2/1/2021 Writing: Exercise 6 (Writing an article) – IGCSE AID

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Writing: Exercise 6 (Writing an article)

This is the final exercise of Paper 1 and 2. It can be an article, a report

(h ps://igcseaid.wordpress.com/notes/english-as-a-second-language-0511/writing-exercise-6-writing-a-
report/) or a review (h ps://igcseaid.wordpress.com/notes/english-as-a-second-language-0511/writing-
exercise-6-writing-a-report-2/) writing. We’ll look at articles here.

You will be given a topic (more like a question to ponder up on) on which you have to write your views
and opinions. This can either be a two-sided article (for and against) or a one-sided article (just your
opinion). It is up to you to decide.

The topics usually given for this exercise are easy enough that you can come up with points right there
in the exam, but it is good if you read upon various issues from around the word (obesity, technological
influences, environmental issues, animal welfare, teenager issues etc).

So here’s how to a empt this question:

Before you start it is a good idea that you come up with a plan. Use the blank space below the
question to make your plan, in pencil. In your plan write down the answers to these questions:
The audience: this will be specified in the question (it is almost always a school magazine). So
when you write, keep in mind that you need to write to that audience. Your language, tone and
vocabulary should reflect this.
Is my article going to be two-sided or one-sided? If you know a lot about the topic and can weigh
up the pros and cons, then go for two-sided. If you’re not too knowledgeable about it, stick to one-
sided.
How do I introduce the topic? Start off by saying what the topic is and how important the topic is
in today’s world. Why it is such a problem? Or is it a problem?
What’s in the body? Write down three points. (If it’s two-sided write two pros and two cons). You
will develop your body based on these points. A few points will be given in your question paper,
and you can use those!
How will I conclude the article? You need to sum up your points and give your final opinion
(even if it’s two-sided, give your final opinion on the ma er).

Organise. By now, you’ve pre y much come up with the contents of your article. Now organise your
points into paragraphs.
One-sided Article:Paragraph 1: Introduction

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Paragraph 2: First point with justification (or counter-argument)

Paragraph 3: Second point with justification (or counter-argument)
Paragraph 4: Opposing point which you contradict (here, you state a point said by people who
have a different opinion from yours and explain why they are wrong. This is called argument
and counter-argument)
Paragraph 5: Conclusion- summary, (solution?), repeat your opinion
Two-sided Article:Paragraph 1: Introduction
Paragraph 2: Advantages/’For’
Paragraph 3: Disadvantages/’Against’
Paragraph 4: Conclusion- Summary and final opinion

Write. Use a variety of connecting words and argumentative phrases. Examples:

Expressing opinions:I agree/ disagree with the above statement that

In my opinion
I believe that
I am in favour of
I am against the idea of
It seems to me that
I sympathize with
Presenting and contrasting opinions:The main argument in favour/ against is
It is often said that
First of all I should like to consider
Apart from that
Even though
Furthermore
In addition
Moreover
Nevertheless
And
Or
But
Finally
Lastly
Despite the fact that/ In spite of
On the other hand
On the contrary
Whereas
What is more
What ma ers most in this case is
It is a fact that
Besides
After all
There is no doubt that
Reasoning:Because of
As a result of
Owing to
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Through
Due to
Consequently
On account of
Therefore
Hence
Concluding:To sum up
To conclude
It can be concluded that
I believe that
Thus, I am of the opinion that
Argumentative verbs (use these instead of say/tell):
Claim
Assert
Insist
Argue
Allege
Suggest
Point out
Maintain

Here’s an example of a one-sided article. This is one-sided because, even though it weighs up both ‘for’
and ‘against’ points, in each paragraph it contradicts the ‘for’ points and alludes to the same conclusion
that zoos should be abolished. This is called the argument/counter-argument format.

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This is an example I found on the internet; not mine!

Tips

Use your own points, words and phrases as far as possible. The more original your content is, the
be er.
Give a suitable title
Keep to the word limit 150-200 words. Exceeding a li le over 200 is not a problem.
Always have an introduction and conclusion
Always organise your points into paragraphs. One para for each point (one-sided) or all advantages
in one para and disadvantages in another para (two-sided) is the ideal format.
A final opinion has to be given.
Punctuation, spelling and grammar is very important. Check your writing once you’re done.

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Time Management

For the core paper 1 take 20 minutes for this exercise

For the extended paper 2, 30 minutes should suffice to answer this question. Spend 10 minutes to come
up with a plan, 15 minutes to organise and write your article. Use the 5 minutes left to read over your
article, make changes and correct spelling, grammar and punctuation errors.

Notes submi ed by Lintha

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36 thoughts on “Writing: Exercise 6 (Writing an article)”

1.
Haroon says:
November 21, 2020 at 8:21 am
Can You all make some notes for E-mail writing too, please?

REPLY
1.
Sarah says:
November 22, 2020 at 10:26 am
Hi Haroon,
The reason we haven’t made separate notes for email writing is because email writing follows the
same rules as le er writing.
I hope this helps!

2. REPLY
Sara says:
November 9, 2020 at 7:35 pm
Thank you so much it helped me alot and gave me information
I appreciate it .

REPLY
1.
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2/1/2021 Writing: Exercise 6 (Writing an article) – IGCSE AID
1.
Sarah says:
November 10, 2020 at 9:57 am
We’re really glad you found the notes helpful!
We hope you ace your exams

REPLY
3.
linda says:
October 13, 2020 at 4:05 am
This has really helped me alot thanks so much.

REPLY
1.
Lintha says:
October 19, 2020 at 6:16 am
Welcome!

4. REPLY
khalid says:
June 2, 2020 at 1:43 pm
i would like to kniw how to exactly improve my vocabulary, because ones i get to know a new word
i doesnt work out for me to use it in a sentence

REPLY
1.
Sarah says:
June 7, 2020 at 12:15 pm
Hi Khalid,
My top tips to you would be:
1. Always carry a small dictionary with you, so you can look up definitions of new words as you
find them.
2. Read English books (this is really good for picking up good spelling and grammar, as well as
understanding the proper usage of words)
3. Watch English movies (this is good for picking up slang, phrases, expressions, learning how
natives talk and working on your listening skills)
4. Make a friend who is a native English speaker and practise with them – this could be an online
friendship, a pen pal, or an in-person friendship

REPLY
5.
Renjith Kaimal.N says:
February 29, 2020 at 8:29 am
It’s really worthy for learners as well as facilitators. Can we teach the same methods for report
writing too, with slight differences?

REPLY
1.
Zainab says:
November 30, 2020 at 9:24 am
I wanted to ask if the newspaper article is formal or informal. Also if the school magazine articles
are formal or informal?

REPLY
1.
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1.
Sarah says:
December 6, 2020 at 12:01 pm
Hi Zainab,
Sorry for the delay in ge ing back to you!
Deciding if your newspaper article is formal or informal depends on your audience and the
topic of the article! If your article is aimed at a more formal audience/ newspaper, then your
writing should be formal. For example, if your target audience is known to be a more sombre,
formal group of people, writing in a formal style would cater be er to their tastes.
Alternatively, if you were writing to people your own age or younger than you, they may
enjoy reading a more informally wri en article – however, avoid using slang and the kind of
abbreviations used over SMS or social media (i.e. u instead of you, yl, brb, lmao, lol, etc.)
No ma er which audience you are talking to, however, if your topic is serious e.g. war,
famine, natural disasters, mental health, etc. you should always write formally – writing
informally about serious topics could be considered very disrespectful.
There are some topics where the decision to write formally or informally is totally up to you!
Sometimes you want your writing style to sound more fun and casual when talking about a
particular topic, sometimes you want it to sound more reflective. An example of a topic that
you could write formally OR informally about is love!

I hope this helps!

REPLY
6.
Sanusi Gikineh says:
February 26, 2020 at 9:47 pm
This is great work. I’ve learned a lot and I believe to see more .

REPLY
1.
gayatri2000 says:
May 3, 2020 at 9:16 am
Thank you so much. We are trying our best to update it as soon as possible.

REPLY
1.
linda says:
October 13, 2020 at 4:07 am
But how do you end an article

REPLY
1.
Lintha says:
October 19, 2020 at 6:16 am
Hello!
Summarise the points you have made in a two or three sentence. If you have an opinion,
stress on it. Check the example given in the article above too!

REPLY
7.
rayan says:
January 29, 2020 at 6:33 pm
thank you ! you impressed me so much reading it

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2/1/2021 Writing: Exercise 6 (Writing an article) – IGCSE AID

REPLY
1.
gayatri2000 says:
May 3, 2020 at 7:00 pm
Thank you so much

8. REPLY
Erene Isaac says:
November 23, 2019 at 6:49 pm
very accurate and helpful as well

9. REPLY
jeannebookreviews says:
November 14, 2019 at 1:47 pm
Thank you for the notes, I greatly appreciate them. If I understand correctly an article is mostly about
your opinions.

REPLY
10.
Basmalla says:
November 5, 2019 at 5:42 pm
Really thank u it helped me so much through my last exam

11. REPLY
SCORPION1 says:
November 5, 2019 at 12:43 pm
Thank you very much! I will appear for IGCSE this MAY/JUNE

12. REPLY
OLAYEYE Olusegun Joseph says:
August 18, 2019 at 9:49 am
This site is designed as a communication guide for everyday speakers of English language, most
especially, the ESL speakers. To Africans and all learners of English language, I say congratulations.
More power to your elbow, admin….

13. REPLY
ynx says:
April 20, 2019 at 1:39 pm
How do you come up with ideas for formal writing?

REPLY
14.
Hesham says:
April 10, 2019 at 5:00 pm
is it wrong if i write subheading between each paragraph??

REPLY
1.
Lintha says:
April 11, 2019 at 6:32 am
If it’s an article, that’s okay.
But avoid having too many subheadings (three is generally a good number, taking into account
the 250 word limit)
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2. REPLY
Neeharika says:
September 8, 2019 at 1:51 pm
No. it is not wrong if you write subheadings in between the paragraphs.

15. REPLY
ynx says:
April 6, 2019 at 12:58 pm
is there any notes for how to write a report or a review for the new syllabus 2019?
for an article, when the question says ” giving your views ” is it one-sided or two-sided?

REPLY
1.
Lintha says:
April 7, 2019 at 12:09 pm
Hi! We will put up the report writing notes by the end of the month as we’re currently updating
notes to match the 2019 syllabus. Stay tuned!
As for the second query, a question will usually ask you to ‘give your views’ in a two-sided
argument (as a conclusion). A one-sides article is essentially only your views right?
Hope that clears up the doubt.

REPLY
1.
ynx says:
April 7, 2019 at 9:42 pm
I’m not sure I understand, if a question says “ Write an article to your school magazine, giving
your views”, does that mean I have to write a two-sided article or a one-sided article?

Also, I’m a self-studying student so it’s quite hard for me to study english as the summary,
informal and formal wri ing requires someone to actually check them. Do you know any
websites where I can find free tutors?

REPLY
1.
Lintha says:
April 8, 2019 at 2:53 am
In that case, a one-sided article will do.
I’m afraid I don’t know about free online tutoring. Refer to different websites for more tips.
Keep working out different papers and check your answers against their marking schemes,
making sure you’ve stuck to the points I outlined above. Summary writing can be a pain in
the neck and so practice is key.

2. REPLY
Fardin says:
September 23, 2020 at 12:41 pm
Try using ProWritingAid.com and VirtualWritingTutor.com

REPLY
16.
Sakina Khan says:
February 10, 2019 at 1:06 pm
I enjoyed reading this and also helped me in my exam out of 30 I got 28 and I was really happy thank
you for making this happen

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REPLY
1.
Lintha says:
February 10, 2019 at 1:10 pm
Congrats!! It’s great to hear that what we’re doing is actually helping others!!

17. REPLY
Pnad says:
February 4, 2019 at 3:21 pm
Very helpful to all students!
Great job.

18. REPLY
Shahad says:
October 10, 2018 at 8:49 pm
I think this clearly explains the rules of the article writing. I can easily understand theough those
points which helps me figure out to easily write an article. Thank you so much.

REPLY
1.
Sarah says:
October 16, 2018 at 3:00 pm
Thank you for your kind comment!
We’re really happy that we’ve been of help

Good luck with your exams!

REPLY

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