Section 1: Directed Writing (30 marks)

• Candidates are presented with one task, e.g., write a letter, speech, report, article, which is fit for
purpose and relevant to the world of study, work or the community.
• Candidates should write 200–300 words to inform or persuade a particular audience.
• A total of 15 marks are allocated for task fulfilment and 15 marks for language.
• Section 1 tests the following assessment objectives:
R1 Demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
R2 Demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
W1 Articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined
W2 Sequence facts, ideas and opinions
W3 Use a range of appropriate vocabulary
W4 Use register appropriate to audience and context
W5 Make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Task Fulfilment:

❖ Very good understanding of purpose.

❖ Clear awareness of the specified situation and audience.
❖ Text type entirely appropriate.
❖ All required points developed in detail, fully amplified and well organised.
❖ Given information well used to justify personal opinion and interpretation.
❖ Tone and register entirely appropriate
❖ Make sure you used the right text format (letter, report, article, speech)
❖ Make sure to write a proper salutation, valediction and closing remarks
❖ Read the task vey carefully
❖ Be very careful of whether the task is asking for singular or plural points which tells you how many
suggestions you have to make in your writing for each bullet point
❖ Make sure that every bullet point asked in the task is addressed
❖ Do not just address your points but develop them as well which is more convincing in getting marks
rather than just listing many numerous points at once. “Some candidates rely too much on supplying
long lists of difficulties or suggestions for bullet points rather than explaining a little more. Because
‘difficulties’ and ‘suggestions’ were plural, they had to supply more than one but a few of each with
proper detail proved to be much more effective than listing as many as possible”.
❖ Make sure that your bullet points are addressed in a way related to the situation set out in the question.
❖ Do not make mistake of lapsing into the narrative
❖ Link bullet points with previous ideas
❖ If a bullet point is asking for solutions: develop your suggestions by linking these points with the previous
points that you made for difficulties/problems
❖ If a bullet point is asking for benefits: develop it with 'how' your suggestions will provide benefits
❖ If a bullet point is asking for when and where the event took place: Some responses assumed that by
mentioning a certain kind of event, like an athletics meeting, it was obvious where this took place and
they omitted to say where it was. Others gave the location but were not convincing about when it took
place. It was not enough to say at a sports meeting or when we went on a camping trip because such
statements did not narrow down the event to a precise occasion.
❖ When asked for a specific event, write only one event instead of choosing to write about several events
❖ Make sure that expression in your writing is not vague
❖ It is a common problem of candidates lapsing into narrative, so make sure you do not make such
mistake. There is a fine line to be drawn between providing detail and providing too much detail in
narrative form.
❖ Use images to convey the situation
❖ Your text should not rely very heavily on the vocabulary and expression of the question to such extent
makes it difficult for the you to convey any sense of your own opinion. Use your own words more
convincingly, rather than lifting from the question/task
❖ Paragraph your work logically and with planning to ensure fluency
❖ It is important when using bullet points that the sentences should be full ones and not written as notes
❖ All the difficulties and suggestions that you give should not be unrelated to the central problem of the
question/task
❖ Some candidates relied too much on supplying long lists of difficulties or suggestions for bullet points 2
and 3rather than explaining a little more. Because ‘difficulties’ and ‘suggestions’ were plural, they had to
supply more than one but a few of each with proper detail proved to be much more effective than listing
as many as possible.
❖ Your answer should show a useful sense of personal involvement
❖ Your answer should have evidence of opinion and justification here
❖ Title to the piece in report and article writing needed to be more specific
❖ Develop the bullet points as evenly as possible and ensure that all required information is included.
❖ Explicit responses are better responses
❖ A minority of candidates described improbable ‘fantasy’ trips, generally involving meeting celebrities,
riding on private jets and receiving unlikely prizes. This type of response is rarely successful or
convincing as a speech. ‘Fantasy’ style responses were often weak on bullet points
❖ You should refer to audience throughout your writing
❖ Use of clichéd idioms and/or memorised sections is rarely successful as it interrupts the flow of
candidates’ usual writing style and are unlikely to address the precise question asked, and as such may
not be successful.
❖ Do not include not include stage directions, such as (applause), or inverted commas in speech
❖ Avoid irrelevant dialogue/details which in turn effects the overall tone
❖ It does not help to add overlong introductory and concluding paragraphs, so try to avoid them.
❖ A common error was to get the format wrong, either by not writing a report or by mixing together the
report and letter formats so that it was unclear; quite often candidates would start with a proper report
format and then end it with an inappropriate letter valediction such as ‘Regards’.
❖ You should make the particular text type more obvious. Other than writing the opening salutation and
closing remarks, you should also demonstrate the text format within the passage:
1. Article Writing:
• Explore a topic or issue of current importance
• Follows narratorial conventions (i.e., There is a plot, complication, and conclusion)
• Written in short paragraphs
• Combine facts and opinions
• Provide a perspective or angle about the topic or issue
• Includes catchy features (e.g., Catchy title, images etc.).
2. Speech Writing
• Connect with your audience and capture their attention
• Explicitly state the subject of your remarks
• Message: Related to the subject but more specific, the message is a single sentence that
encapsulates what it is you will communicate through your speech. Your message includes the
thesis or point you intend to illustrate for your audience. State your message within your speech
introduction, and restate it in your conclusion to summarize your remarks.
• Theme: A theme can be an image, a metaphor or a powerful word that adds interest to your
remarks. A theme offers language that unifies the points in your speech, pulling your words together
• Include rhetorical questions
• Structure
 • Call to action
3. Report Writing:
• Executive summary:
➢ An executive summary is a brief overview of a report that is designed to give the reader a quick
preview of the report's contents. Executive summaries are usually organised according to the
sequence of information presented in the full report, so follow the order of your full report as you
discuss the reasons for your conclusions
• Introduction:
➢ describe the change, problem or issue to be reported on
➢ define the specific objectives and purpose of the report
➢ outline the report's scope (the extent of the investigation, also known as its terms of reference or
brief)
➢ preview the report structure
• Discussion

This is the main body of the report and it has two key purposes:

➢ to explain the conclusions

➢ to justify the recommendations

Key points to remember when you are writing the discussion include the following:

➢ Present the analysis in a logical and systematic way

➢ If necessary, divide the material with appropriate headings to improve the readers' understanding
➢ Back up your claims with evidence—explain your findings
➢ Link theory to practical issues
➢ Persuade readers of the validity of your stance
• Conclusion

The conclusion should:

➢ identify the major issues relating to the case and give your interpretation of them
➢ relate specifically to the objectives of the report as set out in the introduction
➢ follow logically from the facts in the discussion
➢ be clean-cut and specific
➢ be brief
• Your recommendations point to the future and should be:
➢ action-oriented
➢ feasible
➢ logically related to the discussion and conclusion
➢ brief

Language

❖ Highly accurate writing, apart from very occasional slips.

❖ Sentence structures varied for particular effects.
❖ Verb forms largely correct and appropriate tenses consistently used.
❖ Vocabulary wide and precise.
❖ Punctuation accurate and helpful.
❖ Spelling accurate, apart from very occasional slips.
❖ Paragraphs have unity, are linked, and show evidence of planning.
❖ Make sure that it is not over elaborated
 ❖ Try to use varied words for paragraph and sentence opening (use adjectives/coherence words etc)
❖ There should be accuracy and clarity in explaining the situation
❖ Use vocabulary which is precise enough to convey shades of meaning
❖ Use variation in sentence structure to create some natural fluency
❖ Too much reliance on the repetition of vocabulary and expression is a bad thing, so make sure you
vary your vocabulary
❖ Punctuations should not lack sophistication, which can be assured by adding question marks, semi-
colons etc
❖ Make sure that the overall meaning of the writing is never in doubt with some simple accurate
structures.
❖ Some candidates found it difficult to use the correct tense when distinguishing between a general
difficulty and a specific event – for example, they would use the present tense to describe the
difficulty (‘the canteen is always crowded’) and would continue with the same tense when referring to
an event in the past (‘Yesterday, I am in the canteen…’) so that the sequence of events was uneven
❖ A similar problem occurred when candidates referred to future benefits and were unsure as to
whether to use ‘would’ or ‘will’. (You should know that the main difference between will and would is that
would can be used in the past tense but will cannot. Also, would is commonly used to refer to a future event
that may occur under specific conditions, while will is used more generally to refer to future events.)
❖ There is also a confusion between complain and complaint. (Complain means to express
dissatisfaction or annoyance about something. Complaint means a statement expressing that
something is unsatisfactory or unacceptable.)
❖ use different sentence types (questions and exclamations) to contribute to the feeling that this is a
lively text
❖ make sure that the spelling of complex and difficult vocabulary is competent
❖ Use of direct speech can greatly enhance the interest in a narrative, but when using this device,
candidates are advised to establish clearly who is speaking and are further advised to ensure the
use of punctuation is accurate.
❖ use of syntax

Section 2: Composition (30 marks)

• This is an essay, testing language and content combined.

• Candidates answer one question from a choice of five essay titles. Candidates will be presented with 1
descriptive, 2 argumentative and 2 narrative essay titles from which to choose.
• Candidates are advised to write a response of between 350 and 500 words.
• Section 2 tests the following assessment objectives:
W1 Articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined
W2 Sequence facts, ideas and opinions
W3 Use a range of appropriate vocabulary
W4 Use register appropriate to audience and context
W5 Make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

❖ Highly accurate writing, apart from very occasional slips.

❖ Sentence structures varied for particular effects.
❖ Verb forms largely correct and appropriate tenses consistently used.
❖ Vocabulary wide and precise.
❖ Punctuation accurate and helpful.
❖ Spelling accurate, apart from very occasional slips.
❖ Paragraphs have unity, are linked, and show evidence of planning.
❖ Appropriateness and Content
❖ Consistently relevant. Interest aroused and sustained.
❖ Tone and register entirely appropriate.
❖ Descriptions have well-developed images helping to create complex atmospheres.
❖ Arguments are well developed, logical, even complex.
❖ Narratives are complex, sophisticated, possibly tense, and may contain devices such as flashbacks.

General Comments for Both Directed & Composition Writing:

❖ Planning is a helpful technique for giving structure.

❖ Instead of counting words, you should always utilize your leisure time proofreading your completed tasks
❖ Candidates are advised to avoid memorising sections of responses, uncommon vocabulary and
clichés/proverbs. Inserting elements like these is rarely successful. It interrupts the flow of candidates’
usual writing style.
❖ Including graphic violence and illegal acts within responses which should be avoided as inappropriate
for the task(s).
❖ avoid writing very long responses as they are rarely well-structured and often compound errors through
loss of focus or tiredness, as candidates perhaps lose focus and/or become fatigued. Poor handwriting
was also a feature of lengthy responses. Focus on quality rather than quantity
❖ Candidates are advised to avoid slang unless used in direct speech and necessary for the task.
❖ Including (sexual) violence within responses is inappropriate for the task(s).
❖ The use of learned idioms (such as raining cats and dogs and in the pink of health) can sound
oldfashioned and candidates need to be exposed to more modern, as well as accurate, expressions.
❖ Careless handwriting can often make full stops look like commas and suggest a lack of proper sentence
separation.