CXC CSEC English A exam - Paper 2 topics

CXC CSEC English A exam - Paper 2 exam topics (2018)

 

This paper contains five (5) questions in four (4) sections

 

Section One Summary essay

Section one (1) is made up of one compulsory question. In this section, you MUST write a summary of a given passage.

Paper 2 directions state that in this section you must write in "continuous prose", that is, you must write using paragraphs. You MUST NOT write using note form. Also, after the stated number of words requested for the summary, anything you write will NOT be assessed.

Here are samples of the type of summary questions that were set in CXC CSEC English A past papers.

 

 

Section Two: Expository essay

Section two (2) consists of one compulsory question. You MUST write an expository essay in this section. You will be given a text 'stimulus' to prompt your writing activity. You are required to respond to the stimulus by writing either an email, a letter, a report, a notice, a news article or some other form of informational text. Please note; Your answer must be in the for of 'continuous prose". That means your answer cannot be in the form of jotted down notes.

 

 

Section Three: Short story essay

Section three (3) is made up of two optional questions. The questions are prompts for two short story essay questions. You must choose one question to answer.

The paper 2 exam states that your answer in this section should be approximately 400-450 words in length and you must write in standard English, although you may use dialect in conversations. 

(As a side note: I have seen short stories twice this length win the CXC CSEC English A short story award!)

 

Here are samples of the type of short story questions that have been set in CXC CSEC English A past papers.

Here are short stories that have won the CXC CSEC short story awards.

 

 

Section Four: Argumentative essay

Section four (4) is made up of one compulsory question. You MUST write an argumentative essay in this section.Your answer is may be required to take the form of a letter to the editor of a newspaper, a formal letter to an official, a letter to a friend, a speech, a presentation or an essay.

The paper 2 exam states that your answer in this section should be approximately 250-300 words in length and you MUST write in standard English.

Here are samples of the type of argumentative essay questions that have been set in CXC CSEC English A past papers.

 

 

 

Fivestar

leon (not verified) 15 May 2012 - 5:11pm

do i have to use big words in the stories, essays etc?

krishna (not verified) 21 January 2013 - 4:09pm

In reply to by leon (not verified)

no you don't have of to

Fraser (not verified) 9 May 2013 - 11:37am

In reply to by krishna (not verified)

did you not read the marking scheme
all i know is that formal words are good (lol specially if you know then well) so it would be best if you can learn them well to boost your grade's a little at least for effect to show that you actually know something ( well not too much big words, words like poignant meaning clear, keen, touching,
indemnity _ loss, impetus , jeopardy, tepid, epitome. etc.
so learn them and know them well. so next thing you giving advice be sure you explain it well to that person.

so do you understand what i am trying to say here?

guest (not verified) 21 August 2012 - 4:21pm

is 4 a passing grade?

guest (not verified) 21 November 2012 - 9:02pm

In reply to by guest (not verified)

are you mad???

Jurell Stephenson (not verified) 25 April 2013 - 7:46pm

In reply to by guest (not verified)

No 4 isn't a passing grade son... the lowest passing grade is 3 :p

shanieka (not verified) 25 April 2013 - 11:41am

the spanish test ago hard!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kimmy♥ (not verified) 3 May 2013 - 3:05pm

In reply to by shanieka (not verified)

Spanish orals was easy but i'm sure paper2 and 1 will be hard since i'm horrible at spanish. english on the other hand is gonna be pretty easy since i'm good at writing stories an stuff cant wait for enlgish cxc

hot skull (not verified) 16 January 2014 - 2:11pm

English is going to be very difficult and not easy so if u practice hard at writing stories you can pass English cxc

Omfg! I'm so scared I f**k up on english! Wish me luck! Ima try passing this shit coz it's my #1 sub ^_^

English is kind of easy if u practice yea but you no when u go in that exam room some time u does leave like a sailor sweetheart?

Alana Grant-Stuart (not verified) 11 March 2018 - 7:55pm

this was so useful......................thank-you

Emily Williams (not verified) 11 March 2018 - 10:39pm

Hi, i would like to be added on this site plzz

admin 12 March 2018 - 4:24am

In reply to by Emily Williams (not verified)

Hello, we expect to be opening the site to membership later this year.

me (not verified) 12 April 2018 - 4:38pm

Why are you all making all these sudden changes without taking the time to inform teachers. You all are wicked

Hello, we are not affiliated with the Caribbean Examination Council. We do not represent them and we are not responsible for the changes to CXC syllabi. However, we do understand how challenging it is for teachers to be given a new syllabus and very little guidelines on how to implement it.  We try to provide as much help and guidance as we can to both teachers and students. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help you and your students.

ggg (not verified) 27 April 2018 - 10:23am

I did not see any link or resources that can be used to study for expository and argumentative essay.

Cherise Bait (not verified) 18 September 2018 - 6:46pm

Want to learn more about summary writing

Melanie Garib (not verified) 27 December 2018 - 4:59pm

What is the word limit for expository writing essays?

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