Writing and Composition
Writing and Composition tests whether you can produce a purposeful text for a named reader in a named format. Expect an essay arguing a position, a report or proposal, a formal letter or email, and a review or article. Assessment normally covers task achievement, organisation, range, accuracy and register.
Structure that scores
- Thesis. One sentence states your position and the line of reasoning; everything else serves it.
- Paragraphing. One controlling idea per paragraph, announced in a topic sentence, supported by evidence or example, then interpreted in a closing comment that links forward.
- Cohesion. Use connectives precisely: moreover adds, consequently shows result, whereas contrasts within a sentence, nevertheless concedes. Do not stack them at the head of every sentence; reference words such as this trend or such measures bind text more naturally.
- Concision. Cut empty frames: due to the fact that → because; in the event that → if; a large number of → many.
- Format conventions. Report: headings, numbered sections, impersonal tone. Formal email: subject line, salutation, purpose in the first line, clear request, sign-off. Review: evaluative adjectives plus an explicit recommendation.
Worked example
Original: Due to the fact that the meeting was postponed on account of the reason that not enough members were able to attend, it was decided by the committee that a new date would be arranged.
Revision: Because too few members could attend, the committee postponed the meeting and set a new date.
Reasoning: the nominalisations and the passive hid the agent, and three phrases expressed one cause. The revision names the agent, keeps a single cause-effect link, and replaces the empty frame with a finite verb.
Traps that cost marks
- Producing a memorised essay that only half answers the actual question.
- Ignoring the audience: contractions and slang in a formal report, or stiff formality in a friendly email.
- Overlong sentences that lose the main verb, and comma splices.
- No paragraph breaks, so the examiner cannot see the argument's shape.
- Padding to reach the word count with repetition instead of a further example or a counter-argument.