ST PATRICK'S CBC

ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE

GRADES 10 & 11

TRANSACTIONAL WRITING TASK – 2019

NAME: ______________________________________

CLASS: ______________________________________

TOTAL MARKS: 140

HANDED OUT: ______________________________________

DUE DATE: Grade 10 on 13 Feb.; Grade 11 on 20 Feb.

SCENARIO
Mr Tredoux and the Board of Governors have earmarked 2019 as the year in which the High
School will be revamped. As a senior pupil of CBC, you would like to give your input for the
planned refurbishments.

MINIMUM LENGTH OF THE BODY OF EACH PIECE: 250 – 350 words

FORMAT FOR HANDING IN: Each piece should be typed and printed on A4 plain white paper.
You should design an appropriate and business-like cover page on which the following information
should appear:

 Your full name

 Your class
 Subject
 Original task title that indicates your choice of area of improvement in the High School

All pages should be stapled with ONE staple in the top left-hand corner.

If you do not have a printer at home, you may make use of the printers in the High School
Computer Centre.

If you would like me to print them for you, you need to e-mail them to me at least 48 hours (i.e. two
full SCHOOL days; not Saturdays or Sundays) before the deadline. Each document should be
attached in pdf format, correctly labelled as follows:

Surname, First name – Class – Transactional Task – specify which task

e.g. Towell, Robyn – 11MdB – Transactional Task – formal letter

Correct e-mail etiquette needs to be followed (refer to your notes from the lesson on e-mail
etiquette – available on Edmodo). If not, your e-mail will be returned with the instruction to follow
the correct protocol.

My email address: tmatthews@stpatricks.co.za

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You strongly believe that ONE of the following areas needs to be refurbished as a matter of urgency:

a. tuck shop
b. G.E.T. bathrooms
c. F.E.T. bathrooms
d. Science laboratories/classrooms
e. Drama classrooms
f. Back Field
g. cricket nets
h. the entrance to the High School
i. library
j. a particular classroom (you must stipulate which one)
k. the High School quadrangle
l. the old bicycle shed area
m. provision & location of lockers

St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)
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In order to convince Mr Tredoux and the Board that your suggestion is the one that will be
attended to and invested in, you need to do thorough research and hand in a convincing
portfolio of documentation to support your proposal.

Your portfolio of documents must include each of the following (see specific instructions on p. 5):

1. formal letter
2. e-mail
3. agenda & minutes
4. interview
5. formal report
6. blog entry
7. proposal

Notes:

i. You may write the pieces in any order, but there should be a natural 'flow' from piece to
piece i.e. there must be a logical progression from one item of transactional writing to the
next one.
ii. The transactional pieces must be realistic with consistent information. Check names,
addresses, dates etc. for consistency.
iii. Include photographic / visual evidence where necessary.
iv. Remember 'FLAP':
 Format – the layout of your piece (refer to the X-Kit handbook and online for
preferred layouts)
 Language – formal register and diction (although the blog could be more informal)
 Audience – write with a specific reader in mind (e.g. Mr Tredoux and the Board)
 Purpose – what are you hoping to achieve with each text?
v. Remember ‘SOAPSTONE’(see p. 4):
 speaker
 occasion
 audience
 purpose
 subject
 tone

St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)
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St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)
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1. FORMAL LETTER
This letter must be addressed to one of the key people involved in the proposal.
e.g. You could write to the architect, explaining what needs to be done to the steps and
gates that form the entrance area to Back Field

2. E-MAIL
You may copy & paste a screenshot of an e-mail. Make sure that all relevant fields are
completed (such as ‘To’, ‘cc’, the subject line). Often, an e-mail is sent after a meeting, to
confirm details / matters discussed.

3. AGENDA & MINUTES

It is important that your agenda and minutes are consistent (e.g. if point 2.2 on your agenda
is headed ‘Cost of Bathroom Mirrors’, then point 2.2 on the minutes should give succinct
details of the discussion concerning the ‘Cost of Bathroom Mirrors’).

4. INTERVIEW
You need to interview a REAL person and record the interview in writing (e.g You
could interview Mr Adams about the cricket nets). It is imperative that you respect the time
of your selected interviewee. You must make an appointment at his/her convenience. You
must be PUNCTUAL for the appointment. Your questions must be prepared in advance. If,
for your convenience, you would like to make a recording of the interview on your mobile
phone, you must ask your interviewee for permission BEFORE you start recording. You
also need to give your interviewee a hand-written thank you letter no later than 48 hours
after the interview.

5. FORMAL REPORT
The report should be about ONE aspect of the planned refurbishment. e.g. If you suggested
that the HS quad should have the paving removed and grass planted, the report would give
reasons why this should / should not be done.

6. BLOG ENTRY
This is a personal response to any aspect of the proposed refurbishment. It is up to you to
decide whether your audience is for fellow High School pupils, for the staff of the school or
for the general public. You may have more than one entry if that suits your purposes.

7. PROPOSAL
This is your final REALISTIC proposal for the project. Initially, you might have thought that a
new block of Science laboratories / classrooms should be built on the corner of Back Field
near the tuck shop. Prohibitive expenses (which you discovered in your interview with an
architect) has meant that you now propose that the current Science block be completely
revamped. It will, therefore, be your final piece in the task – that pulls all your information
together.

St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)
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TRANSACTIONAL WRITING – Cheat Sheet

BLOG
* Have an eye-catching headline
OFFICIAL REPORT
* Make your opinion known
* Write how you speak, not so formal * Formal register
* Lists are okay * Addressed to specific person/group
* Remember to write for your AUDIENCE, do * Clear structure (outline, numbers, subheadings)
not repeat unnecessarily *Avoid personal pronouns like “I” and “we”
* You can mention the reader * Clear and precise language, not a lot of filler
* Include a URL,. words that aren’t needed.
* A “comments” section is ok as well. Even * Give information
add comments. The more it looks like a
blog, the better.

INTERVIEW FORMAL LETTER

* Can have different registers depending on * Should sound formal
the topic of the interview, person, and and fancy
audience * Include date, address,
*Well-formed questions greeting, closing,
*Thought-out and developed answers * Express your ideas with
* Different question modality “Should, are, clear language and
isn’t it, How is…” without getting lost in too
* A good transition between topics much information
* A closing to audience * Clever phrases are
welcome, but don’t get
too funny (who is the
audience?)
E-MAIL
* Can be semi-formal or informal
* Be fun to read or at least interesting
* Written to a specific person or group
NEWS REPORT
* Greeting, Closing
* Can look like e-mail with a subject, sender * Formal
and general interface * Mostly information, not a lot of filler
* A body paragraph with main ideas, * Give details in order
separate paragraphs as needed * Write in past tense, unless it’s happening
NOW
*Headline/ byline
* Who, what, when, where, why, how

St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)
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Example of a formal letter:

St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)
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Example of an interview:

St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)
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Example of a newspaper article:

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Example of a formal report:

St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)

Each piece will be assessed using the IEB rubric below:
TRANSACTIONAL WRITING RUBRIC
Level Mark Purpose & Content
7 10 A LIVELY, ORIGINAL RESPONSE
9 REGISTER
Writing provides comprehensive
8 insight, understanding and
reflective thought by building a
focused response. A cohesive
viewpoint has been developed
throughout, resulting in a strong,
consistent voice. Original, sincere
and creative. Shows clear
development and commendable
depth of argument. A clear, mature
personal style. Skilfully adapts to
different audiences, purposes and
contexts. The supplied text is used
only as stimulus, with no cutting
and pasting into the transactional
piece.
6 7½ A GOOD TO VERY GOOD (ABOVE
7 AVERAGE) RESPONSE
Writing, on the whole, provides
consistent focus, understanding and
thought. Evidence of a focused
response but lacks consistency, which
could have resulted in the writing
being awarded a level 7. Evidence of
personal style and voice, although
depth and development compromised
in places/ development and depth in
evidence but personal style lacking or
compromised. The supplied text is
used generally as stimulus- limited
cutting and pasting integrated with
own ideas.
5 6½ AN ADEQUATE (AVERAGE)
6 RESPONSE
An ordinary, predictable response that
broadly meets the requirements of the
task. Makes an attempt to respond
sincerely albeit unconvincing in
places. Evidence of personal style in
places, although some areas jar with
the question requirements. The
supplied text is used as stimulus
on occasion – cutting and pasting
integrated with own ideas.
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Language & Register
EXCELLENT COMMAND OF LANGUAGE AND
Highly sophisticated use of language conventions
and excellent understanding of register required for
the task. Language is precise and engaging, with
notable sense of voice and awareness of audience
and purpose. Effectively incorporates a range of
varied sentence patterns to reveal syntactic fluency.
Writing reflects author’s unique personality through
carefully selected diction and register, rendering a
piece that comes to life.
A GOOD TO VERY GOOD COMMAND OF
LANGUAGE AND REGISTER
Competent and at times, impressive use of language.
Very good understanding of register. Language is
fluent and original with evident awareness of audience
and purpose. Incorporates varied sentence patterns
that reveal an awareness of different syntactic
structures. May employ liveliness, sincerity or humour
when appropriate; the writing at times may be too
casual/ personal/ formal. Errors do not impede
readability. Some editing is needed.
AN ADEQUATE COMMAND OF LANGUAGE AND
REGISTER
Use of appropriate language with some awareness of
audience and purpose. Makes some attempt to
include different sentence patterns but with awkward
or inconsistent success. Occasional errors that detract
from the writing fluency in places. The purpose,
audience and register have been understood. Writing
is ordinary, but competent.
(Mrs T. Matthews)
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4 5½ A LIMITED (BELOW AVERAGE) A LIMITED COMMAND OF LANGUAGE AND

5 RESPONSE REGISTER

Ideas in the paragraphs may be Limited awareness of audience and purpose. Limited
inconsistently organised. Some range of syntactic structures. Uses words and that are
evidence of originality, despite limited colourless and flat. Language may be repetitious.
success in taking into account Errors may begin to impede readability. Editing
different audiences and purposes. required for clarity of ideas. Register is not consistent
Superficial response. Limited personal with question’s demands.
style. Development of ideas is
limited/partial and requires further
elaboration. Personal voice is not
always in evidence/limited personal
voice. Over-reliance on supplied
text, which hinders personal
response in places.

3 4½ AN INADEQUATE, COMPROMISED AN INADEQUATE COMMAND OF LANGUAGE AND

4 RESPONSE REGISTER

Ideas have in instances been Language is flawed and unsuitable for audience or
compromised by insufficient depth, purpose. Language patterns flawed, images
development and organisation. The stereotyped. Errors impede readability; extensive
purpose of the task has been tackled editing required. Vague, confused sentences.
marginally. Vague in places. An Register inappropriate for the task.
inconsistent or incomplete attempt.
Limited evidence of personal voice,
albeit unconvincing. The writing is
compromised and lacks focus and
direction. Over-reliance on supplied
text, which hinders personal
response.

2 3½ A POOR, MUDDLED RESPONSE A POOR COMMAND OF LANGUAGE AND

3 REGISTER
Little or no originality. Individual ideas
lacking. No development and focus. Very flawed product. Erroneous. Demonstrates lack of
Cohesion required. No personal style. control of language conventions, exhibiting frequent
Reveals no awareness of the purpose errors which impede understanding.
of the task. Voice is flat and
unconvincing/no voice. Relies solely
on supplied text.

1 2½ AN INCOHERENT RESPONSE INCOHERENT/INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE AND

2 REGISTER
No evidence of originality or cohesion;
1 no attention to purpose, context. Incoherent language/inappropriate language.
Development lacking. A completely Preponderance of errors of style. Illogical.
flawed response/ does not address
the question.

St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)
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St Patrick's CBC – English HL – FET – transactional writing task – 2019 (Mrs T. Matthews)