Exam Overview
The English 10 provincial exam contains 30 multiple choice questions and 2 written compositions. Students will be asked to read a variety of texts (poems, articles, essays, short stories, advertisements, etc.) and answer reading comprehension and literary analysis questions regarding their reading. One of the written compositions will be based on prompts related to the texts read, requiring students to discuss and analyze what they read, in writing. The final written composition, worth 37% of the mark for the exam, will ask students to complete an essay (either expository, persuasive, descriptive or narrative) based on a general statement, such as "people learn from a variety of sources."
Students will have 2 hours to complete the exam, though an extra hour will be given if needed. There is the option to take either a paper or electronic exam. Electronic exams are more readily available and offered at more times. Students will be required to type written essays in an electronic exam. If you desire a paper exam it must be requested ahead of time so please alert your teacher well in advance.
Test Taking Strategies
It is important to manage your time effectively on a provincial exam. Ideally you want to leave the test having answered EVERY question to the best of your ability. The best way to accomplish this is to work through the test answering all the questions you are familiar with first. Skip the others. Then once you have reached the end of the test go back and look at the more difficult problems. This is a fairly straightforward process on paper exams but is a bit more tricky on the electronic exams. In the exam preparation assignments below you will be directed to try this strategy in a practice electronic exam.
You also need to gauge the time you spend on written questions to be sure to give yourself enough time to complete them all. The last essay composition is worth 37% of your mark for example so you want to leave at least 37% of your time to this question. Here is a break down of the exam with suggested time limits for each portion.
| Section | % of mark | Contents | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part A | 42 |
|
50min |
| Part B | 21 |
|
25min |
| Part C | 37 |
|
45min |
Problem Solving Tip
In multiple choice tests, remember that one of the answers listed is the correct one. On difficult problems you can often eliminate obviously wrong answers and then choose the best one from those that remain. If you are really stuck on a problem you can work backwards, checking each supposed solution until you find the correct one. It is best to use these strategies at the end of an exam on any problems you find really difficult. Also note that some questions may seem silly or confusing. Do your best to pick the most logical answer. Remember you want to leave the test having answered every question. You won't be marked down for wrong answers. Every answered problem, even guesses, is a possible point in your favor.
Preparation Assignments
Give yourself 2-4 weeks to complete these preparation assignments after you have completed the course work for this course. Example, if you aim to take an exam on June 20th, plan to finish working through your English resources by mid to late May.
Essays will be scored using the rubrics found in the Practice Provincial Exam Marking Key. Read through this rubric to familiarize yourself with the marking expectations for exam writing.
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| Practice Exams |
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First access a practice provincial exam. Print "Release 2009/10" test and key. Take this test as a "pre-exam". Complete the multiple choice questions on paper and mark. Use these to complete the analysis assignment below. Complete the two written responses and submit to your teacher for feedback. |
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Analyze and identify the types of questions asked in the multiple-choice section. (comprehension, vocabulary, application, literary technique...) Make a chart (or use the chart below) to presents the types of questions found in the multiple choice portion, whether your response was correct or incorrect on each, and if you made an error, what mistake caused you to make that error. Example:
Email this chart to your teacher and discuss further study.
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Next go to the practice exam site and try out an eExam. Logging into the exam requires a PEN number and session number. Do not be confused. Simply click on one of the blue options for an exam and the computer will enter these fields for you. Then click submit. Once the e-Exam loads explore the format and the content. Play around till you are able to:
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After you have taken one or two practice exams and analyzed your results, identify areas you need to review. Use the resources you explored this term and your SNAP or KEY study guides to review material. In addition review the vocabulary list for English 10. Use the school glossary and your English books to review terms. Compile a list of terms you are not familiar with. Send your compiled list, along with a paragraph explaining your strategy for learning these terms, to your teacher. |
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Writing |
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| Compare and Contrast Practice: Practice comparing/contrasting two passages of text. In the exam you will be asked to do this for two of the passages you will read in the exam. Sometimes the task given will seem obvious, or perhaps irrelevant. Learn to focus on the task rather than your opinion or feelings for the task. Go to the practice exam website and look at as many practice exams as you can. Find the first essay in the exam. Complete the following steps for each of these essays.
In reading over your outline be sure that you discuss both passages of text. This is essential for success on this question. See the exam marking key above. For further practice take one or two of your outlines and turn them into a completed essay. |
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Final Composition Practice: Prepare for the final essay of the exam. For the English 10 exam the easiest way to produce a high scoring piece of writing is to write a narrative for the prompt they give as the final essay of the exam. We are going to prepare a narrative (story) ahead of time that you can change to fit different prompts. You will need to choose one of the following prompts to write a story about. If you have a personal experience that relates that would be a great choice to base your story on. Four recent exam prompts
As you write your story use and try to incorporate the following ideas.
Choose a prompt above. Write your story according to the above guidelines. Refine it as best you can. Read it to your family, and get their feedback. Continue this process till you are satisfied with your story. Then look at the other prompts listed above, the three you did not choose. Think about your story and think about details you could alter and characters or events you could add to your story to have your story address those other prompts. Hopefully you will see that your story could be adapted to apply to any of these broad ideas. You will then have this story firmly in mind and can adjust it to address the task given. |
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Once you have completed a review, try a practice exam again and note your improvement. If you are not satisfied with your mark discuss strategies with your teacher for further review. |