Situational Writing: Purpose, Audience, Format — In That Order
Situational Writing is not really a writing test. It is a test of whether you did the job you were asked to do. Candidates lose marks for a well-written piece that answered a slightly different question.
Spend three minutes on the task before you write anything.
The three questions, in order
1. Purpose — what am I trying to make happen?
Persuade, inform, complain, propose, thank, warn. Name it in one word before you start.
2. Audience — who reads this?
A principal, a classmate, a company, a newspaper. This sets how formal you are.
3. Format — what shape does it take?
Email, letter, report, proposal, speech. Get the opening and closing conventions right.
Register: the thing candidates get wrong most
Writing to a principal the way you would write to a friend costs marks even when the content is right. Same in reverse.
Formal — to a principal, company or official
Semi-formal — to a teacher you know, or a school club
Cover every bullet point
The task gives you bullet points. Each one carries marks. Tick them off as you write — literally, on the question paper.
A common and costly habit is writing three paragraphs on the first bullet because it was easiest, then rushing the other two. The marks are split across all of them.
Two minutes before you write
Write the purpose word at the top of your plan
Persuade? Inform? Complain?
Write who you are writing to
And therefore how formal.
Number the bullet points
One paragraph each, roughly equal.
Decide your opening line
It should signal the purpose immediately.
A candidate who does this consistently rarely writes a bad Situational Writing answer, because the piece cannot drift away from the task.
In preparation
The Sentence Repair Kit
Four editions built separately for Lower Secondary N(T), N(T), N(A) and O-Level — every error type in this article, drilled with worked repairs and exam-style practice. Ready in time for prelims.
Browse the Secondary range →
