English FAL Grade 12 Paper 2 NSC November Mock 2026 Memo

hlayiso mock exams Practice Series: Grade 12 NSC Preparation WWW.HLAYISO.COM NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE GRADE 12 ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE P2 MOCK EXAMINATION 2026 MARKING GUIDELINES MARKS: 70 These marking guidelines consist of 15 pages. Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 2 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines INSTRUCTIONS TO MARKERS 1. Candidates answer TWO questions, ONE question each from ANY TWO sections. If a candidate answers more than two sections, mark only the first two sections answered. 2. These marking guidelines are a guide. Many questions are open-ended; credit any relevant, well-substantiated response, even if it is not listed here. 3. Because the focus is on understanding, spelling and language errors should not be penalised unless they change the meaning of the answer. 4. For open-ended questions, no marks are awarded for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. The substantiation is what is credited. 5. When TWO/THREE facts/points are required and more are given, mark only the first TWO/THREE. 6. For multiple-choice and matching questions, accept the letter AND/OR the answer written out in full. 7. For ‘Change ONE word’ questions, accept only the corrected word (or the corrected statement with that word changed). 8. Questions on Cry, the Beloved Country, My Children! My Africa! and ‘The girl who can’ are based on the examiner’s summaries of the context. Credit answers that draw correctly on the candidate’s knowledge of the whole text. Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 3 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines SECTION A: NOVEL QUESTION 1: CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY 1.1 1.1.1 (a) B✓ (4) (b) E✓ (c) C✓ (d) A✓ (4 x 1) 1.1.2 To look for his son, Absalom, who went to Johannesburg and has not written home.✓ To find his brother, John Kumalo (and his sister’s child/other family members who have gone to the city).✓ (2) 1.1.3 Sophiatown✓/Johannesburg (1) 1.1.4 Kumalo is naive/trusting/innocent.✓ He does not know the ways of the city and believes the young man is helping him.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 1.1.5 Johannesburg is a place of crime/dishonesty/danger✓ where people take advantage of newcomers and where traditional values (respect for elders, honesty) have broken down.✓ (2) 1.1.6 Kumalo believes that Gertrude is physically ill✓ but her real ‘sickness’ is her moral decline/the bad life she leads in the city, which is far worse/cannot be cured by medicine.✓ (2) 1.1.7 C/son.✓ (1) 1.1.8 Open-ended. Accept a suitable answer, e.g. Yes. Msimangu meets Kumalo, finds him lodgings with Mrs Lithebe and helps him to find Gertrude. He guides him through the city in the long search for Absalom and comforts him when the news of the murder breaks. Before Kumalo leaves, he gives him all his savings. OR No. Msimangu sometimes speaks harshly to Kumalo, e.g. he is angry when Kumalo speaks bitterly to Absalom’s girl/scolds him for his bitterness. NOTE: Do not award a mark for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. Award 3 marks for a well-substantiated discussion that refers to the text as a whole; award 1–2 marks for a partially substantiated answer. Accept a mixed response. (3) 1.2.1 Ndotsheni✓, the valley below High Place in Natal, during a time of drought (after the trial/in Book 3).✓ (2) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 4 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines 1.2.2 There is a drought/lack of rain.✓ The land is overgrazed/badly farmed/eroded.✓ The young people have left for Johannesburg, so there is no one to work the land.✓ NOTE: Accept any TWO of the above. (2) 1.2.3 He is compassionate/generous/caring/has changed.✓ Although Kumalo’s son murdered his son, he helps the children of Kumalo’s village.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 1.2.4 It was Kumalo’s son who killed Arthur Jarvis✓, yet it is the Jarvis family who saves the children of Kumalo’s village/brings hope to Ndotsheni.✓ (2) 1.2.5 A/Napoleon Letsitsi.✓ (1) 1.2.6 death✓ (1) 1.2.7 It suggests hope for the future✓: the next generation can build friendship/understanding across the racial divide.✓ (2) 1.2.8 Kumalo and Jarvis are joined by tragedy: Kumalo’s son killed Jarvis’s son. Instead of seeking revenge, Jarvis forgives. He helps Ndotsheni with milk, a farming expert and a new church. Kumalo humbly asks for forgiveness and is grateful. Forgiveness makes reconciliation between the two men possible. NOTE: Award 3 marks for a discussion that clearly links the theme to events/characters in the text; award 1–2 marks for a partial discussion. Accept other relevant, well-substantiated responses. (3) 1.2.9 Open-ended. Accept a suitable answer, e.g. Yes. Arthur’s writings about the injustices suffered by black South Africans open Jarvis’s eyes. He begins to understand his son, forgives Kumalo and works to improve the lives of the people of Ndotsheni (milk, agricultural demonstrator, dam, church). OR No. The change in Jarvis is also caused by his grief, his meeting with Kumalo and the death of his wife, not only by the writings. NOTE: Do not award a mark for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. Award 3 marks for a well-substantiated discussion that refers to the text as a whole; award 1–2 marks for a partially substantiated answer. Accept a mixed response. (3) [35] Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 5 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines QUESTION 2: STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE 2.1 2.1.1 (a) D✓ (4) (b) A✓ (c) E✓ (d) C✓ (4 x 1) 2.1.2 At about eleven o’clock at night in October✓ in a lane near the river in London (seen from the maid’s window).✓ (2) 2.1.3 Sir Danvers Carew✓ (1) 2.1.4 The maid feels peaceful and thinks kindly of the world✓, yet she is about to witness a brutal, senseless murder.✓ (2) 2.1.5 Hyde is rude/bad-tempered/violent/impatient.✓ He does not reply politely to the old man’s courtesy; he is barely able to control his anger.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 2.1.6 (a) Simile✓ (1) (b) Hyde is compared to an ape✓ to show that he is primitive/animal-like/uncontrolled and lacks any human mercy.✓ (2) 2.1.7 Jekyll✓ (1) 2.1.8 Open-ended. Accept a suitable answer, e.g. Yes. Jekyll created the potion that turns him into Hyde. He chose to release his evil side and enjoyed the freedom it gave him, so he is responsible for what Hyde does. OR No. Once Hyde takes over, Jekyll loses control; he does not plan the murder and is horrified by it. NOTE: Do not award a mark for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. Award 3 marks for a well-substantiated discussion that refers to the text as a whole; award 1–2 marks for a partially substantiated answer. Accept a mixed response. (3) 2.2.1 Poole believes that his master has been murdered✓ and that someone else/Hyde is in the cabinet.✓ The voice from the cabinet is not Jekyll’s/Jekyll has not been seen for days/the strange behaviour (notes for chemicals).✓ NOTE: Accept any TWO of the above. (2) 2.2.2 (a) Urgent/commanding/determined/alarmed.✓ (1) (b) He has recognised Hyde’s voice and must act quickly to find out what has happened to Jekyll.✓ (1) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 6 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines 2.2.3 (a) Simile✓ (1) (b) The cry is compared to that of a terrified animal✓. Hyde is trapped and afraid of being caught; it stresses his beast-like, inhuman nature.✓ (2) 2.2.4 The room looks calm, ordinary and comfortable✓, yet a man has just died violently in it/it is the scene of the terrible secret of Jekyll’s double life.✓ (2) 2.2.5 He is wearing Jekyll’s clothes✓ because he changed from Jekyll into Hyde, who is much smaller, and could not change back.✓ (2) 2.2.6 B/taking poison.✓ (1) 2.2.7 He believes that Hyde has murdered Dr Jekyll.✓ (1) 2.2.8 Hyde✓ (1) 2.2.9 Jekyll believes that every person has a good and an evil side. His potion separates the two: Hyde is pure evil, while Jekyll remains a mixture. The respectable Jekyll uses Hyde to enjoy his secret pleasures without damaging his reputation. In the end the evil side takes over and destroys both. NOTE: Award 3 marks for a discussion that clearly links the theme to events/characters in the text; award 1–2 marks for a partial discussion. Accept other relevant, well-substantiated responses. (3) [35] TOTAL SECTION A: 35 Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 7 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines SECTION B: DRAMA QUESTION 3: MACBETH 3.1 3.1.1 (a) B✓ (4) (b) D✓ (c) E✓ (d) A✓ (4 x 1) 3.1.2 At Macbeth’s castle at Inverness✓, in the evening while King Duncan is having supper/on the night of Duncan’s visit.✓ (2) 3.1.3 Duncan has recently honoured him/made him Thane of Cawdor.✓ He has earned the respect/good opinion of all kinds of people and wants to enjoy it.✓ (2) 3.1.4 (a) Personification✓/Metaphor (1) (b) Macbeth’s hope/ambition is described as if it were drunk and is now waking up sober and afraid✓. Lady Macbeth mocks him: his courage/ambition was false and has disappeared.✓ (2) 3.1.5 (a) Irritated/impatient/angry/defensive.✓ (1) (b) Lady Macbeth has insulted his manhood/called him a coward, and he wants her to stop.✓ (1) 3.1.6 She is ruthless/cruel/determined/unnatural.✓ She claims that she would kill her own smiling baby rather than break a promise as Macbeth has done.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 3.1.7 Open-ended. Accept a suitable answer, e.g. Yes. She persuades Macbeth to murder Duncan when he wants to stop, by questioning his manhood and planning the murder. Without her pressure he might not have killed the king. OR No. Macbeth already had murderous thoughts after the witches’ prophecies. After Duncan’s murder he acts alone (Banquo, Macduff’s family). His own ambition causes his downfall. NOTE: Do not award a mark for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. Award 3 marks for a well-substantiated discussion that refers to the text as a whole; award 1–2 marks for a partially substantiated answer. Accept a mixed response. (3) 3.2.1 At night✓ in Macbeth’s castle at Dunsinane.✓ (2) 3.2.2 Lady Macbeth has been walking and talking in her sleep.✓ (1) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 8 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines 3.2.3 Earlier Lady Macbeth called on darkness/‘thick night’ to hide her evil deeds✓, but now she is afraid of the dark and must always have a light next to her.✓ (2) 3.2.4 She is trying to wash imaginary blood off her hands✓ because she feels guilty about Duncan’s murder.✓ (2) 3.2.5 Lady Macduff’s (murdered on Macbeth’s orders).✓ (1) 3.2.6 (a) Hyperbole✓ (1) (b) She exaggerates to show that nothing can remove the smell of blood✓/her guilt is so great that it can never be cleansed.✓ (2) 3.2.7 B/weighed down by guilt and sorrow.✓ (1) 3.2.8 After the murder she believed guilt could easily be washed away✓; now she is haunted by guilt/tries to wash her hands constantly and cannot get rid of the blood.✓ (2) 3.2.9 Macbeth feels guilt immediately after killing Duncan (‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood …’) and sees Banquo’s ghost. Lady Macbeth at first hides her guilt but later sleepwalks and imagines blood on her hands; guilt destroys her mind and she dies. Guilt shows that evil deeds cannot be escaped. NOTE: Award 3 marks for a discussion that clearly links the theme to events/characters in the text; award 1–2 marks for a partial discussion. Accept other relevant, well-substantiated responses. (3) [35] Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 9 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines QUESTION 4: MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! 4.1 4.1.1 (a) D✓ (4) (b) E✓ (c) A✓ (d) B✓ (4 x 1) 4.1.2 1985/the 1980s, during apartheid/a time of school boycotts and unrest✓, in Camdeboo, a small town in the Eastern Cape (Karoo), and the nearby township of Brakwater.✓ (2) 4.1.3 Isabel and Thami are both intelligent/talented and well matched (as the debate showed).✓ He wants to build a bridge between the black and white communities.✓ He hopes that they will win (the prize money could help Thami to study further).✓ NOTE: Accept any TWO of the above. (2) 4.1.4 She is open-minded/curious/brave/unprejudiced.✓ She is willing to enter the township and get to know people across the racial divide.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 4.1.5 Zolile✓ (1) 4.1.6 B/English literature.✓ (1) 4.1.7 Mr M is very proud of Thami/regards him as his best learner/like a son✓ and has high hopes for his future through education.✓ (2) 4.1.8 Mr M believes that education/words are the weapons that will free his people, not violence. He uses the competition to bring Thami and Isabel together. Thami rejects ‘Bantu Education’ as a tool of oppression and joins the boycott. Isabel’s education about township life changes her views. NOTE: Award 3 marks for a discussion that clearly links the theme to events/characters in the text; award 1–2 marks for a partial discussion. Accept other relevant, well-substantiated responses. (3) 4.2.1 He is loyal to the Comrades, who have called for a school boycott.✓ He believes that the struggle is more important than the competition/the inferior education system must be rejected.✓ (2) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 10 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines 4.2.2 He is against the boycott and wants the learners back in class.✓ He wants to protect/save the school and the learners’ education from violence.✓ He believes in law and order/words rather than violence.✓ NOTE: Accept any TWO of the above. (2) 4.2.3 He is brave/stubborn/principled/defiant.✓ He refuses to hide or run away and faces the crowd that he knows wants to kill him.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 4.2.4 crowd✓/mob/Comrades (1) 4.2.5 B/leaves the country to join the struggle.✓ (1) 4.2.6 Mr M loves his learners as his own children and devotes his life to them/to Africa✓, yet he is killed by members of the very community/the young people he wanted to help.✓ (2) 4.2.7 It was a time of political violence/unrest/school boycotts under apartheid✓, in which there was deep distrust and people suspected of being informers were attacked/killed.✓ (2) 4.2.8 Open-ended. Accept a suitable answer, e.g. Yes. Thami knows about the Comrades’ plans but does not do enough to protect Mr M. He calls Mr M a traitor and does not stop the crowd. OR No. Thami warns Mr M and tries to persuade him to leave. Mr M chooses to go out to the crowd. The Comrades/the mob and the violent times are to blame. NOTE: Do not award a mark for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. Award 3 marks for a well-substantiated discussion that refers to the text as a whole; award 1–2 marks for a partially substantiated answer. Accept a mixed response. (3) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 11 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines 4.2.9 Open-ended. Accept a suitable answer, e.g. Yes. At first Isabel knows little about the township. Through her friendship with Thami and Mr M she learns about the injustice of apartheid. At the end she vows to make her life useful and to fight for justice. OR No. Isabel was always open-minded and caring; the events only confirm the person she already was. NOTE: Do not award a mark for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. Award 3 marks for a well-substantiated discussion that refers to the text as a whole; award 1–2 marks for a partially substantiated answer. Accept a mixed response. (3) [35] TOTAL SECTION B: 35 Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 12 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines SECTION C: SHORT STORIES QUESTION 5 ‘EVELINE’ – JAMES JOYCE 5.1 5.1.1 (a) C✓ (4) (b) E✓ (c) D✓ (d) A✓ (4 x 1) 5.1.2 At night/in the evening✓ at the station/quay at the North Wall in Dublin (where the boat to Buenos Ayres leaves).✓ (2) 5.1.3 Her father is violent/threatens her.✓ She has a hard life: she works at the Stores and keeps house/looks after the younger children.✓ She wants to be married and treated with respect/not to end up like her mother.✓ NOTE: Accept any TWO of the above. (2) 5.1.4 (a) Urgent/commanding/pleading/anxious.✓ (1) (b) The boat is about to leave and Eveline is hesitating/not moving.✓ (1) 5.1.5 (a) Metaphor✓/Hyperbole (1) (b) Eveline’s fear is compared to being drowned by the seas✓. Leaving with Frank no longer feels like escape but like death/she is overwhelmed by fear of the unknown.✓ (2) 5.1.6 She is numb/paralysed/in shock/emotionally frozen.✓ She shows no feeling for Frank; she cannot act or even say goodbye.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 5.1.7 Open-ended. Accept a suitable answer, e.g. Yes. She keeps her promise to her mother to keep the home together and look after the younger children. She hardly knows Frank, and her father has warned her about sailors. OR No. She remains trapped in a life of hard work, poverty and fear of her violent father. She loses her chance of love and happiness. NOTE: Do not award a mark for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. Award 3 marks for a well-substantiated discussion that refers to the text as a whole; award 1–2 marks for a partially substantiated answer. Accept a mixed response. (3) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 13 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines ‘THE GIRL WHO CAN’ – AMA ATA AIDOO 5.2 5.2.1 The story is told by a seven-year-old child in the first person✓; the reader sees the adults’ arguments through innocent/honest eyes, which creates humour/irony and makes the reader sympathise with her.✓ (2) 5.2.2 Nana believes that thin legs cannot support the weight of a woman’s body/pregnancy✓; she fears that Adjoa will not be able to have children/be a proper wife.✓ (2) 5.2.3 Women are valued mainly for their ability to bear children/do physical work✓; their own abilities, education and achievements are not considered important.✓ (2) 5.2.4 She is loving/protective/supportive/modern in her thinking.✓ She stands up to her own mother to defend Adjoa.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 5.2.5 athletics✓/running/races/sports (1) 5.2.6 A/cup.✓ (1) 5.2.7 Nana thought that Adjoa’s thin legs were useless✓, yet those very legs make Adjoa the fastest runner/win the cup and bring honour to the family.✓ (2) 5.2.8 Nana carries the cup on her back, the way women carry babies/precious things✓, and she now admits that thin legs can also be useful/she cries with pride.✓ (2) 5.2.9 Open-ended. Accept a suitable answer, e.g. Yes. Adjoa proves that a girl can do much more than bear children. Her thin legs, which Nana criticised, win races and the cup. The title celebrates what girls are able to achieve. OR No. The title focuses on one achievement only; the story is mainly about the different views of three generations of women. NOTE: Do not award a mark for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. Award 3 marks for a well-substantiated discussion that refers to the text as a whole; award 1–2 marks for a partially substantiated answer. Accept a mixed response. (3) [35] TOTAL SECTION C: 35 Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 14 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines SECTION D: POETRY QUESTION 6 ‘SONNET 73’ – WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 6.1 6.1.1 (a) autumn✓ (4) (b) twilight✓ (c) fire✓ (d) love✓ (4 x 1) 6.1.2 The speaker is sad/melancholy/aware that he is growing old.✓ He compares himself to a tree in late autumn, with few or no leaves left.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 6.1.3 (a) Metaphor✓ (1) (b) The bare branches are compared to the ruined choir stalls of a church where birds once sang✓; the speaker’s youth and joy are gone and only emptiness/silence remains in old age.✓ (2) 6.1.4 Night✓/black night/sleep (1) 6.1.5 The fire is choked by the ashes of the wood that once fed it✓; in the same way, the life/energy of youth is used up, and this leads to old age and death.✓ (2) 6.1.6 (a) Tender/loving/reassuring/hopeful.✓ (1) (b) He believes that knowing he will die soon makes the listener love him even more.✓ (1) 6.1.7 B/Shakespearean.✓ (1) 6.1.8 The speaker is aware that he is growing old and will die. He uses images of late autumn, twilight and a dying fire to show that his life is ending. Each image becomes shorter and closer to death. The couplet suggests that awareness of death makes love stronger. NOTE: Award 3 marks for a discussion that clearly links the theme to events/characters in the text; award 1–2 marks for a partial discussion. Accept other relevant, well-substantiated responses. (3) Copyright reserved Please turn over

English First Additional Language/P2 15 Hlayiso/Mock 2026 NSC – Marking Guidelines ‘THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE’ – WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS 6.2 6.2.1 (a) To Innisfree/an island in a lake.✓ (1) (b) Build a small cabin of clay and wattles.✓ Plant nine rows of beans.✓ Keep a beehive.✓ Live alone.✓ NOTE: Accept any TWO of the above. (2) 6.2.2 It is full of the sound of bees/alive with nature✓; it is peaceful and natural, not noisy like the city.✓ (2) 6.2.3 (a) Personification✓/Metaphor (1) (b) Peace is described as if it falls slowly and gently, like dew✓; peace on the island comes gradually and naturally and fills everything around him.✓ (2) 6.2.4 A/alliteration.✓ (1) 6.2.5 He is unhappy/does not like the city✓: the grey pavements suggest that city life is dull, lifeless and depressing.✓ (2) 6.2.6 alone✓ (1) 6.2.7 He longs/yearns deeply for Innisfree.✓ Even in the city he hears the lake water in his heart; the place is part of his deepest feelings.✓ NOTE: Award 1 mark for an answer that is not well-substantiated. (2) 6.2.8 Open-ended. Accept a suitable answer, e.g. Yes. Many people leave the city to live a simple life close to nature. The speaker has a clear plan: a cabin, beans and bees. OR No. The speaker only imagines the island while he stands in the city. Living alone with only beans and honey is a romantic dream, not a practical plan. NOTE: Do not award a mark for YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE alone. Award 3 marks for a well-substantiated discussion that refers to the text as a whole; award 1–2 marks for a partially substantiated answer. Accept a mixed response. (3) [35] TOTAL SECTION D: 35 GRAND TOTAL: 70 Copyright reserved