There are all sorts of writing formulas on the internet for English writing, but very few of them are able to get to the heart of the matter and analyse in depth the key points of each section, and which ones are really useful and can get high marks. Therefore, I have discussed and exchanged with teachers for you, and will tell you the three marking criteria (Content, Language and Organisation), tips, questions and scoring format of English Paper 2.

[DSE English] English Paper 2 English Writing Complete Guide

Percentage

The HKEAA has written about this in the 2024 English Language Assessment Framework:

• Guided Writing (short practical writing) for Part A is 10%.
• Extended Writing (Long Discussion Essay/Journalistic Essay/Letter, etc.) for Part B is 15%.

Part B scores more marks and is easier than Part A in terms of difficulty. The type of questions and the number of words in Part A are very restrictive, so there is limited room for candidates to perform, so it is not easy to score well in Part A. But don't be afraid. But don't be afraid. If Part A is difficult for everyone, then if you can score well in Part A, you will be one step ahead of everyone else. Here are some tips on how to score well in Part A.

Guided Writing (short practical articles)topic Format

Argumentative Essay

A discussion paper is actually aThe topic is more flexible, there is no fixed format, it needs to be decided according to the topic, such as Letter to the editor, which belongs to a kind of argumentative essay. How to tell the difference? There will be clear instructions in the question telling candidates to write about three reasons, for example:

Reference topic:

And the structure of the main body of his essay would look like this:

• 3 just + 1 opposite (Counter-argument) + 1 Rebuttal
• 3 opposite + 1 just (Counter-argument) + 1 Rebuttal

In the first positive argument, you can write "Firstly / To begin with / First / My first (and most important point) is + Topic Sentence", and then illustrate your argument with real-life examples/data (if any). Then illustrate with real life examples / data (if any) to enrich your argument. You can use "Secondly / Second / Next / Furthermore..." in your second main argument to prompt the examiner that you have moved to the second main argument, which will allow the reader to follow your rhythm more clearly.

When you are about to start your Counter-argument, you can use "However / Nonetheless / On the flip side" to prompt the examiner that you are now going to analyse the Counter-argument. Candidates need to consider whether this point of view is one that they are confident that they can "win the argument" with the reader, otherwise it will only appear to be contradictory and illogical when writing the Rebuttal. Candidates need to practise their Critical Thinking in order to write a good Counter-argument.

Rebuttal is the most important part of an argumentative essay. The examiner uses this part to assess the candidate's logical thinking, whether he/she has broken through the blind spots, and whether he/she has taken the weak or contradictory parts of the argument to highlight the validity of his/her argument. When writing the essay, please remember your own position and make sure it is consistent throughout.

Letter

These are the two main types of correspondence style that will be presented in Paper 2:

Formal Letter (e.g. Letter to the editor / Letter to the principal (公函 / 商業書信)

Notice:

• 1. Do not use short form
  2. If you know the full name of the other party, you can write Dear Mr. Lau, Dear Miss Chan and so on; if you don't know the name of the other party, you can call them Dear Sir/Madam.
  3. If you know the person's full name, write Yours sincerely. If you don't know the person's name, write Yours faithfully.

Informal Letter (e.g. Letter of advice)

Notice:

• 1. You can use short form (eg I'm, you're, we're…)
  2. You can call people by their first names (e.g. Dear Mary, Dear Johnson).
  3. There are a number of endings that can be varied, such as Best wishes / Love / Best regards

The format of a Letter of advice is as follows:

[Our Information]

[Message from the other side]

Dear [Recipient's Name],

[Opening Greeting],

[Body of the letter: Offer your advice, share your thoughts or experiences, and provide any relevant suggestions or recommendations],

[Closing remarks: Encourage the recipient, express your confidence, or offer further assistance],

[Closing Salutation],

[Your Name]

Proposal

Sub-headings are sometimes provided in advance and candidates are required to delineate the content of their proposals.

The overall format will look like this (the number of paragraphs depends on the number of points you have):

Introduction

Sub-heading 1
Body Paragraph 1

Sub-heading 2
Body Paragraph 2

Sub-heading 3
Body Paragraph 3

Conclusion

In general, it is common to see these in Sub-heading / Division:

• Date, Time and Venue The date, time and venue of the event
• Activities Activity details
• Budget preparation funds
• Person-In-Charge (PIC) Manager

ReportReport

Roughly speaking, there are three types.Technical Subject ,Lab ReportHowever, since not everyone knows how to do it, the most common questions are related toSocial IssuesIn the case of a research paper, it is a research paper that requires candidates to write a research paper based on a social issue.

Introduction
Background (Introduce the social phenomenon. You may cite examples or data here to demonstrate your familiarity with the topic.)
Reason+Analysis (Reason for analysing the question)
Impact (impact on society/groups, can have both positive and negative impacts)
Suggestions (針因提出建議/解決方式)
Conclusion

Speech

There will be four types of activities: the opening ceremony (Welcoming Speech), the teacher appreciation banquet (Thank-you Speech or Farewell Speech) and the morning assembly. Candidates will write their speeches in the capacity of, for example, the President of the Students' Union, the Master of Ceremonies, the person in charge of an event, etc. Therefore, the first thing that will be assessed in the marking of the examination is the candidate's grasp of the context and the accuracy of his/her wording. Therefore, the first thing to do when you get the question is to identify the Target Audience and Aim/Purpose of the speech. It is difficult to predict the topic of the content, so candidates need to be very adaptable.

Becausein speechNo one likes long-winded and boring content, so don't start with too much, just get to the point quickly and end with a thank you.

The case is as follows:

Opening (Introduction):

• • "Ladies and gentlemen, good evening! I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to speak before you tonight…"
  • "Thank you for joining us today… I'm excited to share some insights on…"

Body:

• • “Firstly, let’s take a look at…”
  • “Secondly, I'd like to emphasize…”
  • "It's worth noting that..."
  • “Let me illustrate this with an example…”
  • “According to the latest research/data…”
  • “This indicates the importance of…”

Closing:

• • “Once again, thank you all for your attention and support.”
  • “If you have any questions or thoughts, please feel free to ask.”
  • "Let's work together towards achieving…"
  • “Wishing you all the best in the future. Thank you!”

Candidates are advised to make appropriate adjustments to their writing in accordance with the requirements of the specific questions. The above is for reference only and does not have any actual designated sentences by the examination authority.

ArticleArticle

Essays are basically free of formatting irrespective of the topic, so it is sufficient to give a suitable title to the essay, but note that some questions will require candidates to give specific elements of the topic, so it is important to pay attention to the requirements of the question.

Reference topic:

2016- English Paper 2 (Q3) Learning English Through Workplace Communication ("Write an article for your school magazine  express your views.Give three reasons to support your views.")

Time allocation skills for English writing papers

The total number of questions is two hours, please allow 5 minutes before and after each question to do brainstorm and proofreading, and please don't think that brainstorming and proofreading are parts that can be omitted, they are the basis of the whole essay, otherwise it will be very difficult to go up a grade. Regardless of whether or not you have completed one of the sections, do not spend too much time on one section, otherwise the completion of the other section will be very low and the loss will outweigh the gain.

we suggest:

• Complete Part A within 40 minutes
• Complete Part B within 80 minutes

English Writing Skills - CLO (Content, Language, Organization)

This is the Marking Rubric of the HKEAA. As the original text is a bit voluminous, the editorial team has already sorted it out for you.

Content content

• rich and comprehensive
• Completely on topic
• Examples are available as extensions
• creative
• arouse readers' interest

Language language

• The sentences are varied and have a strong sense of language.
• Grammatical precision
• Fine choice of words, accurate expression
• Sentence Word Choice Coherence
• Adoption of contextualised style (i.e. audience, purpose of writing, tone of voice)

Organization organization

• Overall logic and sequence of paragraphs.
• Overall coherence between paragraphs
• The text is well-structured and conforms to the requirements of the genre and topic.

Q&A

I don't know how to memorise English vocabulary, and every time I do, I forget it.

You can try to learn English from the environment by reading more English books, watching more English movies and TV dramas, and listening to more English songs. Then you can use the words you learnt in real life. For example, chatting with Europeans and Americans, sending text messages, and so on. Or review the words that appear in DSE Paper 1 Reading and write them down in a small notebook and take them out when you have time to look at them.

How to increase sensitivity to contextual awareness?

You can pay more attention to the English words used in daily life, what are the differences between them, what are the characteristics of the sentences, what words appear most often in what places, and pay attention to the author's choice of words as soon as you see the English language, which will slowly enhance your sensitivity to contextual awareness, or talk to your friends more often.英文補習老師Communicate in English.

My English is at Level 4 and I cannot get to Level 5. What should I do?

Every student is bound to be bad at something, so you just need to train on your weaknesses to break through, and don't set limits for yourself. If you don't know where you're not good at, you can record the places where you didn't get full marks every time you did the past year and you'll know your weaknesses.

I'm changing my own article and I don't know if it's right or wrong, what should I do?

If you don't feel confident that you will not be biased or overly subjective when correcting your essay, try contacting your school or tutor, who will be able to understand your problem more objectively.

Often, it is inevitable that teachers in schools have too many students to manage and are unable to explain their mistakes and ways of correcting them to one student at a time. Therefore, we suggest that it is best to contact yourPrivate English TutorIt is the responsibility of the tutor to provide corrections and explanations. It is the responsibility of the tutor to correct and explain the individual's learning, but not every tutor is equally responsible, and this is at the discretion of the student. However, we need to tell you that we are not responsible for any of the tutorials on this platform.Tuition teacherWe have supervisory responsibility to ensure the quality of teaching, and our real customer service can provide personalised follow-up on your needs. If you don't agree with your tutor, we will directly help you to change your tutor immediately to save both parties' time.

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