Writing
Fix purpose, audience and register first
Before writing, decide three things: who reads this, why, and how formal it must be. Karen register is carried by address terms, pronoun choice, politeness particles and formulaic openings and closings. A message to a friend and a letter to a community leader may share content but should not share a single sentence.
Organise the text
Plan paragraphs before drafting. The opening states your purpose; the middle gives one idea per paragraph, joined by connectives of sequence, reason and contrast; the close uses the expected formula for that text type. A letter without its closing formula, or a notice without a heading, loses marks for structure even when the Karen is accurate.
Range and accuracy
Show variety: simple and complex sentences, time phrases, reasons, contrasts. Keep tense consistent, and check particles, pronouns, spelling and the standard orthography. Accuracy earns marks too, so avoid structures you cannot control.
Traps
- Reproducing memorised chunks that do not answer the task.
- Covering three of the four prompt points.
- Mixing formal and informal address in the same text.
- Undershooting or overshooting the word count.
- Skipping the proofreading pass, so agreement and particle errors survive.
Worked example
Task: write a short letter to a cousin inviting them to a community event (100–150 words). Plan: greeting with kinship term; why you are writing; event details (date, place, time); why they would enjoy it; a request for a reply; closing formula. One idea per sentence. Spend five minutes planning, fifteen writing, five checking. Every prompt point becomes one paragraph - then count words and tick each point off.