ACSI 2024 Year 5 Timed Practice 1 Review Answers

2024 Y5 SL LL Prepared by Mr Shawn Lim 2024 Year 5 Timed Practice 1 Review: Answers Sample 1: The article uses common pop cultural references to draw in the reader. The ‘Fun with Language’ section opens with Taylor Swift and her song ‘Blank Space’. Taylor Swift is the biggest pop star of the 21st century and is even more famous now thanks to her ongoing Eras Tour. Additionally, her song ‘Blank Space’ is her greatest hit and its mondegreen of ‘Starbucks lovers’ is also very famous. Hence, the article appeals to her fans, and to young people who would likely have heard of her even if they are not fans. Since the magazine targets students who are interested in science and technology, they are likely to find language boring, so the pop cultural reference will help attract their attention. Further, by mentioning Taylor Swift instead of defining what a mondegreen is like most science textbooks would do, the article prompts the reader to think about who Taylor Swift is and whether her lyrics have been misheard, successfully engaging the reader. Improved Sample 1 The article uses common pop cultural references to draw in the reader. The ‘Fun with Language’ section opens with an example of a mondegreen found in Taylor Swift’s hit song, ‘Blank Space’. The pop star’s international fame will appeal to the magazine’s youthful readership and serves as a strong hook for the article even if its subject matter does not appear directly related to science or technology. • All unnecessary parts were removed. This streamlines the writing by ensuring focus on the question. Room has also been made for points to be added in the same paragraph. If continued, the overall result will be a richer essay with weighty ideas packed into fewer paragraphs, achieving concision. • The improved sample also addresses the seeming contradiction between an article about language and the magazine’s dedication to science. This can be further substantiated by discussing how the pop music examples transition into a portion on neuroscience. Keywords: subjective, generalisation, assumption, speculation The response is reliant on excessive background knowledge which is not called for by the question. Considering that this is an unseen text, such specific knowledge is not necessary. The reference to her ‘Eras Tour’ is also context-blind: there is no information on when the article was published. The identification of ‘fans’ disregards the general purpose and target audience of the magazine. These statements are either subjective and are hence unsubstantiated generalisations, or speculative. Avoid making assumptions that lead to broad sweeping statements. There is also no need to speculate what the reader / author may or may not do. Discuss what is found in the text.

2024 Y5 SL LL Prepared by Mr Shawn Lim Sample 2: The article’s precise questions help to interest and inform the reader about mondegreens. In the ‘Fun with Language’ section, the question about ‘Starbuck Lovers’ is posed, with the use of hypophora when the answer is provided immediately in the next paragraph. The hypophora prompts the reader to think about the misheard lyrics, thus creating interest about what the actual lyrics are. Similarly, a question about what songs the reader and their friends have misheard is used to conclude the section. The question serves to engage the reader by asking them to consider real-life examples of mondegreen, even reaching out to others and so applying their knowledge of mondegreens to everyday life. The last section also features a quiz. This forces the reader to engage with the article as they need to use their knowledge of mondegreens to pick the correct answer to the question. Hence, the use of questioning helps engage and educate the reader. Improved Sample 2 Questions used throughout the article serve to interest and inform the reader about mondegreens. In the ‘Fun with Language’ section, the article opens by asking why Taylor Swift was ‘singing about Starbucks lovers’’. The reader’s interest is piqued foremost by the absurdity of juxtaposing ‘Starbucks’ with ‘lovers’. This is then followed by the response, ‘turns out she wasn’t’. The hypophora helps preclude a serious consideration of ‘Starbucks lovers’, acting as an effective transition into introducing the idea of misheard lyrics, or mondegreens. […] • This is an example of the depth of analysis that can be reached with further unpacking. The improved sample considers the ‘so what’ to the use of hypophora and offers an interpretation that is importantly tied to the overall purpose of the article. This makes the interpretation credible for the marker. • The paragraph can then continue by citing other examples of questions used, as per the original sample. Improvements will include quoting the questions used and pointing out the use of direct address / second-person pronouns to create personal engagement. Keywords: vague, elaborate, unpack, go deeper / further, quote, cite evidence / examples The example here, like the rest that follow, lacks evidence in the form of quotes. Quotation is necessary to help your marker follow your argument. It also forces you to analyse what you have quoted, providing closer analysis for your essay. This is a classic example of students stating a literary term and its conclusion without analysing / unpacking HOW the effect is created. In this case, the term ‘hypophora’ is used and the conclusion of ‘creating interest’ is asserted, but the thought process behind moving from the term to the conclusion is not evident at all. This is a good demonstration of why quotations are necessary. Without the quote, the marker would not know what type of question is asked, and how this leads the reader to consider mondegreens in their lives. Quoting would clearly show that the question addresses the reader directly through second-person pronouns. The problem here is plain misreading; the quiz is not about mondegreens. Perhaps if the paragraph had provided some quotes, e.g. ‘difference between ‘moral’ and ‘morale’’, the sample could have been more precise in its assertions about mondegreens.

2024 Y5 SL LL Prepared by Mr Shawn Lim Sample 3: The article’s layout and structure are effective in engaging the reader. The article is divided into three distinct sections, namely ‘Fun with Language’, ‘History’ and ‘Nuts & Bolts’. Each of the headings has their first letter bolded in a larger font compared to the rest of the text, visually drawing the reader to them. The sections then make for easy reading by breaking up an otherwise lengthy text. The first section introduces readers to mondegreens before explaining how they occur. The second provides readers with a short history of the word, before the third concludes with a quiz for the reader. The structure of the different sections from introduction to history and to quiz is very interesting, unlike a regular encyclopedic entry in a science textbook. The sections even appeal to different interests, such as music and history, so that the target audience, young students with short attention spans, need not read the entire text. Thus, the structure of the article makes it interesting for the reader. Improved Sample 3 The division of the article into three different sections helps to ease the flow of reading and to further engage the reader. The headings of the various sections, namely ‘Fun with Language’, ‘History’ and ‘Nuts & Bolts’, succinctly capture the crux of each section, and so facilitates the reader’s handle on the material. For example, ‘Fun with Language’ implies something quizzical or amusing about language and is aligned with the humour and lighthearted tone the first section deploys, piquing the initial interest of the reader. While ‘History’ is obvious, ‘Nuts & Bolts’ plays on an idiomatic expression to