Old Writing Paper VS New Writing Paper

PART 1
SIMILARITIES

OLD FORMAT NEW FORMAT

Choose one and give reasons Choose one and give reasons/advice
Short text (50 words) Short text (80 words)
DIFFERENCES

OLD FORMAT NEW FORMAT

Text for reference (allow you to
lift text)
Have several formats (Post
card/email/note)
10 marks
No text for reference (you think of your own
content)
Seem to only ask for simple note
20 marks

PART 2
SIMILARITIES

OLD FORMAT NEW FORMAT

1 topic 1 general topic
Longer text  (More than 150 words) Longer text (about 120 words)
DIFFERENCE

OLD FORMAT NEW FORMAT

Formatted writing
(letter, report, article, speech etc) Simple essay (no format)

More than 150 words About 120 words

Specific general
30 marks 20 marks

HOW TO ANSWER PART 1

1. Go Sraight To The Point
Previously, many teachers, even I am guilty of this.
We ask students to start with greetings.
“Hi, how are you? I hope you are fine. I am fine here.”
That is considered BAD in the new format. Why? Because it’s NOT
NATURAL. Think about this,
A:   “What are you going to do this weekends?”
B:   “Hey, how are you? Im good. By the way, I am planning to go to the library
this Saturday.”
or
A:   “What are you going to do this weekends?”
B:   “I am thinking to go to the library this Saturday.”
Which is more natural in your daily life? There you go. Remember, natural
language wins. 
So in the new format we want to take away all the not so natural greetings and
go straight to the point.

 "Hi, how have you been Alex. I hope you are doing fine. I have read your message and I
want to give you some advice. I think you should choose cooking. ..."

That’s how we all should respond to part 1.

2. Explain All the Good Things and Some of the Bad

Things
One way to help students elaborate is to get them to think about the good things
about their choice and the bad things about what they have rejected.
For example, from the question, lets choose cooking.

"I think you should choose cooking. If you know how to cook, you can always make
yourself some food. It is also cheaper to cook at home. You do not have to go out and
eat at the cafe and restaurants all the time. Plus, when you have time, you can cook
for your family. Oh, and you can cook for me!" [62 words]

You already have  62 words – only by listing down all the good things about your
choice of hobby.
What if the students don’t have so many ideas?
Then, write some negative things about the others

"I think you should choose cooking. If you know how to cook, you can always make
yourself some food. It is also cheaper to cook at home. You do not have to go out and
eat at the cafe and restaurants all the time. I think cycling is expensive, because you
need to buy a bicycle. And if you start painting, you also need to buy brushes and
paint. " [69 words]

3. A Short and Sweet Ending 

Again, write as natural as you can.

"I think you should choose cooking. If you know how to cook, you can always make
yourself some food. It is also cheaper to cook at home. You do not have to go out and
eat at the cafe and restaurants all the time. I think cycling is expensive, because you
need to buy a bicycle. And if you start painting, you also need to buy brushes and
paint. So I think cooking is the best for you. Hope this helps.  " [82 words]

HOW TO ANSWER PART 2

1. No more format

2. Use the guide questions. (WH-questions)

3. A freer topic means more room to focus on the

language.
The new question seems to be giving more room for students’ own idea, you
can use the opportunity to focus on things that your students can relate to, and
get them to write. For example, you no longer ask them to write about Hari
Raya, get them to write about the celebration that they celebrate i.e: Christmas,
Chinese New Year, Kaamatan, Deepavali, etc. This way, students with all kinds
of background can relate and can spend more time on building the language
and fixing them.
4. Keep thing Short and Simple
Have MEANING in what you write:

 You’re telling something in response to the questions,

 Readers get something from the answers