This set has twelve original questions on the five lessons in directed writing and source use. They move from easier to harder. Questions 1 to 4 are about selecting material, 5 to 8 about reshaping and stance, and 9 to 12 mix every skill.
Write your answers on paper first, then open the model answer. Model answers show one good response, not the only one. The mistake log and retest queue is a good place to record what you got wrong, and the audience register and purpose planner helps with planning.
The two sources
Source A: library report.
Harbour Road Library will close on Sundays and Mondays from January, the town council announced on Tuesday. The change is expected to save RM90,000 a year. Councillor Tan Mei Ling called the decision “reluctant but necessary”. Library visits have fallen by 18% over three years, although Saturday is still the busiest day. The Harbour Youth Forum says the library is the only quiet place in the district where students can study and use free internet. The council says the reading rooms will stay open from Tuesday to Friday and a mobile library will visit two schools each week.
Source B: school phone rule.
Bayu Secondary School will ask students to hand their phones to form teachers at 7.40 a.m. from next term and collect them at 1.20 p.m. Headteacher Mr Hashim said a trial showed phones interrupting lessons about six times a day in each class. The Parents’ Association supports the rule but has asked for a way to reach children in an emergency. Some Form 4 students say they use revision apps on their phones at break. The school says phones may be used at break on Fridays only.
Questions
1. Task: “You are a student. Write a newsletter article for parents explaining the new phone rule.” Write the audience, purpose and form in one line.
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Audience: parents. Purpose: explain the new rule clearly so they understand what changes. Form: a newsletter article (a fairly formal, informative piece).
2. Using Source B and the task in question 1, name the three details you would choose first, and one you would leave out.
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Choose: the handing-in and collection times (7.40 a.m. and 1.20 p.m.), the school’s reason (phones interrupted lessons about six times a day in each class) and the Parents’ Association’s request about emergencies. Leave out: the Form 4 revision-app comment, unless you need it to answer an objection, because it is about students’ habits, not parents’ needs. Other selections are fine if you justify them.
3. Task: “Write a speech for Year 11 students persuading them to support the phone rule.” From Source B, which detail is weak for this audience and why?
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The Parents’ Association’s request about emergencies is weak for this audience, because it speaks to parents’ worries, not students’ reasons to support the rule. Stronger choices are the six interruptions per class and the Friday break use, which show the rule is fair. You might still use the emergency request later if you answer an objection.
4. A student plans a Source A speech by following the article in order: cost, councillor, visits, Youth Forum, mobile library. What is wrong with the plan if the speech is meant to persuade classmates to sign a petition?
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It follows the order and emphasis of the article, so it speaks for the council’s side. The student should sort details by what classmates care about, and lead with the closure days and the Youth Forum’s point about the quiet study place.
5. Rewrite this sentence from Source B for a speech to students. Do not copy the wording: “Headteacher Mr Hashim said a trial showed phones interrupting lessons about six times a day in each class.”
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Example: “In the school’s trial, a phone interrupted each class about six times a day, so our teachers are starting lessons only to have to stop them again.” Check that Mr Hashim, the trial and the “about six times a day in each class” are not changed in meaning. The final clause is reasoning linked to the fact. Other wording is fine.
6. Write a one-sentence stance for a letter to Mr Hashim asking him to keep Friday phone use at break and to add a short revision-app slot on Wednesdays.
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Example: “I support the aim of quieter lessons, and I am asking you to keep the Friday break and add one Wednesday slot for revision apps.” It shows a position, a constructive tone and what the writer wants. The addition of a Wednesday slot is the writer’s proposal, not a claim of fact.
7. Find the drift in this paragraph from a letter to Mr Hashim:
“The phone rule is unfair and treats students like children. Of course, I can see why phones cause problems, so the rule is probably fine. I just think Fridays are a good idea.”
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The writer opens against the rule, then agrees with it, then praises a part of it. The position changes twice and the reader cannot tell what is wanted. Fix: choose one stance, for example a request for small changes, and use the concession in the middle: “I can see why phones disturb lessons, but a short, supervised revision slot would meet that concern.”
8. State the Parents’ Association’s view from Source B fairly, in one sentence, for a letter opposing the rule.
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“The Parents’ Association supports the rule but has asked for a way to reach children in an emergency.” This keeps both halves of the claim. A version that says “parents want phones back” distorts it, because they support the rule.
9. Answer the point in question 8 in one or two sentences, as a student who wants the rule kept but with a safeguard.
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Example: “The Parents’ Association is right to ask for this, and a simple way for the office to pass urgent messages would meet the concern without bringing phones back into lessons.” The answer concedes the point, offers a solution and protects the stance. The office message idea is a proposal, not a fact from the source.
10. Decide whether each claim is a fact, a permitted inference or invented. (a) “The headteacher said the trial lasted six weeks.” (b) “Interruptions seem likely to fall if phones are collected.” (c) “Some Form 4 students use revision apps at break.”
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(a) Invented: the source gives no length for the trial. (b) Permitted inference: the trial showed interruptions, so removing phones should reduce them. Signalled with “seem likely”. (c) Fact: the source says some Form 4 students say so. Attribute it carefully, as their claim.
11. Correct this sentence from a speech about Source A so it no longer has invented support: “A recent survey showed that 9 out of 10 students rely on the library at weekends.”
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Remove the survey and figure. Replace with an inference: “Because Saturday is the busiest day, it seems that weekends matter to people who use the library, and that includes students.” It keeps what the source says and marks the step as reasoning.
12. Write the opening paragraph (3 to 4 sentences) of a letter from a student to Councillor Tan asking her to keep Sunday opening. Use at least two details from Source A, transform them, state your stance and do not invent facts.
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Model answer:
“I am writing to ask you to keep the library open on Sundays. I understand that the change is expected to save RM90,000 a year, but the Youth Forum calls the library the only quiet place in the district with free internet where students can study. Since Saturday is still its busiest day, it seems that weekends matter to the people who use it. I hope the council will look for a way to keep at least some Sunday hours.”
Check: stance stated in the first sentence; the council’s point accepted fairly; two source details used and reshaped; “it seems” marks the inference; no invented figures or events.
If you got these wrong
Use the route below to decide which lesson to revisit.
- Questions 1 to 4: choosing details by the page, not the reader. Revisit Select source material for a stated audience.
- Questions 5 and 12 (wording): sentences that still sound like the source. Revisit Transform information rather than retell it.
- Questions 6 and 7: unclear or drifting position. Revisit Develop an appropriate stance from given material.
- Questions 8 and 9: an unfair or inaccurate account of the other side. Revisit Address an opposing point accurately.
- Questions 10 and 11: claims the source does not support. Revisit Distinguish invented support from a permitted inference.
Use the writing revision compare view to compare your first and second drafts side by side.
If the same type of mistake keeps coming back, our teachers can look at your drafts in online one-to-one English First Language tuition.