The Editing Section: 10 Marks Most Candidates Give Away
Section A of Paper 1 is worth 10 marks. It is the smallest section, the quickest to finish, and the one where preparation pays back fastest — because the rules are narrow and published.
What is actually tested
At O-Level and N(A) Level, candidates are given a passage of continuous prose of not more than 250 words and asked to identify and correct grammatical errors. The syllabus states plainly that errors in punctuation and spelling will not be tested in this section.
At N(T) Level the task is framed differently — candidates decide whether each underlined word is incorrect or redundant in a passage of about 150 words, and supply the correction where needed. Again, spelling and punctuation are not tested.
That single fact should change how you read. Candidates lose time hunting for misspellings that are not there, or “correcting” commas. Neither earns anything.
Read for structure, not for feel
Grammatical errors are structural, so read for structure. The categories that recur are limited enough to check deliberately.
- Subject–verb agreement. “The list of names were posted” — the subject is list, not names.
- Tense consistency. A passage settled in the past with one verb in the present.
- Articles. A missing or wrong a, an or the.
- Prepositions. “Depend of“, “different than“, “arrive to“.
- Singular and plural. “Two piece of advice.”
- Word form. An adjective where an adverb belongs — “he ran quick“.
For N(T) there is a seventh to watch: redundancy — a word that is not wrong in itself but does not belong, such as “he returned back home”.
A method that fits the time
- Read the whole passage once for meaning. Do not correct anything yet.
- Read again line by line, checking each verb against its subject.
- Read a third time for the small words — articles and prepositions. They are the easiest to skim past.
- Write the correction clearly in the space provided. An unclear correction cannot be credited.
Why it is worth the practice
Ten marks is a third of a writing section, available in a few minutes, from a closed set of error types. It is the most predictable component on the paper — and the same grammar it tests is what the 20 Language marks in Sections B and C are measuring in your own writing.
Practising editing is not a separate task from practising composition. It is the same skill, examined twice.
Read next
- Continuous Writing: Content Is 10 Marks. Language Is 20.
- Situational Writing: Where the 30 Marks Actually Go
- Situational Writing Formats
The Sentence Repair Kit Complete Bundle covers Lower Secondary, N(T), N(A) and O-Level — all four editions for $22.90. Twenty-five free practice sheets download instantly, no checkout.
Mark allocations and assessment criteria are taken from the SEAB GCE O-Level (1184), N(A) Level (1190) and N(T) Level (1195) English Language syllabuses for 2026.
