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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Akshaya S T
Singapore
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616 responses
Hi,
How does one better their responses to :summary ,note taking and writers effect questions in 0500 first English language
Hello Nat,
Thank you for writing in.
Please kindly read our Summary writing tips here: https://www.skolatis.com/how-to-write-a-summary/
For Writer’s Effect segment, you must build your ability to spot the required phrases or words. Besides that, you must also practise on how to elaborate those phrases and words that you have chosen.
Furthermore, note-taking exercise is no longer included in English First Language exams. Please kindly download the latest papers here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-past-exam-papers/
You might be interested with our A* Exam Model Answers. You will able to see what is an A* answer like: https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/
You may also want to consider our revision course where we are able to provide a more comprehensive guide to fulfil your needs. Have a read at this page to learn how it works: https://www.skolatis.com/online-courses/
We hope this helps. Thank you.
Hi, how do I know which questions are note-taking questions? Can I start an answer using a pronoun e.g. It moved quickly / They stored the food…Tq.
Hello Benny,
Exercise 3 is the note-taking exercise. It tests the candidate’s ability to understand the text and extract the relevant information. It requires the candidates to write brief answers. We suggest that you use the length of the line as a guide to the length of your response.
Hiii, i took core in 0510
Article and email writing question states words should be between 100 and 150 words long.
But in school i had done writing as per extended syllabus and im used to it.
so question is in core syllabus if i write like 200+ words, will i lose marks for that? will the examiner read the whole article or email, or just upto the point where it has reached 150 words.
Hello Adam,
You will not be penalised if you exceed the word limit in an essay writing. However, you have to make sure you can finish all the writing on time. Our advice is not to write too much. Aim for quality rather than quantity. This means to focus more on writing excellent English rather than a long essay.
Here are some of our suggestions:
1. Write in paragraphs – these don’t have to be long, but each one should contain a different set of ideas
2. Answer the question – don’t forget any bullet points
3. Keep it organised and logical – this helps to keep you on the topic
4. Write accurately – so be careful to check your spelling, grammar and punctuation
You may also be interested to get the sample A* answers for these writing exercises. Learn what an A* answer like, follow and copy the style of the A* in the exam. Please find out more here: https://www.skolatis.com/igcse-exam-resources/
For more in-depth tutorial, you can also consider our English courses here: https://www.skolatis.com/cambridge-igcse-revision-courses/
We hope this helps. Thank you.
Hi, i have a question on Note making exercise..
Does the answer i write in note making have to be exactly whats in the markscheme
for example, for the question asked “Why bees are importand”, i wrote it plays a vital role in pollination, but the answer on the markscheme is just pollination
So would i lose marks for writing more than that is on the markscheme
I hope you understand the question im trying to ask.
Thank You
Hello Charlie Mark,
Although you would not lose marks for writing in full sentence, it is advised that note-taking requires only note-form answers and that extended answers may risk including incorrect details which could affect marks awarded.
We hope this helps.
But if the note taken is directly related to the question, theres no risk of losing a mark right? Because just writing *pollination* for that question i mentioned before dosent make sense for me and i get paranoid if i just write that, i would a lose mark.
Hello Charlie Mark,
For the note-taking exercise, it tests the candidate’s ability to understand the text and extract the relevant information. It requires the candidates to write brief answers. We suggest that you use the length of the line as a guide to the length of your response.
Can I know if there will be a reduction in marks in English as first language for writing a plot similar to an already published work in the narrative task?
For example, I wrote a sample for practice and it sounded a bit like the story of the Titanic, mainly revolving around a ship (the plot and characters, however, were from my own imagination). Will this affect the marks recieved?
Hello Fey,
You may use your own knowledge and experiences as inspiration. It is better to think of something that actually happened to you, or someone you know, or which you read in a book or saw in a film, than to try to make up something entirely from scratch. It will sound more convincing.
However, you will need to adapt, embellish and exaggerate the original idea to make it relevant, fresh and memorable – just retelling the plot synopsis or giving a factual account is not likely to interest your reader.
We hope this helps. Thank you.