Humour: Practice and Exam Tips (NEB 12)

Revision map

What to prepare before the exam

Core recall

Five ideas worth memorising accurately

1. Laughter is not only a response to jokes. Much of it occurs in conversation and manages relationships.
2. Context changes meaning. Nervous, polite or inappropriate laughter may signal tension rather than amusement.
3. Spontaneous and controlled laughter differ. Genuine laughter is less voluntary; social laughter can be deliberately communicative.
4. Laughter is contagious. Hearing it can prepare another person to smile or join in.
5. Shared laughter supports affiliation. It can create alignment, reduce stress and strengthen group bonds.

Use the complete Humour concept guide when any of these ideas is unclear.

Short answers

High-value questions with answer frames

Model reasoning

How to build a strong analytical paragraph

Model: Robson presents laughter as a social signal rather than a simple reaction to humour. His account of Sophie Scott’s research distinguishes spontaneous laughter from the more controlled sounds used in conversation. This distinction shows that people laugh not only because something is funny but also to manage agreement, belonging or tension. Therefore, apparently inappropriate laughter may reveal the pressure of a situation instead of disrespect.

The model answers the question, uses a specific idea and explains its significance. It does not merely retell the article.

Evidence

Evidence bank for longer responses

Vocabulary

Words that improve precision

Grammar

Frequency adverbs: placement rules

• Place the adverb before a main verb: People often laugh in conversation.
• Place it after a form of be: Nervous laughter is sometimes inappropriate.
• With an auxiliary, place it after the first auxiliary: We have often misunderstood social laughter.
• Sometimes, usually and occasionally may begin a sentence for emphasis.
• Do not separate a verb from its object carelessly: write She frequently studies the article, not She studies frequently the article.

These positions follow standard guidance in the Purdue OWL adverb overview.

Grammar drill

Correct these five sentences

1. We laugh at jokes always. Better: We always laugh at jokes.
2. Social laughter often is controlled. Better: Social laughter is often controlled.
3. She has noticed never his nervous laugh. Better: She has never noticed his nervous laugh.
4. Do usually they laugh together? Better: Do they usually laugh together?
5. He tells occasionally funny stories. Better: He occasionally tells funny stories.

Writing task 1

Describe an incident of contagious laughter

Use a four-part sequence: setting → trigger → spread → reflection. Establish who was present and why the situation mattered. Describe the first laugh and concrete reactions rather than repeating “everyone laughed.” End by connecting the experience to the article’s idea of social contagion.

During a silent rehearsal, one student mispronounced a serious line. A quiet giggle began at the back, and within seconds even the teacher struggled to keep a straight face. Nothing became funnier after the first mistake; the laughter itself spread. The incident helped me understand Robson’s point that laughter coordinates people before they consciously decide to join.

Writing task 2

Describe your favourite comedian

Organise the response around technique, not admiration alone. Introduce the performer, identify a style such as observation, timing, mimicry or satire, give one suitable example, describe audience response and explain why the humour matters to you. Keep claims respectful and verifiable. A clear topic sentence and controlled paragraph order score better than a list of jokes.

Exam simulation

A 25-minute practice routine

Repeat the routine with the Class 12 English revision roadmap and the critical-thinking exam framework.

Self-check

Common mistakes that lose marks

• Equating every laugh with happiness or comedy.
• Calling controlled laughter “fake” without considering its communicative purpose.
• Retelling examples without explaining what they prove.
• Writing vague claims such as “laughter is good” instead of naming a social function.
• Misplacing frequency adverbs, especially around be and auxiliary verbs.
• Writing a personal narrative with no reflection on contagion or social meaning.