SASS 3E Situational Writing Manual

1 St Andrew’s Secondary School Situational Writing Sec 3E

2 Introduction to Situational Writing Situational Writing in Paper 1, Section 2 carries 30 marks. It assess students’ ability to read and analyse given information and to expand the information intelligently to satisfy the task requirement. Situational writing is not letter writing. It can be a report, a letter, a brochure, an article etc. Even a report can be an incident report, a school report on a project etc. 1. Text Type In situational writing, you must know the text type required. Is it a report, a letter, an article in a magazine etc.? 2. Audience Who are you supposed to write to? If it is a speech, who are your listeners? This is very important because it will decide on your choice of words, formality etc. 3. Purpose What is the purpose of the writing? Is it to persuade, inform, raise an awareness? 4. Tone Just as with speaking, the tone in writing is affected by the writer's attitudes toward the reader and subject. Tone is VERY important. For example: If it is a letter to someone close to you, you need to be warm and friendly. But if it is a letter to an official organisation you need to be distant and serious. Usually the question will advise you on the appropriate tone. If the question does not do so, think very carefully what the appropriate tone should be before writing. 5. Task Fulfillment What does the question expect you to write? What details or elaborations do you need to add? Are there any words in bold in the question? If there are, you need to remember to give attention to them in your writing. 6. Format You must observe the format carefully. Format is marked under task fulfillment section. If your format is wrong, you might go one band down in Task Fulfillment. 7. Allocation of Marks Task Fulfillment: 10 marks Language: 20 marks 8. Writing Time Spend about 45 min on this section. Try not to spend more than 45 min. It might be a good idea to start with Situational Writing because many students tend to spend too much time in Section One (Free Writing), leaving themselves too little time for Situational Writing. However, if you begin with Situational Writing, do not spend more time than you should. If not, you will find yourself struggling to complete the Free Writing piece. 9. Length of Writing DO NOT write way beyond 350 words for Situational Writing. In this section, the text types you write are very specific. If you write too long, you would lose the effectiveness of the piece of writing. E.g. if a leaflet is too long (has excessive

3 information) or if a speech is too long, no one is going to read your leaflet or listen to you respectively. LETTER WRITING Basically, there are two types of letters: formal & informal. Areas of Focus Formal Letter Informal Letter Purpose To give feedback (commendations, complaints). To persuade (proposals, suggestions). To raise awareness (about an area of interest/concern or a problem etc.). To argue for a particular position (about a particular issue or problem). To thank or to ask for a favour. To update (about recent happenings or a specific incident). To inform (about a decision/choice). To request (for a favour/help). To find out more (about a particular area of interest/concern). Audience Someone distant of a higher rank, status or authority. Someone who is close to you. Tone Formal; restrained, polite and diplomatic Casual and relaxed, depending on writer’s relationship with recipient. Language Use ▪ Tense depends on the content of the letter. If the letter refers to past events (e.g. an incident that upset you), it should be written in past tense. If the letter is to suggest/propose something which can be done, use present/future tense. ▪ Use of adverbs and adjectives to make details more vivid. ▪ Use of connectors to show sequence, reason, contrast or consequences. ▪ No dialogues. ▪ No contractions (e.g. can’t) ▪ No short forms or abbreviations e.g. CCA. ▪ Use of modals to show formality and politeness e.g. Perhaps, you would like to…/ it would be good if you could…/Perhaps you could consider… ▪ Tense depends on the content of the letter. If the letter shares about your past experiences, it should be written in past tense. If the letter provides reasons for a particular decision/choice, use present/future tense. ▪ Use of adverbs and adjectives to make details more vivid. ▪ Use of connectors to show sequence, reason, contrast or consequences. ▪ No dialogues. ▪ Contractions allowed e.g. I won’t. ▪ Use of conversational markers allowed e.g. By the way…/Before I forget. ▪ No dialogues ▪ No short forms or abbreviations e.g. CCA because examiners may not know what these are. ▪ NO Singlish allowed. No slang e.g. Hey dude!

4 Format Refer to sample Refer to sample FORMAL LETTER [Your Name, Title, Address] Jeffrey Yeo Soon Lai Director Youth in Action 28 Sunshine Road Singapore 395028 [Date] 20 July 2007 [Recipient’s Name, Title & Address] Name of Recipient Publicity/Public Relations Manager/Officer Mega Computer Pte Ltd 52 Hill Street Singapore 127852 [Salutation] Dear Mr Muhd Imran ______________________________________________ LEAVE TWO LINES SPACING BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS LEAVE TWO LINES SPACING BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS LEAVE TWO LINES SPACING BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS Thank you. [it is only polite to add this even if it is a complaint letter] Yours sincerely [Your signature] Jeffrey Lim Soon Lai Add title of writer if you are representing an organisation. If not Name and Address would do. Date is mandatory. Add name of recipient if your know Write name of recipient if you know. If not: Dear Sir/Madam Subject Line Introduction paragraph to highlight purpose of letter. Content of the letter. You may want to indent the start of each paragraph, if not, LEAVE TWO LINES between paragraphs Each paragraph to address one point. Elaborate! Each paragraph to address one point. Elaborate! Concluding paragraph to thank recipient/seek action etc. Use the valediction/complimentary “Yours sincerely” if you know the name of the recipient. If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use “Yours faithfully”

5 [Full name of writer] INFORMAL LETTER [Your Address] 28 Sunshine Road Singapore 395028 [Date] 20 July 2007 [Salutation] Dearest Penny LEAVE TWO LINES SPACING BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS LEAVE TWO LINES SPACING BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS LEAVE TWO LINES SPACING BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS Thank you. [it is only polite to add this even if it is a complaint letter] Yours truly Jeff [Your name] Jeffrey Yeo Soon Lai 28 Sunshine Road #12-222 Singapore 395028 16 July 2007 Service Manager Mark’s Pizza 90 West Walk Avenue Date is mandatory. Usually affectionate salutation e.g. Dearest Introduction paragraph to enquire how the person is doing etc. Content of the letter. You may want to indent the start of each paragraph, if not, LEAVE TWO LINES between paragraphs Each paragraph to address one point. Elaborate! Each paragraph to address one point. Elaborate! Concluding paragraph to tell the recipient how much you look forward to hearing/seeing him/her soon etc.. Be friendly or affectionate e.g. Yours lovingly, Your loving son etc.. DO NOT use “Yours faithfully”

6 Singapore 452974 Dear Sir/Madam Complaint about Poor Service of Restaurant Staff On 15 July, I visited your restaurant for lunch with two of my friends. Your restaurant was highly recommended by a colleague for the scrumptious pizzas and fine service. However, on the afternoon of my visit, the poor of service one of your waiters, Mr. Larry Liew, left my friends and me feeling upset and dissatisfied. [reason for writing in] During my visit, your waiter, Mr. Liew, attended to us grudgingly with a sullen look. He gave us the menu and walked away without saying a word. Less than 5