ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1119

SPM

KJAH SMKAY

PAPER 1
- CONSISTS OF 2 QUESTIONS/
SECTIONS:
A. DIRECTED WRITING (DW)- 35M
B. CONTINUOUS WRITING (CW)- 50M
KJAH SMKAY

DIRECTED
WRITING

KJAH SMKAY

What is FACTS?
Format
A udience
C ontents
T ense/ Task
S cenario

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Distribution of marks for Directed Writing

Time

45 min

: Format
:
Content
Points
Content
: Elaborations

Language
Total MarksContent
KJAH SMKAY

15
20
35

Analysis of 2002 - 2007

YearQuestion on Directed Writing
2002 Talk about road safety

2003 Letter to inform teacher on choice of trip

2004 Write a report about matters in the school and school
canteen to the principal.

2005 Write a letter to a friend telling about experience at the

camp.

2006 Write a letter to your friend giving reasons why she/he

would make a good Head Prefect

2007 Write a talk on a reference book that is useful for

secondary school.

KJAH SMKAY

Analysis of 2008 - 2013

YearQuestion on Directed Writing

2008 Write an article about your friend who was chosen as the
best group leader.

2009 Write a report to the principal regarding the lack of

interest in sports.

2010 Write a letter to your cousin asking advice on National

Service programme

2011 Give a talk to the Red Crescent Society members to

upgrade their skills in giving first aid treatment

2012 Write a letter to your younger sister to advise her on how

to send her money wisely

2013 Write a letter of complaint to the Town Council based on

the notes.

KJAH SMKAY

Common Errors

1. Tense errors
2. Wrong verb form
3. Direct BM translation /
Structural errors
4. Poor spelling
5. Wrong prepositions
KJAH SMKAY

Strategies
1. Exposure to different types of format.
2. Widen your vocabulary and use
precise words
3. Use a variety of sentences
4. Underline key words.
5. Include all relevant notes (content).
6. 1-3 elaborations.
7. One main idea (content) one paragraph.
8. Write title
KJAH SMKAY

OF ESSAYS WITH SPECIAL FORMATT

NO

TYPES

REQUIRED ELEMENTS

Newspaper report

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Speech

1. addressing the audience

2. introducing the topic
3. ending the speech (TQ)

Report

1. title
2. Introduction/ paragraphs
3. Prepared by/ Written by /
Reported by
KJAH SMKAY

headline
dateline - place
dateline day (1st 3 letters)
lead sentence
sources quoted

Formal letter
i. Letters of enquiry
ii. Letters of request
iii. Letters of
application
iv. Letters of apology
v. Letter of complaint

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

senders address left margin

receivers address left margin
Date right margin
Salutation (Dear Sir/ Madam)
Title of the letters
Complementary close (Yours
faithfully)

Informal letters

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

senders address - right margin

Date - right margin
Salutation [Dear _______( name )]
First paragraph (casual greeting)
Complimentary close (Yours,
Yours sincerely)

Article

1.Title
2. Paragraphs
3. writer
KJAH SMKAY

What makes a good composition ?

EXPRESSION
1. LANGUAGE
2. SENTENCES

accurate
different lengths

3. VOCABULARY

and types
wide/ precise/
sophistica

ted
4. PUNCTUATION
l

accurate / helpfu

KJAH SMKAY

5.
PARAGRAPHS
ked

have unity /
well-lin

6. TONE
appropriate to
the task
7. READER RESPONSE
interest
KJAH SMKAY

readers
is aroused

SECTION A : DIRECTED
WRITING [35 marks
Question
1 (2002)
You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Question 1
Road accidents have been on the increase with more young people
becoming victims. Your school has decided to launch a Road safety
Week to raise awareness among students of the need to be more
responsible on the road. As the chairperson of the schools organising
committee, you have been asked to give a talk to other students on
road safety.
Below are some notes you have made on the reasons why road
accidents occur and Suggestions to reduce the number of accident.
Reasons
speed
reckless driving
tiredness
racing
poor maintenance of vehicles
road conditions
KJAH SMKAY

Suggestions
strict enforcement of traffic rules
increase fines
road-worthy vehicles
awareness campaigns
increase age limit for new drivers
suspend driving licence
Write out the talk that you would give. When writing out what you
plan to say, you should remember to :

address the audience

introduce the topic of the talk
use all the notes given
end the talk appropriately

KJAH SMKAY

ELABORATION
The content points in the question above need to be elaborated
with details or examples. What is elaboration?
P point given in the question
CS complete sentence using the point
E elaboration
Example:
P
- speed (C1)
CS - First, speeding beyond the speed limit is the main cause.
E
- Youngsters who are prone to speed always become the
victims.
P
- reckless driving (C2)
CS - Accidents also occur because of reckless driving.
E
- These youngsters are not aware of dangers awaiting them.

KJAH SMKAY

- tiredness (C3)

CS
E

- Long distance journey may cause tiredness to the drivers.

- The loss of concentration on the road may lead to drastic crash.

- racing (C4)

CS - Youngsters using the road as their racing track is another cause.

E
- They seek fun without thinking of their and other road users
safety.
P
- poor maintenance of vehicles (C5)
CS - Drivers do not check or service their vehicles.
E
- Faulty brakes and bald tyres may also cause accidents.
P
- road conditions (C6)
CS - Potholes and uneven roads contribute to the poor road
conditions.
E
- Thus, this can cause accidents.

KJAH SMKAY

P - strict enforcement of traffic rules (C7)

CS - The government should impose strict traffic rules by
increasing fines, (C11) increasing the age limit for new
drivers (C9) and suspension of driving licence.(C12)
P - road-worthy vehicles (C8)
CS - Only road-worthy vehicles should be permitted on the roads.
E - Vehicles should be sent for annual inspection to ensure that
they are in good conditions.
P - awareness campaign (C10)
CS - Awareness campaign should be carried out everywhere.
E - Drivers especially youngsters need to learn about safe
driving.

KJAH SMKAY

Question 1 (SPM 2003)

Section A: Directed Writing

You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.
Question 1
Your class would like to make a trip after the end-of-year examination. You are the
class monitor. You get a message from your teacher who is away from school
asking you to discuss with the students where they would like to go. You have
been given the following information on the two trips.
Write a formal letter to your teacher stating the choice made by your class and
give reasons for your choice.
A TRIP TO THE BEACH

A TRIP TO THE CITY

DATE : 15 17 December
DATE : 2 4 December
DURATION : 3 days and 2 nights DURATION : 3 days and 2 nights
ACCOMMADATION : Camps
ACCOMMADATION : Hotel
COST PER PERSON : RM80.00
COST PER PERSON : RM120.00
Activities:
Places of interest:
- Swimming
- Art gallery
- Boat rides
- Shopping complexes
- Games on the beach
- Parks and gardens
- Jungle trekking
- Zoos
- Campfires
- Museum
KJAH SMKAY

Complete the table :

INFORMATION
ASPECTFormat : Formal
letter
Features of the format: address, salutation,

FORMATname

Audience: Teacher
AUDIENCE
Tone and style: informal
C
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5

CONTENTS

choice
C6 shopping complexes C12
date
C7 parks and gardens
duration C8 zoos
accommodation
C9 museum
cost per person
art gallery

To tell the form the teacher about their chioce

Have just made decision

SKS (purpose)
SCENARIO
KJAH SMKAY

Complete the table :

FORMAT
&
CONTENT
POINTS
SAMPLE SENTENCE
FEATURES
Formal letter C - choice
We chose the trip to the city
F1- address

F2
Salutation
Dear Sir/
Madam

C1 - date

The date of the camp

C2 - duration

The duration of the camp is

3 days two nights

C3 accommodation

The accommodation is in
the hotel

C4 - cost per person

The cost per person is

RM120

C5 Art gallery

The first place of interest

we are going to visit is the
Art Gallery

KJAH SMKAY

Close
C6
shopping
Yours
Faithfully
complexes
C7 - parks
and
gardens
C8 - zoos
C9 museum
KJAH SMKAY

We are going to the

shopping complexes
too.
Beside shopping
complexes, we will stop
at the parks and
gardens.
We will also visit the
zoo.
After visiting the zoo,
we will visit the
museum.

You are advised to spend about 45 minutes on this section.

Question 1
Your friend, who lives in another town, wants to know whether he/ she should run
for the post of Head Prefect. Write a letter to your friend giving reasons why
he/she would make a good Head Prefect.
Use the notes given below to write your letter.
Personal Qualities:
Friendly
Responsible
Helpful
Academic Performance :
Intelligent student
Hardworking
Problem solver

Co-curricular Involvement:
Blue House Captain
secretary of English Language Society
school debater
Other points:
lives near school able to sacrifice time
good study habits academic
performance will not be affected
popular with students and teachers.

When writing your letter, you should remember to include the following:
address
salutation
close
all the notes given
KJAH SMKAY

Complete the table :

INFORMATION
ASPECT

Format : Formal letter

Features of the format: address, salutation, name

FORMATAudience: Teacher
Tone and style: informal
AUDIENCE
C1 Friendly
C8 secretary of English Language Society
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7

Responsible
C9 school debater
Helpful
C10 lives near school able to sacrifice time
Intelligent student
C11 good study habits academic
Hardworking
performance will not be affected
Problem solver
C12 popular with students and
Blue House Captain.
teachers

CONTENTS

Write a letter to convince your friend

SKS (purpose)

A friend asks for advice

SCENARIO

KJAH SMKAY

Complete the table :

FORMAT
&
CONTENT
POINTS
SAMPLE SENTENCE
FEATURES
C1 - Friendly
Formal
You are friendly with people
letter

C2 - Responsible
C3 - Helpful

F1- address

F2
Salutation
Dear Sir/
Madam

C4 - Intelligent student

You are also responsible and

helpful

C5 - Hardworking

You are not only intelligent

but also hardworking

C6 Problem solver

You are a problem solver too.

C7 - Blue House Captain

As the Blue House Captain,

you have proved that you
have good leadership
qualities.

KJAH SMKAY

C8 secretary of
Close
English Language
Yours
Society
Faithfully

C9 - school debater

You have been appointed the

secretary of the English Society
for three years.
The school is so proud of you for
being the school debater.

C10 - lives near school You live near your school, so you
able to sacrifice time
are able to sacrifice your time to
do
your duty.
C11 - good study habits
academic
performance will not be
affected

I know you have good study

habits, hence your academic
performance will not be affected if
become the head prefect.

C12 - popular with

students and teachers

You are also popular with students

and teachers.

KJAH SMKAY

Section A : Directed Writing

stion
1 (SPM 2005)
You have just returned from a three-day outdoor activity camp. You

have decided to write a letter to a friend about your experiences at the

camp.
Write your letter based on all the notes below.

who organized the camp

date of the camp
transport to the campsite.
number of participants
location of the camp
accommodation
give two
relevant examples of :
activities
benefits
Problems

When writing the letter you should remember:

to lay out the letter correctly
to use paragraphs
that your letter is to a friend
KJAH SMKAY

Complete the table :

INFORMATION
ASPECTFormat : Informal
letter
Features of the format: address, salutation,

FORMATname

Audience: friend
AUDIENCE
Tone and style: informal
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6

CONTENTS

organizer
C7 activity
date
C8 activity
transport
C9 benefit
number of participants C10 benefit
location
C11 problem
accommodation
C12 problem

To tell friend about the camp

Have just come back from the camp

SKS (purpose)
SCENARIO
KJAH SMKAY

Complete the table :

MAT
&
FEATURES
CONTENT
POINTS
SAMPLE
SENTENCE
C1
-organizer
The
camp
was organized
Informal
by the Environmental
Club

letter

F1- address

F2
Salutation
Dear (name)
Hello, Dear, Hi,
To , name only

C2 - date

It was held from the 10 to

12 May

C3 - transport

We went to the campsite

by bus

C4 - No.of
participants

There were 30 students

and 5 teachers joining the
camp

C5 - location

After two hours, we

arrived at Ulu Yam,
Selangor

C6 - accommodation
KJAH SMKAY

Then we set up our tents

together.

Close
Name
(Rashid)

C7 & C8
2 Activities

The next morning we went

jungle trekking in the jungle.
On the second day we had a
treasure hunt.

C9 & C10 2 Benefits

The camp opened my eyes to

the great beauty of nature.
I learnt how to survive in the
jungle.We learnt to be
independent.

C11 & C12

2 Problems

One of the participants slipped

and sprained her ankle.
There was shortage of water.

KJAH SMKAY

Section
A
:
Directed
Writing
tion
(SPM
2007)
You 1
have
been asked
by your teacher to give a talk on a reference
book that is useful for secondary students. You have decided to
talk about a science book.
Use the following notes about the book to write your talk.
Details of the book
- Title
: Science Made
Simple
- Author
: Sharifah Shazana
- Publisher: Bunga Publications

Reasons why the book is useful

- attractive presentation
- clear explanation
- helpful diagrams
- variety exercises
- sample answers
- practice question papers
- useful tips

When writing the talk you should remember:

- to use an appropriate greeting and closing
- to state the purpose of the talk
- to use all the notes given
- to give two other reasons of your own.
KJAH SMKAY

Complete the table :

INFORMATION
ASPECT

Format :speech
Features of the format: greeting, writer, thank you

FORMATAudience: friends
Tone and style: formal
AUDIENCE

C1 Science made Simple

C7 variety of
exercises
C2 Sharifah Shazana
C8 sample answers
C3 Bunga Publications
C9 practice question
papers
C4 attractive presentation C10 useful tips
C5 clear explanations
C11
C6 helpful diagrams
C12

CONTENTS

To tell friends about the book

SKS (purpose)
Asked to talk about the book
SCENARIO
KJAH SMKAY

Complete the table :

MAT
& FEATURES
CONTENT
POINTS
SAMPLE
SENTENC
A speech
C1 - Title : Science
The title of the book is
Made Simple
C2 - Author: Sharifah
Greeting(F1)
Good morning

F2 What the
speech
About (F2)

Science Made Simple

The author of the book is
Sharifah Shazana

Shazana
C3 - Publisher:
Bunga publications

The publisher of the book

is Bunga Publication

C4 - attractive
presentation

I like the book as it has

attractive presentation

C5 - clear explanation

The book has clear

explanation and
Helpful diagrams

C6 - helpful diagrams
C7 - variety exercises
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There are a variety of

exercises

Close

C7
variety of
exercises

Thank
the
audience C8 sample
answers
(F3)

There are a variety of exercises

in the book.
Sample answer s are provided
for you to check your answers.

C11
C12

KJAH SMKAY