⋆ ⋆ ⋆
]]
ENG2613: Applied English Literature
for Intermediate Phase --- FAL
May/June Examination 2026
Comprehensive Revision Guide Covering 2023--2025
⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆
English Literature Education --- College of Education
• Exam Revision Guide
ENG2613
Module Code:
Applied English Literature for
Module Name:
Intermediate Phase --- FAL
May/June 2023, 2024 & 2025
Papers Covered:
May/June Examination 2026
Prepared For:
100 marks per paper
Total Marks:
Study to understand, not to memorise. Examiners reward insight.
⋆ Exam Revision Notes | ENG2613 | 2026
,ENG2613 | Exam Revision 2026 Applied English Literature --- FAL
PAPER 1: MAY/JUNE 2025 EXAMINATION
Duration: 2 hours | Total Marks: 100 | Answer ALL questions
Page 2 of 22 ⋆
,ENG2613 | Exam Revision 2026 Applied English Literature --- FAL
Question 1 [30 marks]
SECTION A --- PROSE AND FICTION
Read the following extract carefully and then answer the questions below.
Text A: ‘‘The Tin Bird’’ (adapted)
A long time ago, in a village surrounded by mountains, there lived a girl named Naledi who
collected broken things. While other children chased butterflies and climbed trees, Naledi would
crouch in the dust, gathering cracked pots, rusted tins, and splinters of coloured glass. Her
mother called it a sickness. The village elders called it a waste of time.
One afternoon, Naledi found a small tin figure near the dry riverbed. It had wings bent like a
question mark and a hollow chest. She took it home and worked through three nights, straight-
ening the wings with a stone, filling the chest with river sand, painting the beak with juice from
red berries.
On the fourth morning, the bird sang.
Not a mechanical sound, mind you --- no click or whirr. A song of real birds, woven from the
memory of rain.
‘‘What did you do?’’ her mother asked, her hands trembling.
‘‘I just cared for it,’’ Naledi said.
Question 1.1 [6 marks]
Question: What kind of literature does ‘‘The Tin Bird’’ belong to? Is it fiction or non-
fiction? Fantasy or realism? Prose, poetry, or drama? Give reasons for your answers.
Answer: ‘‘The Tin Bird’’ is fiction --- specifically magical realism, which sits some-
where between fantasy and realism. Worth breaking these down separately.
Fiction vs Non-fiction: Fiction means the story is imagined, not factually recorded.
‘‘The Tin Bird’’ has invented characters (Naledi, her unnamed mother), a setting that
could exist but is never named, and a plot that could not actually happen. That settles
it as fiction.
Fantasy vs Realism: Well, not exactly fantasy --- and not quite pure realism either.
Realism places characters in believable, everyday situations. Fantasy breaks natural
laws dramatically (dragons, magic spells). Magical realism, the genre here, presents an
Page 3 of 22 ⋆
, ENG2613 | Exam Revision 2026 Applied English Literature --- FAL
impossible event (a tin bird singing after being mended) without explanation or shock
--- as if it is simply part of life. The village, the girl’s poverty, her mother’s worry: all
realistic. The singing tin bird: magical. The genre blurs both.
Prose, poetry, or drama: The text is prose --- written in continuous sentences and
paragraphs, not in verse lines or a dialogue script. The narrative point of view, descrip-
tive passages, and paragraph structure all confirm this.
• Fiction: invented characters and impossible events
• Magical realism: realistic world containing one unexplained magical element
• Prose: continuous paragraphs, not verse or script
Exam Tip
Give one reason per genre category. The examiner awards marks for genre iden-
tification PLUS reasoning. Stating only the genre name earns partial credit at
best.
Question 1.2 [10 marks]
Question: Write a paragraph in which you discuss what kinds of stereotypes the story
engages with. What is the story’s message regarding such stereotypes? Provide at least
THREE examples from the text to support your discussion.
Answer: ‘‘The Tin Bird’’ works through several interlocking stereotypes --- and quietly
challenges each of them.
The first is the stereotype of gendered activity. Naledi collects and repairs objects
while ‘‘other children chased butterflies and climbed trees.’’ The contrast signals that
her behaviour is considered unusual, even unfeminine. Girls are not supposed to crouch
in dust gathering broken things. Yet it is precisely this unconventional behaviour that
produces the miracle at the story’s end.
The second stereotype is the dismissal of creative or non-productive labour. Her
mother calls Naledi’s collecting ‘‘a sickness’’; the elders call it ‘‘a waste of time.’’ Both
positions reflect a community that values visible, conventional productivity. The story’s
message pushes back on this: the tin bird sings because Naledi invested care and pa-
tience in something others had discarded.
Page 4 of 22 ⋆
]]
ENG2613: Applied English Literature
for Intermediate Phase --- FAL
May/June Examination 2026
Comprehensive Revision Guide Covering 2023--2025
⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆
English Literature Education --- College of Education
• Exam Revision Guide
ENG2613
Module Code:
Applied English Literature for
Module Name:
Intermediate Phase --- FAL
May/June 2023, 2024 & 2025
Papers Covered:
May/June Examination 2026
Prepared For:
100 marks per paper
Total Marks:
Study to understand, not to memorise. Examiners reward insight.
⋆ Exam Revision Notes | ENG2613 | 2026
,ENG2613 | Exam Revision 2026 Applied English Literature --- FAL
PAPER 1: MAY/JUNE 2025 EXAMINATION
Duration: 2 hours | Total Marks: 100 | Answer ALL questions
Page 2 of 22 ⋆
,ENG2613 | Exam Revision 2026 Applied English Literature --- FAL
Question 1 [30 marks]
SECTION A --- PROSE AND FICTION
Read the following extract carefully and then answer the questions below.
Text A: ‘‘The Tin Bird’’ (adapted)
A long time ago, in a village surrounded by mountains, there lived a girl named Naledi who
collected broken things. While other children chased butterflies and climbed trees, Naledi would
crouch in the dust, gathering cracked pots, rusted tins, and splinters of coloured glass. Her
mother called it a sickness. The village elders called it a waste of time.
One afternoon, Naledi found a small tin figure near the dry riverbed. It had wings bent like a
question mark and a hollow chest. She took it home and worked through three nights, straight-
ening the wings with a stone, filling the chest with river sand, painting the beak with juice from
red berries.
On the fourth morning, the bird sang.
Not a mechanical sound, mind you --- no click or whirr. A song of real birds, woven from the
memory of rain.
‘‘What did you do?’’ her mother asked, her hands trembling.
‘‘I just cared for it,’’ Naledi said.
Question 1.1 [6 marks]
Question: What kind of literature does ‘‘The Tin Bird’’ belong to? Is it fiction or non-
fiction? Fantasy or realism? Prose, poetry, or drama? Give reasons for your answers.
Answer: ‘‘The Tin Bird’’ is fiction --- specifically magical realism, which sits some-
where between fantasy and realism. Worth breaking these down separately.
Fiction vs Non-fiction: Fiction means the story is imagined, not factually recorded.
‘‘The Tin Bird’’ has invented characters (Naledi, her unnamed mother), a setting that
could exist but is never named, and a plot that could not actually happen. That settles
it as fiction.
Fantasy vs Realism: Well, not exactly fantasy --- and not quite pure realism either.
Realism places characters in believable, everyday situations. Fantasy breaks natural
laws dramatically (dragons, magic spells). Magical realism, the genre here, presents an
Page 3 of 22 ⋆
, ENG2613 | Exam Revision 2026 Applied English Literature --- FAL
impossible event (a tin bird singing after being mended) without explanation or shock
--- as if it is simply part of life. The village, the girl’s poverty, her mother’s worry: all
realistic. The singing tin bird: magical. The genre blurs both.
Prose, poetry, or drama: The text is prose --- written in continuous sentences and
paragraphs, not in verse lines or a dialogue script. The narrative point of view, descrip-
tive passages, and paragraph structure all confirm this.
• Fiction: invented characters and impossible events
• Magical realism: realistic world containing one unexplained magical element
• Prose: continuous paragraphs, not verse or script
Exam Tip
Give one reason per genre category. The examiner awards marks for genre iden-
tification PLUS reasoning. Stating only the genre name earns partial credit at
best.
Question 1.2 [10 marks]
Question: Write a paragraph in which you discuss what kinds of stereotypes the story
engages with. What is the story’s message regarding such stereotypes? Provide at least
THREE examples from the text to support your discussion.
Answer: ‘‘The Tin Bird’’ works through several interlocking stereotypes --- and quietly
challenges each of them.
The first is the stereotype of gendered activity. Naledi collects and repairs objects
while ‘‘other children chased butterflies and climbed trees.’’ The contrast signals that
her behaviour is considered unusual, even unfeminine. Girls are not supposed to crouch
in dust gathering broken things. Yet it is precisely this unconventional behaviour that
produces the miracle at the story’s end.
The second stereotype is the dismissal of creative or non-productive labour. Her
mother calls Naledi’s collecting ‘‘a sickness’’; the elders call it ‘‘a waste of time.’’ Both
positions reflect a community that values visible, conventional productivity. The story’s
message pushes back on this: the tin bird sings because Naledi invested care and pa-
tience in something others had discarded.
Page 4 of 22 ⋆
