Writing Module - Understanding the question by underlining KEY WORDS (2)

Underlining Key Words

[This advice can be applied to both academic and general training writing modules as it is basic good writing advice.]

Understanding the question is of vital importance as explained in a couple of previous posts, because this is the only way you will be able to write well on the given topic. Remember, there is no choice, you have to write on the one topic you receive for both part 1 and part 2 of the Writing Module.

So how to underline the proper words so that we make good sense of the question and jot down the right points for writing the answer.

Here is a simple example:

Money is the root of "all" evil. "Do" you "agree"?

In the above question, different words have been marked differently. Some are underlined others are quoted with inverted commas. So lets see how to interpret a simple question.

• The question is asking about: Money

What is your concept about what money means here?
It means wealth, material gains etc.

• Then the statement says: it is the root to all evil.

It is suggesting that money is the basis of evil, it leads to evil or causes people to be attracted to take up evil practices in order to acquire it.

• Then your point of view is being asked for, where the question asks do you agree?

You can safely take a point of view by giving solid arguments. These arguments can be based on:

• examples from real life (what is seen happening in every day life)
• own life experience
•  quotations you might remember
• facts and figures (only if you know them)

You can mildly discuss both views but you must take one stand and stick to it, explaining it completely with proper explanation.

The ways of writing an essay, how to take and present a specific point of view and stick to it will be explained in later posts.

Writing Module - How to comprehend the question and build a draft? (1)

It is very important to comprehend the question before starting to write (as explained in the previous post: Writing Module - Basics!)

These tips are applicable to both academic and general training module, since they are basic writing tips.

In order to comprehend the question you need to be familiar with the 5 W's and 1 H.

• What
• Where
• When
• Why
• Who, and
• How

When you read the question, try to apply every W and the H to the question, even if the answer to your proposed question is no! You can quickly jot down the answers to all the W's and H and you will have a mini draft for your proposed writing (essay, table/chart explanation, or letter, according the module you are taking academic or general).

Lets understand how to apply the W's and H to a question and build a draft:

Here's an example of a question from academic module writing, part 2:

Should rich countries help poor countries or is it the duty of the poorer nations to feed their own populations?

Here is a possible set of W and H questions you may answer to produce a small draft for your essay:
(there can be many other possibilities as well. These are only examples for your help)

Q. What are "rich" and "poor" countries?
Q. What can poor countries do for themselves?
Q.What factors contribute to poverty and how can these elements be eliminated by poor countries themselves or by the help of rich countries?
Q. Where are rich and poor countries located geographically?
Q. How can rich countries help poor countries?
Q. Which countries are actually capable of helping?
Q. When should the help be stopped? (How much help is sufficient?)
Q. with Which fields should the poor countries be helped with (food, clothing, education etc.)

As you can see there can be a bunch of possible questions but the key is to stick to the topic and by asking specific questions and answering them, jotting down useful points you can develop a good basis for writing a well-developed piece of writing (in this case an essay). You can also see here that there are more than one What, Which and How questions, it only helps to have a more detailed draft with lots of useful points to have a head start and make a good influential ending.

Writing Module - Basics!

What you need to know before you begin writing?

This is general advice regarding the writing module and applicable to both parts of academic and general training modules.

Read the question (the topic) very carefully and make sure you fully understand what you are being asked to do? It may seem very obvious but some topics may not be as clear as we might think they are. Understanding the question/topic is highly essential because if you digress from the topic or write something irrelevant you will give the examiner/assessor the impression that you have not understood the topic in the first place.

In other words, if someone cannot properly understand or comprehend a question posed in English how can he/she write well on that topic?

Digressing from the topic, or writing irrelevant stuff just to increase the number of words can cost the candidates dearly as they can lose vital marks.

How to comprehend a topic? Here's how!

Reading Module - a few basics!

These points and tips are applicable to both academic and general training modules

What is expected from the candidates?


The reading module assesses a candidate’s ability to comprehend written material in English language. Simply put, you are given a score on “how well” you can understand the given passage(s). You can answer the questions only if you understand the given passage(s).

Key to reading and “comprehending” the passages:

The key to do well in the reading module is to underline important points and key concepts, as you read the given text. Thinking it is pretty obvious? Yes it is and unfortunately also often taken for granted! Firstly, it must be understood that the questions are usually set on the key issues being discussed in the passage and if we overlook them then it might be a little difficult to answer particular types of questions.

Secondly, by underlining important points, it is easier to come back to the text and look for an answer rather than groping and looking for it by reading the whole text or a part of the paragraph again. (How to pin point key ideas will be discussed in detail in later post.)
Be confident because the questions are 100% “from” the given passage(s) and you are not required to have any additional or previous knowledge regarding the topic. (Every passage will have a set of questions which follow it. There are three passages for the candidates to read and answer questions regarding them.)

You need to:

• Be able to fully comprehend/understand text written in English.

• Have a good reading speed (points to improve speed will be discussed in detail)

• Answer the questions (answers must be written on the provided answer sheet and “not” on the question paper).

Tips on answering different types of specific questions (like True, False and Not Given, Fill in the blanks/gaps, matching etc.) will be discussed in detail in following posts.