Review Writing IGCSE

 IGCSE PAST QUESTIONS ON REPORT WRITING (NOVEMBER 2025)

Read Text A, and then answer Questions 1(a)–(e) on the question paper.

Text A: Penguins

Despite their global popularity, over half the 18 listed species of penguins are in trouble. 

Who’s to blame? Well, humans mostly.

Penguins have adapted to difficult conditions and diverse ecosystems over millions of 

years. But today, many populations – from those living in the cold of Antarctica to those in 

the warmth of the Galápagos Islands – are feeling the effects of human activities.

Seasonal melting, changing Southern Ocean currents and weather patterns cause the 

dissipation of ice. This loss in turn reduces the places for penguins to rest and avoid certain 

predators during long foraging trips, as well as contributing to reductions in krill, a favourite 

food of several penguin species. Emperor penguins commonly breed and raise their young 

on ‘fast ice’, a floating platform of frozen ocean connected to the land.

Some commercial fishing industries have claimed that their operations near penguin 

colonies do not make it difficult for penguins to find nourishment. But this is demonstrably 

wrong. Penguins have been known to drown due to collisions with fishing boats, or become 

entangled in their nets while diving for food.

Tourism has increased public awareness of the plight of penguins, but at the same time 

has exacerbated such problems as littering, which create choking and suffocation hazards. 

Prior to human encroachment on their territories, penguins lived in isolation and so did 

not develop immune systems fit to combat many of the world’s most common pathogens. 

Non‑native predators such as dogs and foxes introduced by humans in new South Wales, 

Australia, have also been responsible for the wiping out of several colonies of penguins.

And how do humans feel about penguins? We love them is the answer. Mostly, the docile, 

even friendly, disposition that humans anticipate in these beautiful creatures is the side 

that they show to tourists. But don’t confuse territorial behaviour with an invitation to be 

sociable, as one visiting researcher did, resulting in a resounding slap from a powerful 

flipper and damaged equipment. And while we might think they are performing a cute 

and clumsy wobbly walk in the direction of water for the benefit of our cameras, it’s worth 

remembering that penguins are highly efficient predators and that they have very keen 

eyesight for anything that may be happening under water surfaces.

Read Text B, and then answer Question 1(f) on the question paper.

Text B: Studying penguins

Penguin spotting is a lonely job. In the name of science, you sit on a beach for hours, 

watching one African penguin after another waddle past on their way somewhere more fun. 

You note down how many you saw and when, and then keep on waiting. Time passes slowly. 

Finally, the penguins all walk back home, and you note that down too. With the noting‑down 

all finished, you too can head home, knowing not only is your job time‑consuming, but it’s 

also prone to mistakes.

Happily, biologists may not have to continue getting sand in their trousers. Specialists are 

building more accurate systems that use CCTV and artificial intelligence to distinguish 

one African penguin from another, meaning that scientists can get on with more important 

things.

The camera is positioned in the place where penguins are expected. When one shuffles 

past, software checks to make sure it’s a penguin, looking closely for the colour patterns 

that penguin breeds all share – black head, white neck, then a ring of black around a white 

abdomen. As humans, we can’t always detect or recall an additional arrangement of spots 

on their stomachs that is unique to each penguin, but the fact that the camera can opens 

up another possibility for CCTV. It lets the software recognise which penguin is which.

These unique markings that identify each penguin help scientists learn more about their 

lives. A scientist explains, ‘You know if a specific penguin has been here before and 

whether it has a friendship group and if it hunts with this same group of friends each day. 

You find out whether the same penguins come back to the same places every year at the 

same time, assisting in our projects for breeding and conservation. We used to put a tag 

or a band on them for identification purposes, but that was probably uncomfortable for the 

penguins and not very safe.’

Benefits aren’t just penguin related. Studying the physiological features some possess, for 

example studying how deep and for how long penguins can dive without breathing, could 

teach us how to develop more effective anaesthetics.

What’s more, the smart CCTV system will free lonely biologists from penguin‑watching 

duty. After all, no one should have to be bored at the beach.