English First Additional Language Grade 12

English First Additional Language · Grade 12 · Year Summary Date: Top Journal

Every distinction begins with one topic at a time.- start now

1 · Reading Comprehension
🔒 2 · Summary Writing
🔒 3 · Language Structures and Conventions
🔒 4 · Visual Texts: Adverts and Cartoons
🔒 5 · Novel: Cry, the Beloved Country
🔒 6 · Novel: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
🔒 7 · Novel: To Kill a Mockingbird
🔒 8 · Drama: Macbeth
🔒 9 · Drama: My Children! My Africa!
🔒 10 · Drama: Nothing but the Truth
🔒 11 · Short Stories
🔒 12 · Poetry: Approach and Terms
🔒 13 · Prescribed Poems I
🔒 14 · Prescribed Poems II
🔒 15 · Prescribed Poems III
🔒 16 · Essay Writing
🔒 17 · Longer Transactional Texts
🔒 18 · Shorter Transactional Texts
🔒 Reference Sheet
🔒 Journal
🔒 Wellbeing
🔒 Planner

Paper 1 · Section A · Reading & Viewing Comprehension

Section A is 30 of Paper 1's 80 marks, second only to Section C (40), and the easiest block to bank in full. The passage plus a visual text (cartoon or advertisement) reward careful reading, not memory. Slow reading here wins marks that memorising never can.

📖 KEY DEFINITION Comprehension means showing that you understand a written or visual text by answering questions about it. Cognitive levels are the different kinds of thinking a question demands, from simply finding a fact (low) to judging the writer's craft (high).

⚡ MUST MEMORISE The five cognitive levels, low to high: Literal → Reorganisation → Inference → Evaluation → Appreciation. Learn the question verb that signals each one, and you can predict how much thinking (and how many marks) every question wants.

What you must be able to do

Place a comprehension question on the five cognitive levels by reading its signal verb, from literal through to appreciation
Answer an instruction to quote by copying the exact words into quotation marks, and an instruction to use your own words by rewording the idea completely
Use the mark value in brackets to decide how many separate points to give, including a 2 x 2 allocation
Read body language, facial expression, bubble punctuation and font size in a cartoon frame as clues to how a character feels
Answer a visual question by naming the clue you can see and then explaining its effect, rather than describing the picture
Answer a one-mark literal question in a word or short phrase without over-writing it

The five cognitive levels

Level	What it asks	Signal verbs	Answer style
1 Literal	Find a fact stated directly on the page.	quote, name, identify, state, list	Short; often a quotation or one word.
2 Reorganisation	Gather facts from more than one place and put them together.	summarise, group, give two reasons, complete the table	Combine points in your own words.
3 Inference	Read between the lines; work out a meaning that is not written directly.	suggest, why do you think, what does this tell you, imply	Own words, plus a link back to a clue in the text.
4 Evaluation	Give a judgement or opinion and support it from the text.	do you agree, is X successful, comment, discuss critically	State a stance, then justify with evidence.
5 Appreciation	Respond to the writer's craft: word choice, tone, humour, effect.	how does the word, comment on the tone, why is this effective	Name the technique and explain its effect on the reader.

⭐ EXAM FAVOURITE The "in your own words" question appears in almost every paper. So does the tone / attitude question on the passage or the cartoon. Master these two and you protect a large slice of Section A every time.

Own words versus quote

Quote (copy the exact words)

Triggered by "Quote", "Write down", "In which line".
Copy the writer's words exactly and put them in quotation marks.
Quote only what is asked: usually one or two words or a single phrase.
Do not change spelling or add your own words inside the quotation.

Own words (explain differently)

Triggered by "In your own words", "Explain", "What is meant by".
Do not copy a string of words from the text; use different words that mean the same thing.
No quotation marks; write in full sentences.
This is how the examiner checks that you actually understood, not just located, the answer.

⚠️ COMMON MISTAKE Lifting (copying) words straight from the passage when the question said "in your own words". Examiners award zero for a lifted answer even if the idea is correct. The opposite error also loses marks: paraphrasing when the question said "quote", or quoting a whole sentence when one phrase was wanted.

How the mark value guides your answer

🔥 FREQUENTLY TESTED The number in brackets is an instruction, not a decoration. It tells you how many separate facts to give. Give exactly that many distinct points: not one padded out, not five crammed in.

Marks	What to give
(1)	One fact, one word, or one short quotation.
(2)	Two separate facts, or one point plus a supporting reason.
(3)	Three separate points, often for a level 3 or 4 answer.
(2 x 2)	Two points, each needing its own explanation (a point plus its reason, twice).

💡 EASY MARK Level 1 literal questions ("Quote a word that shows...", "Name the...") are the cheapest marks in the paper. Answer them in one or two words, put quotations in quotation marks, and never over-write a one-mark question.

Visual literacy: reading the cartoon or advertisement

The picture carries meaning as much as the words. Read these clues:

Clue	What it signals
Body language and posture	Crossed arms show defensiveness; slumped shoulders show defeat; leaning in shows interest or threat.
Facial expression	Raised eyebrows show surprise; a frown shows anger or worry; wide eyes show fear or shock.
Punctuation in the bubble	Exclamation marks show shouting or strong feeling; a question mark shows doubt; an ellipsis (three dots) shows hesitation or a voice trailing off.
Font size and style	Large bold capital letters show a loud, raised voice or emphasis; tiny letters show a whisper or muttering.
Symbols and lines	Movement lines show speed; sweat drops show stress; a light bulb shows a sudden idea.
Words and wordplay	A pun or double meaning in the caption usually carries the humour or the message; the slogan sells the idea in an advert.

Worked example · reading a cartoon frame

Invented cartoon for practice. Learners must label: the raised eyebrows, the open mouth, the sweat drops, the jagged bubble, and the large bold capitals with the exclamation mark.

What to notice in the frame above: A learner sits at a desk facing a huge pile of textbooks. His eyebrows are raised, his mouth hangs open, and small sweat drops fly off his forehead. The speech bubble reads, in large bold capitals, "TOMORROW?!"

Q (own words, level 3): Explain what the cartoonist tells us about how the learner feels. (2)

Point 1: The raised eyebrows, open mouth and sweat drops show that the learner is shocked and panicking.

Point 2: The large bold capital letters and the exclamation mark show he is shouting in disbelief because the test is sooner than he expected.

∴ Two separate clues, each explained, for the two marks. Notice the answer is in own words and names the visual clue, then its effect.

The answer is already on the page. Comprehension only asks you to read slowly enough to see it.- read twice, answer once

🧠 ACTIVE RECALL

Which instruction word tells you to copy the writer's exact words from the text?(2)

A comprehension question is worth (2). How many separate points should your answer usually give?(2)

A question says "in your own words". What must you do?(2)

Which cognitive level asks you to find a fact that is stated directly in the text?(2)

In a cartoon, a word printed in large bold capital letters most likely shows that the character is ...(2)

Reading "between the lines" to work out a meaning that is not written directly is which cognitive level?(2)

Explain the difference between a "quote" question and an "in your own words" question, and how each should be answered. (4)

A cartoon character is drawn with raised eyebrows and an open mouth, and the speech bubble ends with an exclamation mark. Explain what these clues tell you about the character's feelings. (3)

Explain to a Grade 8: how does the mark value in brackets, like (1) or (2), tell you how much to write?

ONE-MINUTE SUMMARY

Section A is a reading test, not a memory test, and about 30 easy marks. Match your thinking to the cognitive level: literal and reorganisation questions just locate and combine facts, inference reads between the lines, evaluation and appreciation judge the writer's craft. Obey the instruction word: "quote" means copy exactly in quotation marks, "own words" means reword or score zero. Let the mark value set the number of points. For the cartoon or advert, read body language, facial expression, punctuation and font as tone clues, then name the clue and explain its effect.

IN THE EXAM

Where: Paper 1, Section A (Reading and Viewing Comprehension), roughly 30 of the 80 marks.
Typical questions: a quotation (level 1); an "in your own words" explanation (level 3); a tone or attitude question; and a visual-literacy question on the cartoon or advertisement.
What earns marks: the exact number of points the bracket asks for; quotation marks when quoting; rewording when the question says own words; naming the visual clue and its effect.
What loses marks: lifting words on an own-words question, over-writing a one-mark answer, and describing what the picture shows without explaining what it means.

🔒 SUMMARY WRITING

🔒 LANGUAGE STRUCTURES AND CONVENTIONS

🔒 VISUAL TEXTS: ADVERTS AND CARTOONS

🔒 NOVEL: CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY

🔒 NOVEL: DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE

🔒 NOVEL: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

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