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: Vraestel 3 opstel, Graad 11. Verhalend. Onderwerp: “Daar was doodse stilte …” Beplan dit, en sê wat die nasiener soek. Lengte: 250 tot 300 woorde.
In other words — as if you have never seen this before
If you have never seen this before: Beplan voordat jy die konsep skryf. Die inleiding skep die toneel. Die middeldeel is die gebeurtenis. Die slot wys wat verander het. Trek die beplanning deur sodat dit nie as die opstel nagesien word nie. 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?
’n Verhalende opstel vertel ’n storie. Daardie woorde moet in die opstel voorkom.
3. Which method — and why this one?
Beplan voordat jy die konsep skryf. Die inleiding skep die toneel. Die middeldeel is die gebeurtenis. Die slot wys wat verander het. Trek die beplanning deur sodat dit nie as die opstel nagesien word nie.
4. Step-by-step working
01 / 06
Punt
Die opening gebruik die gegewe woorde. Een hoofgebeurtenis, nie drie los stories nie.
een storieWhy 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 / 06
Pas die reël toe
Verlede tyd. Kort sinne by die klimaks. Die stilte word teen die einde verklaar.
struktuurWhy 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 / 06
Kontroleer
Tel tot 250 tot 300 woorde. Inhoud en beplanning dra die meeste punte, dan taal, dan struktuur.
lengteWhy 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 / 06
Step G — Sense-check the size
Ask: is this the kind of number a Grade 10–12 paper would want? A speed of 3 000 ms for a learner walking, or a probability bigger than 1, means a unit or algebra slip. Estimate first: round the numbers and do the sum in your head.
Why this step: Markers write ‘unrealistic’ in the margin when the method is right but the size is wild. A 10-second head check often finds a missing 10² or a unit that never changed.
05 / 06
Step F — Box the answer with its unit
’n Verhaal oor een gebeurtenis wat met die gegewe woorde begin, met ’n verandering aan die einde en die beplanning deurgetrek.
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.
06 / 06
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
’n Verhaal oor een gebeurtenis wat met die gegewe woorde begin, met ’n verandering aan die einde en die beplanning deurgetrek.
6. Check it like a marker
’n Lys idees is nie die opstel nie. As jy nie die rofwerk deurtrek nie, kan die nasiener die beplanning nasien.
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…”