Changes to the CXC English A exam for May/June 2012 and forward

I had promised for some time to talk about the changes to the CXC English A exam for May/June 2012. Never got around to it before, but I am here to do it now.

Actually we have already changed the marking scheme on CaribExams.org to reflect the new changes in the syllabus for this year. For example, the total assessment marks for the multiple choice paper (paper 1) went DOWN from 37% to 32 %.

this means that paper 1 now contributes LESS to your final mark.

The total assessment mark for the essay paper (paper 2) went UP from 63% to 68% of the total marks.

If this sounds a bit confusing, take a look at our CXC CSEC English A mark scheme. It is all laid our very nicely there, with tables and everything.

This page shows the marks that each question receives and the totals for each paper. Clearly, paper 2 of the exam has increased in importance. Since paper 2 or the essay paper, is worth 76% of the final exam mark, in order to pass the CXC CSEC English A exam, you must pass paper 2.

But these are not the only changes. There are also changes in the content of the papers. From May/ June 2012, paper 1 will change in important ways.

Paper 1 will still consist of 60 multiple choice questions. the paper will still be divided into two sections. Section one will still consist of 20 separate questions. Section 2 will still consist of 40 reading comprehension questions.

The difference is this: the 40 reading comprehension questions will be based on five (5) stimuli. The stimuli are as follows:

1) one poem

2) one narrative extract

3) one expository abstract

4) one persuasive abstract ( e.g. an advertisement, speech or letter to the editor)

5) one visual abstract (e.g. a table, diagram, map, chart, cartoon or advertisement)

This is the big difference. Previously, the 40 reading comprehension questions in the multiple choice paper (paper 1) consisted mainly of reading passages and usually one poem. Now, from May/June 2012 going forward, section 2 of paper 1 will have five (5) very different types passages for you to read and respond to.

This is the only major change that I have seen to the content of the the new CXC CSEC English A syllabus. The other major change as I have said before is the distribution of marks between the papers. Paper 2 now counts for more marks than before; over 2/3 of the total marks for the exam are found on paper 2.

So there you have it - changes to the CXC CSEC English A syllabus for May/June 2012.

Please comment and let us know what you think of the coming changes. I will add this information to our CXC CSEC English A exam guide in the coming days so that it will be up-to-date. Please be sure to check it out.