Here is a comment on students' performance from the Longman website:

"Besides copying directly and indiscriminately from the Data File, other major problems frequently mentioned by the examiners include the inability of students to do the following:

• select and organise information logically
• express ideas clearly and coherently in their own words
• show knowledge of both simple and more difficult language structures
• understand the purpose and audience for their writing."

http://ue-eng.ilongman.com/section/ef_content.asp

These are the situations and roles which candidates were assigned in recent years:

Year	Role and Situation

2007 2006	Chair of a school computer club applying for sponsorship. 2007 Model Answer A trainee reporter for a general interest magazine who has to write an article about a Hong Kong businessman and adventurer. 2006 Model Answer
2005	The chairperson of a school's Computer Club, helping to inform the teaching staff about interactive whiteboards.
2004	A student who is investigating the possibility of setting up an extra-curricular programme.
2003	A member of a school project team that is collecting information from parents and other relatives about their childhood memories.
2002	A member of a school's English Club, helping to prepare the school's anniversary newsletter.
2001	A school newspaper reporter who visited mainland China as part of an educational exchange project.
2000	A part-time worker who has been selected as the student representative on the school's Careers Centre Open Day Planning Committee.

Note that the situations are usually ones which students should easily relate to. Most often you have to take the role of a student representing a school club or team and you have to write on behalf of the school. Familiarising yourself with the style and register of good examples of this kind of writing will help you to prepare for the exam, so it is a good idea to:

• Read and analyse school yearbooks and newsletters.
• Read and analyse formal correspondence from school to you and your parents.
• Read and analyse notices on your school's website.

These are the tasks that students had to complete in recent exams:

Year

Tasks

2007 2006	1)sponsorhip request letter 2)completing a table of FAQ responses 1) writing an article 2) completing a table
2005	1) drafting an FAQ handout 2a) completing one section of a report 2b) writing up three other sections of the report
2004	1) writing a report 2) preparing a tabular chart
2003	1) completing two data forms 2) completing a table of advice 3) writing a letter to the editor
2002	1) writing an article 2) completing a timeline 3) correcting a fact sheet
2001	1) writing an article 2) completing a tabular chart 3) preparing a slide for a talk
2000	1a) writing an article 1b) completing a 'Tips' section that will accompany the article 2) completing a programme of events 3) completing four 'Client Information' cards.

By far the most common task over the past few years has been writing an article, so familiarity with how articles should be written will obviously help candidates.

Most years, candidates have also had to complete tabular forms, charts or fact sheets. It is advisable to attempt these short tasks first in order to pick up marks quickly while familiarising oneself with the data file by scanning for the information required.

Read instructions carefully and follow them. Pay particular attention to instructions which tell you whether or not you need to use complete sentences, use a particular tense, write questions, correct errors or demonstrate other grammatical skills.

Remember that for this paper, examiners are not concerned with your ability to use the language creatively. What matters is your ability to follow instructions, select relevant information, and process this information so as to produce texts which are coherent, clear and concise. Examiners have to follow a rigid marking scheme and most of the marks awarded are for content.

Typically, the instructions for the long writing task appear in the form of a memo or an e-mail from the person on whose behalf you are writing. These instructions will often set out the order in which information is supposed to be presented, and by reading these instructions you should have a clear idea of how your article, letter or report should be paragraphed and of what subheadings you may use if appropriate.

Plan your answer in the form of a mindmap. This will make it easier for you to add points to your plan which you may have missed as you scan through the data file several times. Allow five to ten minutes for planning.

Good paragraphing and the use of simple linking phrases will increase your marks for readability. Keep sentences short and follow a subject-verb-object pattern. Avoid getting tangled up by using tricky conditionals and passive constructions; only use these if absolutely necessary.

Time spent planning will give you a better idea of how much you need to write. If time is running short towards the end of the exam and you have a clear idea of how many points you still need to add, you may try to write even more concisely. You may even write points here in the form of a list - but avoid switching to point form. Compare these answers to part of the 1996 paper:

1. "On the other hand, there are several objections to animal culling. Firstly, the IFAW argues that most methods of culling are inhumane as it is practically impossible to ensure that large numbers of animals are killed swiftly and without suffering. In addition, culling is in fact often unnecessary or even detrimental to the environment in the long run since it interferes with the delicate predator-prey balance in nature. A final objection to culling is that farmers and fishermen often support it out of concern for short-term commercial interests, while disregarding animals' suffering and without fully understanding the environmental issues."

2. "However, there are also objections to culling. The IFAW argues that culling is inhumane; it is hard to cull so many animals quickly and painlessly. It is also often unnecessary or harms the environment by disturbing the natural predator-prey balance. Finally, those who support it do so for short term commercial gain and don't care about animal rights or the environment."

3. "Objections to culling include that it is inhumane, often unnecessary or even harmful to the environment, and a short-term solution supported by people who don't care about animal rights or the environment."

4. Objections to culling: inhumane; unnecessary; harmful - environment; short term.


The first answer is very fluent and uses linking well, but most candidates will find it difficult to write with this level of sophistication in the time allowed. The candidate who writes like this may risk running out of time or exceeding the word limit for the task. The second answer covers all the same points more concisely and still uses good style including linking phrases - it will probably get as many marks as the first answer. The third answer covers most of the points clearly and writing like this would be a good strategy for a candidate who is pressed for time; it will get most of the marks available for this part of the paper and will get high marks for readability. The final answer is of course inappropriate.





Remember that your answers should be concise, should fit comfortably into the space provided and should be grammatically correct. This last point is especially important when the tasks involve sentence completion.

Pay attention to the margins labelled for examiners' use only as these will sometimes give you an indication of how the paper will be marked. Look at the number of marks available for the task as a whole and subtract from this the number of marks which can be awarded for language, relevance and readability. In this way you can deduce how many marks are available for content and therefore how many points of information you need to find.