Your classroom test, then, will be a text commentary to be handled in the normal way. Here are some things to remember.
1) You're trying to show your high level of English, so re-read carefully before handing your script in.
2) Do not paraphrase the text. I have read the text and I understand it : I don't need you to tell me again what it says, in different words.
3) Make sure you attempt to answer the question: what is the author of the passage trying to do?
4) Show that you know the historical context of the information and arguments in the passage. If the passage gives two examples of a phenomenon, try to give a third. If the passage gives one opinion on a subject, try to summarize the other influential opinions at the time.
5) Don't hesitate to compare, but briefly, with other periods and personalities. If the work of politician A has points in common with the work of politician B twenty years earlier, explain in one or two sentences the link. Remember you are trying to prove that you have a good knowledge of British history since 1945.
6) Do not yourself denounce or praise the celebrities present in a passage. They may be your heroes or your idea of a monster: this is not important. You may if you wish give your opinion in the last paragraph, but this is not necessary and not generally even useful. I need to see that you understand why *other people* thought of X as a hero or as a monster.
7) Sometimes what the passage does not mention is almost as important as what it does mention. When Harold Macmillan speaks of all the good things he sees in British domination of Africa, it is perfectly appropriate to mention some opinions on the harm the British did. Omission is often important.
Just some advice. Tell your classmates to look at this.
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