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11+ · CSSE

EP.T12 CSSE-Style English Mock 3 (Essex)

Calculators not allowed · about 60 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Time: 60 minutes. This paper has four sections: Section 1 Reading Comprehension (25 minutes), Section 2 Vocabulary (10 minutes), Section 3 Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (10 minutes), and Section 4 Continuous Writing (15 minutes). Write your answers in full sentences unless a question tells you otherwise. Try to keep to the timing given for each section. If you finish a section early you may check your work within that section, but do not turn back to an earlier section once you have moved on. Read every question carefully before you begin to write.

Two Days at Sixpenny Wood

Original non-fiction diary extract written for Revision Library.

1 Monday, 14 September The coach dropped us at Sixpenny Wood at half past

2 nine, and my stomach was already doing somersaults. Miss Whitcombe called out cabin

3 groups from a clipboard while thirty of us stood in a damp car

4 park, rucksacks digging into our shoulders, listening to a woodpecker hammering somewhere in

5 the trees above. I had signed up for the residential without really believing

6 it would happen, and now here I was, staring at a wall of

7 oak and birch that seemed to swallow the daylight the moment we stepped

8 beneath it. Our first task was to build a shelter that would keep

9 two people dry overnight, using only a tarpaulin, a coil of rope and

10 whatever branches we could drag from the forest floor. Yusuf and I chose

11 a spot beside a fallen log, convinced it would shelter us from the

12 worst of the wind. We tied clumsy knots that slipped the moment we

13 pulled them tight, and twice the whole frame folded flat onto the leaf

14 litter like a tent giving up on itself. Miss Whitcombe crouched beside us,

15 unhurried, and showed us how to anchor the ridge line first before hanging

16 anything from it. "Build the bones before you worry about the skin," she

17 said, and something about the phrase made the task feel possible again. By

18 four o'clock our shelter finally held its shape, sagging slightly at one corner

19 but standing upright. I felt a small, private glow of pride that surprised

20 me, given how certain I had been at lunchtime that we would end

21 up sleeping under the stars with no cover at all. That evening, around

22 a fire built from birch bark and pencil-thin kindling, Yusuf admitted that he

23 had wanted to give up twice before the shelter finally stood properly. I

24 understood exactly what he meant. The forest had a way of making every

25 small success feel enormous and every setback feel like proof that we did

26 not belong there. Tuesday, 15 September Rain drummed on the tarpaulin for most

27 of the night, and I woke certain the shelter would have collapsed, but

28 it had held, and I lay there for a moment simply listening to

29 the forest waking up around us. Before breakfast, Miss Whitcombe led a short

30 walk to the lake, where a small herd of fallow deer lifted their

31 heads together and watched us with total stillness before drifting back into the

32 treeline, unbothered by our presence. She showed us how to read their tracks

33 pressed into the mud, explaining that the narrow, split-hoof prints told her the

34 herd had passed less than an hour earlier. The main challenge of the

35 second day was lighting a fire using flint and steel rather than matches,

36 striking sparks onto a nest of dry grass and birch bark shavings until,

37 hopefully, an ember caught. My first dozen attempts produced nothing but frustration and

38 a numb, aching thumb. Yusuf managed a thin curl of smoke within minutes

39 and looked almost embarrassed by his own luck. I kept striking, kept failing,

40 kept telling myself that everyone else in the group had probably felt exactly

41 this useless at some point during the weekend. When the ember finally caught,

42 glowing faintly orange in the grass nest, I cupped my hands around it

43 and blew as gently as I dared, terrified of snuffing it out through

44 carelessness after everything it had taken to get there. A thread of smoke

45 thickened, then a flame flickered and caught properly, and I actually laughed out

46 loud with relief. Miss Whitcombe told me afterwards that the deer we had

47 seen that morning were probably more used to walkers than I imagined, since

48 Sixpenny Wood has been grazed by wild herds for generations, long before anyone

49 thought to build cabins at its edge. On the coach home, I realised

50 the residential had taught me something I had not expected. I had arrived

51 assuming that confidence was a thing you either had or did not have,

52 fixed and unchangeable, like the colour of your eyes. Two days of failed

53 knots and failed sparks had shown me something different, that confidence is closer

54 to a fire you have to keep building, stubbornly, out of small, ordinary

55 failures, until eventually, if you keep striking, something catches.

SECTION 1: READING COMPREHENSION (25 minutes)
Read "Two Days at Sixpenny Wood" printed opposite, then answer Questions 1 to 7. Write your answers in full sentences unless the question tells you otherwise.
According to lines 1 to 2, what was Zara's stomach doing as the coach arrived?

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

Give two details from lines 10 to 14 that show building the shelter did not go smoothly at first.

(Total for Question 2 is 2 marks)

What does the word 'terrified' (line 43) suggest about how Zara felt as she protected the newly caught ember? Explain your answer.

(Total for Question 3 is 2 marks)

Find and copy one phrase from lines 17 to 19 that shows the shelter, although it held, was not perfectly built. Then explain what this phrase suggests about how Zara views her achievement.

(a)Copy the phrase.(1)

(b)Explain what this phrase suggests about how Zara views her achievement.(2)

(Total for Question 4 is 3 marks)

Explain how the writer creates a sense of frustration in lines 37 to 41. Support your answer with reference to the text.

(Total for Question 5 is 3 marks)

Why do you think Zara describes confidence as 'a fire you have to keep building' (lines 53 to 55) rather than something fixed? Use evidence from the whole extract to support your ideas.

(Total for Question 6 is 4 marks)

'This extract shows that real confidence comes from struggling and getting things wrong, not from natural ability.' To what extent do you agree with this statement? Refer to the whole extract in your answer.

(Total for Question 7 is 5 marks)

SECTION 2: VOCABULARY (10 minutes)
Answer Questions 8 to 10 using "Two Days at Sixpenny Wood". For each word below, write a definition in your own words that matches how it is used in the passage.

(a)'clumsy' (line 12)(1)

(b)'unhurried' (line 15)(1)

(c)'stillness' (line 31)(1)

(d)'carelessness' (line 44)(1)

(Total for Question 8 is 4 marks)

For each word below, write one synonym (a different word with a similar meaning) that would fit correctly in place of it in the sentence from the extract.

(a)'frustration' (line 37)(1)

(b)'embarrassed' (line 39)(1)

(c)'thickened' (line 45)(1)

(Total for Question 9 is 3 marks)

Each word below appears in the extract. For each one, write a different word from the same word family, formed by adding or removing a prefix or suffix, and explain how the meaning changes.

(a)'confidence' (line 51)(1)

(b)'realised' (line 49)(1)

(c)'unbothered' (line 32)(1)

(Total for Question 10 is 3 marks)

SECTION 3: SPELLING, PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR (10 minutes)
Answer Questions 11 to 14. Rewrite each sentence below, correcting the punctuation error it contains.

(a)Yusufs knots were much neater than mine.(1)

(b)Wasnt that ember tiny(1)

(c)The rucksack contained rope matches a tarpaulin and a torch.(1)

(Total for Question 11 is 3 marks)

In the sentence below, identify the word class (noun, verb, adjective or adverb) of each word in square brackets: The [nervous] campers [carefully] [built] a [shelter] beside the fallen log.

(Total for Question 12 is 4 marks)

Combine each pair of sentences into a single sentence, using the connective or punctuation given in brackets, without changing the meaning.

(a)The shelter looked flimsy. It kept us dry all night. (although)(1)

(b)The fire caught quickly. The smoke stung our eyes. (semicolon)(1)

(c)Miss Whitcombe warned us about the mud. Some of us slipped anyway. (despite)(1)

(Total for Question 13 is 3 marks)

Read the paragraph below. It contains five errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Rewrite the paragraph correctly.
"Me and Yusuf spent ages collecting dry kindling from beneath the trees, we wasnt sure it would catch at all, it had rained heavily the night before. Miss Whitcombe showed us how to angle are hands around the sparks, and after several tries the tinder finally catched alight."

(Total for Question 14 is 5 marks)

SECTION 4: CONTINUOUS WRITING (15 minutes)
Write a continuous piece of about 300 to 400 words in response to the following:
'Write about a task or challenge that turned out to be far more difficult than you had expected.'
You do not have to write about the outdoors, and you may write in any form you choose, such as a story, a diary entry or a description. You will be marked on your ideas and organisation, and on your sentence structure, vocabulary and technical accuracy.

(Total for Question 15 is 10 marks)

Mark scheme · EP.T12 CSSE-Style English Mock 3 (Essex)

Question 1

B1 Identifies that Zara's stomach was 'doing somersaults'.
Answer: Zara's stomach was doing somersaults.

Question 2

B1 Detail 1: the knots they tied kept slipping when pulled tight.
B1 Detail 2: the whole frame folded flat onto the leaf litter twice.
Answer: Any two of: the knots slipped the moment they were pulled tight; the frame folded flat onto the leaf litter twice.

Question 3

B1 Identifies a quality such as intense fear, anxiety or desperation, stronger than ordinary worry.
B1 Explains the effect, e.g. it shows how much value she placed on the ember given how hard it had been to create, so losing it would feel like losing everything.
Answer: 'Terrified' suggests Zara felt an intense, almost desperate fear rather than mild concern, showing how precious the ember had become after so many failed attempts, so the thought of losing it through her own carelessness felt unbearable.

Question 4

(a) B1 Any accurate quotation showing an imperfection, e.g. 'sagging slightly at one corner'.
(a) Answer: 'sagging slightly at one corner'
(b) B1 Explains that Zara recognises the shelter is imperfect, not flawless.
(b) B1 Develops this, e.g. it suggests she can still feel genuine pride in an imperfect success, since the very next line describes her 'small, private glow of pride'.
(b) Answer: It suggests Zara is honest about the shelter's flaws, yet the phrase does not stop her feeling proud, showing that an achievement does not need to be perfect to feel like a real success.

Question 5

B1 Identifies a relevant word or phrase, e.g. 'nothing but frustration and a numb, aching thumb'.
B1 Identifies a second relevant detail, e.g. the contrast with Yusuf, who 'managed a thin curl of smoke within minutes and looked almost embarrassed by his own luck'.
B1 Explains the effect on the reader, e.g. the repetition of 'kept striking, kept failing, kept telling myself' mimics her repeated failed attempts, building a mounting sense of frustration.
Answer: The writer builds frustration through the direct statement that her attempts produced 'nothing but frustration and a numb, aching thumb', through the contrast with Yusuf's easy success, which 'looked almost embarrassed by his own luck', and through the repeated structure 'kept striking, kept failing, kept telling myself', which mirrors her repeated failed attempts and builds a sense of mounting frustration.

Question 6

B1 Point: she had believed confidence was innate and unchangeable, evidenced by 'fixed and unchangeable, like the colour of your eyes' (lines 51 to 52).
B1 Point: the shelter only succeeded after repeated failure, evidenced by the frame folding 'flat onto the leaf litter' twice before it finally stood (lines 13 to 18).
B1 Point: the fire-lighting followed the same pattern of repeated failure before success, evidenced by 'kept striking, kept failing' (lines 39 to 40) before the ember eventually caught.
B1 Point: the closing image directly links physical fire-lighting to an emotional lesson, evidenced by 'if you keep striking, something catches' (line 55), showing she now sees confidence as actively built rather than possessed from the start.
Answer: Zara describes confidence this way because the trip disproved her earlier assumption that it was fixed like eye colour; both the shelter and the fire only succeeded after repeated failed attempts, so by the end she sees confidence as something built gradually through persistence, small failures and eventually success, rather than a quality people simply have or lack.

Question 7

Level 1 (1-2): A simple opinion is given with little or no reference to the text.
Level 2 (3-4): A clear opinion is supported with relevant evidence from at least two points in the extract.
Level 3 (5): A well-developed, balanced argument is supported with precise textual evidence from across the extract, showing perceptive understanding of both the struggle and the role natural aptitude plays.
Indicative content:

Question 8

(a) B1 Definition matching context, e.g. awkward or lacking skill in movement, not smoothly or neatly done.
(a) Answer: Awkward and lacking skill in movement; not done smoothly or neatly.
(b) B1 Definition matching context, e.g. calm and not rushed; taking time without urgency.
(b) Answer: Calm and not rushed; taking time without urgency.
(c) B1 Definition matching context, e.g. the state of being completely motionless and quiet.
(c) Answer: The state of being completely motionless and quiet.
(d) B1 Definition matching context, e.g. a lack of proper attention or caution that could lead to a mistake.
(d) Answer: A lack of proper attention or caution that could lead to a mistake.

Question 9

(a) B1 Valid synonym, e.g. exasperation / annoyance / irritation.
(a) Answer: exasperation (or annoyance)
(b) B1 Valid synonym, e.g. sheepish / self-conscious / awkward.
(b) Answer: sheepish (or self-conscious)
(c) B1 Valid synonym, e.g. deepened / grew denser / grew thicker.
(c) Answer: grew denser (or deepened)

Question 10

(a) B1 Valid word-family word with correct explanation, e.g. 'confident' - changing the suffix from '-ence' to '-ent' turns the abstract noun into the adjective describing a person who has the quality.
(a) Answer: confident - changing the suffix from '-ence' to '-ent' turns the noun naming the quality into the adjective describing someone who has it.
(b) B1 Valid word-family word with correct explanation, e.g. 'realisation' - the suffix '-ation' turns the verb into a noun naming the moment of understanding.
(b) Answer: realisation - adding the suffix '-ation' changes the verb 'realise' into a noun naming the moment or process of understanding.
(c) B1 Valid word-family word with correct explanation, e.g. 'bothered' - removing the prefix 'un-' reverses the meaning, changing it from 'undisturbed' to 'disturbed or annoyed'.
(c) Answer: bothered - removing the prefix 'un-' reverses the meaning from 'undisturbed' to 'disturbed or annoyed'.

Question 11

(a) B1 Correctly inserts the possessive apostrophe: 'Yusuf's knots were much neater than mine.'
(a) Answer: Yusuf's knots were much neater than mine.
(b) B1 Correctly inserts the contraction apostrophe and the question mark: 'Wasn't that ember tiny?'
(b) Answer: Wasn't that ember tiny?
(c) B1 Correctly inserts commas to separate the list items: 'The rucksack contained rope, matches, a tarpaulin and a torch.'
(c) Answer: The rucksack contained rope, matches, a tarpaulin and a torch.

Question 12

B1 nervous = adjective
B1 carefully = adverb
B1 built = verb
B1 shelter = noun
Answer: nervous - adjective; carefully - adverb; built - verb; shelter - noun.

Question 13

(a) B1 Correct subordination, e.g. 'Although the shelter looked flimsy, it kept us dry all night.'
(a) Answer: Although the shelter looked flimsy, it kept us dry all night.
(b) B1 Correct use of a semicolon to join two related, complete sentences, e.g. 'The fire caught quickly; the smoke stung our eyes.'
(b) Answer: The fire caught quickly; the smoke stung our eyes.
(c) B1 Correct subordination using 'despite' plus a noun phrase, e.g. 'Despite Miss Whitcombe's warning about the mud, some of us slipped anyway.'
(c) Answer: Despite Miss Whitcombe's warning about the mud, some of us slipped anyway.

Question 14

B1 Corrects 'Me and Yusuf' to a grammatically correct subject form, e.g. 'Yusuf and I'.
B1 Corrects the missing apostrophe and agreement error 'we wasnt' to 'we weren't'.
B1 Corrects the comma splice by separating the two complete sentences, e.g. '...at all. It had rained heavily the night before.'
B1 Corrects the homophone error 'are hands' to 'our hands'.
B1 Corrects the verb tense 'catched' to 'caught'.
Answer: Yusuf and I spent ages collecting dry kindling from beneath the trees. We weren't sure it would catch at all. It had rained heavily the night before. Miss Whitcombe showed us how to angle our hands around the sparks, and after several tries the tinder finally caught alight.

Question 15

Content and Organisation (Ideas, structure and engagement)
- Level 1 (1-2): Simple ideas with little development; limited sense of structure.
- Level 2 (3-4): Relevant ideas with some development; a clear beginning, middle and end.
- Level 3 (5-6): Well-developed, engaging ideas; confidently structured and paced for effect.
Style, Sentence Structure and Accuracy (Vocabulary, sentence variety and technical accuracy)
- Level 1 (1): Basic vocabulary and simple sentences; frequent errors in spelling and punctuation.
- Level 2 (2-3): Some varied vocabulary and sentence structures; mostly accurate spelling and punctuation.
- Level 3 (4): Ambitious vocabulary and a range of sentence structures used for effect; consistently accurate spelling and punctuation.

CSSE-Style English Mock 3 (Essex) - Worksheets, Questions and Revision