The exam-style question
This is an ESL report or article question, in the style of the English as a Second Language papers. Read it as you would in the exam, then compare your plan with the model.
Your class visited a science museum. Write a report for your school newsletter describing the visit and saying what students gained from it.
Organise it clearly for readers. This is our own practice prompt.
Notes: Science Museum Visit
Details for your report. Last month, Form 4 visited the National Science Centre. What happened: students arrived at 9 a.m. and were split into three groups.
Group activities: a hands-on electricity workshop where students built simple circuits; a planetarium show about the solar system; and a robotics demonstration in the afternoon. Highlights mentioned by students: many said the circuit workshop made a difficult topic 'finally make sense'; several enjoyed lying back to watch the planetarium ceiling; a few said the robot that recognised faces was the best part. A small number found the day tiring and the lunch queue too long.
Teachers said the trip linked well to what the class had been studying. What students gained: a clearer understanding of some physics topics, interest in careers they had not considered, and a fun day out together. The newsletter audience is students, parents and teachers, so the tone should be clear, positive and informative, and the report should be organised into sensible sections.
Model response: ESL report or article
A newsletter report is organised and informative but readable. It tells the audience what happened and, importantly, what was gained.
A trial lesson can compare your child's own answer with this model on ESL report or article.
Common errors we see
- A casual diary tone instead of an organised report register
- No clear sections or structure for the reader
- Forgetting the task's focus (here, what students gained)
- Listing events without selecting or shaping them
- Not keeping the set audience (newsletter readers) in mind
How this maps to the mark scheme
Examiners mark against assessment objectives. These are the skills the paper rewards.
For ESL report or article, the objectives in play are listed below. The wording is summarised for Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (0510) on our qualification page.
- Communicate information, ideas and opinions clearly.
- Organise ideas into coherent, well-linked text.
- Use an appropriate range of grammatical structures and vocabulary accurately.
- Use register and style suited to the purpose and audience.
Communicate the information clearly, organise it into logical paragraphs, use accurate grammar and match the register to the reader.
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 ESL report or article, then try the ESL report or article practice tasks. You can browse every annotated model response or see how we teach this in our English as a Second Language 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.