CXC CSEC English A exam - Paper 2 exam topics

This paper contains eight (8) questions in four (4) sections

Section A
Section A: Summary writing

This section is made up of one compulsory question. In this section, you have to write a summary
of a given passage or report. (There is no choice here, you have to answer the only question in this
section.)

You will be given a passage or report and asked to write a summary of it.

The 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 allotted number of
words, anything you write will not be assessed.
Here are samples of the type of summary questions that were set in CXC English A past papers.

Section B

Section B: Reading comprehension

This section consists of two compulsory short answer reading comprehension questions. (Again
there is no choice here, you have to answer both of the questions in this section).

Each question is made up of a reading passage and 7-8 questions on the passage. You must
answer allthe questions on each reading passage.

Here are samples of the type of reading comprehension questions that have been set in CXC
English A past papers.

Section C
Section C: Short story writing/Descriptive writing

This section is made up of three questions. They include two short story essays - one with a picture
and one without - and a descriptive essay.(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.

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

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

Section D
Section D: Persuasive writing

This section is made up of two persuasive essay questions. Your answer is usually required to be in the
form of either an informal letter to a friend, a formal letter to an official, a speech, presentation or an
essay. (You must choose one question to answer).

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 persuasive essay questions that have been set in CXC Engliah A
past papers.

You must answer five (5) out of the eight (8) questions on this paper in order to pass the
CXC English A exam.

Here is a CXC past paper type summary writing question.

This is the type of summary writing question that has been on
CXC English A past papers

NB: CXC suggests spending no more than 35 minutes to answer the summary
writing question in Section one, paper 2 of the English A exam.
Read carefully the following conversation between Ross and Susan and
then answer the question below it.

Ross:

Susan Charles, a fine secretary you are! Don't you know that the
students from Guadeloupe arrive on September 15th?

Susan: Both the boys and the girls. So what else is new?
None of your wisecracks. That's only a month away and we haven't
Ross: found accommodation for them as yet. The hotel says there won't be
any room at that time. As secretary of the club, it's your responsibility...
I know, I know. I'll arrange for them to stay in private homes. I'm sure
Susan: the villagers won't mind taking them in for a small charge. It's only for
two weeks. Our visitors are booked to leave on the 30th.
Not a bad idea. Why don't you write to all the villagers asking them to
Ross: write to us if they are interested in putting up these students? I wonder
how much they'll charge.
I'll ask them to give their rates. We'll have to insist, though, that the
Susan: villagers who are interested must be able to speak French. The
Guadeloupans speak no English.
Ross: At least not the six who are coming. Should the villagers provide meals?
Susan:

Breakfast and dinner, except on Sundays when they must include lunch
as well.

I think we should let the villagers know that two club members will want
Ross: to inspect homes and chat with the applicants before making the
selection.

Susan:

Agreed. Letters from those who are interested should reach us by

August 26th. Then our members can visit on the 28th.

Ross: After six p.m., I suppose? Should the villagers write to you as secretary?
Susan:

Right on both counts; I'll tell them to write to:

The Secretary
Denby Sports Club
P.O. Box 63
Arroyo Village.

Ross: But suppose a villager can put up more than one student?
Susan: All the better, my friend, all the better.
Imagine that you are Susan. In not more than 150 words, write the
letter to the villagers.
Marks will be given for (1) content, (2) organisation and (3) expression

Here are CXC past paper type reading comprehension

questions
These questions do not have any suggested answers. You should attempt to
answer them to give yourself practice on CXC type reading comprension
questions. These are the types of questions that will appear in section 2, paper 2
of the English A exam.
1. Read the following extract carefully and then answer all the questions set on it.
Pita panicked. There was nothing he could do. He was trapped. Trapped with hundreds of others. The
monster had come and was slowly, surely dragging them from the deep. He swam through the excited
crowd to try the bottom. Then he tried the top again. The great monster had encircled them
completely. There were millions of holes in its great hands, but none large enough. If only they were a
little larger. Pita tried to push himself through one of the holes again. He squeezed and squeezed.
Great tails lashed around him. Not only he but against his eyes. If only his head could get through. He
pushed again, hard, and the pain quivered through his body.
There was nothing he could do. He heard the breakers roaring above now. That meant they were
nearing the shore. Pita whipped his tail in fury. The monster was gradually closing its hands. There
were cries now above the surface. Below, the monster grated on sand. The shore! They had reached
the shore! Frantically, Pita flung himself against one of the tiny holes. He gave a cry as the scales tore
from his back - then a cry of joy. He was free! Free!
He lunged forward below the surface. Down he sped, rejoicing in his tinyness. If he was only a little
bigger, he would have been dying on the shore now. The fateful shore! There had been those who had
actually come back from that world. This was one of the great mysteries. But some said they had been
there, and had talked of that awesome place.
There was no more blood now. Down he swam. Deep, deep until the sound of the breakers was only a
bitter memory, and the sea was not sandy but blue and clear, and until, far, far away in the distance,
green with fern and the tender moss, he saw the rocks of home.
Question
a) To whom or what does 'he' refer? (1 mark)

Suggested answer
a) 'He' refers to the fish or Pita
Question
b) What effect is the author trying to create by using short sentences in the passage? (2 marks)

Suggested answer
b) The writer is trying to create suspense/tension/fast-moving action.
Question
c) State ONE word which could describe Pita's feelings when he realised, There were millions of

holes ... but none large enough. (2 marks)

c) Alarm/anxiety/frustration/desperation.
Question
d) Why does the author repeat 'squeezed' in line 6? (3 marks)

Suggested answer
d) The word is repeated to show the tremendous effort the fish is making in its bid to escape.
Question
e) Who or what does the 'monster' refer to? (2 marks)

Suggested answer
e) The 'monster' is the net
Question
f) Why does the writer use 'fateful' to describe the shore? (2 marks)

Suggested answer
f) The word is used because that is where the fate of the fish was decided/where death took place.
Question
g) Why does Pita utter a cry of joy? (1 mark)

Suggested answer
g) Pita utters a cry of joy as he was now free.
Question
h) Why was 'the sound of the breakers' a bitter memory? (2 marks)

Suggested answer
h) It was the sound of the place where he would have died.
You can find the original question here.

2. Read the following poem carefully and and answer the questions which follow it.

Growing pains
My child-eyes cried for chocolate treats
And sticky sweets
'Twill rot yu' teet'!
Tinkly silver wrapper hides
5

Germs
Worms
Decay
How can a child-eye see?
This child-heart cried for mid-teen love

10

15

20

25

30

A blow, a shove
Study yuh' book!
Leather jacket
Football boots
Are not the most sought-after truths
How can a child-heart know?
So watch the young-girl-heart take wing!
Watch her groove
And watch her swing
She's old enough
She's strong and tough
She'll see beneath the silver wrapper
Beneath the flashy football boots
She'll find the great sought-after truth
That child-eye tears are not as sad
And child-heart pain is not as bad
As grown-up tears and grown-up pain
Oh Christ, what do we have to gain
From growing up
For throwing up
Our childlike ways
For dim
Disastrous
Grown-up days.
ANITA

Question
(a)(i)Who is likely to have said the following lines:
'Twill rot yu' teet'! (line 3) and Study yu' book! (line 11) (ii)What effect is the writer trying to create by
using them? (3 marks)

Suggested answer
(a) The words would have been spoken by an adult, possibly a parent.
Question
(b) In what ways is the content of the first two stanzas (lines 1 - 15) similar?
(3 marks)

Suggested answer
(b) The content of the first two stanzas is similar in that they show the views/concerns of the adult
with regard to the child. Also, both stanzas offer guidance from the adult.
Question
(c) Why does the poet refer to leather jacket (line 12) and ;football boots (line 13)? (2 marks)

Suggested answer
(c) The poet refers to leather jackets and football boots, items which we associate with the male, to
indicate that these attract teenage girls.

Question
(d) Comment on the poet's choice of the following words:
(i)Tinkly (line 4)
(ii)dim (line 31) (2 marks)

Suggested answer
d)(i) Tinkly is an example of the figurative device, ono- matopoeia; hence it appeals to the sense of
hearing. Children will be attracted to the sound of the paper.
(ii) Through the use of dim, the poet maintains the contrast between childhood and adulthood,
innocence and experience.
Question
(e) What do the following lines,
She'll see beneath the silver wrapper
Beneath the flashy football boots ... (lines 21 - 22) tell us about the young girl?
(2 marks)

Suggested answer
(e) The lines tell us that the young girl realises later on in life that things are not what they seem to
be. She would arrive at this position because of her maturity and experience.
Question
(f)What is suggested by the poet in the last seven lines (lines 27 - 33) of the poem? (2 marks)

Suggested answer
(f) The poet is saying that it is difficult for anyone to see why adulthood, with all its problems, should
be preferred to childhood.
Total 14 marks

3.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions below it.
Quiet and the night came early and Leonard sat there feeling a flicker of restlessness. He needed
his books, a radio perhaps, he wasn't sure why he had been delaying going into Kingston to fetch his
things. The pattern he had established of working on the house had completely absorbed him, but, he
thought, stretching lazily, it was time to make the trip into town. He would go there the next day, get
it over with. If he went like that, mid-week, there would be nobody there. He could simply pick up his
two boxes and leave the key with the next-door neighbour. He would not have to face his parents and
their angry comments, the small guilt-making jabs, 'after all they had done', giving up his job, 'such
good prospects', to hide himself away 'in the depths of beyond', as they put it. And, of course, he
could not explain. He could not say that the prospect of working to buy things did not interest him, of
drifting into a marriage, much like theirs, did not interest him. It was all sound, solid, and it
frightened him, the years stretching ahead, known even before they had happened. He wanted to
make something very simple, very different, for himself. He could not explain because they were so
proud of having lived out Grandma Miriam's dream, to be educated, professionals, a far remove from
Grandpa Sam, travelling in on the country bus with his country talk and his bag of yams.

a) Why was Leonard feeling a flicker of restlessness (line 2)? (2 marks)

b) What does the phrase get it over with (line 12) tell us about Leonard's reaction to the idea of the
trip into town? (2 marks)
c) How did Leonard decide to avoid his parents? (2 marks)
d) How did Leonard's parents feel about his chosen lifestyle? (2 marks)
e) What was Grandma Miriam's ambition for her children? (1 mark)
f) What does the last sentence suggest about Grandma Miriam's' reaction to the lifestyle of Grandpa
Sam? (2 marks)
Total: 11 marks
You can find the original question here

4. Read the following poem carefully and then answer the questions set on it.
The Hawk
The hawk slipped out of the pine, and rose in the sunlit air:
Steady and still he poised: his shadow slept on the grass:
And the bird's song sickened and sank: she cowered with furtive stare,
Dumb, till the quivering dimness should flicker and shift and pass.
Suddenly down he dropped: she heard the hiss of his wing,
Fled with a scream of terror: oh, would she had dared to rest.
For the hawk at eve was full, and there was no bird to sing,
And over the heather drifted the down from a bleeding breast.
A.C. BENSON
(a) Briefly state what happens in the poem. (2 marks)
(b) What does the following tell you about the bird? she cowered with furtive stare... (2 marks)
(c) Explain what is meant by ;the quivering dimness. (2 marks)
(d) Comment on the poet's use of each of the following:
(i) slipped
(ii) drifted (4 marks)
(e) Name one sense to which this poem appeals and quote a word or phrase in support of your
choice. (2 marks)
(f) Identify a figure of speech and comment on its effectiveness. (2 marks)

Here are more sample CXC reading comprehension questions. These sample questions have suggested
answers to guide you in recognizing the way CXC wants you answer these types of questions. You
must login to access these questions and answers.

Here are CXC past paper type short story questions.

These are the types of short story questions that have been on
CXC English A past papers

NB CXC suggests spending no more than 45 minutes to answer the short story
question on Paper 2 of the English A exam. They also suggest 400 - 450
wordsas the short story length
1.

Write a story entitled,"The decision that saved my life."

2.

"Jamila turned and walked away. I knew then that I had lost a friend."
Write a story in which this sentence plays an important part.

3.

Write either a story OR a description entitled,

"The village where nobody lives anymore".

4.

Write a story which leads up to the following ending:

"To this day, people passing through Coconut Grove still stop to ask for
Waspie."

5.

Write a story entitled: "The Dream That Came True."

I want to see more sample CXC short story questions like these!
(You must login or create an account to access more CXC type short story
questions in our library.)

Here are CXC past paper type persuasive essay questions.

These are the types of persuasive essay questions that have been on
CXC English A past papers
NB: CXC suggests spending no more than 30 minutes to answer the persuasive
essay question on Paper 2 of the English A exam. They also suggest 250 - 300
words as the length of the persuasive essay.

1. Write an article to the local newspaper expressing your concern about the
high rate of traffic accidents in your country. Suggest three measures which
would help to reduce this high rate of accidents.

2.

Write an article for your school magazine about three major problems in your
school and state how you would solve
each one.

3. You are on a committee planning the celebrations to mark the anniversary of

your school. You have heard that some of your classmates plan to boycott the
celebrations, and you have neen asked to make a speech to persuade them to
take part. Write out your speech.

4.

5.

Your school council has asked for nominations for the "Teacher of the Year
award. Write a letter to the council in which you suggest someone from your
school,
giving strong arguments to support your choice.

Write an article for a school magazine in which you present strong arguments
either for or against the topic:
"School should be abolished."

I want to see more past paper type CXC persuasive essay questionslike

these!
(You must login or create an account to access more CXC type persuasive
essay questions in our library.)