Directed Writing Guide

Tips on directed writing

THE QUESTION on Directed Writing, for which 30 marks is awarded, is a gift to candidates who are not too keen to come up with their own content points. It is also welcomed by students who are less creative or imaginative.

Having said that, it is important to note that each question tests different skills. If you study the questions on Directed Writing, you will notice that the task involves a lot of reading before you can even begin writing your answer. Your reading begins the stimulus which:

• directs you to what text to produce eg a speech;
• tells you what to include for content eg use all the notes above;
• suggests guidelines for format e.g. address the audience, introduce the topic of the talk, end the talk appropriately; and
• provides the content for the answer eg reasons for road accidents: speed, reckless driving, racing, poor maintenance of vehicles, road conditions

Therefore, it is clear that candidates will first have to read and understand the task requirements before they can organise and write their answer.

Hence, reading is as important as writing for this question. So, give attention to both skills.

Read the Instructions

The cardinal rule, as in any exam question, is to read the instructions carefully. By this, I mean the rubrics that contain the task description.

It is important that you do this because although the exam format may not have been changed, this does not necessarily mean that the task requirements remain the same.

And even though there are guidelines to the new format, guidelines remain just guidelines. Specifications to the task may vary from year to year.

Read the instructions below regarding content. Do you see a difference in what is required of you?

2001 Include all the points given. Add two new points of your own.

2002 Use all the notes above.

You may notice that the instruction regarding content need not be consistent over the years. In 2001, you were asked to add two new points of your own; in 2002, you only had to use the points given. Make a note of this when you read the instructions. You will also note that how much content is given is also not consistent. In 2001, 10 points were given in the stimulus and you were asked to add two more. That makes it a total of 12 points.

In 2002, a total of 12 points were provided in the stimulus and candidates did not have to supply any new points. So, this adds up to a total of 12 points for content. That brings us to the question of how many marks is actually allocated for content.

Marks! Marks! Marks!

Any demand placed on candidates should, logically, be rewarded. Since the instruction explicitly reminds candidates about format and content, then suffice it to say that these demands will be duly rewarded.

Given a minimum of one mark per content point and the fact that content has invariably remained at 12 points, it can be argued that you can score 12 marks for content and three for format.

Can you see how you can optimise your reading skills by scoring the full 15 marks for this? That leaves you 20 marks for writing skills.

Getting it right

Follow the 5Ws to maximise your chances of scoring.

Here is a simple task to take you through what is required of Directed Writing.

Read the question given below and make a note of the 5Ws in the corresponding space provided in Table 1 below.

Question:

There have been an increasing number of complaints about the decline in the standard of English among students. As a committee member of the English Society, you would like to give suggestions on how students can improve their English. Write an article for the school English Language Society’s newsletter:

In your article, include the following:

• Read materials written in English Language
• Participate in English speaking activities
• Ask teachers and friends for help
• Television and radio

When writing your article, you should remember:

• to give a title
• to include all the points given
• provide two relevant details/examples for each of the four points
• write in paragraphs.

What text are you asked to produce in writing? What is your role in this question? Who will read the text you produce? What do you write about? Why are you writing this text?

The 5Ws help you to score the maximum 15 marks set aside for the content. It also helps you to have control over your language so that you use the appropriate tone required to communicate information to your schoolmates. The article is going to be published in a school newsletter; so the language is formal but because you want to reach your audience of secondary school students, you do not want to be too serious. Since your readers will be fellow students, you can personalise the article to some extent but you cannot use colloquial language or slang.

The 5 Parts 5W’s Checklist Form

Situation/Purpose		Task/Text
 to inform -  to persuade –  to instruct -  to seek permission –  to request –  to make suggestions –
Stimulus	Format	Tenses/ Time
	Yes i. ii. iii. No

1. What text are you asked to produce in writing?
2. What is your role in this question?
3. Who will read the text you produce?
4. What do you write about?
5. Why are you writing this text?