Situational composition writing
SECTION B of the English Lan
guage EXAMINATION (1122/1) features one of the most dreaded tasks of the English examination, the situational composition. The fear of this task is aggravated by the fact that there is no choice.
The situational composition should actually be easier than the free choice composition because it is guided. Success on this section lies on the candidate’s awareness that the situational composition task is equally a reading task as it is a writing task. There is need to understand the description of the situation fully. Any attempt to present memorised content will be disastrous.
Most candidates believe that a situational composition based on notes is much easier than the one based on graphs, pie charts and statistical tables, but without establishing what the question requires you to do things can still go awry.
When writing from notes, there is need to amplify the bullet points. The candidate needs to understand what amplification entails. The pegs are normally telegraphic phrases where articles, auxiliary verbs and conjunctions are omitted. Mere stringing together of the bullet points is not amplification.
Amplification transforms the situation from the general to the particular. If the situation requires you for example to write about the accumulation of garbage in your section of the city and how that has become a health hazard, you need to state the name of your section of town.
Your answer should reveal your knowledge of the diseases associated with the problem. There is also need to mention the day of the last garbage collection to clearly expose the negligence.
When writing from a graph or statistical table, it is not necessary to mention every figure. There is that need to study the diagram carefully to establish the pattern it presents.
Use expressions that clearly bring out your mastery of the trends. For example, when interpreting a graph on production levels at a farm, the following expressions can be used: maize production recorded a slight increase from... to..., there was a phenomenal increase in maize production from... to...
When responding to a question based on a graph, a statistical table or a pie chart, there is need to jot down some notes before presenting your full answer.
In any type of situational composition, letter, report, speech, arrival or statement to the police, you formulate your introduction, subject line or title from the description of the situation.
◆ Nhamo Muchagumisa is a trained secondary school teacher and holds a degree in English and Communication Studies. He can be contacted on 0777460162.