Section A: Narrative/Descriptive/Imaginative Writing 1 Write a descriptive piece called The Workplace. In your writing focus on colours, sounds and textures to help your reader imagine the scene.
2 ‘Thunder could be heard rumbling faintly in the distance; rain began to spit from the sky; the wind was beginning to rise. The island lay just before them. They needed shelter and needed it now …’Continue a short story from this opening. In your writing create a sense of mood and place. (You do not have to complete the story.)
3 Write the opening chapter of a novel called The Outlaw. In your writing create a sense of character and motivation of someone who lives outside the law.
4 Imagine you have been imprisoned for thirty years and are released into a world which has changed enormously. Write a piece which conveys your new sights and sensations in contrast to the world you once knew.
Section B: Discursive/Argumentative Writing
5 Does capitalism work? Give detailed reasons to support your views.
6 Two different newspapers cover the same national news event. One of the newspapers reports matters in a formal and restrained style, while the other offers a dramatic and sensationalised approach. Write these two contrasting pieces (between 300–450 words each).
7 ‘Astrology? Fortune telling? Prophecies? They’re all nonsense.’ Do you agree?
8 You are participating in a national speaking competition organised for students by the Ministry of Education. You are asked to deliver a speech to students of your own age, called ‘What My Country Can Do for Me and What I Can Do for My Country’. Write the speech.
Section A: Narrative/Descriptive/Imaginative Writing
1 Write two contrasting pieces (between 300–450 words each), the first about a place before a flood and the second about the same place after a flood. In your writing create a sense of mood and place.
2 Write the opening chapter of a novel called Escape from the City, in which a narrator describes her or his experiences of moving to a rural area. In your writing create a sense of the narrator’s outlook and mood.
3 Write a short story called The Curse. In your writing create a sense of mystery and suspense.
4 Imagine you are flying high over a particular landscape. What can you see? What can you hear? What do you feel?
Section B: Discursive/Argumentative Writing
5 ‘The United Nations is an ineffective organisation and an expensive luxury. We need to move on.’What do you think?
6 Write a magazine article called ‘The Ideal Community’ in which you argue that people can build environmentally sound and sustainable communities.
7 ‘Good leaders are born, not made.’ Do you agree? You should offer detailed reasons for your point of view.
8 Write two contrasting newspaper articles (between 300–450 words each), one called ‘You Have to Spend Money to Make Money’, and one called ‘Save It For A Rainy Day’.

Section A: Narrative/Descriptive/Imaginative Writing
1 Write a descriptive piece called The Lost World. In your writing create an atmosphere of decay and isolation.
2 ‘She read the text message on her phone. She paused, gasped, and took a very deep breath…’Continue the story. In your writing bring out a sense of suspense and tension. (You do not have to complete the story.)
3 Write two contrasting pieces (between 300–450 words each), one about your most enjoyable experience, and the other about your least enjoyable experience.
4 Write the opening to a short story called A New Romance. In your writing create an unusual setting in which two strangers meet for the first time.
Section B: Discursive/Argumentative Writing
5 ‘Giving aid to less developed countries does more harm than good.’What do you think – and why?
6 A magazine publishes two contrasting articles (between 300–450 words each), one called ‘The Future Still Looks Bright’, and the other called ‘It’s Not Going to Get Any Better’. Write the two articles, bringing out clear differences in their viewpoints about the ways in which the world is changing.
7 ‘Education provided by the state is good enough for everyone.’
‘Private (paid for) education is far more beneficial for students than state-funded education.’
Which view are you in closer agreement with – and why?
8 A product which you cannot do without is about to go out of existence: the company which makes it is about to cease its production. Write a letter to the company in which you describe the origin and history of your relationship with the product and – most of all – why it is an essential part of your life.