11 Plus Exams Forum

piggys wrote:Bucksmum: of course there will be very specific guidelines for the marking of the HB paper. You can bet it is only marked by English specialists for a start. When I worked in one of the SS only members of my dept (English) were allowed to mark their in-house English paper, whereas the marking of their maths paper could be undertaken by members of a range of departments, being far simpler to mark.

What will they be looking for ? first and foremost a strong command of language and vocabulary; the ability to express themselves with maturity and precision. Being adept at responding to stimuli, for example a picture or a statement, or write the text for a brochure which advertises or promotes a product or service. They will also come down strongly on candidates who have 'learned' set similes parrot fashion and obstinately insert them somewhere into their writing (believe me, you can always tell!). Awareness of audience and a sense of the writer's voice. My advice to anyone holding out for round 2 is read lots - not just novels but news reports, persuasive pieces, diary entries and so on. There is not a set formula for HB as there is with the DAO English paper. Last year girls were asked to do a descriptive piece which was loosely based on that year's English Language GCSE paper (an open ended style task, so not as bonkers as it sounds!) but this year could be different. Your dd should be able to think for herself!

Good luck all.

tiffinboys wrote:Following is link for specimen papers of Kingston Grammar School, if any one is interested.

English
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