Writing - Breakthrough (A1)
What Breakthrough Writing tests
Writing at Breakthrough is short and controlled. Expect to copy or complete words, finish sentences with a given structure, and write a short message - a note, postcard or email of roughly 20–30 words - that covers two or three content points given in the prompt. Marks come from three places: doing the task (all content points present), organising it (greeting, closing, sentences in a sensible order), and accuracy (spelling, capital letters, full stops, basic verb forms).
Core rules
- Count the content points before you write. Each one needs its own sentence; a missing point loses a mark even when the English is perfect.
- Use structures you already control: I am + -ing, I have got, There is/are, can, like + -ing, at + time.
- Open with a greeting (Hi Alex,) and finish with a closing (See you soon, Sam). Both are part of the task.
- Capital letter at the start of every sentence and for names, days and months; full stop at the end.
- If you cannot spell a word, choose a simpler one you can spell. Big spelled correctly earns more than a mangled enormous.
Worked example
Prompt: Write a note to your friend Alex. Say where you are, what you are doing, and when you will come home. Model: "Hi Alex, I am at my grandma's house. I am playing with her dog. I will come home at six o'clock. See you, Sam." Reasoning: three content points, one sentence each - place (at my grandma's house), activity (playing with her dog), time (at six o'clock). Present continuous is formed correctly, the greeting and closing are present, and every sentence has a capital letter and a full stop.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing one long sentence that tries to cover two points and loses clarity.
- Forgetting the greeting or the sign-off.
- Answering a different question from the one in the prompt.
- Copying the prompt word for word instead of answering it.