Write a summary about challanges of living on Tristan da cunha. Your summary should include negative points about living there and why life is so difficult, your summary should be 100 words long
IGCSE ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE ASSIGNMENT 05B© 2022, Wolsey Hall. All rights reserved. 1
IGCSE E2L Assignment F ive B
READING
Please write your answers on lined paper using black ink. Once your work is complete, scan the
pages and upload to Canvas as a PDF.
Read the article below about Tristan da Cu nha, the most remote island in the world.
Write a summary about the challenges of living on Tristan da Cunha. Your summary should include
the negative points about living there and why life is so difficult.
Your summary should be about 100 words long (and no more than 120 words long). You should
use your own words as far as possible.
You will receive up to 8 marks for the content of your summary, and up to 8 marks for the style and
accuracy of your language.
(Total 16 marks)
Life on Tristan da Cunha – the most remote island in the world
On arriving on Tristan da Cunha, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, visitors are greeted by a sign
reading ‘Welcome to the Remotest Island’. Situated over 2300 kilometres from the nearest continent,
Tristan da Cunha is certainly remote. For visitors, and indeed residents, the only way to access the
island is by boat, meaning only a few determined people make the journey each year. For those that
do, it’s a once -in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn what living on this remote island is like. Visitors might
be surprised to see an internet café there, although internet connection can sometimes be slow.
Tristan da Cunha is home to around 250 inhabitants, all of whom live in the island’s village – officially called
Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, but known locally as ‘The Settlement’. As well as earning some income
from tourism, most families make a living from fishing. One benefit of the island’s remote location is
that fish stocks are high in Tristan da Cunha’s unpolluted seas. Another mai n source of income is the
sale of Tristan da Cunha’s rare stamps and coins to collectors all around the world.
In addition to fishing, all families on Tristan da Cunha are involved in farming. However, there’s a
limited amount of flat land available to far m. Tristan da Cunha’s solution to this problem is typical of
its strong spirit of cooperation: rather than land being owned by individuals, it is owned by the whole
island. Three kilometres from the village is an area of land called ‘The Patches’. Each fam ily has a
small piece of land here to grow potatoes, an essential ingredient in their diet. Sheep and cattle are
also kept on the island. These are protected against the spread of agricultural diseases from other
countries by thousands of kilometres of oce an.
The focus on farming means the islanders produce a lot of their own food: vegetables, meat, milk
and eggs. Other groceries can be bought from the island’s store, which provides essential imported
products such as flour and sugar. Unlike at a supermarke t in a more populated part of the world,
customers at the island’s store must order their goods months in advance. And even when the boats
bringing their supplies do eventually arrive in the island’s waters, storms frequently prevent them IGCSE ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE ASSIGNMENT 05B
© 2022, Wolsey Hall. All rights reserved. 2
from reaching land. As a consequence, residents often experience delays in getting hold of their
supplies.
As well as houses for its inhabitants, the island has a post office, two churches and a hospital,
although people have to travel to South Africa for any s pecialist medical treatment. Residents also
have an electricity supply which can at times be unreliable. Children attend St Mary’s School, which
contains five classrooms, a library, a room for craft and science, and a cookery room. Just like
anywhere else in the world, school children on Tristan da Cunha have lessons and take part in sports,
concerts and competitions. Families on Tristan da Cunha, however, believe that their children are
luckier than most – they are growing up as part of one of the friendliest communities in the world.
Guidance for this assignment
Writing a summary is very different from other exam questions. Stick to the word limit; the
examiner will not mark more than 120 words. For more guidance on Summary writing, see Page 40
in your Writing and Grammar Practice Book.
You should not write an introduction or conclusion, begin the summary immediately.
You will receive up to 8 marks for the content of your summary and up to 8 marks for the style and
accuracy of your language as follows:
Content: 8 marks for content = 8 separate points noticed.
• Use your highlighter as you read throug h the text to identify the different points.
• See pages 192/193 in your course book and watch the Summary Writing PowerPoint
available on the Canvas assignment page.
Writing: 8 marks for style and accuracy . You will be marked for accuracy and using
connective/linking words.
• See Page 156 in the course book and also watch the INTERACT – Discursive Writing (CAIE)
link available on the Canvas assignment page.
TOTAL FOR ASSIGNMENT 16 MARKS