Did you know that Situational Writing is one of the most useful skills you can learn in the PSLE English syllabus? Chances are, one day when you are sitting in an office slogging away at your job, you will not be writing compositions or doing Vocabulary MCQs as part of your work. However, you will have to write numerous emails to colleagues and clients, so being able to communicate well in writing both formally and informally can have a big impact on your future. It pays to pay attention to Situational Writing!
New-Style Bullet Point
PSLE Situational Writing has traditionally been seen as fairly straightforward and a section where it is possible to score high marks if you pay attention to the task and the tone required. However, in the latest 2025 PSLE syllabus, it is one of the components that has undergone a change.
Situational Writing now requires you to think a little bit outside the box, as one of the bullet points for the task will ask for suggestions or ideas that are not given to you in the visual stimulus. Let’s look at an example.
Situational Writing (14 marks)
The pictures below show two residents, Mr Lee and Mr Tan, caught in the rain and finding shelter at a bus stop.
Your Task
Imagine you are Mr Tan in the pictures.
Write an appeal letter to the Town Council to build more sheltered walkways for the convenience of the residents in the neighbourhood.
You are to refer to the pictures and information on the previous page for your letter. The bullet point underlined below requires you to come up with your own information.
In your writing, include the following key information:
What happened that prompted you to write this letter
How you felt about it
Who you think will benefit from this
Two reasons why the residents in your neighbourhood would welcome this
One other measure the Town Council can adopt to make it safer to move around the neighbourhood in wet weather
You may re-order the points. Remember to write in complete sentences.
First up, notice the additional new wording in the task box: “The bullet point underlined below requires you to come up with your own information.” This alerts you to the fact that one of the bullet points is different because the information to answer it cannot be found in the visual stimulus. However, you will not have to decide on your own which bullet point it is, as you are told that it will be underlined.
Look at the underlined bullet point and analyse what it is asking you to do. In this case, you have to think of a new idea, in addition to the one that is given in the visual. Sometimes, you could be asked to suggest an activity or give a reason for an opinion – you will need to read carefully to make sure you understand the instruction.
Cover All 6 Content Points
Note that you still have to include 6 content points as there are still 6 marks allocated for content, so if there are fewer than 6 bullet points, make sure you identify the bullet point that includes more than one content point.
This task has 5 bullet points: can you spot the one that includes more than one content point?
Yes, it is Bullet #4:
Two reasons why the residents in your neighbourhood would welcome this
Coming Up With Your Own Ideas
In order to come up with your own information, you will have to use your common sense and critical thinking skills to think of something that is appropriate for the context (C), audience (A) and purpose (P) of the task.
Here are two tips on how to tackle it:
1. Highlight any information or clue(s) that relates to the point in the stimulus
Even if the specific point cannot be found, there should still be hints to help you generate ideas.
In the example above, the visual is about how to keep safe and dry in the rain, so when asked to suggest an additional measure you should use these clues to come up with a related idea. Try thinking of potential dangers people encounter when moving around in wet weather, and from there you can think of possible solutions to these dangers.
2. Draw a logical conclusion from the CAP of the task
For example, if you are asked to recommend an activity that your elderly grandfather (Audience) could try in order to improve his strength and coordination (Purpose), use your common sense and do not suggest bungee jumping or sky diving! A more suitable activity for an elderly person would be walking or lifting light weights.
Be creative, and remember: all of your points should show a clear understanding of the context, audience and purpose of the situation and address all the key information required by the task.
Want to know what a high-scoring response to this Situational Writing task would look like? We’ve crafted a sample response to show you – download our Model Answer now! 📥
Stay tuned for our next blog on PSLE English 2025 syllabus changes to Visual Text Comprehension!
These expert tips were brought to you by our in-house Curriculum Team.
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