Must all three texts be used?

Yes, though each point appears once; leaving a text out means incomplete content.

Can you write before finishing the reading?

Not advisable: drafting before the reading is done usually forces a rewrite that costs more than it saves.

DSE English | Summary and Note-making Practice Paper 3 (Integration and Timing)

2026-11-04

Ten items from a 75-minute timetable to compressing 1 500 words into 220, practising how to merge three texts by theme and what to do with conflicting figures.

Attempt first, mark afterwards　Allow thirty to thirty-five minutes; label the theme of each item first, then group material that belongs to the same theme.

01　Paper details (check answers afterwards)

Item	Detail
Questions	10 items
Suggested time	About 35 minutes
Difficulty mix	Foundation 4 · Intermediate 3 · Challenge 2 · Error redo 1
Chapter	Chapter: DSE English \| Summary and Note-making Skills
Level	S4 (Secondary 4) English

02　Questions (10 items)

FoundationA 75-minute paper allows 15 minutes reading, 40 writing and 10 checking. How many minutes remain for analysing the task?
FoundationThree source texts run to 400, 500 and 600 words and must be read in 15 minutes. What reading speed per minute is needed?
FoundationThe summary cap is 220 words, 30 of which are the topic sentence. The remaining 190 words cover five points — how long is each?
FoundationFive points at two marks each: what is the full content mark? At two sentences per point, how many sentences in all?
IntermediateCompressing 1 500 words into 220: what percentage of the original survives (two decimal places)?
IntermediateA 12-word sentence is rewritten to 9 words. What percentage is cut?
IntermediateA question is marked on 6 content marks and 4 language marks. What percentage is language?
ChallengeWriting 220 words in 600 seconds: how many seconds per word on average (two decimal places)?
ChallengeTwo sources give conflicting figures. How should that be handled?
Error redoError drill: a student writes the answer source by source, in the order of Text 1, 2 and 3. Where are the marks lost?

03　Answers and one-line notes

#	Answer	One-line note
1	10 minutes	75 − 15 − 40 − 10 = 10: analysis time must be carved out in advance, not left over.
2	100 words per minute	400 + 500 + 600 = 1 500 and 1 500 ÷ 15 = 100: multi-text papers demand a higher rate than single-text ones.
3	38 words	(220 − 30) ÷ 5 = 190 ÷ 5 = 38: enough for a point plus one line of explanation.
4	Ten marks; ten sentences	5 × 2 = 10 marks and 5 × 2 = 10 sentences: both marks and sentences follow from the point count.
5	14.67%	220 ÷ 1 500 × 100 = 14.666…%, rounding to 14.67% — more than eighty-five per cent is cut.
6	25%	(12 − 9) ÷ 12 × 100 = 25%: paraphrasing replaces wording rather than simply deleting meaning.
7	40%	4 ÷ (6 + 4) × 100 = 40%: language carries two fifths, so shorter sentences are not automatically weaker writing.
8	2.73 seconds	600 ÷ 220 = 2.727…, rounding to 2.73 — under three seconds a word, so paraphrasing must be automatic.
9	State the conflict and say which figure you adopt and why — newer year or more authoritative source	Silently picking one looks like a missed detail; stating the choice is what earns the mark.
10	It copies without integrating: one point is scattered across three blocks, repeated and never compared	Multi-text papers test synthesis, so merging by theme is the answering structure while source order merely transcribes.

04　What to do after marking

After marking, redo only the wrong items and write down which step went wrong (formula, unit, or misread number).
Repeat the same item two days later; move to the next paper only when both attempts are correct.
Parents only need the answer and note columns; there is no need to explain every item.

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