How to Score Well on 15-Mark Writing Tasks in Cambridge IGCSE ESL (0510)

Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (0510) gives you two 15-mark writing tasks in Paper 1: Exercise 5 and Exercise 6. In both the 2024–2026 and 2027–2029 syllabuses, each response is 120–160 words, with up to 6 marks for content and up to 9 marks for language. Exercise 5 is an informal email. Exercise 6 is a more formal or semi-formal article, report, essay or review. The mark split is the same, but the audience, purpose and register are different. That means the safest way to improve is not to memorise a single template. Learn how to fulfil the task, develop ideas and control your language for the reader in front of you.

The 2026 and 2027 mechanics are the same for these two tasks

Unlike some other Cambridge syllabuses changing around 2027, the core mechanics of Exercises 5 and 6 stay stable here. Cambridge’s 2024–2026 syllabus and its 2027–2029 syllabus both specify 120–160 words, 6 content marks and 9 language marks. Exercise 5 remains an informal email, while Exercise 6 remains a formal or semi-formal article, report, essay or review. That makes your revision easier: the exam-year warning is still worth checking, but you do not need two different writing systems for 2026 and 2027.

For Exercises 5 and 6, the key mechanics remain the same across the 2026 and 2027 syllabus periods.

Understand what the 6 content marks are really testing

Content is not just “mentioning all the bullets”. Cambridge describes it as task fulfilment and development of ideas. Covering every prompt is essential, but a prompt that receives only a few vague words is not fully developed. If the task asks why you joined an event, what happened and how you felt, give each part enough detail to become meaningful. “I joined because it looked fun” is thinner than “I joined because I wanted experience organising something for younger students, and I had never worked on a school event before.” Development turns a checkbox into a real answer.

Plan from the prompts before you write

A short plan can prevent the most expensive writing mistake: forgetting one of the required points. Spend a few minutes turning each prompt into an idea plus one piece of development. You do not need to script every sentence. Write a keyword for the main idea, one supporting detail and, if useful, a phrase that suits the register. This also helps with balance. If one prompt has six lines of planning and another has one word, your final response is likely to become uneven.

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Exercise 5: sound like a real person emailing a friend

The June 2024 examiner report says successful Exercise 5 responses covered the required content points, maintained an appropriate informal style and often addressed the reader directly. Weaker responses mixed registers, using formal connectors such as “moreover”, “as a consequence” or “in conclusion” inside an otherwise personal email. The problem is not that those words are grammatically wrong; they sound unnatural for the audience. Use contractions, direct questions and friendly expressions when they fit, but do not force slang or exaggeration just to sound informal.

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Exercise 6: identify the text type before you start

The formal task changes shape. A report is not a review, an article is not automatically an essay, and the audience can alter the tone even when the topic stays similar. Cambridge’s official guidance says articles and essays are assessed with the same writing criteria, but candidates should still identify purpose and audience before choosing tone and register. A report to a teacher should be factual, organised and often recommendation-focused. A review needs evaluation. An article may need a more engaging public-facing opening. An essay usually develops a more direct discussion for the teacher.

Report writing: do not turn it into an email

The 2024 examiner report notes that some candidates began reports with greetings such as “Dear teacher” or “Hi teacher”, showing that they were not secure with report conventions. Stronger reports used a clear introduction, developed analysis and recommendations. Cambridge also notes that subheadings can work, but clearly signposted paragraphs can work just as well. The key is not a compulsory layout trick. It is making the response behave like a report: factual enough for the audience, logically organised and focused on findings or recommendations where the task asks for them.

Develop ideas instead of padding the word count

The target range is 120–160 words. Cambridge’s official FAQ says responses are not automatically penalised simply for exceeding the range, because marks are awarded positively, but both Content and Language may still be affected. Writing far beyond the limit can produce repetition, drift or more language errors. Writing too little can leave prompts underdeveloped. Treat the range as a design constraint: choose two or three useful details, develop them efficiently and stop when the task is complete.

The 9 language marks reward control, not difficult words

Language marks cover range, accuracy and organisation. That does not mean filling the response with advanced vocabulary you would never normally use. A simpler accurate sentence is more valuable than an ambitious sentence whose grammar collapses. Show range through controlled sentence structures, useful linking, precise vocabulary and a consistent register. Vary sentence openings and combine ideas naturally. If you know a more sophisticated word and it fits perfectly, use it. If you are choosing it only because it looks impressive, it may make the writing less natural.

Organisation should help the reader

Paragraphing is useful because each paragraph can carry one stage of the task. An informal email might open naturally, develop two or three prompt points and close in a friendly way. A report may separate findings from recommendations. An article may move from an engaging opening to developed points and a concise ending. There is no Cambridge rule requiring exactly four paragraphs. Organisation is assessed as part of language, so the structure should make the response easier to follow rather than forcing every task into one memorised shape.

A weak opening and a stronger opening

Compare two email openings. “Dear friend, I am writing to inform you about an event I attended. Firstly, it was very enjoyable.” is grammatical, but it sounds formal and generic. “Hi Sara, You won’t believe how chaotic Saturday became! I joined the school charity fair thinking I’d only help at one stall, but by midday I was organising the whole games area.” immediately establishes a genuine reader, an appropriate informal register and useful content. The stronger version is not better because it is more dramatic; it is better because its language suits the task.

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Do not memorise introductions that ignore the task

Memorised openings can become a trap. If every article begins with “In today’s modern world, this topic has become increasingly controversial,” you may spend valuable words saying nothing about the actual question. The same applies to email openings that ask five generic questions before addressing any prompt. Cambridge’s tasks give you a purpose and audience for a reason. Start in a way that fits that specific situation, then move quickly into the content you are being marked on.

Use linking language that matches the register

Cohesion matters, but the same connectors do not belong everywhere. “Anyway”, “guess what”, “so” and “by the way” may work naturally in an informal email. “However”, “in addition”, “as a result” and “one possible improvement would be” are more suitable for many formal tasks. Do not turn this into a banned-word list. The goal is consistency. The 2024 examiner report criticised responses that mixed very formal connective phrases into otherwise informal emails because the register became uneven.

Leave time for a fast accuracy check

A final check should focus on errors you can realistically fix in under a minute: missing verbs, subject–verb agreement, repeated words, unclear pronouns, punctuation at sentence boundaries and obvious spelling mistakes. Also check the task itself. Did you cover every prompt? Is the reader clear? Did your tone accidentally become too formal or too casual? Is the response still near the suggested range? This final task check can protect both Content and Language marks at once.

A practical exam checklist

Before you move on, ask six questions. Have I answered every prompt? Have I developed each idea rather than merely mentioned it? Does the tone suit the audience? Does the format behave like the required text type? Is my vocabulary varied but controlled? Is the organisation clear enough that the reader can follow the response immediately? If the answer to those six questions is yes, you are targeting the two things Cambridge actually awards: effective task fulfilment and effective language.

The practical takeaway

For both 2026 and 2027 onward, the 0510 writing formula is stable: 120–160 words, 6 marks for Content and 9 for Language in both Exercise 5 and Exercise 6. What separates stronger scripts is not a secret template. It is covering the whole task, developing ideas, controlling register, organising the response for the reader and using accurate language with enough range to communicate naturally. Practise the different text types separately, but keep the same core question in mind: what does this reader need from me, and what is the clearest way to give it to them?