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iLowerSecondary English · Writing skills
Section B: Writing is worth 30 marks and is a single piece of extended writing. Students complete a single writing task that requires extended writing and is related to the theme in Section A. You are advised to spend about 35 minutes on it. The task is marked against two assessment objectives: WAO1 and WAO2.
One response, two grids. The examiner places your writing in a band on each grid independently and adds the two marks together.
Worth up to 18 marks. Rewards communicating appropriately for form, audience and purpose, and sequencing and structuring your writing coherently.
Worth up to 12 marks. Rewards accurate grammar, well-demarcated and varied sentences, and confident punctuation and spelling.
Examiner advice in the official structure: Plan briefly. Match form, audience and purpose. Organise with controlled paragraphs and linked sections. Vary sentences and openings; use accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling. Marked on WAO1 (18) + WAO2 (12).
With only 35 minutes, a quick, disciplined routine protects the easy marks.
Underline the form, the audience and the purpose. Note who you are writing to and why. The task is always linked to the theme of the Section A reading, so let that theme steer your ideas.
Jot a tiny plan: form, audience, purpose, then three or four sections in order. Bank one or two "best bits" you will definitely include - a strong image, a deliberate short sentence, a piece of accurate punctuation.
Open in a way that signals the form immediately. Move through your planned sections, linking paragraphs with cohesive markers. Vary sentence length and openings on purpose, and keep the audience in view in every paragraph.
Spend the last two to three minutes reading back slowly. Hunt for the errors you know you make: sentence demarcation, apostrophes, agreement and the spelling of any ambitious words.
Forms you may be asked to write in: autobiographical, biographical, descriptive, diary, letter, narrative, newsletter, recount.
Purposes you may be set: argue, describe, entertain, explain, express an opinion, inform, persuade.
Everything below is an original task and model answer written by The English Hub for teaching purposes. It is not taken from any past paper.
Section B-style task (invented example)
The texts in Section A were all about travel and discovery. Write a letter to a friend describing a memorable journey you have made. In your letter you should recount what happened and describe how the journey made you feel.
Form: letter · Audience: a friend of your own age · Purpose: recount and describe.
Dear Mia,
You will never guess where I am writing this from - a tiny mountain hut with the rain hammering on the roof like impatient fingers. I promised I would tell you about the journey, so here it is, every soggy, unforgettable minute of it.
We set off at dawn, and I was, honestly, terrified. The minibus rattled along a road so narrow that the wheels seemed to hang over the edge of nothing. My stomach lurched at every bend. Around me, everyone else chatted happily, but I just stared out at the valley dropping away beneath us and counted my breaths, the way you taught me before exams.
Then the real journey began: three hours of climbing on foot. The path twisted upwards through pine trees that smelled sharp and clean, and at first it was wonderful. But the weather turned. Clouds rolled in like grey smoke, the temperature plunged, and suddenly the rain arrived - not gentle, but furious. We pulled our hoods up and pushed on, boots squelching, fingers numb. Nobody spoke. I have never felt so small or so determined at the same time.
When we finally reached the hut, the relief was enormous. We crowded inside, dripping and laughing, and someone produced a flask of hot chocolate that tasted, in that moment, like the best thing I had ever drunk. I sat by the window and watched the storm fling itself against the glass, and I felt strangely proud. I had been scared at the start; I had carried on anyway.
I think that is what the journey really taught me, Mia. The hardest part was not the climb - it was deciding, at dawn, to get on that minibus at all. I keep thinking about that. Anyway, write back soon and tell me everything. I miss you, and I cannot wait to do this with you next time.
With love from your slightly braver friend, Aisha
Each strength below is tagged to the grid it earns credit on.
A greeting ("Dear Mia,") and a personalised sign-off frame the response so the letter form is unmistakable, and the direct address to a named friend is sustained from first line to last.
The chatty tone ("You will never guess…"), the shared in-joke ("the way you taught me before exams") and the warm closing all show the writing is shaped precisely for one close friend, not a generic reader.
Three clear stages - setting off, the climb and the storm, arriving and reflecting - each in its own paragraph, linked by time markers ("at dawn", "Then", "When we finally"), giving complete control of sequencing.
The simile "rain hammering on the roof like impatient fingers" and "Clouds rolled in like grey smoke" make the recount vivid and descriptive, exactly matching the chosen purpose.
Long, layered sentences for the climb contrast with the blunt "Nobody spoke." at the tense moment - sentence variety used deliberately for effect throughout.
A dash for the surprise reveal, a semicolon balancing two linked clauses ("I had been scared at the start; I had carried on anyway."), and accurate commas and apostrophes throughout.
More ambitious choices - "terrified", "furious", "determined", "enormous" - are spelled correctly and used confidently rather than for show.
WAO1 (S4, 15-18): Sophisticated awareness of audience. Form adapted and controlled for purpose. Organised with complete control of paragraphs or sections with coherence throughout. Stylistic features used confidently fully supporting purpose.
WAO2 (S4, 10-12): Sentences are grammatically assured and used effectively throughout. Sentences are demarcated correctly and with sophisticated use of punctuation. Spelling is accurate with ambitious choices used appropriately and confidently.
The letter sustains its form and a precisely judged audience, controls its paragraphs completely, and uses imagery, sentence variety and sophisticated punctuation to support its purpose, so it sits at the top of both grids.
None of these is about clever ideas — they are all avoidable with a plan and a proofread.