ENG2601
EXAM PACK
Recent exam questions and answers
Summarised study notes
Exam tips and guidelines
+27 81 278 3372
DISCLAIMER & TERMS OF USE
1. Educational Aid: These study notes are designed to serve as educational aids and should not be considered as a
substitute for individual research, critical thinking, or professional guidance. Students are encouraged to
conduct their own extensive research and consult with their instructors or academic advisors for specific
assignment requirements.
2. Personal Responsibility: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the
information provided in these study notes, the seller cannot guarantee the completeness or correctness of all
the content. It is the responsibility of the buyer to verify the accuracy of the information and use their own
judgment when applying it to their assignments.
3. Academic Integrity: It is crucial for students to uphold academic integrity and adhere to their institution's
policies and guidelines regarding plagiarism, citation, and referencing. These study notes should be used as a
tool for learning and inspiration, but any direct reproduction of the content without proper acknowledgment and
citation may constitute academic misconduct.
4. Limited Liability: The seller of these study notes shall not be held liable for any direct or indirect damages,
losses, or consequences arising from the use of the notes. This includes, but is not limited to, poor grades,
academic penalties, or any other negative outcomes resulting from the application or misuse of the information
provide
]
, lOMoARcPSD|22437965
CONFIDENTIAL
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS
Oct/Nov 2024
ENG2601
Applied English Language Studies:
Further Explorations
100 marks
72 hours (3 days)
First examiners: Mr S Maluleke
Second examiner: Prof V Pfeiffer
This paper consists of 6 pages
Instructions:
General instructions:
THIS EXAM PAPER MUST BE TYPED.
• This examination consists of One Questions.
• Question 1 requires an essay response.
• Follow the guidelines provided in this question regarding the length of your
answer.
• N.B. The […] should not form part of your discussion, they have been
used to shorten the original sources.
If you are submitting a typed response
• Use the Arial font
• Use size 14 for headings and size 12 for the body of your answer.
• Use double-spacing for your paragraphs.
• From the options available to format your work on the Home tab of the ribbon on
your computer, please click on JUSTIFY for alignment.
Open Rubric
Downloaded by Corona Virus ()
, lOMoARcPSD|22437965
CONFIDENTIAL
Be mindful of the following:
• Ensure that the work you submit is not in any way password protected or locked
for editing.
• Keep a record or proof of submission to safeguard your own interests.
Presentation:
a. Cover page with name, student number and module code.
b. All subsequent pages must have your name and student number.
c. Please do not write in the margin/s.
Assessment Criteria:
We will be looking for the following when we mark your responses:
• Clear expression in English,
• The ability to write grammatically correct sentences and paragraphs in an
appropriate register,
• The ability to follow instructions,
• Evidence that you have worked through the study material related to each
assessment,
• Evidence of a thoughtful engagement with the concepts and issues raised in the
module, such as awareness of the social context in which you are writing,
• Original work,
• Clear, well-structured, careful substantiation of points and logical arguments, in
the proper format where required, clearly set out, neat, spelling and punctuation,
correct clear paragraphing and essay structure, meticulous and consistent
referencing of sources used.
• Content: focused on assigned topic, thoroughly developed, clearly demonstrating
the skills required by the NQF criteria (e.g. familiarity with recognising and
recalling – the subject matter, understanding and applying it, analysis, for
example of relationships; evaluation, for example, critiquing different
approaches),
• Argument: generating a piece of writing (such as an essay) with ideas clearly
and succinctly stated, well-organised, logically sequenced, cohesive, and well-
supported.
Downloaded by Corona Virus ()
, lOMoARcPSD|22437965
CONFIDENTIAL
Read Text A and answer the questions that follows.
South Africa’s massive reading problem
Luke Fraser
16 May 2023
Grade 4 learners in South Africa have the worst reading ability in the world, with 81%
incapable of reading for meaning.
This is according to the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS
2021), which tested 12,426 learners across the country and compared them to students at
a similar age level across 42 other nations.
South Africa’s mean achievement score was 288 in the study, far below the 500 international
average.
Egypt was the second worst country in the study, but its score of 378 was well ahead of
South Africa.
A major concern for South Africa is that its achievement score has dropped significantly
from the PIRLS 2016 study, where South Africa reported that 78% of children in Grade 4
could not read for meaning in any language.
However, researchers noted that 21 of the 32 countries with trend data noticed a drop, with
the Covid-19 pandemic having a major effect on teaching hours globally.
In the 2021 study, Singapore (587), Hong Kong (573), the Russian Federation (567),
England (588), and Finland (549) had the highest overall scores:
The results in South Africa varied heavily across languages. Learners who were tested in
Afrikaans and English scored significantly higher than those who were tested in African
languages.
Those tested in Afrikaans (387) and English (382) scored well above the average, while
nine African languages scored below the mean, with Setswana (211) being the worst-
performing language.
Moreover, the Western Cape (363), Gauteng (320) and Kwa-Zulu Natal (297) outperformed
the 288 mean, with more remote provinces Limpopo (244) and North-West (232)
significantly lower.
The biggest area of concern is that 81% of learners in the study were below the study’s low
international benchmark, meaning that 81% of students cannot read for meaning.
Moreover, only 11% of learners reached the low international benchmark, while 94% of
students internationally could reach the low international benchmark.
For South Africa, only 2% of readers could reach a high benchmark, while 1% reached the
advanced benchmark.
State of education
The Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) previously said that South Africa has
one of the worst-performing education systems in the world.
“The President speaks of a ‘silent revolution’, while the minister talks of a ‘system on the
rise’. The truth is that we face a silent crisis in our schools: South Africa has one of the worst
performing education systems in the world,” said CDE’S Executive Director Ann Bernstein.
The CDE said that South Africa spends roughly 13% of government revenue on education,
which should improve competitive learning levels, reduce learning inequality, and train a
large workforce.
However, Professor Lant Pritchett said that South Africa is the biggest learning
underperformer relative to GDP per capita among low and middle-income countries.
Downloaded by Corona Virus ()
