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Paper 3 — writing

Writing and presenting

Name the reader, then write one clear opening for that person.

CAPS

Grade 10 · English First Additional Language · Writing and presenting

Paper 3 marks purpose, format and control of language.

  • The essay

    Length 250 to 300 words. Narrative tells one event in the past. Descriptive stays in one place and uses the senses. Reflective says what you understood. Discursive shows both sides, then a judgement. Argumentative takes one side and defends it. A picture essay must use the picture. Plan first, then cross the plan out so it is not marked as the essay.

  • Friendly letter or email

    Friendly letter: your address, the date, Dear …, news in paragraphs, a warm close, and your first name. Email: a subject line, a greeting, a short body, and your name. No postal address on an email. “Yours faithfully” does not belong to a friend.

  • Formal letter

    Your address, the recipient’s address, the date, Dear Sir or Madam or Dear Ms Surname, a subject line, a calm request, and a close that matches the greeting. Faithfully goes with “Sir”. Sincerely goes with a name.

  • Dialogue and other formats

    A dialogue is a new line for each speaker, the name, a colon, and the words. No quotation marks. A speech, an invitation, a diary, an agenda and minutes each have their own layout. The format marks are lost before the ideas are read if the layout is the wrong one.

First Additional Language Paper 3 is 100 marks. The essay is 50: content 30, language 15, structure 5, at 250 to 300 words. The rest is a longer transactional text and a shorter one.

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Worked example

English First Additional Language, Grade 10. Writing and presenting. Write for a reader you can name.

Simplified approach

Audience, purpose, then one model opening that belongs to Writing and presenting.

Culture note

Paper 3 in English First Additional Language marks purpose and layout, not a dramatic line sent to the wrong person.

Step 1 / 4

Skill steps

Plan Writing and presenting before the first sentence: purpose, reader, and three beats. Length for First Additional Language: 250 to 300 words.

More worked examples

Board walkthroughs on this topic. Open one, copy the working, then try the next.

Example 1 / 20

Paper 3 essay, Grade 10. Narrative. Topic: “There was absolute silence…” Plan it, then say what the marker wants. Length: 250 to 300 words.

4. Step-by-step working

  1. 01

    Point

    Opening uses the given words. One main event, not three unrelated stories.

    one story

  2. 02

    Apply the law

    Past tense. Short sentences at the climax. The silence is explained by the end.

    structure

How we got there

Read this like a teacher at the board. We go slowly, name every number, and say why we take each step.

Explain in another language · 11

1. What is the question asking?

Read the question twice. Circle the unknown. Underline every number and unit. The paper is asking: Paper 3 essay, Grade 10. Narrative. Topic: “There was absolute silence…” Plan it, then say what the marker wants. Length: 250 to 300 words.

In other words — as if you have never seen this before

If you have never seen this before: Plan before you draft. Introduction sets the scene. Body is the event. Conclusion shows what changed. Cross out the plan so it is not marked as the essay. We will name a method in words, write the formula with no numbers, then substitute one line at a time.

2. What do we already know?

Narrative tells a story. Those words must appear in the essay.

3. Which method — and why this one?

Plan before you draft. Introduction sets the scene. Body is the event. Conclusion shows what changed. Cross out the plan so it is not marked as the essay.

4. Step-by-step working

  1. 01 / 05

    Point

    Opening uses the given words. One main event, not three unrelated stories.

    one story

    Why this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.

  2. 02 / 05

    Apply the law

    Past tense. Short sentences at the climax. The silence is explained by the end.

    structure

    Why this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.

  3. 03 / 05

    Sense-check

    Count towards 250 to 300 words. Content and planning carry the most marks, then language, then structure.

    length

    Why this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.

  4. 04 / 05

    Step F — Box the answer with its unit

    A narrative of one event, opening with the given words, with a change at the end and the plan crossed out.

    Why this step: A number without a unit is half a mark on a Physics paper, and a marker can miss a Maths answer that is buried in working.

  5. 05 / 05

    Step H — What the marker is looking for

    On an NSC memo you usually earn: (1) a method mark for naming the right formula or idea in words, (2) an accuracy mark for substituting the given numbers with units, (3) an accuracy mark for the boxed answer with its unit. Write those three lines even if you are unsure of the arithmetic — blank pages score zero.

    Why this step: First-timers chase the final number and leave the method blank. The memo still pays out for the idea and the substitution even when the last line is wrong.

5. The answer

A narrative of one event, opening with the given words, with a change at the end and the plan crossed out.

6. Check it like a marker

A list of ideas is not the essay. If you do not cross out the rough work, the marker may mark the plan.

7. A trap first-timers fall into

First-timers often grab the first formula they remember, mix units (cm with m, minutes with seconds), or drop a minus sign. Write the formula in words first: “this equals that, because…”

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Friendly letter and email

English First Additional Language

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