Writing / Composition
What this domain tests
Writing / Composition checks whether you can communicate a clear message in English under clear conditions. Guided tasks may ask for a short email, note, or description with specified content. Free writing may ask for an opinion or a short account. Marks depend on task response, organization, sentence accuracy, and range of vocabulary. A simple, correct message beats an ambitious message full of errors.
Core rules
- Underline the required points: who you are writing to, why, and what information must appear.
- Plan two or three short paragraphs: greeting and purpose, details, closing.
- Use linkers that fit: first, also, however, because, so, after that.
- Match the register. Use Would you like to ... for a polite invitation and See you soon for a friendly close.
- Leave time to check subject-verb agreement, plurals, and tense consistency.
Worked example
Prompt: Write a short email to your friend Emma. Invite her to your school festival. Include the date and one activity. Model: Hi Emma, Our school festival is on Saturday, October 12. Would you like to come with me? We can watch the brass band concert and eat takoyaki. See you, Ken. Reasoning: The message names the date, invites Emma with a polite question, gives one clear activity, and closes naturally. Each sentence has a clear job. The model does not copy the prompt word for word, which shows control rather than repetition.
Traps that cost marks
- Omitting one required piece of information.
- Copying the prompt instead of composing a message.
- Changing tense in the middle of a narrative.
- Using polite forms with a close friend or casual forms with a teacher.
- Writing far beyond the word limit and losing accuracy.