Writing
What the section tests
Writing tasks ask you to produce a short text - often an email, letter, opinion paragraph, or description - that is relevant, organized, and accurate. Examiners reward task achievement, coherence, range, and control of grammar and spelling.
Concepts to master
- Task achievement: answer every bullet or prompt point; missing one costs marks.
- Structure: opening, body paragraphs (one idea each), closing. Use linkers: firstly, however, in addition, as a result, finally.
- Register: formal emails avoid contractions and slang; informal notes can be relaxed. Match greeting and sign-off (Dear Sir/Madam → Yours faithfully; Dear Anna → Best wishes).
- Range: vary sentence length and structures (relative clauses, conditionals, passives) without losing accuracy.
- Accuracy: subject–verb agreement, articles, tense consistency, spelling.
- Word count: stay within the stated range; too short loses content marks, too long wastes time.
Traps to expect
- Writing everything you know about the topic instead of what was asked.
- Copying the prompt wording as your whole answer.
- One long unpunctuated paragraph.
- Register slips: contractions in a formal letter, slang in a complaint.
Worked rule of thumb
Spend the first two minutes planning: list the required points, then one example for each. Draft with a clear topic sentence per paragraph. Leave two minutes to check agreement, articles, and spelling. Example opening for an opinion task: "I believe school uniforms are useful for two main reasons." - it states position and signals structure.
Practice habit
Write to a timer, then self-correct with a checklist: all points covered? linkers present? tense consistent?