DSE Writing Skills
AdvancedPlan + outline + write + check.
- Timetable: five minutes planning, one outlining, fifty writing, five revising.
- Brainstorm eight ideas, keep three: instant writers run dry halfway.
- Every topic sentence needs a named example; replace arguments that cannot produce one.
文體小知識：Exam strategies.
§Text Passage
1A strong DSE essay starts long before you write your first sentence. Begin by analysing the question: underline the task word, identify the audience and decide the required format. Then brainstorm at least eight ideas in two minutes and choose the best three. Weak candidates start writing immediately and run out of thoughts halfway, while strong candidates spend five minutes on a plan and never stare at a blank paragraph.
2Turn the plan into a brief outline with one clear topic sentence for each paragraph. Every topic sentence must be followed by supporting details and concrete examples, because an opinion without evidence is just noise. If your paragraph cannot name a specific example, such as a school event, a statistic or a personal anecdote, replace it with one that can. Keep each paragraph focused on a single point; mixing two arguments in one paragraph confuses the reader and costs marks.
3Link your paragraphs with linking words such as 'furthermore', 'in contrast' and 'as a result', but use them naturally rather than mechanically. Watch the word limit: 400 words means roughly five solid paragraphs, and writing 700 usually means repetition, not richness. Save the final five minutes to revise, hunting for tense errors, subject-verb agreement, spelling and missing articles.
4Remember: examiners cannot mark what they cannot understand, so clarity beats fancy vocabulary every time. A simple sentence used correctly earns more than an impressive sentence used wrongly, and clarity is a kindness to the reader as much as a strategy for the writer. Plan, outline, support, link, revise — these five habits turn a nervous candidate into a confident writer.
§Sentence-by-sentence translation Sentence-by-sentence translation
A strong DSE essay starts long before you write your first sentence.
一篇出色的文憑試作文，早在你寫下第一句之前已經開始。
Begin by analysing the question: underline the task word, identify the audience and decide the required format.
首先分析題目：圈出任務字眼，確認寫作對象，並決定所需的格式。
Then brainstorm at least eight ideas in two minutes and choose the best three.
然後在兩分鐘內想出至少八個意念，再選出最好的三個。
Weak candidates start writing immediately and run out of thoughts halfway, while strong candidates spend five minutes on a plan and never stare at a blank paragraph.
弱的考生立即動筆，寫到一半便詞窮；強的考生花五分鐘擬定計劃，永遠不會對着空白段落發呆。
Turn the plan into a brief outline with one clear topic sentence for each paragraph.
把計劃化成簡短大綱，每段配上一句清晰的主題句。
Every topic sentence must be followed by supporting details and concrete examples, because an opinion without evidence is just noise.
每句主題句之後必須有輔助細節和具體例子，因為沒有證據的意見只是噪音。
If your paragraph cannot name a specific example, such as a school event, a statistic or a personal anecdote, replace it with one that can.
若某段無法舉出具體例子——例如學校活動、統計數字或個人經歷——便換上一個能舉例的論點。
Keep each paragraph focused on a single point; mixing two arguments in one paragraph confuses the reader and costs marks.
每段只聚焦一個論點；一段混雜兩個論據會令讀者混淆，並且失分。
Link your paragraphs with linking words such as 'furthermore', 'in contrast' and 'as a result', but use them naturally rather than mechanically.
用「furthermore」、「in contrast」、「as a result」等連接詞串連段落，但要自然運用，不要機械式堆砌。
Watch the word limit: 400 words means roughly five solid paragraphs, and writing 700 usually means repetition, not richness.
留意字數限制：400字大約是五段紮實的內容，寫到700字通常代表重複，而非豐富。
Save the final five minutes to revise, hunting for tense errors, subject-verb agreement, spelling and missing articles.
預留最後五分鐘修訂，搜尋時態錯誤、主謂一致、串字和漏掉的冠詞。
Remember: examiners cannot mark what they cannot understand, so clarity beats fancy vocabulary every time.
謹記：閱卷員無法給看不懂的內容評分，所以清晰永遠勝過華麗詞彙。
A simple sentence used correctly earns more than an impressive sentence used wrongly, and clarity is a kindness to the reader as much as a strategy for the writer.
用得正確的簡單句子，比用錯的深奧句子得分更高；清晰既是對讀者的體貼，也是寫作者的策略。
Plan, outline, support, link, revise — these five habits turn a nervous candidate into a confident writer.
計劃、擬綱、佐證、銜接、修訂——這五個習慣能將緊張的考生變成自信的寫作者。
1Summary 重點摘要
Plan + outline + write + check.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Plan.
Outline.
Topic sentence.
Detail.
Connector.
Para.
Edit.
字數限制。
3Step by step Steps
- PlanThe timetable: five minutes of planning — two to analyse the task (underline the task word, fix the audience and format: letter? article? speech?) plus two to brainstorm at least eight ideas and choose the best three; those who start writing at once run dry halfway.
- OutlineOne minute for the outline: one topic sentence per paragraph with a named concrete example beside it (a school event, a statistic, a personal anecdote) — swap any point that cannot name one, because “an opinion without evidence is just noise”.
- WriteWrite for about fifty minutes: 400 words in roughly five paragraphs, one point per paragraph; link naturally with furthermore / in contrast / as a result — never stack the connectors mechanically.
- CheckFive minutes checking four things: tense, subject-verb agreement, spelling, missing articles — “examiners cannot mark what they cannot understand”; clarity beats fancy vocabulary every time.
- Word countHold the 400-word line: 700 words usually means repetition, not richness — “writing 700 usually means repetition, not richness”; before closing each paragraph ask: does it argue exactly one point?
- Example ruleThe example rule is simple: every point must name one specific thing (a school event, a statistic, a personal anecdote) — if you cannot, change the point without hesitation.
- Five habits chainedRun the five habits as a chain: Plan, outline, support, link, revise — “these five habits turn a nervous candidate into a confident writer”; run the same process for every essay.
4Diagrams Diagrams
5Worked example Example
The DSE writing paper gives you two hours. Turn the article's five habits — plan, outline, support, link, revise — into a minute-by-minute timetable.
- Step 1: Plan (first five minutes): underline the task word, confirm audience and format, then brainstorm eight ideas and keep the best three.
- Step 2: Outline (one minute): one topic sentence per paragraph, each with a named example — a school event, a statistic, an anecdote; no example, no argument.
- Step 3: Write (about fifty minutes): 400 words means roughly five paragraphs, one point each, joined by 'furthermore', 'in contrast', 'as a result'.
- Step 4: Respect the limit: 700 words usually signals repetition, not richness.
- Step 5: Revise (final five minutes): tense, subject-verb agreement, spelling, articles — clarity beats fancy vocabulary.
- Answer: The five habits become a timetable. Minutes one to five: analyse the question, underline the task word, fix the audience and format, then brainstorm eight ideas and choose three. Minute six: outline — a topic sentence per paragraph, each carrying a concrete example such as a school event, a statistic or a personal anecdote, because an opinion without evidence is noise and a paragraph without an example gets replaced. Minutes seven to fifty-five: write about four hundred words in five focused paragraphs, one point each, linked naturally with 'furthermore', 'in contrast' and 'as a result'. Resist writing seven hundred words; repetition is not richness. The final five minutes hunt tense errors, agreement, spelling and missing articles — clarity is a kindness to the reader and a strategy for the writer.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Time?
Q2First?
Q3Outline?
Q4Paragraph?
Q5Linking words?
Q6Check?
8Recap Recap
- Timetable: five minutes planning, one outlining, fifty writing, five revising.
- Brainstorm eight ideas, keep three: instant writers run dry halfway.
- Every topic sentence needs a named example; replace arguments that cannot produce one.
- Four hundred words means about five paragraphs, one point each.
- Check four things: tense, agreement, spelling, articles — clarity beats fancy vocabulary.