OVERVIEW OF THE ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE
ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE
PAPER 1
STUDY GUIDE AND NOTES
GRADE 12

The Paper 1 exam is two hours long. You must answer ALL the questions  in the exam paper. 
Here is a summary of the three sections you will need to complete in the  Paper 1: Language in Context exam: 

It is recommended that you spend the following amount of time on each  section: 

• Section 1: Comprehension 50 minutes
• Section B: Summary 30 minutes
• Section C: Language structures and conventions 40 minutes 

Manage your  time so that you  answer all the  questions.

Question words  

Here are examples of question types found in the exam.

words to know

100 most commonly used English words 

This is a useful list of words to learn that will boost your English vocabulary and help you with  writing and reading. These words make up about half of all written texts! 
Knowing these words will also help you to read faster and understand more. 
You will be able to identify them quickly in any text and then have more time to focus on the  words you don’t know. 

words to know

The table below shows how the 100 words are used: 

words to know

These are useful words for you to learn for the Language in Context exam. 

• abbreviation – a shortened version of  a word (e.g., prof (professor); doc  (doctor))
• acronym – a word made up from  the first letters of the name of  something (e.g., SARS (South  African Revenue Service))
• active voice – the subject of the  sentence does the action (e.g.,  Sipho threw the ball)
• adjective - the part of speech used to  describe a person, place or thing  (e.g., The old, gray cat slept in a  warm basket.)
• adverb – the part of speech which  describes a verb (e.g., The old man  walked slowly.)
• alliteration – the use of several words  that begin with the same sound or  letter in succession (e.g., silvery  snakes slide swiftly)
• allusion – writing or speaking that  mentions a subject, person, etc.  indirectly (e.g., Some members of  the class seem to think rules don’t  apply to them.)
• ambiguity – a possible double  meaning which may make a  message unclear when used by  mistake (e.g., The lady hit the man  with the umbrella.)
• analyse – to look closely at a text so  that you notice everything about  the way in which it has been  written
• anecdote – a short story based on  personal experience
• antonym – a word that is opposite in  meaning to another word in the  same language (e.g., tall is an  antonym of short)
• appreciation – an understanding  of the importance or meaning of  something, such as a piece of  writing
• appropriate – correct or suitable  for a particular time, situation, or  purpose
• assonance – repetition of vowel  sounds in two or more words to  create effect (e.g., slow boats float  on the ocean)
• assumptions – something that you  think is true although you have no  definite proof bias – an opinion about whether  something is good or bad which  influences how you feel towards it
• caricature – a cartoon type drawing  of a well-known person which  exaggerates their most obvious  features (e.g., Barack Obama with  big ears)
• cartoon – a drawing, which may  include words, which is meant to  be amusing
• clause – a group of words which  contains a finite verb. A sentence  is made up of one or more clauses.
• coherent – something which  makes logical sense (e.g., a  coherent paragraph has a clear  development of ideas)
• cohesive – a cohesive answer or text  is one which flows and where all  ideas hold together
• colloquial – language or words  that are used mainly in informal  conversations rather than in  writing or formal speech (e.g.,  How’re you doing? rather than the  formal, How are you?) 
• comic strip – a series of pictures  or drawings which tell a funny or  interesting story
• concord – the agreement of subject  and verb. If a subject is singular,  the verb must be singular (e.g.,  The team has new members). If a  subject is plural, the verb must be  plural (e.g., The teams have new  members).
• conjunction – the part of speech  which is used to join ideas (e.g.,  and, but, or)
• connotation – the feelings attached  to the meaning of words (e.g.,  holiday has positive feelings  attached to it; murder has feelings  of fear and negativity) 
• context – the part of a text which  surrounds a word and gives it  meaning (e.g., The judge had  a grave look on his face as he  sentenced the prisoner. The  context of “grave” tells the reader  which meaning “grave” has in this  sentence.)
• denotation – the literal meaning of  a word; the definition given by a  dictionary
• direct speech – the exact words  someone says. These should be  written in inverted commas (e.g.,  “I am ready to write my exams,”  Thabo said.)
• edit – to read over carefully what has  been written, to improve the style  and correct errors
• emotive – emotive language is  language which arouses strong  feelings
• euphemism – a polite word or  expression that you use instead  of a more direct one to avoid  shocking or upsetting someone  (e.g. Pass away is a euphemism  for die)
• evaluate – to judge the value or worth  of something, taking into account  the information and experience  which you have
• exaggerate – to describe something  as greater or larger than it really  is (e.g., His shoes must have cost  millions.) 
• explicit – clearly or directly stated  (the opposite of implicit)
• figurative – language which  describes things by using figures of  speech (e.g., similes, metaphors,  alliteration. Figurative expressions  are descriptive and not literal.)
• font – the style and size in which a  text is printed
• homonym – a word which has both  the same sound and spelling 
• as another word but a different  meaning (e.g., the noun bear and  the verb to bear)
• homophone – a word which sounds  the same as another but is spelled  differently and has a different  meaning (e.g., one and won)
• hyperbole – an big exaggeration (e.g.,  He ate a mountain of food.)
• image – a picture. An image can also  be a picture created by words. 
• imagery – lively, detailed description  through which writers share their  ideas
• impact – the effect or influence that  an event, situation etc. has on  someone or something
• imply (implied – past tense) –  suggest, but not to state directly  (e.g., He was in the room when  your bag went missing.)
• infer – to form an opinion about  something; to draw a conclusion  from the information which is  available (e.g., If he does not  answer your call, you can infer that  he does not want to speak to you.) inference – an opinion based on the  information available (e.g. If you  do not attend soccer practice,  the inference amongst the other  players will be that you do not care  about the team.)
• interpret – to explain the meaning of  something in your own words (e.g.,  “You must interpret the meaning  of line 2 of the poem”, the teacher  told the class.)
• irony – something which is the  opposite of what is expected  (e.g. She found maths difficult at  school, so it is an irony that she is  now an accountant.) 
• key words – the most important  words in a piece of writing.  You may be asked to underline  key words to improve your  understanding of a passage.
• literal – the exact, straightforward  meaning of something 
• literacy – the ability to read and write logo – a symbol which belongs to a  certain product (e.g., each make of  car has its own symbol)
• metaphor – a direct comparison; like  or as are not used (e.g., Themba is  a lion in battle.) 
• noun – the part of speech which  names a person, place or thing  (e.g., Angela wore a hat to the  party.)
• onomatopoeia – words which sound  like what they describe (e.g., a  brush swishes, a cow moos)
• oxymoron – words which seem to  contradict each other are used to  describe something (e.g., Being  sent to prison for life must feel like  a living death.)
• passive voice – the object of a  sentence becomes the subject  (e.g., The ball was thrown by Sipho,  instead of Sipho threw the ball.)
• personification – something which is  not human is described in human  terms for effect (e.g., The sun  smiled when it looked down at the  earth.)
• phrase – a group of words which  do not contain a finite verb (e.g.,  The yellow car). A sentence has  phrases in it.
• point of view – a particular way  of thinking about or judging  a situation (e.g., From an  economic point of view, the new  development will benefit the  town greatly.); also someone’s  personal opinion or attitude about  something (e.g., I respect your  point of view, but I’m not sure I  agree with you.)
• prefix – a syllable added to the  beginning of a root word to change  the meaning of the original word  (e.g., co-operate, preview). Prefixes  are often used to create opposites  (e.g., disappoint, unhappy)
• prejudice – an opinion already  formed; bias (e.g., It is prejudiced  to expect all nurses to be women.)
• preposition – the part of speech  which shows the link between two  things (e.g. The basket is on/over/ under/beside the chair.)
• pronoun – the part of speech which  takes the place of a noun (e.g.,  John loves Martha – He loves her)
• pun – a play on words (e.g., Seven  days without water makes a  person weak. “Weak” is a play on  “week”, which has seven days.) reflect – to think carefully about  something (e.g., When I reflect on how I behaved at school, I feel  ashamed.)
• register – the use of a different  language style to suit different  speakers and audiences.  Language can be formal (e.g.,  How do you do?) or informal (e.g.,  Hi/Howzit) depending on who  is speaking and who is being  addressed.
• root word – a word before it has had  a prefix or suffix added to it
• sarcasm – speaking or writing using  expressions which clearly mean  the opposite of what is felt in  order to be unkind or offensive  in an amusing way (e.g., saying  to someone who has arrived at a  meeting very late, “So good of you  to come.”)
• scan – to run one’s eyes over a text in  order to find specific information  (e.g., you scan a telephone  directory for a name and number,  or a timetable for the time of a  train or bus)
• simile – a comparison using ‘like’ or  ‘as’ (e.g., He ran like the wind. He  is as brave as a lion.)
• skim – to read a text very quickly to  get an overview (e.g., skim the  newspaper headlines for the main  news)
• slogan – a well-known saying which  belongs to a certain product  (e.g., ‘finger lickin’ good’ is KFC’s  slogan)
• suffix - a small word added to the  end of a root word to change the  meaning of the original word (e.g.,  helpless, manager)
• stereotype – a fixed (and often  biased) view about what a  particular type of person is like  (e.g., the stereotype of a rugby  player is of a big, strong man).  Stereotypes can be dangerous  when all members of a particular  group are regarded in the same  negative way (e.g., foreigners)
• symbol – something which stands for  or represents something else (e.g.,  a dove is a symbol of peace)
• synonym – a word which has the  same meaning or nearly the same  meaning as another word in the  same language (e.g., big and large are synonyms)
• target market – a group of people an  advertisement aims to attract as  customers
• text – a written text is a piece of  writing. A visual text conveys  a message through pictures,  diagrams etc. 
• tone – the emotional message in a  text (e.g., The tone of the letter is  angry and critical.) 
• verb – the part of speech which  describes doing (e.g., to play, to  fight) or being (e.g., to be, to seem)
• visual literacy – the ability to see  and find meaning in pictures,  photographs, diagrams, etc.