Continuous Writing: Essay, Letter, Article, Report, Speech
Read the task as a contract
Before writing, identify four things: topic, purpose, audience and format. The format decides your layout and register. Spend three to five minutes planning three or four main points, one per paragraph; a plan is what keeps a long piece coherent under time pressure.
Format rules that examiners check
- Letter: 'Dear Sir/Madam' pairs with 'Yours faithfully'; 'Dear Mr Shikongo' pairs with 'Yours sincerely'. No slang, no contractions in formal letters.
- Article: headline, and often a byline and subheadings; a lively but controlled tone; direct address to readers is acceptable.
- Report: To / From / Date / Subject headings, then numbered or labelled sections; impersonal tone, passive where useful, no 'I think'.
- Speech: greet the audience, use direct address and rhetorical questions, signpost points ('First... Finally...'), and close with a call to action.
- Essay: a clear position in the introduction, one idea per paragraph, a concession, and a conclusion that answers the question.
Worked example
Prompt: 'Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper arguing that your town needs a public library.'
Reasoning: the audience is the reading public and the editor, so the register is formal and the purpose is persuasive. A workable opening:
'Dear Editor, Few would disagree that our town has outgrown its single reading room. I write to argue that a public library is no longer a luxury but a necessity, for three reasons: access to information, safe study space, and jobs in the local economy.'
This names the topic, states the position, previews the three body paragraphs and keeps a formal tone. 'Hi Editor' or 'I'm gonna explain' would lose register marks before the argument is even read.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing a story when the task asks for a report or article.
- Ignoring bullet prompts in the question, which are content requirements.
- One long block of text with no paragraphing.
- A memorised essay forced onto an unrelated topic.