Writing and Presenting - Productive Samoan
What this domain tests
This domain asks you to write a variety of text types for different purposes and audiences - a tusi (letter), lauga, report, blog, review or narrative - with accurate grammar, spelling, macrons, glottal stops and appropriate register.
Plan for the text type
Decide the audience and purpose before writing. A formal tusi to a fono opens with Talofa or Mālō e lelei, states the issue, gives reasons, acknowledges the other side, and closes with Fa'afetai ma le fa'aaloalo. A lauga opens with fa'alupega, acknowledges the hosts, develops the argument, and closes with thanks. A report uses headings, findings and recommendations. A narrative uses orientation, complication and resolution. Paragraphs need topic sentences and cohesive devices: Muamua, E lona lua, Ae peitai, O le mea lea.
Accuracy that earns marks
Keep VSO order: E alu le tamaititi i le fale. Use the correct tense particle: sa for past, ua for perfect, o le a for future, e for habitual. Check a- and o-possessives: lana tusi (his/her book, acquired) versus lona tinā (his/her mother, inalienable). Mark indefinite plurals with ni (ni tusi). Write macrons and glottal stops consistently; tama and tamā are different words.
Worked example
Task: a formal letter to a village council supporting a ban on a hotel at the malae. Model sentence: Ou te lagolagoina le fa'ai'uga a le fono e fa'asa le fausiaina o le faletalimalo i le malae. Reasoning: Ou te lagolagoina = I support; le fa'ai'uga a le fono = the council's decision; e fa'asa = to forbid; le fausiaina o le faletalimalo = the building of the hotel. The sentence uses formal vocabulary and the a-possessive for fa'ai'uga a le fono. Add a reason and a respectful close.
Traps that cost marks
- Missing macrons or glottal stops, which changes meaning.
- Literal English word order and idiom.
- Informal abbreviations in a formal text.
- Unsupported opinions with no evidence.
- Ignoring the audience or the text-type conventions.