Module 10 —Writing Part 6: The Short Message

Teachers who mark short-message writing tasks often say the biggest problem isn't grammar — it's missing information. A student might write a perfectly correct sentence, but if it doesn't answer every point the task asks for, it can't receive full marks, no matter how good the English is.

The reason this happens so often is simple: candidates start writing immediately, without a plan, and get so focused on the first idea that they run out of things to say before reaching the second or third point. A message about missing a club meeting might explain the reason clearly but forget to suggest an alternative time, even though the task clearly asked for one.

The fix is quick and easy to learn. Before writing a single word, successful candidates read the three points and think of one short sentence for each. Only then do they start writing, joining the three sentences with simple linking words like 'and', 'so' and 'because'. This takes less than a minute but makes it far more likely that every point is covered clearly.