IGCSE English as a Second Language: Listening, Writing, and Speaking
Preparing for your IGCSE English as a Second Language (ESL) exam can feel daunting. You are not just learning grammar
Learn how to write step-by-step answers, and score A* in your exam!
Announcement: Cambridge IGCSE, O Level and AS & A Level June 2025 past papers are now available.
You may be asked to write an informal letter to a friend or family member. Often, the question will require you to describe or explain something, or it may ask you to say what you think about a suggestion or a plan. The exam question will give you some ideas, and will tell you what you should include in your letter.
Remember: It is important to show that you can write in an informal style.
Write a short introduction for this post:
Make sure that you follow all instructions very carefully and write the required number of words. Aim for 15 words plus or minus from the maximum word limit guideline.
For English First Language Extended syllabus, aim for 435 words or so; or in the range of 435－465 words.
For English as a Second Language Extended syllabus, aim for 145 words or so.
Though there is no penalty in writing more than the suggested limit, it would be self-penalising to wrote more as you leave no time for other questions.
When you write, use your imagination as much as possible, but remember that your answer must always be relevant to the question.
One way to improve your writing is by using more adjectives and adverbs.
Example:
We had food and the music was good.
The above sentence could be made better by applying some adjectives like the below sentence.
We ate delicious food and the music was fantastic!
For example: Up to nine marks are awarded for content, and up to nine marks for language.
“Content” refers to the relevance and development of ideas; “language” refers to style and accuracy.
Below are some important points about writing a formal letter in your IGCSE exam:
You may be asked to write an article or a narrative, describe something or to write something persuasive. It is important that you read the question very carefully and that you express yourself effectively. You should also show that you can vary the style of your writing, depending on the topic.
In all the English subjects papers, you’ll be required to summarise a text. Below are some important points to help you score maximum marks for this section:
You may be asked to write your opinion about something in the form of a newspaper article, or perhaps for your school newsletter or magazine.
For English First Language, be sure to cover all the bullet points given.
For English as a Second Language, usually you will be given help in the form of a list of ideas or other people’s opinions, but you do not have to use them in your answer. You are free to use your own ideas, just be sure to keep to the topic.
You must show the examiner that you can use the English language for a specific purpose and that you can organise your ideas in a logical way.
Although you don’t have much time for planning, you should underline the key word(s) in the question to ensure you do exactly what is asked.
Write very brief notes, putting your ideas into a logical order. Also, check for repetition. When you have finished your writing, check your spelling, grammar and punctuation.
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Somya Damania
India
Ahmad Kadiri
South Africa
Omayma Muhammad
Saudi Arabia
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616 responses
Hi IGCSE team,
I am going to be joining the IGCSE curriculum next year. Is there anything I can do to prep for the subject, English as I’ve heard ICSE andIGCsE English are very different?
Thnx,
Ritu
Hi Ritu,
We have a number of available resources to help you prep for English:
Exam model answers ? https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/
Past exam papers ? https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/
You can also get your practice papers marked by a qualified subject expert here: https://www.skolatis.com/mark-your-papers/
You can also consider signing up our English revision course here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/
As for the difference between ICSE & IGCSE, we can?t comment on that as we do not know what is ?ICSE?.
Hello IGCSE team,my exams are next year may so i have plenty time! But i would like to know how to write narratives,because every time i describe something such as the atmosphere and other surrondings, my teacher deducts marks so:(
Hi John,
You should ask your teacher why did he/she deduct your marks. You can only improve when you know what makes you lose marks.
You can consider making use of our available resources to help improve your writing:
Exam model answers – https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/
You can also get your practice papers marked by a qualified subject expert here: https://www.skolatis.com/mark-your-papers/
I have difficulty in comprehension. I can’t generate ideas in descriptive writing. English is extremely challenging subject for me. Iam very hardworking. I’m not sure if I will pass igcse English first language. My school has advised me to drop literature.
Hi Shilu,
You?ll have to do a lot of practices and readings. Try increasing your range of vocabulary, adjectives, and verbs.
There are a number of ideas and skills you can use to improve the quality of description in your writing. Using interesting words can help to stop writing becoming dull and flat. The first words that occur are not always the most interesting that could be used, for example “nice” and “really”. It can help to think about what specific verbs and adjectives apply to the situation. For example, “We had a really nice dinner,” could become, “We enjoyed a tasty meal”. Variety makes writing interesting but remember adjectives are only one way of improving descriptions. Careful choice of verbs can help too.
To write effective descriptions you have to observe things around you and remember them so you can see them in your mind. Always try to experience the whole picture in your mind using all your senses, what you can see, hear, smell, feel, taste.
Good description should make a scene vivid to the reader. That means it should be clear and strong and, of course, believable. Scenes can be real – you are remembering a place, an event, or imaginary – you are writing a story and creating a setting. Description might involve time and place, a park at night requires a completely different description from during a busy day. How much description you put in depends on the purpose of your writing. If you want to set a scene for a story you will need less than if you are opting for descriptive essay. You must not be tempted to put in too much unnecessary description but select details which are needed to create the impression you want your reader to have. Don’t focus on something unless it is needed for plot, or to create a mood, or to capture atmosphere.
Whether describing a real person or creating characters they must be believable. Try to imagine that all people you describe, both real and made-up, have a full life, a history, a background but you only select what is needed for your writing. As you write always ask yourself, Is this the sort of thing this person would say? or do? or think? Remember people have appearance and personality. It is personality which is more important for your readers though you can use their appearance to make a point about their personality. As with describing scenes, avoid a list-like approach and remember you don’t have to describe everything from the top of a person’s head to their toes.
Hope this helps.
You can also use our available resources to help improve your English:
Exam model answers – https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/
Past exam papers – https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/
You can also get your practice papers marked by a qualified subject expert here: https://www.skolatis.com/mark-your-papers/
I would like to know if in the narrative/descriptive question (Paper 3, q2,3,4,5), are candidates penalised for exceeding the limit of 450 words.
Thank you.
Hi Arush,
No, you won’t be penalised for exceeding the word limit. However, you must make sure that you could finish writing in time. Do not try to write too much and be in danger to stray away from the topic.
Will i lose marks if i forget to sign off the letter?
You need to have proper opening: “Dear xxx,…” and proper ending: “Love, xxx” or “Sincerely, xxx” for letter writing.