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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Amal Elsayed
Kuwait
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616 responses
Hi! Thanks for all the help and guidance. I have some questions regarding the IGCSE ESL exam (0511).
1) Should I use word contractions in a school magazine article?
2) Should I use formal or semi-formal language in a school magazine article?
3) The new syllabus (from 2019) says that in Exercise 6 students must write a review/article/report. Does this mean that students won’t have to write a formal letter or an essay? Are these excluded from the exam?
Hello Ann,
Thank you for appreciating our efforts. Kindly read our suggestions below:
1) To be “safe”, please don’t use word contractions too often. Try to use the full form.
2) If this is for Exercise 6, Exercise 6 requires a more formal piece.
3) Yes, you are right. However, we suggest that you have to learn all formats: article, review, report.
TIP: The examiner is looking at whether you have done exactly what the task asks, including showing an awareness of purpose, audience and register.
You may be interested in our exam model answers. Our model answers will show you what is an A* answer is like for the writing questions/exercises: https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/.
You may also want to subscribe to our newsletter where we send out valuable FREE email courses. You will learn exam techniques & it will help you score A* in your exam.
hello team
can you help , i don’t get if a letter should be formal or informal
in our ESL book we have activity on pg 161 . where it says to write a letter to polly , who has write a problem on news paper letter and we have read it and telling him solution
9 below the question we are given point for our letter which will be based n them)
now we have for sure not meet polly, so will we consider this half formal and half informal .
Hi Janet,
For English as Second Language, Exercise 5 requires candidates to write an informal piece such as an email to a friend. On the other hand, Exercise 6 requires candidates to write a more formal piece such as a report or an article.
Check that you know why you are writing, who you are writing for and whether you should be writing informally or formally. For the content mark, the examiner is looking at whether you have done exactly what the task asks, including showing an awareness of purpose, audience and register.
TIP: Think about who you are writing to. Try to write as if you are talking to this person and you’ll automatically use the correct conversational tone and register.
You may be interested in our exam model answers. Our model answers will show you what is an A* answer is like for the writing questions/exercises: https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/.
You may want to subscribe to our newsletter where we send out valuable FREE email courses. You will learn exam techniques & it will help you score A* in your exam.
Hello IGCSE team! Thank you for providing us with this important tips. In 0500, on which side of the letter do we write the address and the date?
Hello Heti,
The address and date should be on the left side of the letter. However, you must follow the instructions from your teacher – there is no penalty to write on the right side as we know.
You may want to subscribe to our newsletter where we send out valuable FREE email courses. Learn exam techniques & score A* in your exam!
You may also be interested to purchase our exam model answers. Our model answers will show you what is an A* answer like for the writing questions/exercises:
https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/
Hi IGCSE team!
I am taking the IGCSE ESL extended version, and I have some doubts on how to write descriptive articles, such as about a place, or a trip.
What structure could I follow?
Also, what variety of grammar structures could I use in my writings so that I get points for language?
Thanks a lot!
Hi Raffaella,
You’ll have to do a lot of practices and readings. Try increasing your range of vocabulary, adjectives, and verbs. We’ve also listed some tips for you below:
– To write a strong descriptive answer you will need to use a wide range of vocabulary and even use imagery to engage reader interest. Unless the readers can see the picture they will not be able to relate to the experience
– You will need to evoke all five senses to create an environment and atmosphere, as well as details of size, shape and colour.
– Try to avoid common, overused, vague, short and childish vocabulary, such as ‘nice’, ‘big’, ‘little’, ‘a lot of’, ‘good’, and ‘bad’.
– Descriptive compositions must not become a narrative, which means character and event should not take over or be dominant.
You may want to subscribe to our newsletter where we send out valuable FREE email courses. Learn exam techniques & score A* in your exam!
You may also be interested to purchase our exam model answers. Our model answers will show you what is an A* answer like for the writing questions/exercises: https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/
Hi! I would like you to recommend English books for igcse 13&14 year old students please. Thank you
Hello Jas,
You may search on Amazon UK site for IGCSE related reference books.