Answer the exact question
A polished essay can still lose marks when it answers a related topic instead of the task. Identify the topic, instruction words and every part you must address before choosing ideas.
- Underline whether you must discuss, compare, explain causes or give an opinion
- Write your position in one clear sentence
- Choose ideas you can explain, not ideas that merely sound advanced
Plan development, not just paragraphs
Each body paragraph needs one controlling idea, an explanation and a relevant example. A Zimbabwean example is completely acceptable when it answers an international topic naturally.
- Introduction: paraphrase and position
- Body 1: idea, explanation and example
- Body 2: second idea, explanation and example
- Conclusion: restate the answer without introducing new ideas
Review against four criteria
Writing is assessed for task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, and grammatical range and accuracy. Improve the weakest criterion rather than collecting memorised phrases.
- Check that every paragraph advances your answer
- Replace vague words with precise, natural vocabulary
- Correct sentence boundaries, agreement and punctuation