Annotated model answer

Discursive essay: an annotated model response

A strong answer with margin notes that show what earns the marks. Every passage and answer here is our own.

Book a Trial ClassOne‑hour paid trial · Same‑day reply · from RM70/hr

Written by the IGCSE English Malaysia teaching teamUpdated 15 October 2026

The exam-style question

This is a discursive essay 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.

Write a discursive essay exploring whether homework benefits students. Consider more than one point of view and reach a measured conclusion. This is our own practice title.

Our original passageapprox. 165 words

Notes: Does Homework Help?

Topic for a discursive essay, with points on both sides for you to explore and add to. In favour: homework can reinforce what was taught in class; it builds independent study habits useful later; it lets parents see what their child is learning; and it gives extra practice before exams. Against: some argue homework eats into rest, hobbies and family time; that its quality varies and busywork teaches little; that students without a quiet space or internet are disadvantaged; and that tired students may copy rather than learn.

A middle view: perhaps the amount and type of homework matter more than whether it exists: short, purposeful tasks may help where long, repetitive ones do not. Research is mixed and often depends on age. A discursive essay should weigh these views fairly before settling, tentatively, on your own.

Our annotated model response

Model response: Discursive essay

A discursive essay explores rather than attacks. It sets views side by side, weighs them fairly and reaches a measured conclusion.

Few school matters divide opinion as reliably as the small question of what happens after the bell: homework.¹ On one hand, there is a clear case that homework reinforces learning and, perhaps more importantly, builds the habit of studying alone that later education demands.² On the other, critics point out that this benefit assumes a quiet room and a working device, advantages not every household offers, so the same task may help one student and defeat another.³ It may be, then, that the sharper question is not whether homework exists but what kind it is: a short, purposeful task seems easier to defend than an hour of copying.⁴ On balance, homework appears to help most when it is deliberate and modest, and to harm when it is merely long; the sensible path lies not in abolishing it but in improving it.⁵

Reading a model answer helps. In a paid one-hour trial, a teacher helps your child write one like it on Discursive essay.

Book a Trial Class

Common errors we see

Arguing one side only (this is a discursive, not an argumentative, task)
Dismissing opposing views instead of exploring them fairly
Jumping to a firm conclusion the discussion has not earned
No structure: points jump about instead of building
Copying the stimulus points without developing them

How this maps to the mark scheme

Examiners mark against assessment objectives. These are the skills the paper rewards.

For discursive essay, the objectives in play are listed below. The wording is summarised for Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (0500) on our qualification page.

Articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined.
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.

Marks reward a balanced line of thought, ordered paragraphs and a suitable register. Accuracy is credited separately.

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 discursive essay, then try the discursive essay 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.

Next, visit our original practice tasks to try the same method on a fresh task. Our IGCSE English tuition page explains how lessons run. When you are ready, the paid one-hour trial is the first step.

Try this question with a teacher

Book a Trial Class

One‑hour paid trial · Same‑day reply · from RM70/hr