O Level English Language key facts

Reading: understanding a text

Explicit meaning

• Explicit = stated directly in the text. You do not need to guess.
• Find the words of the question in the passage, then read the whole sentence around them.
• The right option matches the text in every detail: who, what, when, where, how many.
• An option can use words from the passage and still be wrong.
• ‘Had’ + verb (‘had left’, ‘had stopped’) shows an event that happened earlier than the main story.
• ‘Immediately after’ asks for the very next event, not any later one.
• Use only what the text says, not what you know from outside it.

Implicit meaning and attitudes

• Inference = a sensible conclusion drawn from clues. It is suggested, not stated.
• Clues: actions, speech, the way something is said, small details the writer chose to include.
• Attitude = what a writer or character thinks or feels about a subject.
• Word choice shows attitude: ‘slim’ approves, ‘skinny’ does not.
• In a two-part option (‘annoyed but polite’), both parts must fit the text.
• Reject options that go further than the clues allow.
• An attitude can change: compare the start and the end of the passage.

Vocabulary in context

• Context = the words and sentences around the word.
• Substitution test: put each option in place of the word. The sentence must keep the same meaning.
• The answer is the same part of speech: an adverb replaces an adverb, a verb replaces a verb.
• Common words change meaning: a ‘sharp’ knife cuts well, but a ‘sharp’ rise is a sudden one.
• Idioms are not literal: ‘a drop in the ocean’ means an amount too small to matter.
• Match strength as well as meaning: ‘annoyed’ is weaker than ‘furious’.
• Some words carry a feeling: ‘loomed’ suggests something large and threatening.

How writers achieve effects

• Simile: a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’ (‘the hall was like an oven’).
• Metaphor: says one thing is another (‘the hall was an oven’).
• Personification: gives human actions or feelings to a thing (‘the wind whispered’).
• Sound: alliteration repeats first consonant sounds; onomatopoeia imitates a sound (‘crash’, ‘hiss’).
• A short sentence after long ones gives shock, tension or emphasis. Long sentences slow the pace or build up detail.
• Tone = the writer’s attitude heard in the writing (humorous, sarcastic, nostalgic).
• Mood = the feeling created in the reader (tense, peaceful, eerie).

Reading: summary and selecting information

Selecting relevant points

• Find the focus words in the question: ‘causes’, ‘effects’, ‘advantages’, ‘reasons’, ‘what people should do’.
• A point is relevant only if it directly answers the focus.
• Leave out examples. They often follow ‘for example’ or ‘such as’, or name one person.
• Leave out repetition: the same idea in new words counts once.
• Leave out introductions, background, history and the writer’s comments.
• Causes come before the problem and effects come after it. Do not mix them.
• A general point is better than a single case: ‘it saves money’, not ‘my uncle saved 500 rupees’.

Writing a summary

• Concise = no wasted words: ‘because’, not ‘due to the fact that’.
• Own words: change the vocabulary where you can, but keep the meaning exactly.
• Plain or technical words with no easy substitute (‘bridge’, ‘solar panels’) may be kept.
• Replace a list with one general word: ‘apples, mangoes and bananas’ becomes ‘fruit’.
• Join similar points with ‘and’. Join contrasting points with ‘but’, ‘although’ or ‘while’.
• Never add your own opinion or extra information.
• Order of checks: accurate, then complete, then short.

Short response to a text

• Fact: can be checked and proved true or false (a price, a date, a number, a result).
• Opinion: a judgement or feeling (‘best’, ‘beautiful’, ‘boring’, ‘should’, ‘too expensive’).
• A sentence with a number can still be an opinion: ‘100 rupees is far too much for a ticket.’
• A reported result is a fact: ‘Most pupils voted for a longer break’ can be checked against the vote.
• Strong support: figures, surveys, many cases. Weak support: one example or none.
• Generalisation: judging a whole group from one case. It is a common weakness in an argument.
• ‘Suggests’ questions: give the meaning behind the words, not the words again.

Writing: directed writing

Purpose, audience and register

• Formal: full forms (‘I am’, ‘cannot’), precise words, complete sentences, polite phrases.
• Informal: contractions (‘I’m’, ‘can’t’), slang, exclamation marks, chatty phrases, first names.
• Formal swaps: kids → children; a lot of → many; fix → repair; called off → cancelled.
• A single verb often sounds more formal than a phrasal verb: ‘put off’ → ‘postpone’.
• Complaint or request: firm but polite, with a clear statement of what you want.
• Young children: short sentences, simple words, clear instructions.
• Report: facts and figures, with no jokes, slang or strong feelings.

Using ideas from texts

• Reliable evidence: large numbers, a long period, an independent source such as a hospital or a survey.
• Weak evidence: one person’s experience, a very small group, or no support at all.
• Bias: be cautious when the source gains from the claim, such as a company praising its own product.
• Exaggeration (‘everyone’, ‘always’, ‘never’) is easy for an opponent to challenge.
• Select by asking: what would persuade this reader of this point?
• Develop = add a reason, a result or an example: ‘so that…’, ‘which means that…’.
• A strong argument admits the other side and answers it: ‘Although…, …’.

Forms and conventions

• Formal letter: ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ ends with ‘Yours faithfully’; a named reader (‘Dear Mrs Khan’) ends with ‘Yours sincerely’.
• Letter to a friend or relative: first name in the greeting and a friendly ending such as ‘Best wishes’.
• Speech: greet the audience, use ‘you’ and ‘we’, ask questions, and end by thanking the listeners or calling them to act.
• Report: a title, sub-headings such as Purpose, Findings and Recommendations, formal language, no greeting.
• Article: a headline, an opening that hooks the reader, clear paragraphs and a strong last line; no ‘Dear’ and no ‘Yours’.
• Spelling of the ending: capital Y only and no apostrophe, so ‘Yours faithfully’.

Structure and organisation

• Topic sentence: a general statement that covers the whole paragraph; the details and examples come after it.
• Adding a point: in addition, furthermore, moreover, also.
• Contrast: however, nevertheless, on the other hand, in contrast.
• Result: therefore, as a result, consequently. Example: for example, for instance.
• ‘Although’ is followed by a subject and verb in the same sentence; ‘despite’ is followed by a noun or an -ing form.
• Ordering sentences: begin with the one that can stand alone; sentences with ‘this’, ‘these’ or ‘he’ need something before them; ‘For these reasons’ comes last.
• A sentence that does not support the topic sentence is irrelevant and should be removed.

Writing: composition

Descriptive writing

• The five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.
• Use precise verbs and nouns: ‘limped’ and ‘rickshaw’, not ‘walked’ and ‘vehicle’.
• Show, do not tell: ‘her hands shook as she opened the letter’, not ‘she was nervous’.
• Simile: a comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’. Metaphor: says one thing is another. Personification: gives a thing human actions.
• A comparison must match the quality you are describing, such as size, noise or crowding.
• Atmosphere and focus: every detail fits one mood and one subject.
• Weak description: vague words (nice, good, interesting), repeated words, ‘very’ again and again, lists of dates and numbers.

Narrative writing

• Plot shape: opening, problem, rising action, turning point (climax), resolution.
• Strong opening: begins inside the action or raises a question in the reader's mind.
• Satisfying ending: follows from the events and shows a result or a change in the character.
• Weak endings: a dream, a sudden piece of luck, or stopping before the problem is settled.
• Show, do not tell: actions and speech reveal feelings and character.
• Tension: delay the answer, use short sentences and details of sound, silence and darkness.
• Voice: the words must suit the narrator; a child does not sound like a textbook.

Writing: accuracy and style

Grammar

• ‘Each’, ‘every’, ‘everyone’ and ‘one of’ take a singular verb: ‘Each of the players has a kit.’
• Words between the subject and the verb do not change the verb: ‘The list of names is long.’
• After do, does, did, will, can and must, use the base form: ‘did not go’, ‘does she know’.
• ‘For’ + a length of time, ‘since’ + a starting point, with ‘have/has’: ‘I have lived here for six years’, ‘since 2020’.
• ‘A’ before a consonant sound, ‘an’ before a vowel sound: a doctor, a university, an hour, an honest man.
• No extra preposition or adverb: discuss the plan, reach the station, enter the room, return home (not ‘return back’).
• Comma splice: ‘It was late, we left.’ Correct: ‘It was late, so we left.’

Punctuation

• Direct question: question mark. Reported question: full stop and statement word order (‘where I had been’).
• List: commas between the items, none before the first item, and normally none before ‘and’.
• Extra information takes a pair of commas: ‘My aunt, who lives in Karachi, is a nurse.’
• Possession: one owner adds 's (the boy's bag); a plural ending in s adds only ' (the boys' bags); children's, men's, women's.
• it's = it is or it has; its = belonging to it.
• A colon follows a complete statement and introduces a list or explanation; a semicolon joins two complete sentences.
• Speech: ‘Sit down,’ said the teacher. The comma, question mark or exclamation mark goes inside the closing inverted comma.

Spelling and commonly confused words

• ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ when the sound is ‘ee’: believe, achieve; receive, ceiling.
• Drop the final e before -ing (hope → hoping); double the last consonant after a short vowel (stop → stopped, hop → hopping).
• Consonant + y: change y to i before -es or -ed (lorry → lorries, try → tried); keep y before -ing (trying).
• -ful has one l (beautiful, careful). Potatoes, tomatoes and heroes add -es. A plain plural never takes an apostrophe.
• their = belonging to them; there = a place, or ‘there is’; they're = they are.
• affect is the verb (to change something); effect is the noun (the result). advise and practise are verbs; advice and practice are nouns.
• your / you're (you are); lose (not win) / loose (not tight); accept (receive) / except (apart from).

Vocabulary and sentence variety

• Use the clues in the rest of the sentence to fix the exact meaning needed.
• Connotation: slim, determined and thrifty are positive; skinny, stubborn and stingy are negative.
• Formal writing uses standard words (rejected, children, requested), not slang.
• Fixed pairs: make a mistake, make a decision, do homework, take a photograph, put out a fire, heavy rain.
• Simple: ‘The bus was late.’ Compound: ‘The bus was late, but we arrived on time.’ Complex: ‘Although the bus was late, we arrived on time.’
• To combine short sentences, use a joining word that shows the connection (because, so ... that, although, which); do not use a comma alone.
• Replace overused words such as good, nice, said and got with a precise word.