Writing / Tohi
Writing in NCEA Level 1 Lea Faka-Tonga tests short, purposeful texts: emails, letters, notices, descriptions and narratives. Marks come from communication, range and accuracy - not length.
Core writing rules
- Plan for purpose and audience: a notice to parents needs a different register from a text to a friend.
- Use a clear frame: greeting, body with the required points, closing.
- Control tense/aspect markers: “‘oku” for present, “na‘a” for past, “‘e” for future; keep the subject pronoun consistent.
- Join ideas with “pea”, “ka”, “he” and “‘i he” rather than short disconnected sentences.
- Check macrons, glottal stops and spelling before you finish.
Worked example
Prompt: Write a short email inviting a friend to your birthday. Model: “Mālō e lelei, Sione. ‘Oku ou fakaafe‘i koe ki hoku ‘aho fanau‘i ‘i he Tokonaki. ‘E fai ‘i hoku fale he taimi 6:00 efiafi. ‘E lava ke ke ha‘u? ‘Ofa atu, Mele.” Reasoning: the greeting and closing frame the email; “fakaafe‘i” states the invitation; “he Tokonaki” and “6:00 efiafi” give day and time; the question invites a reply. “‘E fai” is future, matching the event.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing a list of words instead of a connected text.
- Leaving out the greeting or closing in a formal email.
- Mixing past, present and future markers in one short text.
- Dropping macrons or glottal stops, which counts as accuracy errors.
- Answering only one bullet of the prompt.