Checking a response means reading it as the examiner reads the task: are all purposes covered, is the tone right, is the time clear and is the language accurate? Do the check in that order.
This lesson pulls together the skills in foreign-language writing. Task formats can change between syllabus years, so read the current wording on the Cambridge page for 0546.
What does the checklist contain?
| Check | Ask yourself |
|---|---|
| Purposes | Have I covered every instruction in the task? |
| Reader | Do I know who I am writing to? |
| Register | Do the greeting, pronouns and closing suit that reader? |
| Order | Does each paragraph have one job? |
| Time | Are the time words clear and consistent? |
| Detail | Is each extra sentence relevant? |
| Accuracy | Spelling, punctuation, affixes and word order. |
How to run the check
- Reread the task and number the purposes.
- Tick each purpose in your draft by pointing to the sentence that covers it.
- Read for register and time, marking any word that does not fit.
- Read for accuracy last, line by line.
Worked example
Task (invented for practice): Write to your teacher, Cikgu Rahman. Apologise for missing Tuesday’s lesson, explain why, and ask for the notes.
Draft:
Hai Cikgu,
Maaf saya tidak hadir hari Selasa. Saya demam. Bagi saya nota awak.
Terima kasih.
Check: purposes are all present. Register fails: hai, bagi saya and awak are too casual for a teacher. Detail is thin.
Revised:
Salam Cikgu Rahman,
Saya memohon maaf kerana tidak hadir ke kelas pada hari Selasa. Saya demam dan doktor menasihati saya berehat di rumah.
Bolehkah cikgu memberikan nota pelajaran itu kepada saya? Saya akan menyalinnya dan menyiapkan latihan sebelum kelas seterusnya.
Sekian, terima kasih. Yang benar, Mei Ling
The purposes stay, the register becomes polite, and the revision adds a short plan.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to proofread only spelling and call the draft checked.
Mistaken check: “I fixed three spelling errors, so I am done.”
The draft still said awak to a teacher and forgot to ask for the notes.
The correction is to run the checklist in order, and to leave spelling for last, since a perfectly spelled message that misses a purpose is still incomplete.
Check yourself
1. Which address suits a message to a teacher: awak or cikgu?
Show answer
cikgu is the polite form of address. Awak is casual and suits a friend.
2. A task has three purposes and your draft covers two. What do you do?
Show answer
Add a clear sentence for the missing purpose before checking spelling.
3. Why leave accuracy until last?
Show answer
Content may change after the first checks, so proofreading too early wastes time on sentences that you then rewrite.
Where this leads next
Try the full foreign-language writing practice set and compare drafts using the writing revision compare view. When all five lessons feel secure, continue to spoken interaction.
If self-checking still misses things, a teacher in online one-to-one Malay tuition can model the check on your own draft.