Exam information | Completing diagram labels

In the exam, you may be asked to read a passage and use words from it to complete la bels on a diagram or picture. The answers will often come from a particular section of the text and may not be in the same order as the questions.

1. Skim-read the passage below and write "R" when you have found the sections that refer to:

Nature walks can be fun, energizing and educational at the same time. In Part One, we will look at what we can find on a marine walk. In Part Two, we will discuss our fascinating forests.

First of all, when you are walking on the beach you may be able to spot tracks. Birds and crabs leave footprints behind, especially in wet sand. On sandy beaches you will also be able to find interesting holes, made by crabs that were digging for food in the mud.

You may also come across jellyfish, as these are often washed up on the beach by the tides. They have no eyes, ears, heart or head and are mostly made of water. They look like a bag with arms, which are called tentacles. These contain poison, which helps them catch food. Even when they are out of the water or in pieces the tentacles may sting you, so they are best left alone.

Other animals you may find are coral and barnacles. The latter are marine animals that are related to crabs and lobsters and live in shallow waters. They like to attach themselves to hard materials, so you are likely to find them stuck to a piece of wood. You may also see what look like small gelatinous blobs but are actually fish or worm eggs. If you are lucky, you may find a fossil. In essence, this is an animal that died and got buried in a sea bed. They are likely to look like a piece of rock with an imprint of an animal skeleton. Their history is very interesting.

For an animal to become fossilized, it has to be buried in mud, sand or soil. If an animal dies but is not buried, it is more likely to rot away, be swept away by wind or water, and/or be eaten by another animal. Over millions of years, the animal remains become buried deeper and deeper; the mud, sand or soil compresses and slowly becomes rock. Their bone or shell starts to crystallize, because of surrounding minerals and chemicals. Ideally, the temperature stays relatively constant throughout this process. Sometimes the fossil dissolves completely and just leaves an imprint. At other times, waves, tides and currents slowly make the rocks erode, which allows the animal remains to break off, ready for you to find.

What you will definitely find a beach are shells. These were once the homes of animals such as snails, barnacles and mussels, consisting of a hard layer that the animal created for protection as part of its body. After the animal has died, its soft parts have rotted or have been eaten by other animals. such as crabs. What is left is a beautiful seashell for you to admire and take home if you wish.

Exam tip In the exam, you may have to complete labels of pictures, diagrams, flow charts, etc. so it helps if you can think visually. If you do not have a visual imagination, start practising by trying to visually represent written information where possible.

2. Cover the diagrams below. Now try to make a drawing to represent the information in the paragraph about how fossils are formed.

3. Using NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS from the passage, complete each gap in the diagram.