CSSE-Style English Mock 3 (Essex)
The CSSE-Style English Mock 3 (Essex) is a third full practice sitting of the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex's English format: a printed source text, then reading comprehension, vocabulary in context, spelling/punctuation/grammar (SPaG) and a continuous writing task, all within one hour. By a third sitting the format is usually familiar, so this mock sharpens accuracy in comprehension answers and SPaG errors that are heard rather than seen on the page.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the whole source extract once before answering any question, then reread the specific paragraph named in each comprehension question rather than relying on memory of the first read-through.
- For 'explain how' or 'explain what this suggests' comprehension questions, structure each answer as a point, a piece of evidence in quotation marks from the extract, then an explanation of what that evidence shows: a bare quotation with no explanation earns little, and an explanation with no quotation earns little either.
- In the vocabulary section, decide first whether the question wants a definition, a synonym or an antonym, since answering the wrong one of the three is a common way marks are lost even when the word is understood correctly.
- Move through the SPaG section briskly and read each corrected sentence back in your head, since an error such as a missing capital letter on a proper noun or a comma used where a full stop is needed is easier to hear than to spot by eye.
- Before the continuous writing task, spend one or two minutes jotting three or four bullet points for beginning, middle and end, so the piece has a shape rather than drifting as it is written.
- During the writing task, vary sentence length on purpose, for example a short sentence straight after a longer one to create emphasis, since examiners reward controlled variety over simply long, complex sentences.
- Keep a rough time budget across all four sections and note afterwards which section overran, since by a third mock the aim is to correct a specific, repeated pacing problem rather than to discover a new one.
Worked example
Source sentence: 'She lifted the diary from beneath the dust sheets with both hands, as though it might crumble if she breathed too hard.' Using the point, evidence, explain structure, explain what this sentence suggests about how the girl feels towards the diary.
- Identify the point first: the sentence suggests the girl feels the diary is fragile and precious, something to be treated with great care.
- Select the evidence: the phrase 'with both hands' shows a careful, deliberate action rather than a casual one.
- Select a second piece of evidence: 'as though it might crumble if she breathed too hard' is a simile that compares the diary to something extremely delicate.
- Explain the evidence: using both hands and holding her breath both show physical care, which suggests an emotional care too, as though the diary matters a great deal to her.
- Write the full answer in the point, evidence, explain structure: the sentence suggests the girl feels the diary is precious and fragile, shown by the deliberate, two handed action of lifting it and the simile comparing it to something that might crumble, which together suggest she senses its emotional importance before she has even opened it.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1'The old house stood conspicuous among its plain, modern neighbours, with its crooked chimney and peeling blue paint.' What does 'conspicuous' mean in this sentence?Show answer
Answer: Easily noticed or standing out, in this case because the house looks so different from the houses around it.
Q2Give one word that is a synonym for 'forlorn'.Show answer
Answer: Miserable, sad or abandoned-looking (for example, 'lonely' or 'wretched').
Q3Correct the punctuation and capitalisation in this sentence: 'my aunt who lives in bristol is visiting next tuesday'Show answer
Answer: My aunt, who lives in Bristol, is visiting next Tuesday.
Q4Which word correctly completes the sentence: 'Neither the twins nor their mother ___ ready when the taxi arrived.'? (was / were)Show answer
Answer: was (with 'neither... nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject, 'their mother', which is singular)
Q5The trunk in the attic turned out to hold not one old notebook but three. Complete the sentence: the trunk held three old ___ (plural of 'diary').Show answer
Answer: diaries (change the y to i and add es, since the diary ends in a consonant plus y)
Q6'He gave a tentative smile, unsure whether the joke had landed.' What does 'tentative' suggest about the smile?Show answer
Answer: That it was hesitant, uncertain or cautious, rather than confident or relaxed.
Q7Identify the subordinate clause in this sentence: 'Because the attic light had failed, she read the diary by torchlight.'Show answer
Answer: Because the attic light had failed
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Source sentence: 'The handwriting grew smaller and more hurried towards the bottom of the page, as though the writer had heard footsteps on the stairs.' Explain what this sentence suggests about the situation the diary's writer was in, using evidence from the text. (5 marks)
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Continuous writing task: 'Describe a room that feels completely different once everyone else has left it.' Write a continuous piece of about 300 to 400 words. (15 marks)
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Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 15 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the csse-style english mock 3 (essex) worksheet pack - 11 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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