Extended Composition: Essays, Reports, Stories, Dialogue Writing
Extended composition asks for longer controlled writing: essays, reports, stories, and dialogues. It tests organization, relevance, vocabulary, sentence variety, and accuracy over roughly 120–200 words.
Core rules
- Essay: the introduction states your position; each body paragraph develops one idea with an example; the conclusion returns to the question. Keep a formal tone.
- Report: use a headline, byline if asked, date and place, past tense, third person, and factual detail answering the five Ws.
- Story: establish setting, character, conflict, climax, and resolution; use past tense; show through action; use dialogue sparingly.
- Dialogue: keep natural turn-taking, punctuate each speaker clearly, start a new line for a new speaker, and keep the exchange purposeful.
Worked example
Prompt: Write a report on a school blood-donation camp. Reasoning: headline 'Blood-Donation Camp Held at ZP High School'; lead 'A blood-donation camp was organised on 5 September.' Use past tense: 'was organised', 'donated', 'collected'. Keep third person and avoid 'I'. Include numbers and agency only if given. Do not end with unsupported praise such as 'It was a great success' unless the prompt supplies evidence.
Traps that cost marks
- Shifting a story from past to present tense.
- Using first person or opinion in a report.
- Drifting off the essay topic.
- Writing dialogue without clear speaker changes.
- Spending too long on the introduction and leaving the task incomplete.