Cambridge IGCSE English - First Language 0500 — 2012 Oct/Nov Paper 3 · Variant 3

This document consists of 4 printed pages. DC (LEO) 50291/2 © UCLES 2012 [Turn over UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS International General Certificate of Secondary Education * 2 5 2 2 7 6 5 5 4 2 * FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH 0500/33 Paper 3 Directed Writing and Composition October/November 2012 2 hours Additional Materials: Answer Booklet/Paper READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST If you have been given an Answer Booklet, follow the instructions on the front cover of the Booklet. Write your Centre number, candidate number and name on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid. Answer two questions: Question 1 (Section 1) and one question from Section 2. Dictionaries are not permitted. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. All questions in this paper carry equal marks. www.XtremePapers.com

2 0500/33/O/N/12 © UCLES 2012 Section 1: Directed Writing 1 Read the article on cars by Winston Graham, which is printed on the opposite page. Write a letter to Winston Graham saying whether or not you agree that motor cars are a curse. In your letter you should: • identify and evaluate the writer’s views • use your own ideas to support your comments on the writer’s views. Base your letter on what you have read in the article. Be careful to use your own words. Begin your letter, ‘Dear Winston Graham…’. Write between 1½ to 2 sides, allowing for the size of your handwriting. Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 15 marks for the quality of your writing. [25]

3 0500/33/O/N/12 © UCLES 2012 [Turn over The Curse of the Motor Car I want to convince you that the motor car, or automobile, is a bad thing for nearly all of us. While it is true that much of the world’s population is too poor to own a car or even to have access to transport, for most of us car ownership is an ambition that is easily realised. This is shown by a visit to most of the towns and cities the world over, where our experience is made a misery by endless, noisy traffic jams. Instead of being able to enjoy the atmosphere, looking at shop windows or appreciating fine buildings, you are hemmed in by hooting vehicles apparently battling it out with each other. Just suppose that cars were banned from large areas of a town: it is not too much to suppose that other adequate means of transport could take you to your destination. Furthermore, cars are dangerous to life and limb. They are capable of travelling at twice the maximum speed limits that most countries find they have to impose. Statistics tell you which countries are the most dangerous in terms of car deaths per thousand of the population. Can we afford to give thoughtless drivers, intent on showing off their driving ‘skills’ or trying to make up for being late, the chance to ignore their responsibilities to other road users? Then again, cars are great polluters, emitting poisonous gases into the atmosphere and affecting health in ways that we still do not fully understand. One country has had to ban cars with odd and even registration numbers from the streets of its capital on alternate weekdays. Perhaps this is a step in the right direction. If there were only half or a quarter of the cars in the world on the road at any one given time, how might this affect the quality of our life? Cars also have a corrupting influence because they appeal to our sense of greed and the wish to show off our wealth. People with bigger, faster cars never tire of boasting to their poorer neighbours about performance and comfort. They rarely need big cars with powerful engines but are afraid of losing their status in the company car park. Being rich in the first place, they can afford the various taxes, insurance premiums and charges for maintenance that many of us cannot. In addition, they often own more than one vehicle. All these reasons lend weight to the notion that cars have little positive to be said for them. I am not trying to argue that there should be no transport or that people should stay at home. Far from it; but there are obvious alternatives. Only one company executive can travel through a busy city in a limousine, while 50 can fit into a bus. Thousands of commuters can arrive for work using efficient train services. Walking a short distance to work through traffic-free streets is good for their health and relaxing for the mind. In some towns motorised vehicles have for the most part been banned and people make the final stage of their journey by bicycle. ‘Borrow a bicycle’ schemes can be set up, whereby you can collect one from one place and return it to another, either free or for a small fee. In one capital city, the outlying villages are served by buses that terminate at mass transit underground stations, which in turn connect with a city-wide tram system. You can usually make your entire journey with one ticket. It is a matter of determination to invest in an infrastructure that uses road, rail and even waterways intelligently and for the benefit of the whole community; determination to stand up against those who have the money and the power to claim special treatment for themselves. For the majority, subsidised transport can make it worthwhile to keep their cars at home, and high taxes can make a family think twice about the number of cars they own. We could, for example, think of new ways of charging motorists for using roads. Devices would calculate the distance travelled in any one journey and payment would be automatically deducted from the motorist’s account. If we do not tackle the problem of the car, it will continue to make our lives less bearable in the future.

4 0500/33/O/N/12 © UCLES 2012 Section 2: Composition Write about 2 sides, allowing for the size of your handwriting, on one of the following: Argumentative/Discursive Writing 2 (a) ‘Dreams are important in our lives.’ Discuss this view. [25] OR (b) ‘The small things that we own are the most precious.’ Do you agree? [25] Descriptive Writing 3 (a) Imagine that after some years you revisit a place you used to know well, only to find that everything has changed. Write a description of the place now and how the changes make you feel. [25] OR (b) Describe the atmosphere of a quiet street or neighbourhood which is then suddenly disturbed. [25] Narrative Writing 4 (a) Write the story of what happens after a place which has been locked for many years is finally opened. [25] OR (b) Write a story entitled ‘The Return of the Voyager’. [25] Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity. University of Cambridge International Examinations is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is itself a department of the University of Cambridge.

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS International General Certificate of Secondary Education MARK SCHEME for the October/November 2012 series 0500 FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH 0500/33 Paper 3 (Directed Writing and Composition), maximum raw mark 50 This mark scheme is published as an aid to teachers and candidates, to indicate the requirements of the examination. It shows the basis on which Examiners were instructed to award marks. It does not indicate the details of the discussions that took place at an Examiners’ meeting before marking began, which would have considered the acceptability of alternative answers. Mark schemes should be read in conjunction with the question paper and the Principal Examiner Report for Teachers. Cambridge will not enter into discussions about these mark schemes. Cambridge is publishing the mark schemes for the October/November 2012 series for most IGCSE, GCE Advanced Level and Advanced Subsidiary Level components and some Ordinary Level components. www.XtremePapers.com

Page 2 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper IGCSE – October/November 2012 0500 33 © Cambridge International Examinations 2012 Note: All Examiners are instructed that alternative correct answers and unexpected approaches in candidates’ scripts must be given marks that fairly reflect the relevant knowledge and skills demonstrated. Nonetheless, the content must be clearly related to and derived from the passage. Section 1: Directed Writing Question 1 This question tests Writing Objectives W1-W5 (15 marks): • articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined • order and present facts, ideas and opinions • understand and use a range of appropriate vocabulary • use language and register appropriate to audience and context • make accurate and effective use of paragraphs, grammatical structures, sentences, punctuation and spelling. AND aspects of Reading Objectives R1-R3 (10 marks): • understand and collate explicit meanings • understand, explain and collate implicit meanings and attitudes • select, analyse and evaluate what is relevant to specific purposes. Read the article on cars by Winston Graham. Write a letter to Winston Graham saying whether or not you agree that motor cars are a curse. In your letter you should identify and evaluate the writer’s views and use your own ideas to support your comments on the writer’s views. Base your letter on what you have read in the article. Be careful to use your own words. Begin your letter, ‘Dear Winston Graham…’. Write about 1½ to 2 sides, allowing for the size of your handwriting. Up to 10 marks are available for the content of your answer, and up to 15 marks for the quality of your writing. [25]

Page 3 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper IGCSE – October/November 2012 0500 33 © Cambridge International Examinations 2012 Responses may make a wide range of points of which the following are examples: A: negatives Some of the four objections to the car contained in paragraphs 1-4: • noise/traffic spoils towns; • danger to life and limb; • pollution; • concept of greed having a corrupting influence. B: positives • improving the infrastructure; • opportunities for a range of forms of transport (bus, train, by bike, on water) They may also explore ideas such as: • subsidies; • raising taxes; road charging • restrictions on use. C: evaluation • examples of people who need cars; • taxes already high and affect the poor; • technology reduces pollution; • it’s the driver who is dangerous and not the car; • enforcing rules/improved infrastructure lessens danger; • if someone has worked hard for his/her wealth, he/she has a right to spend money at will; • public transport is slow crowded, and cannot reach remote areas; • riding a bike can be dangerous and buses have accidents too. Candidates may agree with the analysis of the problems but not the solutions. Accept all other relevant ideas derived from the passage and relevant to the question as a basis for discussion.

Page 4 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper IGCSE – October/November 2012 0500 33 © Cambridge International Examinations 2012 The question is marked out of 10 for Reading and 15 for Writing. Use the following table to give a mark out of 10 for Reading. Band 1 9–10 Gives a thorough, perceptive, convincing response; creates a soundly structured argument. Reads effectively between the lines. Develops the reading material and integrates it into the response to the task. Band 2 7–8 Some evidence of evaluation, engaging with a few of the main points with success. Uses reading material to support the argument. Occasionally effective development of some of the ideas in the material. Band 3 5–6 Reproduces a number of points to make a satisfactory response. The response covers the material adequately, but may miss opportunities to develop it relevantly or at length. Band 4 3–4 Selects points from the passage rather literally and/or uses material thinly. Does not combine points into a connected response. Band 5 1–2 Parts of the response are relevant, though material may be repeated or used inappropriately. Band 6 0 Response does not relate to question and/or too much unselective copying directly from the material to gain a mark in Band 5. First variant Mark Scheme Use the following table to give a mark out of 15 for Writing. Band 1 13–15 Consistent sense of audience; persuasive style; fit for purpose. Fluent, varied sentences; wide range of vocabulary. Strong sense of structure, paragraphing and sequence. Virtually no error. Band 2 10–12 Sense of audience mostly secure; quite stylish and quite fluent; sense of overall structure; mostly well-sequenced; arguments occasionally well developed. Writing is mainly accurate; sentences and language effective. Band 3 8–9 Occasional sense of audience; mostly written in accurate, if fairly straightforward sentence structures; some persuasion, though not strong; mostly quite well structured; errors minor; vocabulary straightforward but adequate for task. Band 4 5–7 Appropriate if sometimes inconsistent style; sentences mainly accurate; more fact rather than argument; basic structure; fairly frequent, minor errors, perhaps including sentence separation; sentences and/or vocabulary simple. Band 5 3–4 Functional expression; largely factual with little/no argument; response not always well sequenced; some serious errors in grammar/punctuation/use of vocabulary. Band 6 1–2 Language and style not clear; some blurring and lacking in order; despite some serious errors, gist can mainly be followed. Faulty sentence construction. Band 7 0 Inaccuracies and problems with language and grammar are too serious to gain a mark in Band 6. First variant Mark Scheme

Page 5 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper IGCSE – October/November 2012 0500 33 © Cambridge International Examinations 2012 Section 2: Composition Questions 2 (a), 2 (b), 3 (a), 3 (b), 4 (a) and 4 (b). Give two marks: • the first mark is out of 13 for content and structure: see Table A • the second mark is out of 12 for style and accuracy: see Table B The maximum overall mark for the Composition is 25. Write the total clearly at the end as follows: C7 + S10 = 17 (C standing for ‘content and structure’, S for ‘style and accuracy’). Argumentative/Discursive Writing 2 (a) ‘Dreams are important in our lives.’ Discuss this view. [25] OR (b) ‘The small things that we own are the most precious.’ Do you agree? [25] Descriptive Writing 3 (a) Imagine that after some years you revisit a place you used to know well, only to find that everything has changed. Write a description of the place now and how the changes make you feel. [25] OR (b) Describe the atmosphere of a quiet street or neighbourhood which is then suddenly disturbed. [25] Narrative Writing 4 (a) Write the story of what happens after a place which has been locked for many years is finally opened. [25] OR (b) Write a story entitled ‘The Return of the Voyager’. [25]

Page 6 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper IGCSE – October/November 2012 0500 33 © Cambridge International Examinations 2012 COMPOSITION TASKS: TABLE A – CONTENT AND STRUCTURE ARGUMENTATIVE/ DISCURSIVE TASK DESCRIPTIVE TASK NARRATIVE TASK Band 1 11–13 • Consistently well developed, logical stages in an overall, at times complex, argument. • Each stage is linked to the preceding one, and sentences within paragraphs are soundly sequenced. • There are many well-defined, well-developed ideas and images, describing complex atmospheres with a range of details (which contribute to a sense of atmosphere). • Overall structure is provided through devices such as the movements of the persona, the creation of a short time span, or the creation of atmosphere or tension. There is no confusion with writing a story. Repetition is avoided and the sequence of sentences makes the picture clear to the reader. • The narrative is complex and sophisticated and may contain devices such as sub-texts, flashbacks and time lapses. Cogent details are provided where necessary or appropriate. • Different parts of the story are balanced and the climax carefully managed. Sentence sequences are sometimes arranged to produce effects such as the building up of tension or providing a sudden turn of events. Band 2 9–10 • Each stage of the argument is defined and developed, although the explanation may not be consistent. • The stages follow in a generally cohesive progression. Paragraphs are mostly well sequenced, although some may finish less strongly than they begin. • There is a good selection of interesting ideas and images, with a range of details. • These are formed into an overall picture of some clarity, largely consistent and effective. There may be occasional repetition, and opportunities for development or the provision of detail may be missed. Sentences are often well sequenced. • The writing develops some interesting features, but not consistently so. Expect the use of detail and some attention to character or setting. • Writing is orderly and the beginning and ending are satisfactorily managed. The reader is well aware of the climax even if it is not fully effective. Sequencing of sentences provides clarity and engages the reader in events or atmosphere.

Page 7 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper IGCSE – October/November 2012 0500 33 © Cambridge International Examinations 2012 Band 3 7–8 • There is a series of relevant points and a clear attempt is made to develop some of them. These points are straightforward and logical/coherent. • Repetition is avoided, but the order of the stages in the overall argument can be changed without adverse effect. The sequence of the sentences within paragraphs is satisfactory, but the linking of ideas may be insecure. • There is a selection of relevant ideas, images, and details, which satisfactorily address the task. An attempt is made to create atmosphere. • The description provides a series of points rather than a sense of their being combined to make an overall picture, but some ideas are developed successfully, albeit straightforwardly. Some sentences are well sequenced. • A straightforward but cohesive story with identification of features such as character and setting. • While opportunities for appropriate development of ideas are sometimes missed, overall structure is competent, and some features of a developed narrative are evident. Sentences are usually sequenced to narrate events clearly. Band 4 5–6 • Mainly relevant points are made and they are developed partially with some brief effectiveness. • The overall argument shows signs of structure but may be sounder at the beginning than at the end, or may drift away from the topic. There may be some repetition. The sequence of sentences may be occasionally insecure. • Some relevant ideas are provided and occasionally developed a little, perhaps as a narrative. There are somedescriptive/atmospheric episodes, but the use of event may overshadow them. • There is some overall structure, but the writing may lack direction and intent. There may be interruptions in the sequence of sentences and/or some lack of clarity. • Responds relevantly to the topic, but is largely a series of undeveloped events with only brief details of character and setting. • Overall structure is sound, but there are examples where particular parts are too long or short. The climax is not effectively described or prepared. Sentence sequences narrate events and occasionally contain irrelevances.

Page 8 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper IGCSE – October/November 2012 0500 33 © Cambridge International Examinations 2012 Band 5 3–4 • A few relevant points are made and may be expanded into paragraphs, but development is very simple and not always logical. • There is weakness of sequencing overall and within paragraphs. Paragraphing is inconsistent. Repetition and an inability to sustain relevant argument are obvious. • Content is relevant but lacking in scope or variety. Opportunities to provide development and detail are frequently missed. • The overall structure, though readily discernible, lacks form and dimension. Paragraphing is inconsistent. The reliance on identifying events, objects and/or people sometimes leads to a sequence of sentences without progression. • A simple narrative with a beginning, middle and end; it may consist of nonsensical and confusing events. • Unequal or inappropriate importance is given to parts of the story. Paragraphing is inconsistent. Dialogue may be used ineffectively. There is no real climax. Sentence sequences are used only to link simple series of events. Band 6 1–2 • A few points are discernible but any attempt to develop them is very limited. • Overall argument only progresses here and there and the sequence of sentences is poor. • Some relevant facts are identified, but the overall picture is unclear and lacks development. • There are examples of sequenced sentences, but there is also repetition and muddled ordering. • Stories are very simple and narrate events indiscriminately. Endings are simple and lack effect. • The shape of the narrative is unclear; some of the content has no relevance to the plot. Sequences of sentences are sometimes poor, leading to a lack of clarity. Band 7 0 • Rarely relevant, little material, and presented in a disorderly structure. Not sufficient to be placed in Band 6. • Rarely relevant, little material, and presented in a disorderly structure. Not sufficient to be placed in Band 6. • Rarely relevant, little material, and presented in a disorderly structure. Not sufficient to be placed in Band 6.

Page 9 Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper IGCSE – October/November 2012 0500 33 © Cambridge International Examinations 2012 COMPOSITION TASKS: TABLE B STYLE AND ACCURACY Band 1 11–12 Writing is consistent, stylistically fluent, linguistically strong and accurate; has sense of audience. Look for: • appropriately used ambitious words • complex sentence structures where appropriate Band 2 9–10 Writing is mostly fluent, sometimes linguistically effective and largely accurate; may have some sense of audience. Look for: • signs of a developing style • some ability to express shades of meaning Band 3 7–8 Writing is clear, competent (if plain) in vocabulary and grammar; errors perhaps frequent, but minor Look for: • mostly correct sentence separation • occasional precision and/or interest in choice of words Band 4 5–6 Writing is clear and accurate in places, and expresses general meaning in vocabulary and grammar; errors occasionally serious Look for: • simple sentences • errors of sentence separation Band 5 3–4 Writing is simple in vocabulary and grammar; errors are distracting and sometimes serious, but general meaning can be followed Look for: • definite weaknesses in sentence structures • grammatical errors such as incorrect use of prepositions and tense Band 6 1–2 Writing is very limited in vocabulary and grammar; error is persistent; meaning is blurred Look for: • faulty and/or rambling sentences • language insufficient to carry intended meaning Band 7 0 Writing is difficult to follow because of inadequate language proficiency and error