Cambridge IGCSE English Language (May 3rd 2016) official thread

There were some ood results. Rather low, and one person had As,in coursework and speaking, but got overall C. How can that happen?

Hi, Cambridge are known to mark the English exams extremely harshly. Last year I had been receiving marks in the 40s on all mock papers to be told that I had received 27/50 in the real thing. When it comes to this exam, examiners will not really take the time to work out whether or not to credit things that aren't on the mark scheme. With the exam, there are very specific formulae that must be followed to get the marks. Therefore, A* lit candidates may not even get a B on this exam. This is because in Q2 they might write it like an essay, however CIE do not like this. I was used to receiving 8/9 of 10 for Q2, but in the real thing received 4 marks due to the lit essay style of my writing. Hence I resit this June. Furthermore, Cambridge do sometimes meddle with marks for coursework and the speaking. Their rationale is mainly that if you have a C in your exam, you shouldn't be getting an A/A* overall, hence grades for other components are lowered. They also do this to keep the standard of people getting A*/A similar to the last year. Hope this helps.

Hi, Cambridge are known to mark the English exams extremely harshly. Last year I had been receiving marks in the 40s on all mock papers to be told that I had received 27/50 in the real thing. When it comes to this exam, examiners will not really take the time to work out whether or not to credit things that aren't on the mark scheme. With the exam, there are very specific formulae that must be followed to get the marks. Therefore, A* lit candidates may not even get a B on this exam. This is because in Q2 they might write it like an essay, however CIE do not like this. I was used to receiving 8/9 of 10 for Q2, but in the real thing received 4 marks due to the lit essay style of my writing. Hence I resit this June. Furthermore, Cambridge do sometimes meddle with marks for coursework and the speaking. Their rationale is mainly that if you have a C in your exam, you shouldn't be getting an A/A* overall, hence grades for other components are lowered. They also do this to keep the standard of people getting A*/A similar to the last year. Hope this helps.

That's a wonderful explanation, Thamkyou.
So if you get A for course work and A for speaking, what do,you have to get in the exam to get a final grade of C?

So do you think they prefer you to write question 2 in separate paragraphs? That's what I was always told to do. I actually felt quite confident about that exam but now I'm not so sure! My coursework and S&L grades are As and I've always gotten As on the mocks so I still have hope. Thanks for the explanation!

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I'd say that the examiners are lazy. Anything that makes it easier for them to give you marks. I think that doing this would

Is 26/50 in the exam respectable?

It really depends on your coursework and speaking. Although this equates to a D it doesn't really matter at this stage. My advice is to ignore the unit marks and only care about the cash in boundaries.

Thanks, what are the cash in boundries?
Can you also tell me what grade one would get with
20/30 speaking. 3750 cw and 26 exam please
As well as
The same as well as
27/30 speaking, 49/50 cw and 25 exam.
Really appreciate it!

Hello guys! I have decided to create a thread dedicated to this examination as we are only 20 days away!

60% of this exam will be banked without even starting the exam- three pieces of coursework and speaking and listening. The other 40% is the exam.

There are three questions in this exam: Question 1(20 marks), Question 2(10 marks) and Question 3(20 marks).

How are you guys feeling? If anybody needs help, feel free to post. Discuss anything related to the exam and share ideas in this thread.

Here is a link to Past papers
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzumkDfi9230Tl9iSl9JT1E5V0E&usp=drive_web

Advice on how to answer each question
https://sites.google.com/a/grange.cl...age-paper-tips
Credit goes to @metellaest for providing this resource.

If anybody has any useful websites, then feel free to message me and i will add them to the OP. Also it would be very appreciated if anybody has a link to the grade boundaries for each year.

Thanks and good luck!

How did you all find out your grades? I'm super worried now!
I got 58 in total without the exam and need 38/50 for an A. After reading about the harsh marking I'm so confused whether I've done well or not.


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The school has a breakdown of the grades, just ask,