This question is worth 50 marks and is considered a short writing task. The focus here is on quality, not quantity. The examiner is assessing you on your ability to write in the chosen genre and your ability to follow the instructions. You will be rewarded for this in the ‘Purpose’ section of the marking scheme.
A key tip is to pick your Question B first, then cross out the Question A in that text, as you are not permitted to answer A and B on the same text. Pick the B that you like best and cross out the A in that text.
Make sure that you are aware of the features of the genre you are writing in. Is it a blog? A letter? A podcast? etc….
When you have decided on what genre you are writing in, you must then make sure to plan the content you are going to include. Your content is dictated by the question asked. You are generally asked to include three pieces of information. It is essential that you address all aspects of the question.
Let’s take the 2023 Text 3 Question B as an example:
“It is Science Week and you have been asked to write an article for your school’s website about the increasing role played by technology in schools. In your article you should: describe some of the positive ways technology is utilised in schools today, discuss whether or not, in your view, technology can be a negative influence in schools, and speculate about the role you think technology will play in schools in the future. Your article may be serious or humorous or both.“
Now the first thing you will notice is that you are being asked to write an article for your school website. So, you need to write in the appropriate register and genre. You could have the name of the website, article headline, author’s name and date at the beginning. I would also use a formal tone when writing. You can use humour as it states this in the question.
When you have decided on the layout, it is time to think about your content. There will usually be three things that you have to include. Take a look at the question and write a list of the things you are asked to include:
- Describe some of the positive ways technology is used in school’s today.
- Discuss your views on whether it can have a negative influence.
- Speculate about the role of technology in schools in the future.
So when you begin your article, you can tick off the content list as you include it, ensuring that you do not leave any items out. Treat it like a shopping list and you must include all of the items.
Click here for a sample answer for this particular Question B