Hamburg Abitur English key terms

Listening comprehension: the ability to extract information, stance, and structure from spoken English heard once or twice, without pausing or replaying, in tasks such as true/false, multiple matching, or note completion.

The main point or overall meaning of a spoken or written text, as opposed to its details. Exam questions often ask for the gist of a speaker's argument before testing specifics.

Writing short keywords, abbreviations, and symbols while listening so that answers can be reconstructed afterwards. Effective notes capture numbers, names, contrasts, and signpost words rather than full sentences.

An option or detail in a task that sounds plausible but is wrong, often because the speaker mentions it and then rejects or corrects it. Recognising distractors is central to listening and reading multiple-choice items.

Spoken or written words that signal the structure of a text, such as 'firstly', 'however', 'to sum up', or 'on the other hand'. They help listeners predict what comes next and locate answers quickly.

The level of formality a speaker or writer chooses for a situation, ranging from casual colloquial speech to formal academic prose. Register depends on audience, purpose, and medium, and it affects word choice and grammar.

Characteristic of everyday informal speech, including contractions, slang, and loose sentence structure. Listening texts often contain colloquial English that candidates must understand and later render in a more formal register.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as 'to be over the moon' or 'to miss the boat'. Idioms are common in authentic listening material and rarely translate literally.

The rise and fall of the voice in speech, which can signal questions, lists, emphasis, doubt, or irony. Attending to intonation helps listeners detect a speaker's attitude when the words alone are ambiguous.

A conclusion drawn from evidence in a text rather than stated directly. Exam tasks frequently require readers to infer a speaker's attitude, a character's motive, or an unstated consequence from clues in the wording.

Reading a text quickly for its overall idea, usually by looking at titles, first sentences, and headings. Skimming is the first step before deciding which parts of a text need detailed reading.

Reading rapidly through a text to locate specific information such as a date, name, or figure, without reading every word. It is the counterpart to skimming and is used for detail questions.

Careful, line-by-line analysis of a short passage, attending to word choice, syntax, imagery, and structure. Close reading supports claims about how a text creates meaning, not merely what it says.

A sentence, usually at the start of a paragraph, that states the paragraph's central claim. Identifying topic sentences helps candidates map an argument and answer structure-based questions quickly.

The way sentences and paragraphs are linked through pronouns, conjunctions, repetition, and referencing words so that a text reads as a connected whole rather than isolated statements.

The attitude a writer or speaker conveys towards the subject, such as ironic, nostalgic, critical, or detached. Tone is created through word choice, imagery, and sentence rhythm rather than stated outright.

A deliberate technique used to persuade or create effect, such as rhetorical questions, anaphora, tricolon, metaphor, or hyperbole. Naming the device is only the start; candidates must explain its function in context.

Systematic examination of how language choices produce meaning and effect, covering diction, syntax, imagery, figures of speech, and narrative perspective. It links observed features to an interpretation of the whole text.

The viewpoint from which a story is told, such as first-person, third-person limited, or omniscient narration. Perspective shapes what readers can know and how they judge characters.

The methods an author uses to build a character, including direct description, dialogue, action, and the reactions of others. Analysis distinguishes what a character is like from how the text makes us see it.

Mediation: conveying the content of a German or English text into the other language for a defined purpose and reader, working from notes rather than producing a literal word-for-word translation.

The purpose, audience, and medium specified in a mediation task, for example an email to a host family or a summary for a school website. These details determine what to include, omit, and how formal to be.

Expressing the meaning of a passage in different words while keeping the content accurate. In mediation it is the core skill, because a good rendering conveys ideas rather than copying structures.

A word that looks similar in two languages but differs in meaning, such as German 'bekommen' versus English 'become' or 'eventuell' versus 'eventually'. False friends cause errors in both comprehension and mediation.

Deliberately leaving out information that is irrelevant to the target reader's needs or purpose in a mediation task. Justified omission shows understanding of the brief rather than incomplete comprehension.

Adapting vocabulary, sentence length, and level of explanation to the knowledge and expectations of the intended readers. A mediation text for younger pupils differs markedly from one written for a newspaper.

The writing of a coherent, well-structured English text such as an essay, letter to the editor, speech, or blog post, in which a clear position is developed and supported with reasons and examples.

Building a reasoned case by stating a claim, supporting it with evidence, anticipating counter-arguments, and drawing a conclusion. Strong argumentation is logical and signposted rather than merely emotional.

An objection to one's own position that is acknowledged and then rebutted. Including a counter-argument shows balanced thinking and strengthens an essay, provided it is answered rather than simply listed.

A short plan made before writing that fixes the thesis, the sequence of main points, and the evidence for each. A clear outline prevents digression and helps manage time under exam conditions.

A single sentence in the introduction that states the central claim the essay will defend. It should be specific and arguable, not a neutral description of the topic.

A short, exactly reproduced passage from a text, marked and integrated into a sentence, used as evidence for an analytical claim. Quotations should be brief and always followed by commentary.

A condensed restatement of a text's main ideas in the writer's own words, without personal evaluation and usually shorter than the original. Summaries omit examples and keep the original's logic.

The category a text belongs to, such as newspaper article, speech, blog post, short story, or letter to the editor, each with its own conventions of structure, register, and purpose.

Conjunctions and adverbials such as 'moreover', 'nevertheless', 'whereas', and 'consequently' that show relationships between ideas. Precise linking words improve coherence and demonstrate advanced control of English.

Correctness in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word choice. In the writing paper, accuracy is assessed alongside communicative range, so systematic errors in tense or agreement cost marks.

The extent to which a piece of writing fulfils all parts of the prompt, including required content points, text type, and audience. A stylish text that ignores the brief loses marks.