Composition and extended writing
What the domain tests
Composition tasks ask for narrative, descriptive, argumentative or discursive writing in Otjiherero. The exam tests your ability to plan, organise paragraphs, sustain a viewpoint, use appropriate register and control sentence variety.
Core rules
- Plan before writing: purpose, audience, stance and three to five main points.
- Use one main idea per paragraph and open with a clear topic sentence.
- Link paragraphs with contrast, cause, sequence and conclusion markers.
- For argument, state a thesis, support it with reasons and evidence, and answer a likely objection.
- For narrative, establish setting, complication and resolution; use direct speech only where it advances the story.
- For description, select detail that creates a dominant impression rather than listing everything.
Worked example
Task: argue that school libraries should stay open late. Weak opening: “Libraries are good.” Stronger opening: “Okuhandja embo romukanda siga kongurova kwa tjita okulesa okuvandja omuano kovandu avehe, orondu ovengi kave na oruveze rwokulesa omuhuka.” Reasoning: The stronger opening makes a claim, gives a reason and names the group affected. The next paragraph should give evidence, such as learners who travel far or adults who work. A later paragraph should concede a cost and explain why the benefit is greater.
Traps that cost marks
- A thesis that is only a topic, not a position.
- Paragraphs that repeat the same point in different words.
- Mixing formal argument with slang or chatty asides.
- Unmarked shifts in tense or narrator.
- Direct speech without correct punctuation.
- A conclusion that introduces a new argument.