Situational Writing Formats: Email, Speech, Article, Review, Report and Letter
Situational Writing names the text type in the question: write an email, write a speech, write an article. Get the shape of that text wrong and a marker notices in the first two lines — before they have read a single one of your points.
Here is every text type the syllabus names, with how each one opens, closes and sounds. Screenshot the ones your level uses.
Before any of them — three decisions
PurposePersuade, inform, explain, recommend, thank, complain. Name it in one word.
ReaderA principal, a teacher, magazine readers, an assembly, a friend. This sets your formality.
ToneThe question tells you. Copy those exact words onto your plan and keep looking at them.
The most frequently set type at N(A) — it came up in 2023 and again in 2025.
OpensDear Mr Tan, — named person if you know them, Dear Sir or Madam if not.
First lineStates why you are writing. No throat-clearing.
ClosesYours sincerely (named person) or Yours faithfully (Sir/Madam). Then your name.
Sounds likePolite and direct. Contractions only if the reader is someone you know well.
Openings that work
Speech
Set at O-Level in 2024. The only type written to be heard, which changes everything about it.
Speech
OpensAddress the audience: Good morning, everyone.
First lineA hook, not an announcement. A question or a short striking statement.
ClosesA call to action, then thanks: Thank you for listening.
Sounds likeSpoken. Shorter sentences. Direct address — you, we, our school. Rhetorical questions belong here and almost nowhere else.
Devices that earn marks in a speech, and nowhere else
Article
Set at N(A) in 2024, for a school magazine.
Article
OpensA headline. Then a first line that makes the reader want the second.
StructureShort paragraphs. A clear angle running through.
ClosesA reflection or a look forward, not a summary of what you just said.
Sounds likeLively and readable. You may address the reader, but not as directly as a speech.
Review
Set at N(A) in 2022, for a school newsletter. Half description, half judgement — students usually forget the second half.
Review
OpensWhat it was, where and when, in one sentence.
MiddleWhat you experienced, then what you thought of it. The verdict is the point.
ClosesA recommendation. Should the reader go, or not?
Sounds likeEnthusiastic but credible. A review with no criticism at all reads as an advertisement.
Report
Named in the syllabus for O-Level and N(A). The most formal of the set.
Report
OpensA title, and a line stating the purpose: This report examines…
StructureHeaded sections. Findings before recommendations.
ClosesClear recommendations, numbered if it helps.
Sounds likeImpersonal and measured. No exclamation marks. Little or no I.
Formal letter
Same register as an email to a stranger, but with addresses and a date if the question asks for them.
Formal letter
OpensDear Sir or Madam or the named person.
First linePurpose, immediately.
ClosesYours faithfully / Yours sincerely, then your full name.
Sounds likeMore formal than an email. No contractions at all.
N(T): journal entry, personal letter, explanation
N(T) sets different types entirely, and the task is guided — you are led through it. Do not practise on O-Level material.
The three N(T) types
Journal entryDated. Written to yourself. I throughout, feelings included. No greeting or sign-off.
Personal letterDear Ma, … Love, or Best wishes,. Warm, informal, contractions fine.
ExplanationSteps or reasons in order. Clear connectives: first, next, because, so that.
The register test
If you are unsure how formal to be, ask one question: could I say this to this person’s face?
Same idea, three registers
To a friend: It was a great day, you should definitely go.
To magazine readers: It was a memorable day, and one I would recommend to anyone.
To a principal: The day was valuable, and I believe other students would benefit from it.
Same point. Three different readers. Choosing the wrong one costs you under awareness of purpose, audience and context — which is a named Task Fulfilment criterion.
What to practise this week
- Take one scenario and write the opening two lines only in three different text types. Five minutes.
- Then write the closing line for each. Endings are where students run out of steam.
- Do not write the full piece every time. The shape is what you are training.
Twenty of the thirty marks in Situational Writing are for Language. The Sentence Repair Kit drills exactly that, one level at a time.
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