Directed Writing: Full Unit — Paper 2 Section A — IGCSE First Language English

The complete Directed Writing unit for Cambridge IGCSE First Language English (0500 / 0990), Paper 2 Section A: Question 1(a) and Question 1(b), written for the 2027–2029 specification.

Section A is worth 40 marks, and most students lose them in the same ways: copying from the texts, retelling the texts in the order they were written, and listing ideas without ever developing them. This unit gives students one clear method for each question and fourteen lessons of practice, so they walk into the exam knowing exactly what to do with their hour.

• 14complete lessons
• 335teaching slides
• 118booklet pages
• 2practice papers with mark schemes

What’s included?

• PowerPoint with fourteen complete lessons: 335 teaching slides that take students from “What is this question even asking?” to a full Section A under timed conditions, plus 15 printable handout slides (station cards, score sheets and model answers).
• Detailed speaker notes on every slide: timings, what to say, answers to expect, and support and stretch ideas, plus “On Zoom” adaptations for online teaching.
• Student booklet (118 pages, Word and PDF) with a page for every task in slide order, so students always know where they are.
• Three original teaching texts written for the unit: Teaching Pair 1 (a four-day school week), Teaching Pair 2 (Saturday jobs) and Teaching Text 3 (influencers).
• Three memorable methods students take into the exam: Name it · Nail it · Link it for 1(a), Pick it · Prove it · Push it for 1(b), and VOICE for planning, plus the delete test for style and the 5-Minute Check for accuracy.
• Two original practice papers in exam format (Practice Paper 1 on homework and Practice Paper 3 on zoos), each with its own insert, question paper and full teacher mark scheme listing the specific attitudes, ideas and developments to credit. They are used in Lessons 13 and 14 and are ready to print.
• Annotated model answers throughout, from a full-mark 1(a) to top-band 1(b) paragraphs, so students see every decision a strong writer makes.
• Every task clearly marked Core, with Optional Support and Optional A* Challenge steps, so weaker students are supported and the strongest are pushed towards the top band.
• Lessons that never feel the same twice: an escape room, a hot seat, a jigsaw, a newsroom proofreading race, a timed Race Day and a final “Summit” exam with a full debrief.
• MY TOOLKIT at the back of the booklet: the mark scheme in plain English, an attitude word bank, sentence starters and linking words, a planning template, a self- and peer-assessment checklist and a text-type reminder.
• Self-rating at the start and end of every lesson, plus exit tickets, so students and teachers can see the progress.
• Editable files: PowerPoint (.pptx) and Word (.docx) for the booklet and the practice papers, plus print-ready PDFs of the booklet, the practice paper pack and a unit front cover.

What are the lessons?

1. Unpacked: what Section A asks, how it is marked and what earns the top marks
2. Reading for Ideas: stated and suggested ideas, fact and opinion, and spotting bias
3. Naming Attitudes: Question 1(a), Name it and Nail it
4. Link It: how the words show a person’s feelings, building a full 5-mark answer
5. Planning: one clear 1(b) plan from two texts, in 8 minutes
6. Developing Ideas 1: Push it, taking a point further
7. Developing Ideas 2: who else it affects, and the other side of the argument
8. In Your Own Words: using the texts without copying them
9. Know Your Text Type: speech, letter, article or report
10. Build the Argument: choosing your own order instead of following the texts
11. Style for Argument: persuasion where every word earns its place
12. Accuracy and Proofreading: fixing the mistakes that cost the most marks
13. Timed 1(b) and Marking It: plan, write, check, then mark against the mark scheme
14. The Summit: a full Section A in 60 minutes, then the debrief

What’s inside?

PowerPoint with fourteen full lessons:

Student booklet that follows the PowerPoint:

Practice paper pack with full mark schemes: