Cambridge IAL English Language study guide
Cambridge IAL English Language · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Cambridge International AS & A Level English Language (9093) is a Cambridge Advanced qualification for learners who want to study English language and how it is used in communication. According to Cambridge International, the syllabus encourages learners to respond critically to a wide variety of texts in a range of forms, styles and contexts, and it promotes skills of communication, reading, research and analysis. The Cambridge IAL English Language study guide has 4 sections and about 1,719 words.
01Paper 1 Text Analysis: close reading of unseen texts
Paper 1 Text Analysis asks you to read unseen texts closely and explain how they work: who produced them, for whom, in what form, and by what linguistic means they achieve their effects. Questions are directed - they tell you what to look at, so answering the exact wording is the first mark-earning decision.
442 words, about 2 min02Paper 2 Writing: producing texts that fit a brief
Paper 2 Writing tests whether you can produce whole texts that fit a brief. In the directed task you are given a purpose, an audience and a form - a letter to an editor, a speech to a school council, an article for a magazine - and sometimes source material to draw on; you must adopt the required voice and conventions.
461 words, about 2 min03Paper 3 Language Analysis: applying frameworks systematically
Paper 3 Language Analysis asks you to apply linguistic frameworks systematically to texts - frequently comparing two texts on a related topic and explaining how each constructs audience, purpose and stance. It rewards precise metalanguage and consistent reference to evidence, not impressions.
407 words, about 2 min04Paper 4 Language Topics: change, acquisition and the self
Paper 4 Language Topics is the A Level extension paper: it tests knowledge of named topic areas and, more heavily, your ability to apply that knowledge to unseen language data and to argue in an essay. The topics are language change, child language acquisition, and language and the self (including English as a global language).
409 words, about 2 min