Directed Writing - Article

1


ARTICLE
Marking Scheme:

Contents (Format, Given notes, elaborations) = 15 marks

Language = 20 marks

To fully secure the 15 marks for contents,read the question carefully and identify where the
15 marks are for contents. Below are two sample questions and sample answers.


A Sample question of article 1(SPM 2008)

You recently attended a leadership camp organized by your school. At the camp, one of your
friends was chosen as the best camper. You have been asked to write an article about your
friend for your school magazine.

Write your article based on the information below:


Name( C1)
Age(C2)
Friends details Family background(C3)
School attended(C4)
Responsible (C5) Best Reasons Caring(C6)
Group why he/she Best speaker for camp debate(C7)
Leader was chosen Voted the most co-operative(C8)

Awards Certificate of Achievement(C9)
Received RM500(C10)






When writing the article, you should remember:
1
- to give a suitable title(F1)
- to give your name as the writer(F2)
- to use all the information given
- to provide an ending(F3)
- to add two other reasons why your friend was chosen( C11, C12)
- that your readers are students of your school






Directed Writing - Article

2

Sample Answer (taken from SasbadiSdn. Bhd. 2012)









Introduction/
Introduce the
Personality







Backgroud
- family
- school
attended



Reasons why
she was chosen








Two other
reasons






Ending




Shes the Best
By IzawatiHusi


Last week, together with 95 other students of our
school, I had the opportunity to attend the Youth
leadership Camp organized by our school. At this camp,
the participants were divided into eight groups, each under
a group leader. On the last day of the camp, the Best Group
Leader was announced. The members of my group, Hang
Tuah, were thrilled when we heard that it was our group
leader, Tan Mei Shee, who had been chosen as the Best
Group Leader.

Mei Sheecomes from a large middle income family.
At seventeen, Mei Sheeis the eldest of nine children. She
has been in Methodist Girls School, Melaka, together with
me, since Year One; both of us moving from the primary
school to the secondary school.

Mei Sheeis a natural leader. Never at a loss
forwords,shewon the prize for the Best Speaker for the
camp debate. Always helpful and cheerful by nature, she
was also voted the most Cooperative Participants by the
other participants. Mei Sheeis also a very caring person,
and she helped many of the participants with the
challenging tasks that they had to do during the camp. She
was also a most responsible Group Leader. She made sure
that we always completed our projects on time, and that
our work was up to standard.

One important reason why she won the Best Group
Leader Award was probably because our group, Hang
Tuah, won many of the camp competitions, such as the
Blind Mans Obstacle Course, the Collage Contest and the
Skit Contest. Of course, our groups stunning success was
very much due to her outstanding leadership. She inspired
our creativity and spurred us on to greater heights.

As Best Group Leader, Mei Shee was awarded a
Certificate of Achievement as well as a cash prize of
RM500. We wish you the heartiest congratulations, Mei
Shee, and hope that you will continue to be a good role
model for others and inspire them to find the leader in
themselves.



Points and
Elaborations


F1
F2









C1



C2, C3
C4




C7

C8
C6


C5





C11


C12



C9
C10





Directed Writing - Article

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Important to remember

To score the 20 language marks, your writing needs to be firstly, almost errors-free; and
secondly, impressive.

For example, this question requires you to use the past tenses(bold) most of the time, since
everything happened at the camp. However, present tenses (italic) are also used when needed,
e.g. Mei She is a natural leader (even after the camp).

You may impress your readers by the use of precise vocabulary/expressions, compound
and complex sentence structures in the elaboration of the given contents.

All being said, you have to be able to impress your readers with all these in addition to an
error-free writing. In short, language errors pull down marks.




















Directed Writing - Article

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A Sample question of article 2.

You recently attended a talk on safety measures to avoid fire mishaps and what needs to be
done in case of a fire at home. You have been asked to write an article entitled Save
Yourself, Save Your Home for your school magazine.

Use the notes below to write the article.

Kitchen
Handle gas stoves carefully (C1)
Turn stoves and cookers off when not in use (C2)
Keep matches and lighters away from children (C3)
Place a fire extinguisher in the kitchen (C4)

Hall
Never overload a socket (C5)
Switch off all electrical appliances when not in use (C6)
Check smoke alarm and change its battery once a year (C7)

Rooms
Put out candles properly (C8)
Place mosquito coils in metal containers away from beds (C9)
Iron and vacuum cleaner must be switched off and unplugged after use (C10)

In case of fire
Call the fire brigade (11)
Stay low and crawl to the nearest exit quickly (12)



When writing the article, you should remember:

- to give a suitable title(F1)
- to give your name as the writer (F2)
- to use all the information given
- to provide an ending (F3)
- that your readers are students of your school












Directed Writing - Article

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Sample Answer (taken from SAP Publications (M) SDN.BHD)








Introduction




Safety
measures to
avoid fire
mishaps
Paragraph 2 4

















What needs to
be done in case
of fire


Ending




Save Yourself, Save Your Home
By Izawati Husin

It is true that home is where the heart is and we
must take every step to ensure that our loved ones are safe
at home. Bearing this in mind, I would like to list down a
few important precautions that need to be taken to help all
of us ensure that our homes are safe from fire.
Firstly, when you are in the kitchen, make sure
that you handle the gas stove carefully. Use only gas
patented gas tanks to avoid an explosion. Turn off stoves
and cookers when you have finished cooking. Do not
leaves matches and lighters around children since they can
unknowingly start a fire. It is also important to place a fire
extinguisher in a visible area of the kitchen.
Next, never overload a socket as this can easily
cause a fire. There should only be one plug per socket.
Adaptors can be used for lamps, radios and computers.
Switch off all electrical appliances after use.It is also vital
to check smoke alarm regularly, if you have one. Make
sure that it is in working order and remember to change the
batteries once a year.
If candles are used in the room, they need to be put out
properly. Never place candles close to bedsheets or
curtains because the fabric can easily catch fire. Also, place
mosquito coils away from beds and put them in metal
containers for further safety measures.If you own an iron or
a vacuum cleaner, you need to have them switched off and
unplugged after use. If you leave them plugged to the
socket, a fire may break out if lightning strikes too close to
your home.
Finally, if a fire breaks out in your house, remember to
quickly contact the fire brigade. Do not inhale the smoke.
Fire spreads in a matter of minutes. Smoke, however, kills
in seconds. So, stay low and quickly crawl out of the house
through the nearest exit.
To conclude, fire is a friend when you can
manage it, but it is definitely a foe when it becomes too big
to handle. So, friends, the way to fight it by preventing it
from happening. If you follow these fire tips carefully, you
will be guaranteed peace when you are in your cozy home.






Points and
Elaborations

F1
F2






C1

C2

C3
C4

C5


C6
C7


C8


C9

C10




C11

C12


F3









Directed Writing - Article

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Important to remember

To score the 20 language marks, your writing needs to be firstly, almost errors-free; and
secondly, impressive.

For example, this question requires you to use the present tense most of the time, since it
presumably occurs in a present time.

You may impress your readers by the use of precise vocabulary/expressions, compound
and complex sentence structures in the elaboration of the given contents.

All being said, you have to be able to impress your readers with all these in addition to an
error-free writing. In short, language errors pull down marks.