Speaking and Writing
Speaking and Writing
This domain tests your ability to produce coherent writing and effective oral presentation. CAPE questions ask you to shape a thesis, organise paragraphs, choose a mode and register, revise sentences, and plan delivery for a specific audience.
Purpose, audience, and thesis
Rhetorical context includes purpose (to inform, persuade, or entertain), audience (knowledge, values, expectations), and persona or tone. A thesis must be arguable and specific; a fact or a broad topic is not a thesis. For a speech, audience analysis shapes examples, vocabulary, and appeals.
Paragraph and essay structure
An essay has an introduction, body, and conclusion. Each body paragraph needs a topic sentence, evidence, explanation or analysis, and a link. Cohesion comes from transitions, pronoun reference, and repetition of key terms. Coherence comes from logical order and one main idea per paragraph. In argument, use claim, evidence, warrant, counterargument, and rebuttal.
Modes and language
Narration, description, exposition (compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution), and argumentation each have different organisational demands. Prefer concrete verbs, active voice, and concise phrasing. Formal writing usually avoids slang, contractions, and vague words. In oral delivery, control pace, volume, pauses, eye contact, and gestures; visual aids should supplement, not replace, the speech.
Worked example
Topic: 'Should schools ban smartphones?' Weak thesis: 'Smartphones are bad.' Strong thesis: 'Schools should restrict smartphone use during instructional time because off-task notifications reduce attention and increase cyberbullying incidents.' Reasoning: the strong thesis is arguable, specific, and previews two supporting reasons. A matching topic sentence is: 'One reason is that notifications interrupt focus.' The paragraph would then give evidence, explain how it supports the claim, and link to the next reason. For concision, revise 'Due to the fact that students often check notifications, learning is affected' to 'Because students often check notifications, learning suffers.'
Traps
Do not write a thesis that is too broad or merely factual; do not omit a topic sentence; do not pack several ideas into one paragraph; do not make unsupported claims; do not use informal register in a formal essay; do not read a speech word-for-word; do not overcrowd slides.