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CIE English Language GCSE

Hi,
I recently sat my English Language mock and, strangely, most people at my school have received grades which are much lower than they expected because of the 'strict' mark scheme used for the CIE English Language exam that took place this May.
Despite not actually being told my grade, my teacher has only said that I'm below my target grade of a B, which horrifies me as I gained an A in my Year 10 and am hoping to achieve an A* overall in the subject.
Apparently, CIE don't like 'creative' answers; I've been told that Question 2 needs to be answered by using an expression such as 'it creates an image of...'. I definitely used this phrase in my mock, but I really don't know where I could have gone wrong.
Always one of my strongest subjects, I now fear the worst for English, which is freaking me out big time because I'm applying to a selective sixth form. I really don't want to he dismissed as 'thick' based on the grounds that my school hasn't properly guided me on how to beat the beast which is the CIE examination board.
Thanks for reading this; any responses are much appreciated.

Reply 1

pimplemousse

This is a completely valid question. I've been teaching AQA Language up until this year, but the new school I work with does CIE IGCSE English Language. There is no need to panic if you approach your revision correctly. You need to read through the course specifications, practise as many past papers as possible and get really familiar with all of your terminology, as well as make sure that you can plan and organise your ideas properly.

This link will help you - look at the course overview, make sure you cover all the assessment objectives properly in each answer. Look at the mark schemes for past papers to see what examiners can give you marks for.

http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-english-first-language-uk-0522/