Prelude to Saturday

Today’s Mock exam paper was taken from 2007 October Real Test. A total of 25 students out of a possible 32 students attended the Mock. Following are essays and comments. As all have noticed that it is an easier test compared what we saw in the previous two Mocks. There is NOT a single word that will create confusion. I am sure that you have noticed that it is the level of concentration that matters more than your skill.

What you should NOT forget on the exam date.

1.        Take 12 Faber-Castle pencils – all 2B grades – all sharpened. No sharpening in the exam hall. Buy your pencils TODAY or Tomorrow – not on Saturday!

2.       On Saturday wake up at 5.45 am sharp – you have to be at the Test-centre by 7.45 am.

3.       If possible take bath [semi-warm water]

4.       On Saturday morning take Good Breakfast that shall keep you satisfied till at least 4 pm.

a.       My favorite menu: 4 pieces of Kings/Coopers/California Fried BREAD

b.      Spread little butter on the bread.

c.       2 eggs [one sunny side up – another scrambled – fried with minimum cooking-oil]

d.      One sausage [for the Gluttons – 2 sausages]

e.       A tea-cup full of milk [drink semi-cold]

f.        Tea [No biscuit]

g.       Brush your teeth after the breakfast.

h.      Take around 1 hour to take breakfast.

i.        No deep-fried food on the previous night or Saturday morning.

j.        Carry a bar of MARS to the exam hall.

5.       Comfortable clothes (absolutely NO shoes/snickers and NO socks)

6.       Starting from tonight, avoid taking ANY food that causes indigestion.

7.       Sleep well on the night prior to Saturday.

8.       You MUST carry 12 pencils [2B Grade] and Passport/AS-A level statement of entry.

9.       NOT more than 250 ml of water should be consumed during the exam

10.    During exam DO NOT go to the wash-room – if you can avoid it.

11.     The exam may start as late as 11.00 am. So, be mentally prepared.

12.     Once you are in the Test-centre AVOID any discussion about the Test.

13.     Feel happy [like Meursault] – that one day we shall all die and that not a speck of our sweat shall ever remain on earth in a recognizable way.

14.    Believe that this is not the end of the world – it is just the beginning of what lay ahead.

15.     In essays: Writing about historical persons can be too risky. Unless you know significantly about a historical character, DON’T write about him/her. Everyone is requested to write about fictional characters.

16.    STAY Calm

	Name	Essay	Comment on Essay
1.	Akila	10	Strong arguments, limited range of references. Much better expected.
2.	Maliha	9	Extremely poor range of references. Imagine “Chefs” as example! Essay length fine.
3.	Farhan Tanveer	9	James Joyce is too heavy for you. Limited range of references.
4.	Syed Farhan	8	Extremely limited reference range. Harry Potter!!! But almost 2 pages!
5.	Mehreen	12	Perfect writing! 2 essays in a row.
6.	Romana	11/12	Strong argument in simple language.
7.	Anika H.	10	“Luck plays huge role in life”!!! Unimpressive argument. No reading item example. Otherwise good flow of sentences.
8.	Akif	8	Too many small paragraphs. Example of Einstein is too childish. Weak argument development.
9.	Akil	08	“Once I watched a movie called …” is a poor start for an example. Better is – In the movie called “Blow” we see how … No reading item example.
10.	Rakin	07	This time you wrote about being ‘judgmental’ and ‘courageous’. Clearly off-topic. But still you wrote more than one page – so you get mark.
11.	Akib	11	Mixture of sports and personal anecdote, one reading item. A bit weak in argument development. More reading item reference can do the magic.
12.	Durdana	10/11	Problem with graphology of the essay. A little weak in argumentation.
13.	Abanti	10	Too DARK pencil!!!
14.	Lamia	7	Volume not enough – reference to Tagore forbidden. Refer to no 15 above.
15.	Sarah	11	Strong issues with volume still persist.
16.	Prianka	11	I am not VERY convinced about the strength of the essay because there are forced connections between references and arguments.
17.	Rinat	10	Writing about Shakespeare must be supported by a sound idea of his biography. Spell “Playwright” not “play writer”. You could have used so many good examples from reading items. Refer to no 15 above.
18.	Saif	10	“Death of a Salesman” is NOT a novel. STOP giving further examples of Abraham Lincoln. Refer to no 15 above.
19.	Mehruba	7	Your essays are getting better. Now try to increase your volume of writing.
20.	Sukanya	7	Volume problem. Refer to no 15 above
21.	Shanzat	7	Lack of volume – lack of examples.
22.	Zami	8	Do you really think that you have argued the topic? Refer to no 15 above – there are so many examples you could borrow from reading items.
23.	Riasat	6	Two different graded pencils used. No examples from your reading items.
24.	Asif	10	Never spell “play writer” – it is “playwright”. Refer to no 15 above. However, Huck Finn example is OK.
25.	Sadia Majid	9	Not very happy about large handwriting, wrong titling of Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. Argument there – but where are examples?
26.	Sadia Jeny	9	Not strong examples.