Exam Preparation
Practice past papers and exam techniques
Exam Paper Overview
Home Language has three exam papers:
• Paper 1 — Language in Context (comprehension, summary, language structures, visual literacy)
• Paper 2 — Literature (novel, drama, short stories, poetry)
• Paper 3 — Writing (essays and transactional writing)
Study Strategies
• Make a study timetable and stick to it.
• Use past exam papers from the DBE website — at least 3 per paper.
• Time yourself: Paper 1 = 2 hours, Paper 2 = 2 hours, Paper 3 = 2½ hours.
• Study literature actively: make character maps, theme charts and quote banks.
• Practise writing essays under timed conditions.
Example
Time Management in Paper 1
Paper 1 (2 hours, 80 marks → about 1.5 min per mark):
• Section A — Comprehension (30 marks) ≈ 45 min
• Section B — Summary (10 marks) ≈ 20 min
• Section C — Language structures (30 marks) ≈ 40 min
• Remaining 15 min — review and check answers
Note
On Exam Day
Read all questions before you start. Answer the questions you know first. Write neatly and in full sentences unless the question says otherwise. In literature, always quote from the text. Check your numbering matches the question paper.
Key Vocabulary
ComprehensionUnderstanding and interpreting a given text
LiteratureWritten works such as novels, plays and poems
RubricAssessment criteria used to mark your work
Cognitive levelThe level of thinking required (literal, inferential, evaluative)
QuoteExact words taken from a text, placed in quotation marks
SASL Avatar
Loading avatar...
1 / 5
Comprehension
Speed: