Model Interview Writing Answer Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500

Hi People! 😊

Hope everyone reading is safe in these tough times! ✌

You have watched YouTube videos on ‘how to write IGCSE interviews?’

You have browsed through plenty of Google links, hyperlinks, and web addresses to find a sample interview answer for IGCSE FLE. 

You are writing the exam in a month or a week and have been pulling your hair.

Did I convince you in reading ahead? 

READ ON! YOU WON’T REGRET👍

This first blog post of ACE IGCSE 0500 will cover:

: Tips for interview writing

: Sample interview answer from a past paper

It occurred to me that for IGCSE FLE (0500), you do not just need past papers but also sample/model answers to those past papers because:

1. You will gauge your level of already existing knowledge. 

2. You will be able to manage your time well. 

3. You will find areas that you might want to work on. 

4. You will know the vocabulary, organisation, techniques and structure of writing the perfect top-scoring response. 

Tips for writing the perfect interview:

1. You need to make sure your interview is chatty and conversational.
2. If your parties interviewing are unknown or formal acquaintances, then the writing needs to be formal or semi-formal, accordingly.
3. Your interview can have a direct address, such as 'you', 'your', 'yours', etc
4. Your interview has a dash of daily spoken English words.
5. Your interview should not appear like a spoken transcript.
6. Your interview should not appear like a descriptive or narrative writing piece. 
7. You can use feelings and emotive words if your question has them as keywords.
8. Don't give an overly descriptive or narrative tone, make it as candid as possible. 
9. Play around with your sentence structures.
10. Remember that it’s not a written article or letter, it’s an interview. 
11. Keep involving the interviewer.
12. Use filler words like 'Well', and one-word phrases like:' you know', 'perfectly splendid', 'I am sure', etc
13. Interviews are not equal conversations, the person responding speaks more than the person questioning. 
14. Use colons (:) after the names of the parties in the interview. 
15. Do not use speech marks or speech quotes (“...”)
16. Write from the point of view of the characters in the insert. 
17. Take loads of content points from the insert and develop them with the above interview techniques, eg: Question Tags, such as 'You have not been to Italy, have you?'
18. Put yourself into the shoes of the persons in the interview.
19. Enact the person or characters in the interview.
20.  You could use hypophora, i.e. rhetorical questions that are answered. 

The model answer below has been taken from Specimen Paper 1 Reading for examination from 2020 (0500/01) Question 3:

Also, the content points for this question for A1, A2 and A3 can be found in the mark scheme on the official Cambridge International website.

Interviewer: What exactly did you see and feel during your journeys through the city

that night? Welcome!

Grandfather: Thanks for having me here! Ah! That memorable night! It was my granddaughter’s 16th birthday. I couldn’t get her a present, so I decided to give her an experience instead. We strolled late at night across the city’s once-bustling promenade, along lifeless streets, guided by the misty moonlight. Pitch black! Eerie! As quiet as a cat! Sadly, War had ravaged our city, devastated the homeless, leaving them lying on the roads, starving! Oh, that was a heartbreaking sight! Hope our government supports them. It was shocking to see such a bustling city turn into a graveyard. But I had another wish for Natalia. Far off, in a blurry sight, we spotted the rock-grey elephant. Slowly but steadily, stomping its way forward, lured by the food in the soldier’s hand. It was enchanting to watch!

 

Interviewer:  What do you remember of your granddaughter’s behaviour and

reactions that night?

Grandfather: Oh Nat? Sleepyhead! You know teens, they have got such a chip on their shoulders. Well, she trod behind me calmly and observed my moves at first but later, found it hard to keep up. With frustration, she curiously shrieked, ‘Are you taking me to my surprise party?’’ Rubbing her eyes, she tried hard to escape her deep slumber. Poor Nat! Teen nagging, you see! I had to be a bit strict there. She was clueless about where she was taken. And Voila, when she laid eyes on the elephant, she gaped in awe. Gazing at the majestic mammoth in its full glory, she wished to spill the beans to her friends, can you believe it?

Interviewer: What were your reasons for taking your granddaughter out that

night and what do you think she gained from the experience

Grandfather: I would say, it was a one-time extravaganza, an adventure spree for Nat’s birthday. Seeing an uncaged and untamed creature was spectacular. And I thought Nat would respect wildlife more after that incident. Animals are brutally commercialized under human influence. I would want her to grow up as a responsible citizen one day. I am sure she cherished that journey. We all need positivity in these war-strung times, don’t we? She even wrote a diary entry after coming back home. 

Interviewer: That seems true! Thanks a million for being here! 

You can post your comments or feedback here if you need more help with more directed writing answers, writer's effect responses or summary writing answers. Any requests for sample answers for IGCSE 0500 FLE past papers will be entertained too.

More IGCSE FLE past paper sample answers shall be uploaded here soon. Keep in touch here though!

I have attached a quirky and handy Interview Writing List for that last-minute IGCSE FLE revision. Do not forget to check that out!

Thank you! 😊