Types of Directed Writing

There are various types of text that will be tested in the first question. Types of text that would be tested
are:
1. Speech/Talk
2. Report
3. Informal letter
4. Formal letter
5. Article
General Guidelines to Directed Writing
1. Read the question carefully.
2. Identify what you are required to do. Also, be clear about your role and your
audience who is going to listen or read your piece of writing.
3. Use the 45 minutes allocated for this question wisely.
4. You need to plan your essay and organise your thoughts. This means thinking
about what to write, how to elaborate on the points given and producing
a neat piece of writing.
5. Remember, not to spend more than the allocated time for this question.Some
candidates make the mistake of spending more than 45 minutes on this
question and they end up having little time for the second essay.Bear in mind, no
matter how much you write, you can only score a maximum of 15
marks for content, so there is no point in devoting more than 45 minutes.
6. Include an introduction and a conclusion and make sure your paragraphs are wellorganised.
7. Use all content points given. It is advisable to cross out the points you have used,
so that no point is left out.
8. Use the points in the order in which they are given.This is to avoid leaving out a
point. Sometimes linguistically proficient candidates, rearrange the
given points in a manner which suits their organisation of thoughts. There is no
harm in doing this except that you may inadvertently leave out a point
or two.
9. Avoid paraphrasing the points given. This may result in distortion of meaning.
10.Convey one point at a time.
11.Include points of your own only if you are asked to. Otherwise, do not waste
precious time doing so because you will not get any extra marks.
12.You should elaborate on the points given.
13.Write two to three sentences to elaborate on each point. I usually advise my weak
students to write at least one sentence for elaboration purposes. This is because
language is a crucial aspect of this paper and your ability to write can only be
tested if you provide sufficient language for the

examiner to gauge your linguistic ability.

14. Your elaborations can be in the form of examples, facts and figures or any extra
information.
15. Use a variety of sentence structures so that your essay is not dull and
monotonous.
16. Pay attention to the usage of effective vocabulary. Use appropriate words and
expressions to convey meaning.
17. You may include suitable idiomatic expressions or quotations to enhance your
writing.
18. Always read through what you have written.
19. Correct grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Remember, in any language
paper, grammatical correctness is crucial. Carelessness with the
use of tenses, subject-verb agreement, pronouns etc. can result in unnecessary
loss of marks.
20. Always submit a neatly written piece of work.Some candidates hand in messy work
with lots of cancellations or work that is heavily marked with
correction fluid (liquid paper). This makes it very difficult for the examiner to make
sense of what you have written.