General guidelines for Directed Writing Always read the question carefully and highlight what you are

required to do. Use the 45 minutes wisely: 10 minutes to plan your essay and organise your thoughts (this includes what to write, how to elaborate points, etc). 30 minutes to write. Five minutes to edit. Remember to use all the content points. It is advisable to cross out the points you have used so that no point is left out. Good students have been known to make this mistake. Include your own points only if you are asked to do so. Otherwise, do not waste time doing this because you will not get extra marks. Do provide relevant details or elaborate the points given even if you are not asked to do so. Remember: a crucial aspect of this paper is language and your ability to write can only be tested if you provide sufficient language for the examiner to gauge your linguistic ability. Therefore, do write one or two sentences for each point. Vary your sentence structures so that your essay is not dull and monotonous. More about this later in the section on Continuous Writing. Do include an introduction and a conclusion, and make sure your paragraphs are well organised. Do read through your written piece and rectify grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Pitfalls to avoid Do not spend more than 45 minutes on this question. Remember the content points have been provided. All you have to do is use these points and elaborate on them. Some linguistically competent students make the mistake of spending too much time on this question and end up having less time for Continuous Writing, which carries more marks. Do not write more than two pages. Save time and energy for Continuous Writing. Do not use slang words, contractions and informal language. Do not write one paragraph for each point. If you do, your essay is going to be lengthy. We will now discuss one of the above text types, i.e., writing a speech/talk. Talks/Speeches Let us look at a sample question. You are the president of your schools Nature Club. You have been asked to give a speech to the students in your school to inform them about the Nature Club and to persuade them to join it. Write out your speech using the following points: Membership Open to all students from Forms One to Five. An approved co-curricular activity. Aims To promote interest and knowledge about wildlife, forests and the environment among students. To encourage students to protect the fauna and flora. To provide opportunities for students to acquire values and skills needed to protect and improve the natural environment. Activities Trekking Rock climbing Photography Tree-planting Facilities provided Tents, sleeping bags and other equipment required for trekking purposes. Digital cameras. Write out the speech you would give. Remember to: Address the audience. Introduce the topic of your speech. Use all the notes given. End the talk appropriately. Before you start writing, ask yourself these questions:

What am I required to do? What is my role? Who is my audience? How many points have been provided? Do I need to include other points? Well, you have been asked to write a speech as the president of the schools Nature Club and the other students in school are your audience. A total of 11 points have been provided (in bullet form in the sample question given) and the 12th point is embedded in the stimulus, i.e., you have to persuade the other students to join the Nature Club. The marks for format are given for addressing your audience, introducing the topic of your talk and ending appropriately. You are reminded to do all three in the stimulus.

General guidelines to remember when writing a speech

Remember to: Greet your audience. State the purpose of your speech/talk. Use the points given in a systematic manner use transition markers to enable your audience to follow the flow of your thoughts. Elaborate your points with examples or illustrations. Conclude your speech by thanking your audience. Maintain a formal, yet pleasant, tone.