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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteFor South African Grade 12 English First Additional Language (EFAL), the Department of Basic Education’s Mind the Gap guide titled Changes lists eight prescribed short stories for Paper 2: Literature. The anthology is Changes: An Anthology of Short Stories, compiled by B. Walter. Confirm with your teacher that this is your class’s prescribed set and that it matches your examination cycle before you revise.
Which short stories are prescribed?
The DBE Changes guide identifies these eight story-and-author pairings:
| Short story | Author |
|---|---|
| Transforming Moments | Gcina Mhlophe |
| The Last Breath | Sam Kahiga |
| Next Door | Kurt Vonnegut |
| The New Tribe | Buchi Emecheta |
| A Chip of Glass Ruby | Nadine Gordimer |
| Village People | Bessie Head |
| The Fur Coat | Sean O’Faolain |
| The Doll’s House | Katherine Mansfield |
The guide’s instruction is specific: “Choose the study guide for the set works you studied in your EFAL class at school.” Schools can use different sets or editions, and the DBE catalogue contains several English FAL short-story entries. Use your class anthology and teacher’s prescribed list as the final authority.
Where short stories fit in the EFAL examination
English FAL has three papers: Paper 1 (Language in Context), Paper 2 (Literature), and Paper 3 (Writing). Short stories are examined in Paper 2 alongside the novel, drama and poetry. Paper 2 has sections covering these genres; candidates answer the sections required by the examination and should concentrate on the sections and works they know best.
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Check the Department of Basic Education’s current examination guidance and the papers and memoranda for your examination cycle. The DBE explains that its guidelines describe CAPS assessment aims but do not replace the CAPS documents teachers use. A 2026 May/June Paper 2 and memo are listed on the DBE site, but an older paper should be treated as practice rather than proof of the next paper’s exact questions.
How to study every story
The Changes guide uses a consistent set of categories. Apply them to each story in a single set of revision notes rather than memorising an isolated plot summary.
1. Reconstruct the plot
- Write the events in chronological order, even if the narrator presents them out of sequence.
- Mark the inciting incident, major turning point, climax and ending.
- Explain what changes by the end and which unanswered questions remain.
2. Analyse setting
Record the place, time and social conditions. Then explain how the setting limits or enables the characters, creates conflict, or supports an idea in the story. A setting detail matters when it affects an event, a decision or the reader’s understanding.
3. Track characterisation
- Identify the protagonist’s goal and the obstacles to it.
- Note choices, relationships, conflicts and moments of change.
- Support an interpretation with the character’s words, actions and other characters’ responses.
4. Connect title, images and themes
Ask what the title suggests before reading, how the story develops or challenges that suggestion, and why any repeated object, image or phrase matters. State themes as complete ideas about people or society, then show how particular events or details develop them.
5. Identify narrator and point of view
Decide who tells the story and how much that voice can know. Consider whether the narrator is a character, an outside observer, reliable or limited. Point of view controls which information the reader receives and can create irony, sympathy or suspense.
6. Explain language, tone and mood
- Quote or identify significant diction, imagery, symbolism, contrast, irony, repetition or other figurative language.
- Explain the effect of the language in its immediate context; naming a device without its effect is incomplete.
- Distinguish tone (the narrator’s or speaker’s attitude) from mood (the feeling created for the reader), and show how word choice and events produce each.
7. Practise with extracts
Work from an extract before looking at the answers. For each question, make a direct point, use precise evidence from the extract or whole story, and explain the connection. Then use the self-marking answers in the DBE guide to check whether you addressed the command word, such as “explain”, “discuss”, “compare” or “quote”.
8. Learn vocabulary in context
Review the vocabulary list supplied for each story. Write a short definition and an original sentence, then return to the passage to see how the word affects meaning. Vocabulary is part of interpretation, not a separate exercise.
A practical revision workflow
- Verify the set. Compare the eight titles in your book with your teacher’s list and the current examination instructions.
- Read actively. Annotate unfamiliar words, turning points, recurring images and changes in character.
- Complete one story sheet. Include plot sequence, setting, characters, themes, title, narrator, language, tone and mood.
- Answer an extract under timed conditions. Use evidence and write to the mark allocation.
- Self-mark and repair gaps. Compare with the guide’s answers, correct misunderstandings and add vocabulary.
- Interleave the stories. Practise recalling one story’s themes and techniques after studying another, so that similar concepts do not blur together.
Choosing study materials
| Resource | Best use | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| DBE Mind the Gap: Changes guide | Official summaries, analysis categories, extract activities, answers and vocabulary | That it is the “Changes” guide and matches your class set |
| Changes: An Anthology of Short Stories (B. Walter) | Reading the complete prescribed texts | Edition and the eight titles required by your school |
| DBE catalogue and teacher resources | Finding CAPS-aligned or literature-mediation material | The particular short-story set, since catalogue entries differ |
| Macrat Grade 12 FAL short-stories worksheets | Optional contextual questions, suggested answers, study notes and a revision template | Edition, story selection and current availability; it is supplementary, not a replacement for the official guide |
| Current DBE examination papers and memoranda | Learning question wording, mark allocation and timing | Examination cycle and paper number |
The official DBE guide is available as a free PDF. A paid workbook is optional when you already have the prescribed anthology and official materials.
Quick Recap
Common mistakes to avoid
- Studying a generic English FAL short-story guide without checking the titles against your class set.
- Memorising a summary while ignoring narrator, structure, diction, tone and mood.
- Listing themes or literary devices without linking them to evidence and effect.
- Using a memo as a script instead of answering in your own words and supporting points from the text.
- Assuming a past paper guarantees the format or content of the next examination.
Final checklist before Paper 2
- I can name the author and central conflict for each prescribed story.
- I can place the main events in sequence and explain the turning point and ending.
- I can analyse setting, characterisation, title, theme, narrator, language, tone and mood.
- I have completed extract questions and checked my responses against answers.
- I have revised each story’s vocabulary in context.
- I have confirmed the current setworks and examination instructions with my school.
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