Well boy! Carol must be more confused at this point.
I posted my previous reply no because of the original question, but the incorrect response. I think everyone shall do his or her homework in the course of learning school figures. To have a copy of a technical book is essential for the learning process. This forum will be very messy if everyone posts this type of questions.
Not just timing, Fred's description on the foot work for Corta Jaca is not quite right yet. (Sorry, Fred. You're better check with your teacher to see whether you have been taught correctly.) It is perhaps caused by the difficulty of describing a dance on paper. It is not easy to put timing, beat value, foot position, foot work, action used, and body turn together in few words, even for someone who has been formally trained and knows the figure very well. What Carol asked is the base figure, no a variation.
The Samba timing is very confusing indeed. There are quite few of various combinations of timing and beat values for school figures. The figures REQUIRE to use various timing and beat values. That means you might not execute one figure properly if you don't use the required timing or beat value. Other the other hand, you do be able to use different timing and beat values for the same figure, which is called different style. Sure, you can dance the Travelling Voltas with QQQQQQS (beat values: 1/2, 1/2, 1/2, 1/2, 1/2, 1/2, 1), rather than 1a2a3a4 timing. I, however, am not sure that is technical correct thought.
BTW, it doesn't mean much to me if someone says he or she has competed in a ballroom dancing competition. The reason is that people can go to a competition with just few months of learning, same for others with a few years of training, or with a few decade of training.