Cambridge IGCSEReading frameworkPaper 1

Travel Writing

Travel writing is where reportage meets memoir. The writer is describing a real place, but their voice, biases and surprise are all part of the story. This framework trains you to read both landscape and writer at the same time.

What this framework practises

Travel passages test your ability to read non-fiction voice, to track observation and attitude, and to comment on how a writer presents an unfamiliar place to a home audience. Non-fiction is a regular feature of Paper 1.

Suggested practice texts

Three classic travel writers whose books are in the public domain. Pick a chapter that describes arrival in a new place.

The Innocents Abroad

by Mark Twain

Read on Project Gutenberg

Eothen

by Alexander Kinglake

Read on Project Gutenberg

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Read on Project Gutenberg

Comprehension questions

Where is the writer, and how do they get there? Quote a detail that places you in the scene.
Find one observation that only someone new to the place could make. Why is it effective?
Identify a moment where the writer compares the place to something familiar. What does the comparison reveal about the writer?
Does the writer sound admiring, critical, amused or surprised? Quote one phrase as evidence.
Where does the writer include a small human detail - a face, a gesture, a voice? Why is it included?
Is the writer visible in the passage, or hidden behind the description? Quote one sentence as evidence.

Language analysis prompt

“How does the writer use language to present this place and their own reaction to it?”

Write a paragraph of roughly 150 words. Quote three specific phrases covering place, people and the writer’s voice.

Summary task template

Summarise the passage in no more than 120 words.

Sentence 1: Where the writer is.
Sentence 2: Their first impression.
Sentences 3-4: Two specific observations of place or people.
Sentence 5: The writer’s overall attitude by the end.

Vocabulary focus

Eight terms to use when writing about travel writing.

observationtravellervoiceimageryperspectiveculturalanecdotetone

Self-assessment checklist

I commented on voice as well as description.
I quoted at least three short phrases.
I identified the writer’s attitude towards the place.
I used the word observation or perspective correctly.
My summary captured place and attitude.
I finished within 45 minutes.

Children’s classics All frameworks

All reading frameworks

Cambridge IGCSEReading frameworkPaper 1

Travel Writing

What this framework practises

Suggested practice texts

Three classic travel writers whose books are in the public domain. Pick a chapter that describes arrival in a new place.

The Innocents Abroad

by Mark Twain

Read on Project Gutenberg

Eothen

by Alexander Kinglake

Read on Project Gutenberg

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Read on Project Gutenberg

Comprehension questions

Where is the writer, and how do they get there? Quote a detail that places you in the scene.
Find one observation that only someone new to the place could make. Why is it effective?
Identify a moment where the writer compares the place to something familiar. What does the comparison reveal about the writer?
Does the writer sound admiring, critical, amused or surprised? Quote one phrase as evidence.
Where does the writer include a small human detail - a face, a gesture, a voice? Why is it included?
Is the writer visible in the passage, or hidden behind the description? Quote one sentence as evidence.

Language analysis prompt

“How does the writer use language to present this place and their own reaction to it?”

Write a paragraph of roughly 150 words. Quote three specific phrases covering place, people and the writer’s voice.

Summary task template

Summarise the passage in no more than 120 words.

Sentence 1: Where the writer is.
Sentence 2: Their first impression.
Sentences 3-4: Two specific observations of place or people.
Sentence 5: The writer’s overall attitude by the end.

Vocabulary focus

Eight terms to use when writing about travel writing.

observationtravellervoiceimageryperspectiveculturalanecdotetone

Self-assessment checklist

I commented on voice as well as description.
I quoted at least three short phrases.
I identified the writer’s attitude towards the place.
I used the word observation or perspective correctly.
My summary captured place and attitude.
I finished within 45 minutes.

Children’s classics All frameworks

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Travel Writing

Suggested practice texts

Comprehension questions

Language analysis prompt

Summary task template

Vocabulary focus

Self-assessment checklist

Travel Writing

Suggested practice texts

Comprehension questions

Language analysis prompt

Summary task template

Vocabulary focus

Self-assessment checklist