iGCSE First Language English - Directed Writing: MY TOP 5 TIPS!

Summary

In this educational video, the English teacher focuses on preparing students for the Cambridge First Language English exam. They offer five top tips to excel in the directed writing task, which is considered challenging and carries significant marks. Tips include practicing non-fiction writing, recognizing text features, assuming character roles, addressing all bullet points, and distinguishing between explicit and implicit ideas. The instructor encourages practice and provides additional resources for further assistance.

Takeaways

• 👋 Greeting and introduction to the channel, which is dedicated to helping students prepare for the Cambridge First Certificate in English exam.
• 📚 Emphasis on the importance of practicing non-fiction writing, including letters, speeches, articles, and reports, to succeed in the exam.
• 📝 Highlighting the directed writing question as a challenging part of the exam, worth a significant 25 marks, and the need to master it.
• 🔍 Clarification of terminology used for the exam's writing tasks, including 'directed writing question', 'directive writing question', and 'extended writing response'.
• 📘 Explanation of the differences between the coursework component and the exam papers, especially regarding the directed writing task.
• 🎭 Tip on understanding the character's role in the text to influence language, tone, and stylistic devices used in the response.
• 📋 Importance of addressing all three bullet points given in the exam, aiming for three paragraphs of equal length with relevant ideas from the text.
• 🤔 The need to distinguish between explicit and implicit ideas in the text, with a suggestion to watch a related video for further understanding.
• 📈 Stress on the process of extracting, rewording, and developing ideas from the text for the exam response.
• 📚 Encouragement to watch previous videos for model responses and walkthroughs on the directive writing question.
• ✍️ Invitation for students to leave comments if they are struggling with the exam, with a promise to respond quickly.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to provide five top tips to help students succeed with the directed writing question in the Cambridge First language English exam.

What is the directed writing question also known as?

The directed writing question is also known as the directive writing question, the extended writing response, and sometimes referred to as the non-fiction task.

Why is the directed writing question considered important?

The directed writing question is considered important because it is worth a significant 25 marks and can greatly impact a student's overall score in the exam.

What is the first tip the teacher gives for the directed writing question?

The first tip is to practice non-fiction writing, including different styles such as letters, speeches, articles, newspaper reports, formal reports, and dialogues.

What does the teacher suggest students should know about each given text type?

Students should know the typical features associated with each text type, such as the use of direct and reported speech in newspapers, text types that use persuasive language, and those that require a more formal register.

What role does the character play in the directed writing question?

In the directed writing question, students are often asked to imagine being a particular character in the text, which requires them to understand and adopt the character's perspective, tone, and language style.

What is the fourth tip the teacher provides for addressing the directed writing question?

The fourth tip is to ensure that students address all three bullet points given in the question, aiming for three paragraphs of equal length with about five ideas from the text in each paragraph.

What is the difference between explicit and implicit ideas in the context of the directed writing question?

Explicit ideas are directly stated in the text, while implicit ideas are inferred or suggested by the text. Students need to understand this difference to effectively develop their responses.

What does the teacher suggest for students who are struggling with the directed writing question?

The teacher suggests that students should practice, practice, practice, and also check out previous videos for model responses and walkthroughs of the directive writing question.

What will the teacher focus on in the next video?

In the next video, the teacher will be focusing specifically on non-fiction writing to further assist students with the directive writing question.

How can students get help if they are struggling with the directed writing question or other aspects of the First language English exam?

Students can drop a comment on the video, and the teacher will get back to them as soon as possible to provide assistance.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Cambridge First Exam Preparation

The video script begins with a warm welcome to the audience, particularly newcomers, and introduces the speaker as an English teacher who creates content on YouTube to help students prepare for the Cambridge First language English exam. The speaker promises to break down essential skills for exam success and mentions a previous video with five top tips for a different exam section. The focus of the current video is on the directed writing question, considered the most challenging part of the exam, which carries a significant 25 marks. The speaker acknowledges some terminological confusion among educators regarding this question and clarifies the difference between the coursework component and the paper-based exam structure.

Keywords

💡IDC FC success

IDC FC success seems to be the name of the YouTube channel or the specific series of videos where the script is from. It's likely an abbreviation for 'International Development Certificate for First Certificate' success, indicating the channel's focus on helping students prepare for the Cambridge First Certificate in English exam.

💡English teacher

The speaker identifies themselves as an 'English teacher,' indicating their profession and the primary role they play in the video, which is to educate and guide students preparing for the Cambridge English exam.

💡Cambridge First Certificate in English

The 'Cambridge First Certificate in English' is a specific English language exam offered by Cambridge Assessment English. It is a key focus of the video, as the content is designed to help students succeed in this particular exam.

💡Directed writing question

The 'directed writing question' is a part of the Cambridge exam that the speaker discusses. It is considered challenging and is the main focus of the video, with the speaker providing tips on how to approach this section effectively.

💡Terminology

The speaker mentions 'terminology' while discussing the different names for the directed writing question, such as 'directive writing question' or 'extended writing response.' This highlights the importance of understanding the specific language used in the exam and in educational materials.

💡Nonfiction task

The 'nonfiction task' refers to the type of writing required in the directed writing question, which involves creating nonfictional content based on given instructions. The speaker emphasizes its importance due to its high mark value.

💡Coursework component

The 'coursework component' is a part of the exam structure where students may have additional tasks or assessments. The speaker clarifies that the directed writing question's importance may vary depending on whether a student is doing the coursework component.

💡Bullet points

In the context of the video, 'bullet points' likely refer to the instructions or key points that students must address in their directed writing task. The speaker advises addressing all three bullet points to structure the response effectively.

💡Explicit ideas and implicit ideas

The speaker distinguishes between 'explicit' and 'implicit' ideas, which are concepts that must be understood and incorporated into the student's writing. Explicit ideas are directly stated in the text, while implicit ideas require inference and interpretation.

💡Practice

The concept of 'practice' is a recurring theme in the video, with the speaker emphasizing the need for students to practice non-fiction writing and the directed writing question to improve their skills and exam performance.

💡Top marks

'Top marks' refers to achieving the highest possible score in the exam. The speaker encourages students to aim for these high scores through understanding the correct approach and consistent practice.

Highlights

Welcome to the IDC FC Success YouTube channel, an educational platform for English language learners.

The channel is dedicated to preparing students for the Cambridge First Certificate in English exam.

The presenter offers five top tips for succeeding in the directed writing question, a challenging part of the exam.

The directed writing question is worth 25 marks, emphasizing its importance in the exam.

Terminology confusion is clarified, distinguishing between 'directed writing' and 'directive writing'.

Different terms like 'extended writing response' and 'non-fiction toss' are mentioned, reflecting various teacher preferences.

The importance of practicing non-fiction writing in different styles is highlighted as the first tip.

Understanding typical features of text types is crucial for the exam, as outlined in the second tip.

The third tip involves assuming the role of a character in the text for effective writing.

Understanding the character's tone and style is essential for the success of the directed writing task.

Tip four emphasizes addressing all three bullet points given in the exam question.

Equal length paragraphs and incorporating ideas from the text are key components of the response.

The fifth tip focuses on distinguishing between explicit and implicit ideas in the text.

The presenter encourages viewers to check out previous videos for model responses and walkthroughs.

A promise to look specifically at non-fiction writing in the next video is made to aid with the directed writing question.

The presenter invites students to comment if they are struggling with the exam, offering to provide assistance.

The video concludes with a reminder of the importance of practice in mastering the directed writing task.

Transcripts

hello and welcome to IDC FC success and

if you're new here a big hello to you

I'm an English teacher and I post

content here on YouTube to prepare

students for their Cambridge first

language English exam and if that's what

you're looking for be sure to check out

my other videos where I break down a

number of core skills needed to succeed

with first language English so yesterday

I gave you my five top tips to ensure

you succeed with the righteousness of

that question and today it's all about

that directed writing question which i

think is probably the hardest question

on the paper

I remember this nonfiction task is worth

a massive 25 marks so it's really

important you get it right and before I

start I've had a few questions regarding

the terminology I have been using

I've always known this question to be

the directed writing question

it was the directive writing question up

until maybe 2019 maybe it still is I'm

not sure I need to double-check

I've seen some teachers referring to it

as the extended writing response

teachers may refer to it as the

non-fiction toss and I guess the

confusion kind of comes from the fact

that there are two papers now if you are

doing the coursework component like most

of my students are they do coursework

and paper one that's a hundred percent

of their grade if you are not doing the

coursework component then you do paper

one and paper two and paper two there of

course is a directed writing task and it

is called the directive writing task I'm

confusing myself let's just get on with

today's five top tips tip number one is

to practice non-fiction writing okay so

ask yourself can you write a letter

speech article newspaper report formal

report dialog okay when you are

confident that you can write in those

different styles then attempt or at

least start thinking about attempting an

exam styled question now tip number two

is make sure you know the typical

features associated with each given text

height so for exam

or do you know that newspapers feature

both direct speech and reported speech

do you know the text types which make

use of persuasive language do you know

those text types which you are required

to adopt a far more formal register for

example now number three is really

really important

quite often Cambridge asks you to

imagine being a particular character in

the text so in other words you have to

assume the role of a particular

character of course in order to do that

successfully you really have to

understand how the writer is trying to

present the character so is the

character sarcastic bitter humorous

woefully pessimistic it's so so

important than you understand the

character well because it will affect

your language your tone any stylistic

devices you choose to use in your piece

now my fourth tip is ensuring that you

address all three bullet points you are

given you want to end up with three

paragraphs of equal length and you

should have about five ideas from the

text in each paragraph remember there

are 15 marks allocated to reading number

five is understanding the difference

between explicit ideas and implicit

ideas and I have done a video on this so

be sure to check it out essentially the

process for this question is trying to

get five ideas from the text for each

paragraph you then need to reword those

quotations and you need to develop okay

so you need to make suitable inferences

so there's a lot that goes into this

question if you're you're certain leave

you're aiming for those top Mohawks and

honestly I could go on and on and on

really is just a matter of knowing the

correct approach to this question and

then practice practice practice that's

all for me today guys again please do

check out my previous videos there's

plenty of model responses and

walk through for the directive writing

question in particular and of course if

you are struggling with this question or

anything to do with first language

English please do just drop me a comment

and I will get back to you ASAP next

week I will be looking specifically at

non-fiction writing and hopefully these

videos will help with the directive

writing question until next time bye bye