Learner Guide
18 Cambridge International AS Level English General Paper 8021
The Level criteria list what the candidate needs to do in order to demonstrate the assessment objectives at
that level. These criteria make reference to knowledge and examples, which are those listed in the mark
scheme. The assessment objectives are the areas of knowledge, understanding and skills you saw in
‘Section 4: What skills will be assessed‘.
Now let’s look at the example candidate response to Question 7 and the examiner’s comments on this
response.
C. Example candidate response and examiner comments
The example answer has been typed and is presented on the left-hand side. The examiner comments are
included on the right.
Example answer Examiner comments
Can communities ever recover fully from serious natural
disasters?
Serious natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes,
hurricanes and floods immediately devastate communities
whereas drought inflicts damage over time. However, the
degree of recovery depends on the type and scale of the
catastrophe, the speed at which local people, government
and international organisations respond, population
density, the affected country’s resources, the quality of
infrastructure and the loss of life and livelihoods. By
examining such factors it should be possible to explore
whether certain type of community can recover better
than others leading to a conclusion as to whether it is ever
possible to fully recover from such natural disasters.
The scale of these disasters makes it very difficult to cope
and recover in the aftermath as communities are left
helpless with the impossible task of re-building lives and
buildings. The Indian earthquake of 2004 created a
massive tsunami which killed 250,000 in fourteen
countries whereas the Nepalese earthquake of 2015
destroyed the capital city of Kathmandu and killed 9000.
Whether such disasters are localised or wide spread
recovery here was aided by a rapid international response:
burying bodies in Aceh province to minimise the spread of
disease or rescuing and re-building in Kathmandu.
However, whereas well organised funding allowed the
people of Aceh to recover after five years, people in
The first paragraph is a solid
introduction focusing on the key
words and meanings of the
question. The final sentence adds a
personal voice and clearly defines
the scope of the argument.
However, there is incomplete
emphasis on the full range of
factors that make a community e.g.
social, cultural, economic, political
and environmental.
The candidate communicates
clearly with a vocabulary range
(‘devastate’, ’inflicts’), and a
consistent and appropriate register.
There is one grammar error (in red)
and the list is a little cumbersome,
as well as having slightly repetitive
vocabulary at the end (‘recover’,
‘whether’).
The second paragraph defines
‘scale’ as either widespread or
localised and effectively exemplifies
with details. The ‘Indian
earthquake’ is slightly inaccurate,
but does not impede the quality of
the response. The candidate
develops a comparison to support
the argument that the relationship
between local government and
outside agencies is key to a
successful recovery (‘could it be
that...’ suggests the candidate’s
voice).
