CSEC ENGLISH A
SBA DOCUMENT
Note Briefly
Keep this document in a safe place; if lost payment
will be required to get another copy.
Please pay keen attention to the deadlines.
All information from group discussion and activities
should be recorded in a notebook.
All SBA related documents should be stored in a
folder.
GUIDELINES FOR THE PORTFOLIO
Ensure that you have all the submission for your SBA, namely:
Plan of Investigation
Group Written Report
Reflection
Oral Presentation Plan
Your submission should be properly typed.
In your typed SBA your lines must be double space and use standard letter size paper.
The font should be clear and simple (e.g. Times New Roman 12pt).
Your title page should have the title of your portfolio, your name,candidate number and the name of your
school.
Each written submission should be on a separate page with a clear heading.
Your table of contents and page numbering should correspond.
Proof read your SBA before final submission.
Include a properly written Reference Page
Check your Reference Page and in text citations.
Submit a neat and well put together portfolio.
PLEASE PAY KEEN ATTENTION TO SUBMISSION DATES
SUGGESTED TIMELINE
Plan of Investigation (First Draft) Week of November 12th ,2021
Plan of Investigation( Final Draft) Week of November 26th ,2021
Submission of Reflection 1,2 & 3 (First Draft) Week of December 10th ,2021
Submission of Reflection 1,2 & 3 (Final Draft) Week of January 7th ,2021
Oral Presentation Plan Week of January 21st,2021
Oral Presentations Week of February 4th ,2021
Witten Report(First Draft) Week of February 18th ,2021
Written Report(Final Draft) Week of February 25th ,2021
SUBMISSION OF PORTFOLIO WEEK OF MARCH 21,2021
ELEMENTS OF THE SBA
The SBA has SIX (6) components. Please pay attention to the number of marks allotted to
each component.
COMPONENTS OF THE HOW EACH COMPONENT IS MARKS ALLOTTED
SBA PRESENTED AND ASSESSED
Plan of Investigation Individual 5 marks
Written Piece
Participation Measure Group 5 marks
Orally Assessed
Quality of Group Activity Group 10 marks
Orally Assessed
Written Report Group 10 marks
Written Piece
Reflection Individual 5 marks
Written Piece
Oral Presentation Individual 10 marks
Orally Assessed
TOTAL 45 MARKS
STARTING THE CSEC ENGLISH A SBA
l. The SBA requires that students explore a common theme in groups of four (4) or five (5).
2. Students, with the help of the teacher, can create a number of themes based on their interests.
(Drug Abuse, Violence, Natural Disaster, Culture, Poverty)
3. Each group will select a theme. Each student in the group will select a topic based on the theme.
SELECTING TOPICS
The diagram below shows topics on the theme MUSIC. Notice each student's topic is some way connected
to the central theme.
Anna: "The Impact of Current
Opal: "The Influence of Dancehall Affairs on the Lyrics of Soca Music"
Music on Other Musical Genres"
RESEARCH
After topics have been selected, each student will find three (3) sources that further explain the individual
topics. These sources can be in the following formats: newspaper article, online journal article, picture,
recording of a song or news clip, a cartoon. Please note that one of the sources must be a newspaper article,
an online journal article or any kind of written continuous prose material.
REFLECTION
Students will write three (3) Reflection entries of 150 words each.
The first entry indicates how each source shaped your thinking on the topic.
(State how EACH source has inspired and impacted you.)
Example: The second piece is a picture downloaded from a website which shows the
beauty and advantages of being a female pop icon. This helped me to understand that
female pop stars are not always bad influences. Many of them are young girls who
are only chasing their dreams and that can be a positive thing for teenage girls to
emulate. (Note his relates ONLY to one of the three sources.)
The second entry discusses the use of language in EACH source.
(Comment on the formality/ informality of the language, the tone, appropriateness and difficulty of
word choice, figures of speech and how the language impacts your understanding of the topic.)
Example: Another thing I observed with the use of language is that each piece has a
unique diction or word choice that made it appropriate for their target audience. The
newspaper article uses words like “posited” and “evidence” to show that it is a very
scholarly article .The picture asks a question bit it did not start the question with the
word “DO” as one would expect in a proper English question. The song uses a
number of slangs such as “unpretty” as in the title of the song and “Trippin” in
stanza 5.
(Note you may comment on different aspects of language for each source.)
The third entry discusses how the process of doing the SBA helped the student to
become a better person
(Comment on how the process has changed/ shaped your attitude/ how it has helped you to
grow: working with others time management ,increased your world view.)
PLAN OF INVESTIGATION
The following is a sample of a Plan of Investigation.
THEME: CULTURE
Topic: The extent to which culture influences one's reaction to natural hair (styles)
The topic of my SBA is, "The extent to which reaction to natural hair
(styles)". I became interested in this topic after seeing a news' item about a principal's negative reaction
to a student's natural hairstyle. In order to successfully complete this project, I will select three pieces
of material that deal with ,meet with my group to discuss materials and share information;
complete three reflection; plan and do an oral presentation; meet with my teacher for the Individual
Participation Measure and the Quality of Group Activity and finally do a group Written Report.
In order to further probe this topic, I will check the library for recent newspaper clippings and the
internet for songs and poems that relevant to the topic. During my research, I expect to find different
perspectives on the topic that will prove that to a large extent culture does influence one's reaction to
natural hair. "This research benefit me linguistically by developing my ability to identify main ideas,
analyse writers’ techniques and use of language. Some factors that may interfere with the validity of
my research are irrelevant information, lack of specific or credible sources out dated information.
However, to address one of these problems I will collect a variety of materials from-reliable sources.
THE WRITTEN REPORT
The Written Report is a group activity which requires that group members summarize the
processes, procedures and outcomes of the research; it should also include a justification and
analysis of the selected materials. The Written Report should be in 250-300 words.
What should you do in order to enhance your performance on the Written Report?
• Choose three pieces of materials from among your group members. Use these selected pieces as the
sources for your Written Report.
Your Written Report should answer the following questions:
1. What steps have you taken in completing the SBA? (Process)
2. How were the three sources selected for the Written Report?
3. What did your group members say about the selected sources?
4. What is the focus of each source? (Summarise each source used)
5. What is the nature of each source (For e.g. newspaper article, song, video), and to whom is each
credited? (For e.g. What is the name of the writer)
6. How do the sources relate to the theme? (Do they effectively capture the theme?)
ORAL PRESENTATION
The Oral Presentation is a personal response related to your topic and should be delivered in 3 to 5
minutes.
The oral presentation should be delivered predominately in Standard English and in a genre of
the student's choosing, for example, drama, poetry, prose, role play, speech, argument,
exposition.
Before the Oral Presentation, students should deliver a brief plan of the presentation which should
include the genre chosen, the sources used and a comment on the kind of language used.
A brief plan of the Oral Presentation must also be submitted in the Portfolio.
Use the following questions to guide you as you prepare your plan for the Oral Presentation.
1. What genre will your Oral Presentation take? (Poetry, Prose, Drama)
2. If poetry, what kind of poem? And why did you choose that form? (Ode, Sonnet, Epic, Free
Verse etc)
3. If prose, what kind of prose and why did you choose that form? (Narrative/storv, Expository
Speech, Argumentative Speech etc)
4. If drama, what kind of drama? And why did you choose that form? (Role-play, dramatic
monologue, one person skit etc)
5. What inspired you to choose this genre and topic?
6. How did the sources you researched help to add content to your poem, prose or drama?
7. Which register (s) did you use in your Oral Presentation and why did you choose it/them?
8. What will your Oral Presentation be about?
languag
Types of Register
Formal Register: Use technical language. It is very cordial and is used in very official
settings.
Informal Register: Uses slang and rather casual language. It is very common among friends
and used in social settings.
Consultative Register: Comprises two-way participation. It uses question and answer and
allows for interruptions. It is commonly seen in the interaction between teacher and
student.
N.B. There are several other types of registers. For the purpose of this SBA, you have
been briefly introduced to three of the basic types that are used in speaking.
THE PARTICIPATION MEASURE
The Participation Measure component of the SBA measures the student's individual participation in
group activities and how the student's participation helps to complete the SBA. This is a reflective
process as students are asked to think about their group involvement and rate themselves.
Students will meet in their groups and rate themselves. The teacher may make suggestions to
the students as to how their Participation Measure grade may be improved.
After the students have implemented these suggestions, a second consultation should be done
with the teacher and the grade from this second consultation \IÅII be the final grade.
QUALITY OF GROUP ACTIVITY
The Quality of Group Activity encourages thorough and enraging group discussions. Students should
use their three (3) sources to generate discussion within the group
A rubric will be given to grade this exercise; students should examine the marks allotted to each area.
While students engage in their discussions, they should work as a team to get the best possible grade.
