Extended formal writing
About 130 to 150 words in the formal register on four bullets: informing, narrating and convincing (Higher).
Learn
Extended formal writing, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know the task
Higher Question 2 gives a choice of two tasks, each with four bullets, answered in about 130 to 150 words in the formal register. It is worth 28 marks: 16 for communication and content and 12 for linguistic knowledge and accuracy.
Write formally for an adult or a public reader
An article, a letter to an organisation or a report uses આપ or તમે, formal openings and closings, and no slang. Address the reader respectfully throughout.
Develop and justify every point
Give information, narrate, and express and justify your ideas: each bullet deserves an opinion with a reason and an example. મારા મતે આ યોજના ઉપયોગી છે, કારણ કે ....
Show a range of structures
Use more than one tense, and some Higher structures: જો ... તો with -ત, જોઈએ for should, કર્યા પછી, તેમ છતાં and the passive where it fits.
Plan the four bullets before you write
Spend a few minutes planning a paragraph per bullet and the connectives between them, then leave time to check genders, agreements and verb endings.
Extended formal writing key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Justify
- Give a reason for an opinion, often with કારણ કે or કેમ કે.
- Complex structure
- A more advanced form, such as a conditional, an obligation with જોઈએ or a passive.
- Formal register
- Polite, respectful language with no slang, for adults and public readers.
- Article
- A piece of writing for a magazine, a newsletter or a website.
- Paragraph
- A group of sentences on one point, which helps the examiner follow your answer.
Common mistakes in Extended formal writing
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Slipping into informal forms halfway through.
Check every you and your against the register: આપ or તમે, never તું.
Stating opinions without reasons.
Follow each one with કારણ કે and an example.
Using only simple present-tense sentences.
Plan where a conditional, a past narrative and a જોઈએ sentence will go.