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
Hello! I am taking the English as a second language Extended exam. When we write a report, do we need to use headings? Will we lose marks if we dont?
Hello Annetnnetnnet,
Headings can be added but it is not mandatory.
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You can also learn from downloading the Examiner?s Report here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/. You can use them to study what are the needed points to gain marks. You could also learn the common mistakes candidates made during the exam.
Hello respected team,
thank you for the tips!
Actually my current exams would be based on formal letter writing. I really need more help on this topic and would be grateful enough if the team shared more tips for this.
One more topic I need help with is narrative writing. I mostly lose my marks over there and need tips to improve on that topic too.
Lastly, I would like more improvisation on reading comprehension. Are there any tips for comprehension too? if so please do tell me
Hello Priyam,
You are very much welcome. Here are some of our suggestions:
For formal letter writing, it is really important to remember who you are writing for and to address them directly. The opening needs to introduce clearly the situation and purpose of the task, and will be rewarded if it puts the reader in the picture. Keep your focus on what the question is asking you to do. Lastly, you need to link your ideas together logically so that if someone in real life was reading this response they would follow what you are saying step by step.
For the narrative writing, decide on a tense and then stick to it; do not jump between present and past. A narrative has to build up to a climax and lead towards a conclusion which is planned before it starts or it will end lamely or incomprehensibly, or the pace will be too slow or too fast. Don’t try to do too much and if you do use dialogue, find synonyms for ‘he said/she said’. Lastly, end your narrative deliberately.
This article might help you to improve your reading comprehension : https://www.skolatis.com/5-exam-tips-for-reading/
You may 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/
regarding English 0510 exercise – summary, how do you make the points coherent? and what are the cohesive devices we can use?
Hi there,
We believe that this article would help you in this: https://www.skolatis.com/how-to-write-a-summary/
In order to make a coherent piece of writing, write in a concise, succinct style. It must be direct to the point and focused on the key details only. Do not include examples, repetition, direct speech, figurative language and minor details.
Write A* answers with the help of our Exam Model Answers. Simply copy the style of the answers and score A*. You may purchase them here: https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/
If you need further clarifications, do not hesitate to write to us again.
thankyou IGCSE team . your tips are very helpful. in English as a second language ( 0510 ) in summary writing how do we link all the points together so the writing would be smooth?
Hello Yamna,
Combine simple sentences into complex sentences by using a range of connectives and participles. Above all avoid using ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘so’.
For more tips in how to write a summary, please kindly read this article: https://www.skolatis.com/how-to-write-a-summary/.
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/
Hi! For the English as a second language, in a school magazine article, is it better to use second person “we” instead of third person “the students”? Also when the instruction says write an article for your school magazine, GIVING YOUR VIEWS. Do we choose to write a one-sided article or a two sided article?
I mean both are correct and it’s up to us to decide, right?
Hi Cardinhia,
When writing a school article, adopt an appropriate register with a sense of purpose and audience. Addressing your fellow students by employing pronouns like ‘we/us’, along with rhetorical questions will invite the reader to consider the topic as the arguments were developed. Also, it is up to you if you’re going to write the topic from two sides (for and against) or from just one (your opinion).
Tip: If you are going to write a two-sided (balanced) piece of writing, remember to include your opinion in the last paragraph. If you want to write only from your own point of view, include it in the first paragraph.
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/.
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