Plan each task for five minutes, then write. Next, read the model approach and compare your choices with it. Then check your own draft against the questions in the model.
These tasks practise the lessons in extended writing. Check the draft with the English writing task checklist, or set a timer with the timed original practice session builder.
Tasks
Task 1 (article). Write an article for your school magazine persuading Form 1 students to join a club.
Model approach
Reader: Form 1 students. Main point: clubs make school more enjoyable. Supports: new friends, new skills, less stress.
Open with a scene a new student recognises, such as standing alone at recess. Close with one small action, such as visiting a club booth this week.
Task 2 (article). Write the opening paragraph of the same article for parents instead.
Model approach
Change the hook and the examples, not the main point. Mention time management, safety and responsibility, which parents care about. Keep the tone respectful.
Task 3 (review). Review a place or item you know well, such as a canteen stall or a bookshop.
Model approach
Choose three features. For each, name a detail and judge it, such as “the queue moves quickly because two people serve”. Include one fair criticism, and avoid adjectives with no detail behind them.
Task 4 (report). Ask ten classmates how they travel to school, then write a report.
Model approach
State the purpose, then group the results with totals, such as “six of the ten students come by bus”. Add one recommendation based on the largest group. Check that your groups add up to ten.
Task 5 (story). Write a story that begins: “The lights in the hall went out.”
Model approach
Summarise the ordinary part quickly. Slow down at the turning point, using short sentences and sensory detail. End with a small change in the character, not a long explanation.
Task 6 (genre choice). A school trip could be written up as an article, a review, a report or a story. Choose one genre and explain your choice in three sentences.
Model approach
Name the reader, say what detail you can supply, and say why the other genres are weaker for you. For example, “I chose a review because I remember specific details, and I have no figures for a report.”
What if your draft did not work?
If your draft had no clear direction, read structuring an article for its audience. If it lacked specific detail, read writing a review with specific evaluation.
For figures, see writing a report with clear findings. For pacing, see developing a story with controlled pacing.
For a teacher to read your drafts with you, see online one-to-one English tuition.