Assignment 1: Writing to Discuss, Argue or Persuade (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Language)
Revision Note
Written by: Deb Orrock
Reviewed by: Kate Lee
Assignment 1: Writing to Discuss, Argue or Persuade
Assignment 1 requires you to select and evaluate facts, opinions and arguments from a text or texts. You are also required to write in a highly effective and technically accurate style, adapting your form and language to suit your audience and purpose.
Overview
This assignment is a piece of directed writing in response to a text or texts chosen by your teacher (or by you with your teacher’s approval). The assignment is assessed equally for both reading and writing, and to achieve top marks the examiners are looking for the following:
Reading (15 marks):
Your ability to select, put together and evaluate facts, opinions and arguments to give a developed and sophisticated response
Your ability to successfully evaluate both explicit and implicit ideas and opinions from your chosen text(s)
Writing (15 marks):
Your ability to display a highly effective style of writing capable of conveying subtle meaning
Your ability to use effective language and to structure a response carefully
A high degree of technical accuracy (spelling, grammar and punctuation are accurate)
Depending on the choice of reading material, a typical Assignment 1 response would be to reply to the author of your chosen text(s) in the form of a letter. However, a speech or an article in which you are able to argue ideas are equally permissible. Whatever the form, you should be able to give an overview of the argument as a whole and demonstrate your understanding by commenting on specific ideas presented by the author of your chosen text or texts. This should include an explanation of any ideas of interest and an argument for or against them, as well as an examination of inconsistencies and the recognition of bias.
A copy of all texts used for Assignment 1 must be included in your portfolio.
Assignment examples
The text or texts chosen for Assignment 1 should be of a sensible length and not include literature. They need to be texts which have plenty of ideas and opinions with which you can engage. Most of the time, the chosen text or texts are articles, but they could also be the words of speeches or even travel literature. The following are some examples of suitable assignments for this task:
Write a letter to Natasha Devon in response to her article ‘Why social media should be banned for under 16s’. |
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You are a local resident and feel very strongly about the ideas suggested in your local newspaper about potential changes to the local transport system. Write a response to the editor in which you argue for or against the proposed ideas. |
Write a letter to Noelle McCarthy in response to her article ‘Being different will only end in tears’. |
Adapting your writing to suit form, audience and purpose
Your audience for this task will be the intended recipients or audience for your piece of writing. Part of what you are being assessed on is your ability to adapt your language and tone to suit this intended audience.
For example:
A parent will have different concerns and values to a student
A local MP would need convincing using facts and evidence to be persuaded by your arguments
Readers of a local newspaper would be more persuaded by emotive language
A letter to a headteacher or someone in authority requires formal, respectful language which is not aggressive or inappropriate
Teenagers would need something to relate to, so personal anecdotes would work well
Addressing your audience or reader specifically is a convincing technique to persuade people to agree with your point of view. To do this, try using inclusive language, such as “we” and “us”, or “fellow students” or “parents”. You should always write using Standard English, but the level of formality you should employ will be dictated by the task itself.
For example:
Target audience | Example of how to adapt language |
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Teenagers | I’m sure we’ve all had our parents or guardians moan at us for how long we spend on our gaming machines. However, gaming can help us develop important skills, such as teamwork, as well as being an awesome way of connecting with friends from all over the world! |
The use of inclusive pronouns and colloquial language, such as “awesome”, demonstrates that this example is aimed at teenagers or younger people | |
Adults | Using animals for sports, such as fox-hunting, has been debated for many years, and it is an issue which elicits strong emotions from both sides. |
The use of more sophisticated vocabulary, such as “elicits”, as well as complex sentences, demonstrate that this is aimed at adults reading about a serious topic | |
Older people | The purpose of wearable technology, such as smart-watches and fitness trackers, is to make staying connected as easy and hands-free as possible. In addition, wearable technology can have important health benefits, as they can monitor your blood sugars, heart rate, blood pressure and quality of sleep. |
The simple explanations and examples show that this is written for people who might not know much about wearable technology | |
It is also important to carefully consider the purpose of the task. “Giving your views” about a subject can mean to explain what you think, to argue your point or to persuade your audience to agree with you. Most importantly, your language and tone needs to match your intended audience and purpose.
Purpose | Devices and techniques to demonstrate you understand the purpose of the task |
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Write to explain:
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Write to argue:
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Write to persuade:
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Above all, remember: your arguments and point of view must be based on the reading passages you are given. If you just write without establishing a clear summary of the main points in the text(s), you will not score high marks.
For more detailed information about writing in the form of a letter, speech or article, please see our Paper 2 revision guides:
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