TOTAL MARKS FOR DIRECTED WRITING (PAPER 1, QUESTION NO.

1)
Aspects
Format
Content
Language
TOTAL

Marks
3
12
20
35

Past Years Question

Year
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015

Format
An article for school newspaper

Task
To inform students about the nature club
and persuade them to join.
A format letter to the Manager of a To request a visit for your school consumer
factory
club.
A report to the principal
To inform the principal about the poor
condition and services or the library.
An information letter to your mother
To ask for some money to buy a birthday gift
for your brother.
An article for your school magazine
How cope with stress
A talk to other students
Road Safety
A formal letter to your teacher
To state the choice made by your class on a
trip after the end-of-year examination and
give reasons for the choice.
A report for the principal
To write on matters in your school which
could be improved.
A letter to a friend (informal letter)
To describe your experiences at a three-day
outdoor camp.
A letter to a friend (informal letter)
To give reasons why he/she would make a
good Head Prefect
A talk to students
To give a talk on a reference book that is
useful for secondary students
An article for a school magazine
To write an article about your friend.
A report to the principal
To give reasons for the lack of interest in
sports and provide suggestions to overcome
the problems.
A letter to your cousin
To tell him/her about the benefits of the
National Service Programme and to
encourage him/her to go.
A speech to Red Crescent Society To inform them on how to manage a
members
sprained ankle.
A letter to younger sister
To advise her on how to spend her money
wisely.
A formal letter of complaint to Town To complaint about Indah Recreational Park
Council
condition
An article for school magazine
To write on how to ensure safety in
neighbourhood
A report ?? A speech?? A letter??

Use different
structures so
that your essay
is not dull and
monotonous
Use simple,
compound,
complex
sentences
Use different
sentences
beginning
Use transition
markers to
begin each
paragraph

Sentence Structure

Vocabulary

Directed writing
guidelines

Use word and

expressions that
are appropriate
Use informal
language for
informal letter,
And formal
language for
formal letters,
reports, speeches,
and articles
Do not use
colloquial

Grammar,
punctuation and

Presentation

spelling

Organise your answers

well
Study which points can
be combined as it is
not necessary to write
one point in each
paragraph
Have an appropriate
Introduction and
conclusion
Provide a suitable title
if required to do so
Link your paragraph

Format for Informal Letter

Pay attention to
your grammar
Take some time
to check your
essay
Check your essay
for correct
punctuation and

Asking about the persons health

How are you? I hope that youre in the pink.
1.The
address of the writer is at the top right-hand corner of the page
Hows your family getting on?
2.The
justIbelow
address
Imdate
fineisand
hope the
youre
fine too.
3.The
salutation
or greeting
left-hand side of the page, one line below the
I hope
that youre
as fitisasona the
fiddle.
date
Examples
salutations
are:been
Dearup
mother/father,
Dear Sharon, Dearest cousin,

Asking
whatofthe
reader had
to?
etc.
4.The
opening
remarks are
written
in theNot
first
paragraph
as the Introduction.
Hows
the weather
at your
place?
too
hot I hope.
5. The content is the body of the letter. Write out the points given in complete
Did you get to visit your grandparents?
and elaborate on them.
sentences
Did you go
on your trip to Paris as you had hoped? They say Paris is a
6. Present your points in an organized manner.
beautiful city.
7. The closing is written on the right-hand side below the body of the letter.
Examples include Yours sincerely, Yours affectionately, Yours lovingly, Your

Expressing happiness: For example:

friend, etc.
I received your letter on
8. The signature is just below the Closing
Im happy to receive your letter
Thank you for your letter which I received..
Im so glad to hear..
Im glad to
that. Remarks
Some Examples
oflearn
Opening

Expressing sorrow:
Im sorry to hear that..

Expressing apology:
Id like to say sorry for
Im sorry for not writing.

Some Examples of Closing Remarks

Ill write again soon.
Do write to me soon.
Well, thats about all for now.
Please give/send my regards to
Please convey my warm regards to.
Let me pen off here.
Hope to receive a reply from you.
Bye / Goodbye.

Format for Formal Letter

No. 18,
Taman Permai,
98765 Seremban,
Negeri Sembilan.
___________________________________________________________________
Manager,
Good Taste Restaurant,
87654 Seremban,
Negeri Sembilan.

12 MARCH 2012

Dear Sir/Madam,
Dissatisfaction Regarding Service
Referring to the above matter, I would like to lodge a complaint regarding the service
provided at your restaurant.
2.

...

4.
I hope that you will be able to look into this matter and take the necessary
steps to prevent it from occurring again.

Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
_______________
(FAUZI MAHMUD)
1. Writers Address
2. Horizontal Line
3. Recipients Address
4. The date
5. Salutation
6. Subject Heading
7. The body of the
letter

8. Complimentary
Close
9. Signature and name

Format for Report

To: The Principal of Sekolah Menengah Sains Bertam

The Poor Conditions and Services By The Library

Reported by,

(AHMAD BIN MOHD. ALI)

Student from Form 5A,
SM Sains Bertam, Pulau Pinang
1: The first part is as follows:
To: __________________ (the principals name)
Subject: ______________ (the main topic of your report)
Date : ______________ (the date you send put the report)
2 Lastly, don't forget to sign your report on the left-hand side. You may include your post if
you have one.

Format for Speech

Greet the audience

Paragraph 1

Introduce the topic

(Introduction)

Introduce yourself to your audience.

Include details such as your name,
position held, club/department
attached to

State the purpose

of your talk

Include all the content

points and elaborate on
them

Body of speech
Conclude your
speech

Conclusion

Example of opening address

Introduce the topic

Make your speech interesting

Good morning to the headmaster,

teachers and friend. Thank you for
giving me this opportunity to give a
speech
Good morning I feel
honoured to be able to give a tak. I
am a health Inspector from the
Selayang Hospital and my name
is.. .
Good morning boys and girls. Before
I begin my speech, let me take this
opportunity to thank the school for
inviting me to give a talk.
My talk is entitled, How to prevent
snatch thefts.
Today, I am going to talk on the
topic, How to prevent snatch thefts.
Without wasting any more time, let
me introduce the topic of my talk
which is How to prevent snatch
thefts.
Involve the reader
Ladies and gentlemen, I am sure all
of you aware that.. .
I am sure you all know that there
are. .
Ask questions
Are you all aware that?
Do you all understand ?
Did you know that?
Who? What are?

Elaborate on the points

Make your ideas flow smoothly

By using sequence connectors

By using logical connectors
By using conjunctions

Conclude appropriately

By giving facts
By giving explanation
By giving descriptions
By giving examples/ illustrations

You can conclude in any of the following

ways:
Sum up the ideas

Give advice
Give suggestions
Give an opinion

Format for Article

The Title of This Article

Written by Adrian Ng

1. Study the question and notes carefully to get a general overview

2. Write a title that summarises the whole article in a few words
3. Write the title at the top of the page in the centre. Begin each word with a
capital letter and underline the title
4. Write the name of the person who wrote the article below the title.
5. Write an introduction that is related to the topic but do not go straight to the
6.
7.
8.
9.

content points here.

Use all the information given
The subsequent paragraphs must relate to your introduction
Plan for only 1 main idea for each paragraph
Elaborate on the main points with supporting details. Give examples or

explain more by giving reasons, facts, statistics or further descriptions.

10. End your article with a suitable conclusion. Give a brief summary of your
article.

The format for an article is quite simple. So only 2 marks are

awarded for format