How we got there
Read this like a teacher at the board. We go slowly, name every number, and say why we take each step.
Explain in another language · 11
1. What is the question asking?
Read the question twice. Circle the unknown. Underline every number and unit. The paper is asking: Paper 2, Grade 10. “Refer to the extract. What does this moment show about the character? Quote four to six words.”
In other words — as if you have never seen this before
If you have never seen this before: Name the character, quote from the extract, then say what the words show. Do not retell the book. We will name a method in words, write the formula with no numbers, then substitute one line at a time.
2. What do we already know?
Contextual question. The extract is on the page.
3. Which method — and why this one?
Name the character, quote from the extract, then say what the words show. Do not retell the book.
4. Step-by-step working
01 / 05
Point
Stay inside the extract for the quote. You may use the rest of the book only for the explanation.
quote from the extractWhy this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.
02 / 05
Apply the law
Point: the character is under pressure. Evidence: the four words. Effect: the reader sees the choice, not just the event.
point, evidence, effectWhy this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.
03 / 05
Sense-check
If the question is out of 3, give three separate points or one point developed in three steps.
marks match pointsWhy this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.
04 / 05
Step F — Box the answer with its unit
The character is under pressure. The quoted words show the choice. The reader judges the character from that choice, not from a summary.
Why this step: A number without a unit is half a mark on a Physics paper, and a marker can miss a Maths answer that is buried in working.
05 / 05
Step H — What the marker is looking for
On an NSC memo you usually earn: (1) a method mark for naming the right formula or idea in words, (2) an accuracy mark for substituting the given numbers with units, (3) an accuracy mark for the boxed answer with its unit. Write those three lines even if you are unsure of the arithmetic — blank pages score zero.
Why this step: First-timers chase the final number and leave the method blank. The memo still pays out for the idea and the substitution even when the last line is wrong.
5. The answer
The character is under pressure. The quoted words show the choice. The reader judges the character from that choice, not from a summary.
6. Check it like a marker
A summary of the whole book earns little on a contextual question. The extract is the evidence.
7. A trap first-timers fall into
First-timers often grab the first formula they remember, mix units (cm with m, minutes with seconds), or drop a minus sign. Write the formula in words first: “this equals that, because…”