Free video lessons for Directed Writing
Directed Writing
Are you gearing up for the IGCSE First Language English Paper 2 and feeling a bit daunted by the Directed Writing section? Fear not! In this blog post, I’ll break down the key elements of Directed Writing, focusing on reading and writing skills – the secret ingredients to securing those top marks.
Video Lesson for Directed Writing
About IGCSE First Language English Paper 2
On IGCSE First Language English, you will have two hours to answer two questions:
- Section A: Directed Writing (40 marks)
- Section B: Composition (40 marks)
For Directed Writing, you’ll have to read two short texts that are debating a particular topic, then respond to that topic yourself in a piece of discursive, persuasive or argumentative writing.
Directed Writing is worth 40 out of 80 marks on your Paper 2. You should spend around one hour answering this question.
You will always be asked to write either a speech, letter or magazine article for Directed Writing.
Example topics for Directed Writing
Past paper topics for Directed Writing include:
- Arguing the benefits of listening to podcasts at work
- Whether an individual can make real environmental change
- Whether we should give gifts
- Whether we should make New Year’s Resolutions
- Whether online friendships are real
- If young people can travel responsibly
How you are graded for Directed Writing
Reading marks
To get the highest marks for reading in Directed Writing for IGCSE First Language English, you need to do the following things:
- Include a range of explicit details from both Text A and Text B – show the examiner that you really understood the arguments the two texts made by directly addressing the ideas in the texts. However, be careful to use your own words when referencing these texts!
- Evaluate the implicit attitudes within the texts. Evaluation means challenging, probing, poking and being critical of the ideas in the texts. Don’t just agree and summarise – give your opinion on the topic and consider ways in which the arguments in the given texts might have flaws.
- No need to be balanced. Cambridge often have a particular viewpoint where you can pick up all or most of the marks. Read the question carefully to assess what perspective Cambridge are pushing you to have.
For example, in the question below, what point of view would Cambridge prefer to steer you towards?
In the above question, the debate at hand is whether or not to apologise in the workplace. From the phrases “how to apologise so that their boss is satisfied” and “how to deal with the situation”, we can see that Cambridge likely are pushing you to the opinion that you should apologise at work. Therefore, when reading the texts, you should keep in mind what the benefits of apologising might be.
Writing marks
When you see your question for Directed Writing, the first thing you should do is unpick the VARPF:
- Voice – who are you writing as? Whose voice are you assuming?
- Audience – who are you writing to?
- Register – how formal or informal should your language be?
- Purpose – why are you writing? To discuss, persuade, argue, inform, entertain, describe, narrate, analyse?
- Format – what type of text have you been asked to write? A letter, magazine or a speech?
For example:
Use the VARPF to help you identify what type of language is most appropriate in your response.
Generally, Directed Writing has a register of semi-formal and lively or formal and lively.
No matter what your task is, you should always:
- Write using correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
- Remember to use correct paragraphs, creating a new paragraph whenever you change topic
- Avoid using slang or very informal language
- Use vocabulary precisely
- Vary your sentence lengths, openings and constructions
Rhetorical devices
For more argumentative or persuasive pieces of writing, consider using some rhetorical devices to make your writing livelier:
| Hyperbole | Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally. | “The impact of our collective efforts will be nothing short of revolutionary in the battle for a greener world.” |
| Analogy | A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification. | “Just as a garden needs care and attention, our environment requires nurturing from each school in our community.” |
| Repetition | Repeating a word or phrase to make a point more clear and memorable. | “Recycle, reuse, and reduce – three simple steps that can reshape the environmental footprint of our schools.” |
| Anaphora | Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. | “Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can create a sustainable future.” |
| Rhetorical Question | A question asked for effect, not requiring an answer. | “Can we afford to ignore the environmental challenges our schools face?” |
A* exemplar for Directed Writing
Past paper
The exemplar below is a response to a past exam paper. If you’d take to look at the texts, question paper or mark scheme, click the external links below.
If the links are broken, you can also try searching for “IGCSE First Language English Paper 2 May/June 2021 0500/21”.
Small change – big difference?
It has never been more critical to tackle the climate change issue, and yet some would argue that individual action is meaningless. Some critics would scoff at our Knightsbridge High water bottles, roll their eyes at our school allotment, and dismiss our move to electric school buses with a wave of their hand. Yet I know that students, parents, and teachers passionately feel that our small changes can make a big difference to our planet.
Though there is an issue with the commercialisation of green issues, that doesn’t mean we should give up entirely. If large corporations want to cash in on recycling and protecting endangered animals to improve their brand image, it still promotes awareness of these issues. True, the problem comes when individuals buy from a so-called green company and then think they’ve done enough and don’t need to act any more, but our community isn’t built of “lazy environmentalists”. What’s lazier than doing nothing at all? Most young people do care and want to get involved; if 76% of people buy products for the environment, doesn’t that show eagerness to get involved? Isn’t it better to harness the will of people who want to help but don’t yet know how to do it efficiently rather than mock them for being part of the capitalist machine?
Schools are the perfect place to begin cultivating the global citizens of tomorrow. Nowhere can collective action be made more evident than in a school, as we see that each of us individuals form classes, and our classes form year groups, and year groups form a high school with over 1,000 passionate students. Knightsbridge could start a campaign to raise awareness of climate issues, such as the impact of meat on the environment and the dangers of reliance on fossil fuels. After all, we’ve introduced Meat Free Mondays! Imagine not just our 1,000 current students becoming ambassadors of these issues but the network of people we will interact with throughout our lives, from future friends we’ve not yet met to workmates at the successful careers we’re all surely destined for.
Through our Global Citizenship lessons, we have all learned that truly impactful change comes from a governmental level. Just think of banning CFC chemicals, which were destroying our Ozone, or reducing acid rain through cutting emissions. Yet we must realise that governments and corporations are also formed from people – and it could be us as leaders of the future! Not only that, but we also have the power to influence these entities by lobbying the government or choosing which party we vote for at elections. We shouldn’t act helpless as though these institutions are entirely out of our influence.
Ultimately, tackling this impending climate disaster will take hard work, but it’s not a luxury to decide whether to get involved or not: it is our duty, our moral imperative, to save our planet. If not us, then who? As the younger generation, no one has more to lose than us. Now is not the time to give up hope. Now is the time to understand that saving this planet will require individual and collective effort – it’s not either/or.
Let’s encourage our prefects, teachers, school leaders and parents to invest not just in their children’s educations but into the very planet that sustains our ability to breathe clean air, admire cerulean skies, and accomplish our dreams beyond the present day… together.
Assessing the A* exemplar for Directed Writing
Reading
Your examiner will assess you for reading by identifying the following features:
- ✓ Tick any explicit details from the source texts
- EVAL for any effective evaluation of implicit ideas
- DEV for giving opinions on the topic but not evaluation
15/15 marks
Candidate challenges ideas in both texts, interweaving ideas throughout their writing. Shows a sophisticated understanding of the debate at the heart of the text about the tensions between individuals and larger institutions in tackling climate change.
Examiner mark for Directed Writing – Reading
Writing
Your examiner will assess you for writing by identifying the following features:
- ____ Underline any SPAG errors or expression issues
- V for impressive vocab
- R for effective register that sounds like a student magazine
25/25 marks
Candidate writes with consistent accuracy and ambition in both vocabulary choices and sentence structures. A sophisticated style with flair, capable of expressing abstract ideas. Paragraphs are structured by argument and build to a conclusion. Register is effective for a school magazine article.
Examiner mark for Directed Writing – Writing
Study Directed Writing with Taughtly
Free video lessons, PowerPoints and quizzes available to help you on Taughtly.co.uk:
- Paper 2 Tips & Tricks – includes 40 minutes of teaching Directed Writing with an example for the topic of over-tourism
- Directed Writing – video lesson, exemplar and quiz for Directed Writing on the topic of green shopping
- How to write the six text types for IGCSE First Language English: revise speech, letter and magazine article writing, which could all come up on Directed Writing.
