The exam-style question
This is a directed writing: article question, in the style of the First Language English papers. Read it as you would in the exam, then compare your plan with the model.
Using the material below, write a lively article for your school magazine on whether students spend too long on screens. Give it a headline and an engaging tone, and keep the piece balanced. This is our own practice prompt.
Notes: Screens and Students
Discussion topic for the magazine, drawn from a student survey and staff comments. Average reported screen time among students at our school: around five hours a day outside lessons. Uses include messaging friends, watching short videos, gaming and, students insist, revision.
Benefits noted: staying in touch with distant relatives, learning skills from online tutorials, relaxing after a hard day. Concerns noted: several students report sleeping badly after late-night scrolling; a few say they compare themselves unhappily to others online; the librarian says fewer books are being borrowed. One student comment: 'I pick up my phone to check the time and lose half an hour.' A counter-view: 'Adults are on their phones just as much and nobody lectures them.' No firm conclusion was reached; the magazine wants a balanced but readable piece.
Model response: Directed writing: article
An article needs a hook, a clear voice and a shape. It must also suit its publication, which here means readable and honest, not stiff.
A trial lesson can compare your child's own answer with this model on Directed writing article.
Common errors we see
- Forgetting the headline or a genuine opening hook
- Adopting an essay register instead of an article's livelier voice
- Losing the balance the task requires (only one side argued)
- Listing the points without developing or reshaping them
- A flat 'in conclusion' ending with nothing memorable
How this maps to the mark scheme
Examiners mark against assessment objectives. These are the skills the paper rewards.
For directed writing: article, the objectives in play are listed below. The wording is summarised for Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (0500) on our qualification page.
- Understand explicit meanings.
- Select and use information for specific purposes.
- Organise and structure ideas and opinions for deliberate effect.
- Use register and style appropriate to purpose and audience.
- Make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Select the right ideas from the passage and shape them for the readership. Voice, structure and accuracy decide how far the marks go.
Other boards word their objectives differently, but the same skills earn the marks. Your board's official syllabus gives the exact weighting.
Where to go next
Learn the method in our guide to directed writing: article, then try the directed writing: article practice tasks. You can browse every annotated model response or see how we teach this in our First Language English tuition.
When you have written your own answer, take it to a paid one-hour trial lesson and the teacher who would continue will mark it with you.