IGCSE ESL Model Answers
Two answers to the same task: one that would reach the top band, and one that would sit in the middle. The difference between them is easier to see than to describe.
Unofficial original RCF practice material
Every task and every answer on this page was written by RCF English. They are not Cambridge questions, not real examination answers, and not taken from any mark scheme.
Cambridge publishes its own specimen answers and examiner reports through the Cambridge 0510 past papers page and the School Support Hub. Use both: the official material shows you the standard, and these answers show you the reasoning.
Writing is marked out of 15: six marks for content and nine for language. Content is task fulfilment and the development of ideas. Language is range, accuracy and organisation. Almost every answer that stalls in the middle does so for the same reason - it mentions the prompts without developing them.
Exercise 5: an informal email
Question: Your cousin is visiting your town next month and has written to ask what to bring, what to see, and whether they will need much money. Write an email of 120-160 words replying. (Original RCF practice task.)
This is the task both answers below respond to.
Hi Danesh,
It was so good to hear that you are finally coming! I have been telling everyone here that my cousin is visiting.
About what to bring: pack light clothes, but not only light clothes. It is warm all day, and then the evenings by the river turn surprisingly cold, so bring one jacket you do not mind carrying around. Also bring proper shoes, because the old town is all steps.
For seeing things, give me one whole Saturday. The market only opens properly at the weekend and it is the one thing you should not miss - it takes over three streets and smells of grilled corn.
Money you will hardly need. Buses are almost free, and my mother has already announced that you are eating at our house every evening.
Tell me your arrival time and I will meet you.
See you soon!
Why this answer works
- Content, high band. All three prompts are answered, and two of them are genuinely developed - the clothes advice has a reason attached, and the market has a specific detail.
- Language, high band. The range is wide: I do not mind carrying around, turn surprisingly cold, has already announced. The organisation moves prompt by prompt with clear paragraphs.
- Register. Warm and natural throughout, and it turns back to the reader at the end, which is what an email does and an essay does not.
- The specific detail - smells of grilled corn - is what separates this from a competent answer. It costs four words.
Hi Danesh,
Thank you for your email. I am very happy that you are coming to my town next month. It will be very nice to see you again after a long time.
You asked me what you should bring. I think you should bring clothes and shoes. The weather here is very hot so bring light clothes.
You also asked what to see. There are many interesting places in my town. There is a market, a museum and a park. I am sure you will like them very much.
You asked about money. Do not worry about money. It is not very expensive here.
I am waiting for you. Please tell me when you are coming.
Best wishes,
Arun
Why this answer works
- Content, middle band. Every prompt is mentioned, and none is developed. There is a market, a museum and a park is a list, not an answer - it tells the reader nothing they could act on.
- Language, middle band. The English is accurate, and that is exactly the trap: accuracy alone does not reach the top band, because range is marked too. The sentences are short and similar in shape.
- What would move it up. Choose one place instead of three and say something true about it. Give the clothing advice a reason. The word count is already there - the words are simply being spent on very nice, very much, very hot.
- Register note. Best wishes is a formal sign-off borrowed from a letter. In an email to a cousin it is slightly off.
Exercise 6: a formal report
Question: Students have complained that the canteen queue at your school is too slow. Your head teacher has asked you to write a report describing the problem and recommending two changes. Write 120-160 words. (Original RCF practice task.)
This is the task the answer below responds to.
Report on the canteen queue
This report describes why the canteen queue has become slow and recommends two changes.
The problem
The queue is longest between 12.30 and 12.50, when all three year groups break together. Because there is a single serving point, students who want only a drink wait behind students buying a full meal. Several students told me they now skip lunch rather than lose most of the break standing in line.
Recommendations
First, a second serving point could be opened for drinks and snacks only, which would remove roughly half the queue. Second, the three year groups could break ten minutes apart, spreading the same number of students across a longer period.
Neither change requires new equipment, and both could be trialled for a fortnight before a decision is taken.
Why this answer works
- Format. Title, statement of purpose, two sub-headings, recommendations at the end. An examiner can see the format from across the room.
- Content, high band. The problem is given a cause, not just a description, and each recommendation is followed by its effect.
- Language, high band. Formal and neutral: Several students told me, not everyone is angry. The conditional forms - could be opened, would remove - are exactly right for a recommendation.
- The closing line does real work. Offering a trial shows awareness of the reader, who has to decide.
- Notice what is absent: no contractions, no exclamation marks, no direct address to the reader. That is the difference from Exercise 5.
Mark your own writing honestly
Work through these before you look at a model answer. Most of the marks lost in this paper are found by the fourth question.
- Have I answered every prompt in the rubric?
- Have I developed at least two of them with a reason or an example?
- Is the format visible - title, sub-headings, greeting, sign-off - as the task requires?
- Is the register right for the audience named in the rubric?
- Am I between 120 and 160 words?
- Have I used more than one sentence shape, or is every sentence subject-verb-object?
- Have I checked verb tenses and plural agreement specifically?
Questions about model answers
Are these real IGCSE examination answers?
No. Every task and answer on this page was written by RCF English as practice material in the style of the examination. Cambridge's own specimen answers and examiner reports are published through its past papers page and the School Support Hub, and are the authoritative guide to the standard.
Why does an accurate answer only get middle marks?
Because language is marked on range, accuracy and organisation together, and content is marked on development as well as coverage. An answer with no grammatical errors but short, repetitive sentences and undeveloped ideas has met one of those criteria and not the others. Adding one developed example usually moves an answer more than correcting one article would.
Can I memorise a model answer and adapt it in the exam?
It rarely works. Content marks are awarded for answering this task and developing these prompts, so a pre-learned answer usually reads as off-topic and caps the content mark. Learning the shape of each format is worth doing; learning the sentences is not.
Next
Writing formats
The shape each format needs.
RCF Model Paper 1
A full original practice paper.
Speaking test
Interview, short talk and discussion.