Igcse revision book

IGCSE
REVISION PACK
NAME: _________________________________
GROUP: ______________
TEACHER: ________________________________

CONTENTS
1. TURNING A TEXT INTO A BROADCAST
2. TURNING A TEXT INTO A DIARY ENTRY
3. TURNING A TEXT INTO A LETTER
4. TURNING A TEXT INTO AN INTERVIEW/ DIALOGUE
5. TURNING A TEXT INTO A REPORT
6. COMMENT ON THE WRITER’S EFFECTS.
7. GRADE DESCRIPTORS
8. TOP TIPS FOR EACH STYLE OF WRITING
9. EXAM TOP TIPS

1. TURNING A TEXT INTO A BROADCAST
JAPAN EARTHQUAKES
Earthquakes are a common
occurrence, rumbling below
Earth's surface thousands of
times every day. But major
earthquakes are less common.
Here are some things to do to
prepare for an earthquake and
what to do once the ground
starts shaking.
A strong earthquake of preliminary magnitude 7.3 struck off the
coast of Japan today, according to the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS).
The temblor prompted the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue a
tsunami advisory for the east coast of Fukushima prefecture,
forecasting that the sea level could rise up to 3 feet, or 1 meter,
though no damage was expected.
The earthquake's epicentre was 203 miles (326 kilometres) east of
Namie, Japan, and 295 miles (475 km) east-northeast of Tokyo. It
originated 6.2 miles (10 km) deep and struck at 3:10am Saturday
morning local time (17:10 Friday UTC), the USGS reports.
It is important that you have an earthquake readiness plan that you
and your family are all aware of, if necessary consult a professional
to reinforce your home. The professional may suggest such
precautions as bolting bookshelves to the wall, installing latches on
cupboards or strapping your water heater to the wall studs. It is a

good idea to plan a room in your home that you can go to in case of
an earthquake; it is a good idea to make this a spot where nothing is
likely to fall on you. Use a specific cupboard in your kitchen to store
canned foods, an up-to-date first aid kit, 3 gallons (11.4 litres) of
water per person, dust masks and goggles, battery operated radios
and flashlights. If it is possible, designate a member of the
household responsible for turning off your gas and water supply.
If Shaking Begins, experts have advised that you drop down and
take cover underneath a sturdy object such as a desk or table and
hold on. Further advice has been that you stay indoors until you are
sure that it is safe to exit. Another good strategy is to stay away
from heavy objects that could topple and fall on your loved ones
such as book cases or unstable furniture. It is advised that people
stay away from windows in case they shatter as this could lead to
serious injury. If the earthquake strikes at night, shelter with your
head under a pillow to protect yourself from falling glass or objects
and stay where you are.
Sometimes it is unavoidable and you may be caught outside in a
quake, if this is the case stay away from trees or power lines, drop
to the ground and curl up in a small ball.
If you are caught in traffic, drive to a clear place, stop the car and
remain there until the shaking stops.
QUESTIONS:
1. Summarise the article in 50 – 100 words.
*Include the main points of the article.
*Avoid any irrelevant details at this stage.

2. Turn the article into a radio broadcast.
*Include information about what earthquakes are and an
example of a recent earthquake.
*Include safety advice and ways listeners can prepare for an
earthquake.
*Include instructions for what listeners should do if they
are caught in an earthquake.
3. When you have finished, mark your work using the grade
descriptors and set yourself a target for the next text that
you attempt in this revision pack.

2. TURN A TEXT INTO A DIARY ENTRY
EXTRACT FROM THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL by PHILLIPA
GREGORY
I could hear a roll of muffled drums. But I
could see nothing but the lacing on the
bodice of the lady standing in front of me,
blocking my view of the scaffold. I had
been at this court for more than a year
and attended hundreds of festivities; but
never before one like this.
By stepping to one side a little and craning
my neck, I could see the condemned man,
accompanied by his priest, walk slowly
from the Tower toward the green where
the wooden platform was waiting, the block of wood placed centre
stage, the executioner dressed all ready for work in his shirtsleeves
with a black hood over his head. It looked more like a masque than a
real event, and I watched it as if it were a court entertainment. The
king, seated on his throne, looked distracted, as if he was running
through his speech of forgiveness in his head. Behind him stood my
husband of one year, William Carey, my brother, George, and my
father, Sir Thomas Boleyn, all looking grave. I wriggled my toes
inside my silk slippers and wished the king would hurry up and grant
clemency so that we could all go to breakfast. I was only thirteen
years old, I was always hungry.
The Duke of Buckinghamshire, far away on the scaffold, put off his
thick coat. He was close enough kin for me to call him uncle. He had
come to my wedding and given me a gilt bracelet. My father told me

that he had offended the king a dozen ways: he had royal blood in
his veins and he kept too large a retinue of armed men for the
comfort of a king not yet wholly secure on his throne; worst of all he
was supposed to have said that the king had no son and heir now,
could get no son and heir, and that he would likely die without a son
to succeed him to the throne.
Such a thought must not be said out loud. The king, the court, the
whole country knew that a boy must be born to the queen, and born
soon. To suggest otherwise was to take the first step on the path
that led to the wooden steps of the scaffold which the duke, my
uncle, now climbed, firmly and without fear. A good courtier never
refers to any unpalatable truths. The life of a court should always
be merry.
Uncle Stafford came to the front of the stage to say his final
words. I was too far from him to hear, and in any case I was
watching the king, waiting for his cue to step forward and offer the
royal pardon. This man standing on the scaffold, in the sunlight of
the early morning, had been the king's partner at tennis, his rival on
the jousting field, his friend at a hundred bouts of drinking and
gambling, they had been comrades since the king was a boy. The king
was teaching him a lesson, a powerful public lesson, and then he
would forgive him and we could all go to breakfast.
The little faraway figure turned to his confessor. He bowed his head
for a blessing and kissed the rosary. He knelt before the block and
clasped it in both hands. I wondered what it must be like, to put
one's cheek to the smooth waxed wood, to smell the warm wind
coming off the river, to hear, overhead, the cry of seagulls. Even
knowing as he did that this was a masque and not the real thing, it

must be odd for Uncle to put his head down and know that the
executioner was standing behind.
The executioner raised his axe. I looked toward the king. He was
leaving his intervention very late. I glanced back at the stage. My
uncle, head down, flung wide his arms, a sign of his consent, the
signal that the axe could fall. I looked back to the king; he must rise
to his feet now. But he still sat his handsome face grim. And while I
was still looking toward him there was another roll of drums,
suddenly silenced, and then the thud of the axe, first once, then
again and a third time: a sound as domestic as chopping wood.
Disbelievingly, I saw the head of my uncle bounce into the straw and
a scarlet gush of blood from the strangely stumpy neck. The black-
hooded axman put the great stained axe to one side and lifted the
head by the thick curly hair, so that we could all see the strange
mask-like thing: black with the blindfold from forehead to nose, and
the teeth bared in a last defiant grin.
The king rose slowly from his seat and I thought, childishly, "Dear
God, how awfully embarrassing this is going to be. He has left it too
late. It has all gone wrong. He forgot to speak in time."
But I was wrong. He did not leave it too late, he did not forget. He
wanted my uncle to die before the court so that everybody might
know that there was only one king, and that was Henry. There could
be only one king, and that was Henry. And there would be a son born
to this king — and even to suggest otherwise meant a shameful
death.
The court returned quietly to Westminster Palace in three barges,
rowed up the river. The men on the riverbank pulled off their hats
and kneeled as the royal barge went swiftly past with a flurry of
pennants and a glimpse of rich cloth. I was in the second barge with

the ladies of the court, the queen's barge. My mother was seated
near me. In a rare moment of interest she glanced at me and
remarked, "You're very pale, Mary, are you feeling sick?"
"I didn't think he would be executed," I said. "I thought the king
would forgive him."
My mother leaned forward so that her mouth was at my ear and no
one could have heard us over the creaking of the boat and the beat
of the rowers' drum. "Then you are a fool," she said shortly. "And a
fool to remark it. Watch and learn, Mary. There is no room for
mistakes at court."
QUESTIONS:
1. Summarise what is happening in the extract in 50-100 words.
2. Turn the extract into a diary entry.
* Explain the events in the extract.
*How she feels.
*How he feels about the future at the King’s court.
*Include her feelings
3. When you have finished, use the grade descriptors to mark
your work and set yourself a target for your next piece from
the revision pack.
Continue to work through the revision pack, it could be difference
between the grade you want and the grade you may risk getting.

3. TURN A TEXT INTO A LETTER
How Bear Grylls the Born Survivor roughed it - in hotels
By TOM KELLY and SAM GREENHILL
To viewers of his TV series, Bear
Grylls is the daredevil adventurer who
catapults himself into world's worst
'hellholes' and then survives on his
wits alone. But it has emerged that far
from roughing it in brutal
environments, the former SAS man
actually spent nights in hotels during
filming of his Channel 4 show.
The Eton- educated 33-year- old is also alleged to have
choreographed parts of Born Survivor, with many of his spectacular
stunts carefully set up by the production crew. Channel 4 last night
began an investigation into the claims, which follow a number of
embarrassing incidents in which programmes screened by the station
were found to have misled the public.
Grylls's show attracted 1.4million viewers when it was shown in
March and April, with audiences enthralled as he demonstrated
gruesome survival tips that included sucking the fluid from fish
eyeballs and squeezing water from animal dung.
But an adviser to Born Survivor yesterday claimed that many of his
other escapades were not exactly as they seemed on TV.
In one episode filmed in California's Sierra Nevada mountains he was
shown biting off the head of a snake for breakfast and boasting

that he was living on 'just a water bottle, a cup and a flint for
making fire'.
Viewers were not told that he was actually spending some nights in
the Pines Resort hotel at Bass Lake, where the rooms have Internet
access and is advertised as 'a cosy getaway for families' complete
with blueberry pancakes for breakfast.
In another episode when Grylls declared he was a 'real life Robinson
Crusoe' stuck on a desert island, he was actually on an outlying part
of the Hawaiian archipelago and retired to a motel at nightfall.
Mark Weinert, a survival consultant brought in for the programme,
said one show also wrongly gave the impression that the adventurer
built a Polynesian- style raft using only materials around him,
including bamboo and palm leaves for a sail.
Mr Weinert had in fact led a team that built the raft, which was
then dismantled so that Grylls could be shown constructing it on
camera.
In another episode, Grylls was filmed attempting to lasso 'wild'
mustang in the Sierra Nevada, when the horses were actually tame
and had been brought in by trailer from a nearby trekking station.
'If you really believe everything happens the way it is shown on TV,
you are being a little bit naive,' Mr Weinert told the Sunday Times.
Channel 4 confirmed that Grylls had used hotels during expeditions
and ordered the production company that made the programme to
investigate the other claims.
A spokesman said: 'We take any allegations of misleading our
audiences seriously.

'Bear does do all his own stunts and does put himself in perilous
situations.
'But Born Survivor is not an observational documentary series but a
"how to" guide to basic survival techniques in extreme environments.
The programme explicitly does not claim that presenter Bear
Grylls's experience is one of unaided solo survival.'
Grylls had earlier told how Channel 4 bosses had pitched the series
to him, saying: 'We just drop you into a lot of different hellholes
equipped with nothing, and you do what you have to do to survive.'
Last week, Channel 4 had to apologise after it emerged that when
Gordon Ramsay was shown appearing to spear a sea bass off the
English coast for an episode of The F Word, the scene had been
faked.
This month, the operators of the Richard & Judy premium rate TV
quiz were hit with a record fine of £150,000 for a phone-in scandal.
Viewers had been urged to call in to the competition even though the
shortlist of winners was closed.
QUESTIONS:
1. Summarise the article in 50-100 words.
2. Write a letter of complaint to Bear Grylls about the faking of
parts of his show.
*Use the article to inform what you complain about.
*Set your writing out like a letter.
*Write in an appropriate formal tone.
3. Use the grade descriptors to mark your work, set yourself a
target for your next piece of revision.

4. TURN A TEXT INTO AN INTERVIEW/ DIALOGUE
Alex Brooker: Don't get hung up about being PC. They're tough,
this is real sport – enjoy it
People should not walk on eggshells
around the disabled.
When I was born, my right foot was
twisted, and so it was amputated. I
was also born with hand deformities.
Although I don't like using that word
(I prefer saying "hand issues" or "hand disabilities"), it would be a
shame to have a big list of what people can and cannot say, and the
Paralympics could help us in getting rid of those apprehensions of
how to treat disabled people – this awkwardness that some people
can feel.
While we are advanced in this country in terms of our attitudes
towards disability, there is still a level of unease about what you can
and can't say.
In everyday life, when someone falls out of a wheelchair, you hear a
gasp of horror. But if you watch the wheelchair rugby you'll see that
is par for the course; they simply pick themselves up and play on.
When I see someone in a wheelchair, even I do a double-take. And as
someone who has a prosthetic leg, when I see someone not wearing
their legs I think "Oh my god". Some people look at me because
they've never seen somebody who looks like me, and that's just
human nature – it's not offensive. You might stare at an able-bodied
person if they're dressed in an unusual way.

What matters is that your initial curiosity doesn't make you feel
ashamed or embarrassed about what you've done, and prevent you
from talking to disabled people.
As the Paralympics unfold, we'll see athletes with incredible stories
behind their achievements, and it is not necessarily patronising to
celebrate that. But we shouldn't necessarily sympathise with
Paralympians who underperform. These are real sports – that much
will be quickly apparent – and we should treat them as such. If
someone is expected to win gold and they come eighth, people should
ask why, because this is not just a second-rate Olympics.
This next fortnight has the potential to be a huge moment for
disabled people in Britain: we can really add to people's
understanding of disability. We are just the same as everybody else.
Just because you're disabled doesn't mean you cannot achieve great
things.
It is rare for people with disabilities to be exposed to such a
mainstream audience. When I grew up, I never saw disabled
presenters on television, and to an extent that is still the case. The
role models just didn't exist.
Of course there is always the worry that there will be little lasting
impact from these Games. But the signs so far are good: the buzz
has begun, there have never been so many tickets sold to a
Paralympics, and there is far greater media coverage than there was
for Beijing.
My father drilled it into me as a kid that I was no different from
anybody else, and that I wouldn't be getting any special treatment in
life. And though I whinged for a while, I'm grateful for that advice
now.

QUESTIONS:
1. Summarise the article in 50-100 words.
2. Turn the article into an interview.
*Set your article out like a transcript.
*Begin your interview with …
INTERVIEWER: Alex, it is lovely to meet you.
ALEX: It’s lovely to meet you too.
INTERVIEWER: Alex, how do you think people with disabilities
are treated in the UK?
*Remember to not simply jump back and forth from question to
answer, make sure Alex’s answers and long and detailed using
the text to inform what you say.
3, Use the grade descriptors to mark your work. Ask a parent or
friend to mark it if you would like a fresh pair of eyes on your work.
Set a target for your next piece of revision.
KEEP GOING, EVERY PIECE YOU REVISE COULD MAKE YOU
BETTER PREPARED FOR THE MOCK!

5. TURN A TEXT INTO A REPORT
Homework should be banned in primary school, say teachers
Many young pupils find the burden "upsetting", damaging their
relationships with parents, it was claimed.
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers told how one school sent
under-11s on Easter holidays with 45 worksheets in preparation for
Sats tests in coming weeks.
Speaking at the union's annual conference in Liverpool, Cecily Hanlon,
a teacher from Leeds, said: "Homework is a waste of children's time,
teachers' time and from what I have heard parents think it's a
waste of time as well.
"At this stage in their lives homework mitigates against children who
already have difficulties - if they have chaotic home lives, single
parents, physical or mental illness.
"Primary school children can't control their own time and work. We
are not saying 'don't read with your children'. We have always said
parents should read. That should be a pleasurable activity.
"The issue of homework can damage parents and children's
relationships when trying to get it all done, and ends in tears all
round."

The Government says homework is not compulsory but it is
encouraged.
Guidelines for schools in England say five-year-olds should do one
hour a week, rising to 90 to 150 minutes a day at 16.
They say 10 and 11-year-olds should be doing half an hour of
homework every day.
However, research has cast doubt on its effectiveness, and has even
suggested that too much is counter-productive.
The ATL heard how many schools failed to provide "proper
feedback" after children completed homework because staff were
over-worked.
In some cases, teaching assistants are asked to mark work, it was
claimed.
At one school, pupils aged 10 and 11 were given six hours of
homework over the Easter break in preparation for Sats in English,
maths and science.
Pupils should be given the time to “play games with their friends and
go out on trips with their families” instead of being forced to work,
teachers said.
The ATL, which represents more than 160,000 teachers and support
staff, also criticised the Government’s new “nappy curriculum” which
they said would fuel bad behaviour among young children.

Under plans, all children under five are required to meet 69 targets
covering areas such as numeracy and problem-solving.
But academics have already condemned the requirements which they
said would push children into academic education before they are
ready - harming their long-term development.
Teachers said the so-called Early Years Foundation Stage was
leading to an increase in children throwing “tantrums”.
Angela Forkin, a school advisor and former nursery teacher from
Wigan, said: “They are kicking out, they are fighting, they are
refusing, sometimes having tantrums, hiding on the table.
“It’s simply because they can’t cope, they haven’t got the maturity
to cope and they haven’t got the ability to express it. This carries on
through the education system. They are switched off at four and
they never become switched on again.”
QUESTIONS:
1. Write a report for the Department of Education which
considers the impact and implication of the possible removal of
homework from your school.
*Remember to begin your report with the title of the report,
the name of the author (you), the name of the client (who you
are writing for) and the date.

6. COMMENT ON THE WRITER’S EFFECT
The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or
reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred
feet up in the air. The ground beneath them was a bank covered with
coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees,
scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was
the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar.
Ralph stood, one hand against a grey trunk, and screwed up his eyes
against the shimmering water. Out there, perhaps a mile away, the
white surf flinked on a coral reef, and beyond that the open sea was
dark blue. Within the irregular arc of coral the lagoon was still as a
mountain lake—blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple. The
beach between the palm terrace and the water was a thin stick,
endless apparently, for to Ralph’s left the perspectives of palm and
beach and water drew to a point at infinity; and always, almost
visible, was the heat.
He jumped down from the terrace. The sand was thick over his black
shoes and the heat hit him. He became conscious of the weight of
clothes, kicked his shoes off fiercely and ripped off each stocking
with its elastic garter in a single movement. Then he leapt back on
the terrace, pulled off his shirt, and stood there among the skull-
like coconuts with green shadows from the palms and the forest
sliding over his skin,

QUESTIONS:
1. Read the above description of setting from Lord of the Flies.
Select words and phrases and explain how the writer created
effects by using this language.
*Remember to use PEAK in your answer.
*Make your POINT, include a quote as EVIDENCE, ANALYSE
how the quote supports your point and then explore how a
KEYWORD from your quote creates a specific effect on the
reader by way of an image they think of or an emotion they
feel.
7. GRADE DESCRIPTORS
Grade D-C: You have organised your writing in the appropriate
way for the task. You make simple points and explain some of
them in detail. Your writing is simple and there may be errors
in punctuation and spelling.
Grade C-B: You explain more ideas in detail. Your tone is
appropriate for the task; you have inferred detail from the
text you have read. Sentences are correct although relatively
simple, vocabulary is simple but spelling is correct. You begin to
use more ambitious vocabulary.
Grade B-A*: All of the above PLUS you use and develop
several ideas. Your tone is mature. Sentences are well
structured and you use the full range of punctuation. Structure
is good and there is a logical flow to the piece.

8. TOP TIPS FOR EACH STYLE OF WRITING
Formal Letters
Practise writing formal letters; it is highly likely you will be asked to
write a letter on. Letters to people in official positions and whom
you don’t know typically adopt a formal style and polite tone, and
they are structured in three paragraphs:
i) the topic of the letter/reason for writing it
ii) background information, arguments and factual details
iii) request or suggestions for future action
Reports
Practice turning passages into reports; they have a particular style,
and structure which is different from any other kind of writing:
i) style - short paragraphs; short sentences; dramatic
vocabulary; statistical information; stacking of adjectives and
descriptive phrases before the noun (e.g. ‘The Japanese-owned
lightweight racing yacht Sunshine II...’, ‘Divorced former model
and mother of two, Susan Smith...’)
ii) The expression should be impersonal (do not use ‘I’ or ‘We’
and do not give any opinions).
iii) Use interview material and direct speech as well as
reported speech.

iv) structure - contrary to normal chronological sequence, news
reports begin with the very recent past (usually yesterday); go
on to fill in past background prior to the event; return to the
immediate present and how things are developing; then finally
speculate about the future.
Interview
Practice writing interviews between two people. Interviews typically
adopt an empathetic tone.
i) Style – question/answer format. If you must skip a line
between questions and answers, or, use names in the margin
like a play script to distinguish between the interviewer and
interviewee.
ii) The interviewer should not speak that much allowing the
interviewer to speak the most. It is through the interviewee
that you will show your understanding of the text as they will
most likely be someone mentioned in the passage.
iii) Write in first person perspective with personal language
(do use ‘I’ and ‘we’ and do give opinions
Diary Entry
To show understanding of a viewpoint you may be asked to write a
diary entry. Don’t worry , it’s easy.
i) Style – almost identical to an informal letter, but packed
full of thoughts and opinions.

ii) The audience must be yourself, not the diary. Never treat
a diary like a person!
iii) Always include some kind of hope/plan/intention for the
future.
9. EXAM TOP TIPS
o Make sure you eat breakfast.
o Bring a bottle of water.
o Bring a spare pen.
o Pilot Frixion pens mean you can rub out mistakes,
which could be useful.
o Keep calm, take deep breaths and remember what
you have been taught in lessons, YOU ARE READY!
o If you are struggling to spell something, sound out
the word in your head letter by letter, or syllable by
syllable.
o Use a full range of punctuation, include some semi
colons. Remember: ‘we’ve come to party; it’s semi
colon time’.

Igcse revision book

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