English Communication and Comprehension: Reading and Writing for Marks
English Communication and Comprehension tests reading, note-making, grammar and functional writing. Passages are literary or informational; questions ask for main idea, inference, vocabulary in context and sometimes summary or note-making.
Core rules
- Read the questions first, then the passage; answer in your own words and use the paragraph number if asked.
- Note-making: give a title, use headings and sub-headings, indent, and use abbreviations with a key. Do not write full sentences.
- Grammar: subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, active/passive, direct/indirect speech, degrees of comparison, articles and prepositions.
- Writing: letter (formal/informal), report, paragraph or essay. Format carries marks-sender's address, date, salutation, subject, body, closing.
- Vocabulary: infer meaning from the sentence; do not give a synonym that changes the part of speech.
Worked example
Active: The committee approved the proposal. Passive: The proposal was approved by the committee. Reasoning: the object becomes the subject, the verb becomes be + past participle (approved), and the doer follows by. In a comprehension answer, if the question asks why the writer says the scheme failed, do not copy the sentence The scheme failed; state the cause given in the passage, for example that the funds arrived after the planting season.
Traps
Copying long stretches instead of answering; shifting tense in the middle of a summary; writing a letter without a subject line in a formal letter; using discuss about or return back; and giving a personal opinion where the question asks for the writer's view.