper 2 only.
• Speaking grade (0510): a separate grade from 1 (high) to 5 (low), shown on the certificate when the standard is met.
• Grade boundaries (how many marks you need for each grade) are set by Cambridge after every exam series. They change a little each time, so nobody can promise you an exact number before the exam.
• Cambridge links the grades to the international CEFR scale. Roughly, an overall grade C plus a Speaking grade 2 is about B2 level - the level of a confident independent user of English.

Paper 1, exercise by exercise

Paper 1 is the most important paper, so you need to know every exercise by heart. Each exercise has its own page in this course.

Add it up: reading = 8 + 9 + 7 + 6 = 30 marks, and writing = 15 + 15 = 30 marks. Total 60. The reading exercises test four skills: finding specific facts, understanding how ideas and opinions connect, choosing the right details for a purpose, and understanding what is implied (meant but not said directly).

How the writing is marked

Both writing exercises use exactly the same marking criteria. Each task is marked out of 15: Content out of 6 and Language out of 9. The examiner reads your answer, decides which band fits it best, and then chooses a mark inside that band. Marks are given for what you do well, not taken away for each mistake.

• Word count: both tasks ask for about 120-160 words. There is no automatic penalty, but writing far less usually means weak development, and writing far more wastes time and often adds mistakes and irrelevant ideas. Aim for 140-160.
• Exercise 5 is always an informal email.
• Exercise 6 can be an article, a report, an essay or a review in a formal or semi-formal style. Learn all four - especially the essay, which many students forget.

Paper 2 Listening: the five exercises

The whole Listening paper is multiple choice. You hear every recording twice. At the end you have 6 minutes to copy your answers onto the answer sheet.

Total: 40 questions, 40 marks. The listening pages in this course explain how the wrong options (distractors) are built to trick you, and how to avoid them.

Paper 3 Speaking: the parts

Speaking is a one-to-one test of about 10-15 minutes with your teacher or an examiner. It is recorded, marked by your school and checked (moderated) by Cambridge. You may not take written notes into the test.

You are marked out of 40: Grammar 10, Vocabulary 10, Development 10 and Pronunciation 10 (pronunciation includes intonation - the music of your voice). For 0510 this gives your separate Speaking grade. For 0511 it is 25% of your overall grade.

What changed in 2024 (briefly)

1. Core and Extended tiers were removed: one set of papers for everybody.
2. Paper 1 became one 2-hour Reading and Writing paper with 60 marks and 6 exercises (4 reading, 2 writing).
3. The summary-writing task was removed. Exercise 4 is now a multiple-choice reading exercise.
4. Listening became 100% multiple choice: 40 questions, 40 marks, about 50 minutes.
5. Speaking went up from 30 to 40 marks and now has three marked parts. You only see a card for Part 2.
6. The writing mark scheme changed: both tasks are now Content 6 + Language 9.

The syllabus for 2027-2029 keeps the same structure, so everything on this page should still apply in the next few years. Always check the latest syllabus with your school.

Time plan for the 2-hour Paper 1

Cambridge does not tell you how long to spend on each exercise - you must manage the 2 hours yourself. Below is the plan I recommend to my students. It gives reading and writing about the same time, because each is worth 30 marks, and it keeps 10 minutes at the end for checking.

Some students prefer to do the writing first, while they are fresh. That is allowed - you may answer the exercises in any order. If you do this, keep the same times and be strict: do not let the writing eat into your reading time.

How to use this course

The pages are in a sensible order. Work through them from top to bottom the first time, then go back to the pages for your weakest exercises.

• Study actively. Do every practice question before you click 'Show answer'. Write your answer on paper first.
• Keep a mistakes notebook. For every wrong answer, write the question, your answer, the right answer and *why* you were wrong (for example: 'I copied too much', 'I chose the first number I saw').
• Learn vocabulary in pairs. Paper 1 rewords everything. When you learn a word, learn a synonym with it (*buy - purchase*, *start - launch*).
• Write by hand. The exam is on paper. Practise your writing tasks by hand and count your words.

A 10-week revision plan

This plan assumes about 4-5 hours a week. If you have less time, keep the order but shorten the practice. If your exam is closer than 10 weeks, combine two weeks into one.

Quick check

1. How long is Paper 1, and how many marks is it worth?

   Show answer

   2 hours, 60 marks (30 reading + 30 writing).

2. For 0510, what percentage of the overall grade is Paper 1?

   Show answer

   70%. Listening is 30%. Speaking is separately endorsed (0%).

3. Does the Speaking test count towards a 0510 grade?

   Show answer

   No. It is separately endorsed with its own grade from 1 (high) to 5 (low). For 0511 it counts 25%.

4. How many marks is Exercise 1, and how many answers does Question 6 need?

   Show answer

   8 marks. Questions 1-5 need one answer each, and Question 6 needs three answers.

5. Which text types can appear in Exercise 6?

   Show answer

   An article, a report, an essay or a review (formal or semi-formal).

6. How is each writing task marked?

   Show answer

   Out of 15: Content 6 + Language 9. The same criteria are used for Exercise 5 and Exercise 6.

7. How many times do you hear each listening recording?

   Show answer

   Twice.

8. Can a student who would once have taken 'Core' get an A* now?

   Show answer

   Yes. Tiers were removed from 2024, so everyone sits the same papers and can get any grade from A* to G.