Arabic A2 Level explained

The A2 Level is only one exam paper, as is the AS level. It covers reading, writing and translating: there is no listening or speaking element to the qualification.

The exam paper, provided by Edexcel, is called Unit 2 Understanding, Written Response and Research in Arabic. You have 2 hours and 45 minutes to complete the 3 sections of the exam:

* Section A: Reading - questions and answers in Arabic (14 marks ).

* Section B: Translation into Arabic (10 marks).

* Section C: 2 essays on chosen topic(s) and/or text(s) ( 56 marks).
You must answer 2 questions in Arabic, writing between 250-350 words for each question. You can prepare your chosen topics or texts in advance, and there will be a choice of two questions for each of the topics and texts, which are:

Topics
1. Arab history in the 20th century
* Geography
* Politics and Arab organisations
* Economy

2. Arab culture
* Art
* Architecture
* Music
* Entertainment

3. Arab Socio-culture
* Customs and traditions
* The role of women
* Religion
* Social issues

Texts
4. Naguib Mahfouz al-Liss wa al-Kilab (The Thief and the Dogs)
5. Ibn Al-Muqaffa’ Kalilah wa Dimnah (Kalilah and Dimnah)
6. Yahya Haqqi Qindil Umm Hashim (The Saint’s Lamp)

The exam is based on the Arabic version of the above texts.

The above list of topics refers to Section C, the essay questions, but the other Sections of the paper will also be related to the following more general topics, the first 4 of which are the same as in the AS level:

* Youth culture and concerns
* Lifestyle: health and fitness
* The world around us: travel, tourism, environmental issues and the Arabic-speaking world
* Education and employment
* Customs, traditions, beliefs and religions
* National and international events: past, present and future
* Literature and the arts

See the Edexcel website for more details about the exam and to download a sample paper.