This document provides guidance on writing the SPM English Paper 2 exam. It discusses the 3 parts of the paper and offers advice on each. Part 1 involves writing a short note or email of under 80 words. Part 2 is a directed writing task of 125-150 words. Part 3 gives a choice of descriptive writing types to choose from for a 200-250 word essay. The document provides sample questions and answers, as well as tips on introduction, body paragraphs, vocabulary, grammar and more for writing strong responses to score well on the exam.

1. WRITING
(1119/2-THE NEW FORMAT)
Marking Scale
An Understanding

2. SPM Paper 2
This essay and writing paper is worth 60 marks.
However, the weightage in the overall SPM English
paper is still at 25%. The time allocated for this paper is
90 minutes and the paper has 3 parts.

3. Part 1 - Students are required to write a short note or
email in less than 80 words. (20 marks)
ADVICE: Read the email or short note carefully and underline the tasks given to you so that you
will not miss out on any point. For example the task set out may want you to suggest
 a place to visit
 some activities to be done there (give a few - about three)
 things to bring (suggest a few - about three)
As you have only 80 words to juggle with, you must go straight to the point with a little elaboration
if necessary.

4. Here are some of the most important tips:
• Don’t ever miss the format, e.g. the email address, the subject, introduction, conclusion and
closing part.
• For the introduction, try to be simple and interesting to attract the readers, for example: I hope
you are doing well!
• Think about your main points by using 5W1H (What, Who, Where, When, Why, How) and keep
the points concise.
• Do remember to make closing and signature, e.g. I am looking forward to speaking to you next
time! Bye!

5. Example Question:
You received an email from your friend, Amanda who is
planning a trip during the school holidays.
Hi,
What are you doing during your school holidays? My family and I are planning a
trip to Langkawi Island. You went there with your family last year, didn’t you? How
was your trip? What did you do there? Are there any places we should go?
Do let me know.
Bye!
This is an example question. In this question, it asks about how the trip is and
some suggestions about the holidaymakers in Langkawi. Do take note that you
are writing to Amanda.

6. Sample Answer:
To: amanda@gmail.com
Subject: A Trip to Langkawi Island.
Hi Amanda,
We had so much fun there! It is suggested to take a cable car and go up to the Langkawi Sky
Bridge where the view is breathtaking! Why don’t you go on an island hopping tour to Pulau
Dayang Bunting? The island looks like a silhouette of a pregnant woman lying down and trying to
swim in the freshwater lake there! You may visit Pulau Beras Basah and relax on the soft sandy
beach! You’ll enjoy it!
Melody

7. THINGS TO REMEMBER!!!
• Try to be simple and easy to understand! Don’t make things complicated.
• For the sample essay above, it is not necessary to suggest or recommend so
many places, a few will do.
• Be careful with grammar and spelling as this can lead you to lose marks.

8. Part 2 - This is Directed Writing in 125 - 150
words. (20 marks)
ADVICE: In this question, notes will be given to you to guide you on what to
write. Whatever it is, the golden rule is to give at least three to four suggestions
so that there will be enough subject matter for you to write about. Here you may
need to give your opinion or provide proof for your suggestions. Do not write
longer than required.

9. • When writing this essay, you must take note that you need to use all the
notes given and give your reasonable point of view. And, most importantly,
don’t ever try to exceed the word limit.
• A 5 or 6-paragraph essay must consist of INTRODUCTION+ POINTS (3-4
paragraphs) + CONCLUSION.
• Include a title or/and write your name.
• The suggested time for the essay is 30 minutes.

10. Example Question:
You have been asked to write for your school magazine. Your article should
inform the readers about the usefulness of newspapers and the benefits
people can get from reading the newspapers. You should also recommend that
people make reading the newspapers a daily habit.
•A good source of information – news/ sports/ general issues/ special issues
•Improves command of the language
•Broadens general knowledge
When writing the article, you should remember to:
• Include the title
• Add details of your own to make your article more interesting

11. HERE is some guidelines for the essay above:
INTRODUCTION
• State some general problem statements, e.g. Malaysians were reported to
read an average of two pages per year since 2005 which is rather
disappointing. Knowing how significant it will have a tendency to affect the
entire nation, it is high time we should discuss the benefits of reading
newspapers as well as its usefulness.

12. BODY 1st POINT:
• Reading newspapers is a good source of information in terms of
news, sports, general issues and international issues.
• One should prefer to get news from a more reliable source such as
a newspaper.
• It keeps us informed of all the latest world events on war,
economy, political issues and celebrity gossips.
• Be better equipped to form opinions on things currently happening
around us.

13. 2nd POINT:
• It is a useful tool to enhance the command of our languages.
• Served as a reliable source to expand English vocabulary.
• One can improve English by reading passage aloud.
• Newspaper articles prompt you to think critically – to form opinions-
help students to gain more linguistic confidence which will be
expressed in writing and conversation.

14. 3rd POINT:
• It can broaden our general knowledge.
• It conveys information about politics, economy, business, trade and
commerce.
• We become updated with current events locally and internationally.
• -enable one to take part in group discussions which make you feel
that you belong to an enlightened society.

15. CONCLUSION
• In conclusion, there are many benefits people can gain from
reading newspapers.
• It should be a necessity rather than an option.
• Such a habit should be inculcated from young.

16. Part 3 - In this section, you are given 3 choices for a
descriptive writing
(report/review/article/story). You will need to choose I
essay to write in 200 - 250 words. (20 marks)
ADVICE: This essay calls for all your writing skills. Quickly mind-map four to five main points you want
to talk about in your essay. For each point briefly jot down elaborations/examples/reasons to expand the
point. Then organise your paragraphs with each main point as your topic sentence for each paragraph.
Think of a good introduction and conclusion. The introduction and the conclusion should not be too
lengthy.

17. Section 3 is writing one of the questions from the given choices.
• There is a word limitation of 200-250 words and students should write their
essays in an appropriate style (based on their choices). The suggested time
to complete the essay is around 40 minutes.
• Recently, there will be four types of questions in which they will only come out
with three different types of essay as the choices for students: ARTICLE,
REVIEW, NARRATIVE ESSAY & REPORT.
• Provide reasonable opinions and focus more on the quality of your writing!
• Take note of the vocab and grammar you use in which most of the time,
students will lose their marks.
• Always remember!!! An essay includes INTRODUCTION + 3 POINTS +
CONCLUSION. Don’t ever miss one of them!

18. INTRODUCTION:
• It is better to expose the current issue or crisis that can attract the reader.
Elaborate more on how the current topic has a significant effect on
people/ surrounding. Hence, it is high time we should highlight …
• Sometimes, you may use idioms/ adages as your opening to make your essay
more attractive! E.g. As an old adage goes, “Health is wealth” and this
goes to show how vital that each and every of us should have a healthy
body in which the topic we are discussing today should not be hidden
from the public.
• Directly tell the reader the problem and the discussion of this topic, e.g. how
can it be solved? / here is some useful tips for handling such condition./
Hence, we shall now discuss some of the reasons why we ought to …
• Don’t write too long!

19. BODY:
• At least, you should have prepared three main points! Try to sketch your
ideas out before you start writing so that you may have a clear mindset of
what you are writing instead of going halfway wrong.
• Use the word connection for a better connection of your sentences: First
and foremost, Next, Moreover, Furthermore, Moving on, Instead, In
conclusion, Last but not least…
• Try to be formal: It is said that…/ It is always being discussed that…/
Thus, the highlighted topic provides us…/ It is said without fear of…
• Use some attractive vocabulary & idioms if you can!
•Elaborate your main points using this formula:

20. 1.Main idea
2.Why?
3.Deep reason? Why again
4.A little more about the discussion: using idioms/vocab to highlight it
5.Conclusion for this idea
•It is said that having sufficient rest and sleep do help us maintain good health and
inculcate lifelong health habits. According to a survey conducted recently, students
seem to face strenuous homework and dreadful exams if they do not have enough sleep
and rest, thus, they could not cope with their studies easily. Lack of sleep may lead us
to lots of exposed problems, for example impairing attention. As an old adage, “Rest
well for accomplishing a longer journey”. Thus, we should have enough rest and sleep
in order to give us more energy to welcome a brand new day of challenge.
•The above sample might be a bit long, yet, it is perfect enough in transferring the message in
a very complete way.

21. CONCLUSION:
• For the conclusion part, it is suggested that students should conclude once
again all the points you have mentioned above. Then, adding your hope or
maybe some roles of related authority like parents and school, what they can
do to improve the condition.
• You may add on idioms and phrases at last as your closing to attract the
reader.
• In conclusion, there are many benefits one can gain from reading
newspapers and this is the reason why this habit should be inculcated
from young. Thus, school should play their roles by working closely with
parents to get involved in reading newspapers with their children at
home for the sake of their future.

22. For the writing task, you will be assessed on
1. task achievement - Have you answered according to what is
required by the question?
What are your key points? Do you support your key points with
proof or definite opinion?
2. coherence and cohesion - Are all your paragraphs part of a whole?
Does each of the paragraph have a key point? Do all the sentences in
each paragraph talk about the key point? Use cohesive devices like
thus, therefore, moreover, furthermore, on the contrary ... etc to
help you.

23. 3. Vocabulary - You will need to show you have a wide range of vocabulary at your
disposal. A wide vocabulary enables you to write better essays. To acquire a wide
vocabulary you need to read books, magazines and newspapers. When you come
across any good words or expressions jot them down in your vocabulary book.
Learn how to use these words or expressions in the right contexts. Try not to use
descriptive words more than twice in the same essay. For example:
Last holiday my whole family went for a very interesting trip to the East Coast.
We stayed at an interesting holiday resort. While we were there we joined a lot
of interesting activities.
Writing a paragraph like the above will show your limited vocabulary usage.

24. 4.Grammar - Make sure to use the correct tenses throughout your writing. Punctuations
are equally important as a wrong punctuation may contribute to misunderstanding
5. Sentence structures - Your writing should show
o variety in sentence structures ( There should be a combination of simple,
compound and complex sentences in your essay. Make sentences of different
lengths and with different beginnings.)
o vivid and interesting sentences - Write interesting sentences by adding adjectives
to nouns, adverbs to verbs, adjective phrases and clauses. Students should learn
how to use synonyms, idioms, figurative language, similes, proverbs etc. Avoid
making spelling mistakes.

25. 6. Use of direct speech or quotes - Wherever possible adding a quote or a direct speech can break the
monotony in your essay.
Do your best!
After years of studying, your success will be measured by your performance in this
coming examination. Best wishes from us at STUDYMALAYSIA!