English – First Language 0500 (Cambridge O Level / IGCSE)
Original practice questions with long-form, step-by-step worked solutions, organised by the 0500 syllabus strands. Everything here is free to read.
- Subject code
- 0500
- Topics
- 14
- Worked questions
- 140
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Official Cambridge references: 0500 syllabus ↗ · past papers ↗
Reading: Understanding Texts
Comprehension: Explicit and Implicit Meaning
Locate and state information and ideas that a text says directly, and work out meanings, attitudes and feelings that are implied rather than stated outright.
Selecting and Using Evidence for a Purpose
Search a text efficiently and pick out only the details relevant to a specific question or task, filtering out irrelevant or repeated material.
Summary Writing
Analysis of Language and Writers' Effects
Analysing Writers' Effects and Language Choices
Explain how word choice, imagery, figurative language and sentence structure are used deliberately to create effects and influence how a reader responds.
Evaluating Viewpoint, Argument and Bias
Weigh up the facts, ideas and opinions a writer presents, judge how persuasive or one-sided the argument is, and support that judgement with evidence from the…
Directed Writing
Directed Writing: Transforming Texts
Take ideas and information from one or two reading texts and reshape them into a new text type (e.g. speech, letter, article or report) for a stated audience…
Register and Tone for Audience and Purpose
Match vocabulary, tone and level of formality to who is being addressed and why, adjusting register consistently across an entire response.
Structuring an Extended Written Response
Plan and organise facts, ideas and opinions into a coherent sequence of paragraphs with clear openings, logical progression and an effective conclusion.
Composition: Descriptive and Narrative Writing
Narrative Composition
Tell an engaging, well-paced story built around a clear structure (setup, complication, resolution) with convincing characters and controlled dialogue.
Descriptive Composition
Create a vivid, sensory picture of a person, place or moment using carefully chosen detail and figurative language, without relying on a driving plot.
Crafting Vocabulary and Sentence Variety
Build a wider, more precise vocabulary and vary sentence length and structure deliberately for emphasis, pace and stylistic effect in original writing.
Coursework Portfolio (Component 3)
Coursework: Discursive and Argumentative Writing
Respond to a reading text or texts by building a discursive, argumentative or persuasive piece that develops a clear line of reasoning over an extended…
Coursework: Planning, Drafting and Redrafting
Use the untimed nature of a coursework portfolio to plan, draft, review and improve extended writing assignments across several rounds before final submission.