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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616 responses
Hi. Can you help me out in article writing? I have practised it a few times but my exams are drawing near and I feel like I am not prepared for it. A few tips would be very helpful!
Hi Neens,
For article writing, examiners are looking for answers that:
? are the right length ? remember to check how many words you need to write
? have paragraphs ? these don?t have to be long, but each one should contain a different set of ideas
? answer the question ? don?t forget any bullet points
? are organised and logical ? this helps to keep you on the topic
? are accurate ? so be careful to check your spelling, grammar and punctuation
? are clear to read ? so keep your handwriting tidy.
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/
please answer ASAP
in my igcse esl exam i invented such a new word called cleanful and wrote it how many marks will i lose in my language
Hi Amar,
Kindly refer to the marking scheme, https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/
Hi I find answering the last question in Paper 1 (IGCSE Edexcel) quite difficult
What are the ways I could improve answering those type of questions?
Hi Ammar,
For Paper 1, skim read the passages before you look at the different parts of the question. Then scan the passage to find the answer to each part of the question in turn. Generally, the questions will get more challenging as you work through, so watch out for instructions designed to help you. Try if you can to ?hear? your answer read out in your head ? this will help you to check that you are using an appropriate register (that it sounds right). Lastly, remember that the quality of your writing is being judged in this part of the question paper.
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/
Hi, in Paper 2(section A),candidates are usually required to address 3 bullet points.
We need to base our answers on the passage but to use our own words.
My question is; can we add (develop) the ideas from the passage using our own ideas?
Thank you in advance.Looking forward for your reply.
Hello,
You must always provide all the necessary points according to the 3 bullet points in the question.
If you are given bullet points to remind you of what should be included, use them to check you have covered what is required. These bullet points can also help you to structure your answer. The material from the passage should be put into the appropriate section and not repeated.
You must always take the points from the passage without creating your own which is not mentioned inside the reading passage. The more you can adapt the details from the passage to suit the task you have been set, the more likely you are to score well for reading.
Hello , IGCSE I would like to ask you about the ESL Paper 2 , for the writing and summary is it okay if I write more than the numbers of words expected. ???
Hello,
The important point in writing a Summary is to not go beyond the word limit. You must always use your own words when writing Summary. The points must be taken from the passage, but change them to your own words. Not all the words could be changed, for example, a chair is a chair, a hand is a hand? etc. You can?t possibly change all the words, just justify them. Lastly, do not write beyond the lines given, to avoid your answers not able to fit into the scanned screen.
Do refer to the syllabus: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-subjects-syllabuses/ to get a better idea of what is expected. You can also refer to the mark scheme of past exams: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/
Your site is really amazing but I am suffering from English as a First language exam .can you help me by giving some more tips to attempt paper1 of it.
Hello,
For Paper 1, skim read the passages before you look at the different parts of the question. Then scan the passage to find the answer to each part of the question in turn. Generally, the questions will get more challenging as you work through, so watch out for instructions designed to help you. Try if you can to ?hear? your answer read out in your head ? this will help you to check that you are using an appropriate register (that it sounds right). Lastly, remember that the quality of your writing is being judged in this part of the question paper.
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/
hi,
can I write numbers in like this in my exams 123 or I have to write it in like this one two three
(for English as a second language and Arabic as a first language
Hi Subhi,
Please refer to your teacher regarding this.
You can also check the latest syllabus for guide https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-subjects-syllabuses/.