General Guidelines on Continuous writing

BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lesson, the students should be able to :

1. understand the  tips on Continuous writing

2. Write a very presentable essay or letter.

REFERENCE :Ayo Banjo et. al (2015) :New Oxford Secondary English Course for Senior Secondary Schools (3) .WASSCE English Language Marking Guide (2019).

CONTENT: Knowing the fact that the examination on Continuous writing is to test the candidate’s ability to use English language as an effective means of communication in a given situation, it is important for you, students, to give all it takes to present a laudable piece of writing in your forthcoming external examinations.This lesson revises the things you already know. 

First you must be able to read through all the given questions,give each a thought before selecting the one you understand very well and on which you will have sufficient and relevant points to write.Second, draw out a plan of what you intend to write just like an architect does before building starts. This will surely make your work very easy. Sketch out what your introduction will look like, then you move to the body where you will need to develop your points in paragraphs and then your conclusion. Do not forget that your points must be sequentially presented. However, for stories,you may wish t start from the peak, that is the most interesting part and then use the flashback pattern. This is quite acceptable and it arouses the curiosity of the reader (the examiner, in this case ).Furthermore, ensure that your points are relevant to the question, do not go outside the box.Also, the legibility of your hand writing is very important, as the examiner will only be able to read and score you on what he or she can decipher through reading. So you need to write neatly and boldly. Avoid too many cancellations, if you must cancel do it neatly.In addition,be considerate in your choice of words, write simple English words. Do not write to ‘ impress’ the examiner. He has so many scripts to mark and so won’t have time to be checking the dictionary for the meanings of the words he doesn’t know.In conclusion, go over your work to be sure you dot your ‘I’ and cross your ‘t’. Avoid writing the word you’re not sure of its spelling, write its synonym, instead.

ASSIGNMENT: Open to your Past Questions’ booklet  and attempt any of the questions on Continuous writing for the year 2015. Best of luck.