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DSE Chinese | Practical Writing Lesson-Prep Guide (Tutor Edition) | Proposals, Speeches and Letters: Format, Audience and Word Budget
Students can write the opening salutation, yet after 400 characters none of their suggestions can actually be carried out. This lesson uses one word budget and a four-part structure to turn practical writing into a markable procedure.
Objectives — Students can: (1) name the six components of a proposal and their word counts, with suggestions taking 52.5% of the text, and finish 400 characters in 45 minutes (8.9 characters per minute); (2) choose register by audience, using the school address for a principal and a peer address for classmates, and state how the three text types open and close differently; (3) write three suggestions using claim, reason, method and measure, 70 characters each, and keep a three-minute speech within 660 characters.
01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)
If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.
| Skill | Quick check | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|
| Text types | What a letter, a proposal and a speech are for | A proposal seeks adoption, a speech seeks agreement |
| Register | Audience decides address and politeness | Three sets of wording for principal, parents, peers |
| Argument | A suggestion needs a reason and a method | Claim, reason, method, measure |
02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)
| Time | Stage | Tutor does | Student does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-8 min | Unpack the task | Who writes to whom, how many words, how many suggestions | Circle the audience and the task |
| 8-18 min | Six components | Address, opening, situation, suggestions, closing, signature | Fill in the word budget |
| 18-28 min | Audience and register | Address, politeness, tone in three layers | Rewrite three openings |
| 28-38 min | Four parts of a suggestion | Claim, reason, method, measure | Write one 70-character suggestion |
| 38-43 min | Timed writing | 400 characters in 45 minutes | Hand in one suggestion |
| 43-45 min | Exit check | Three questions marked on the spot | All three right |
03 Teaching script (read it out)
Scene 1: Practical writing is a procedure, not an essay
The most common script has full format and enough words, yet all three suggestions read as the school should pay more attention. That happens because students treat practical writing as expressive prose.
Start with a budget: a 400-character proposal splits into address 8, opening 55, situation 60, three suggestions 210 (70 each), closing 35, signature and date 12. That totals 380, leaving 20 characters for transitions.
The suggestions take 52.5% of the text, so more than half the words must say how, not how important.
Time matches the budget: 400 characters in 45 minutes is 8.9 characters per minute, so plan 8 minutes reading the task, 30 minutes writing, 7 minutes checking, which is about 13 characters per minute while writing.
Glue that table inside the notebook cover and the opening paragraph stops swallowing the essay.
Ask students why the opening is worth only 55 characters (marks go to whether a suggestion can be carried out, not to how moving the background is).
Start with a budget: a 400-character proposal splits into address 8, opening 55, situation 60, three suggestions 210 (70 each), closing 35, signature and date 12. That totals 380, leaving 20 characters for transitions.
The suggestions take 52.5% of the text, so more than half the words must say how, not how important.
Time matches the budget: 400 characters in 45 minutes is 8.9 characters per minute, so plan 8 minutes reading the task, 30 minutes writing, 7 minutes checking, which is about 13 characters per minute while writing.
Glue that table inside the notebook cover and the opening paragraph stops swallowing the essay.
Ask students why the opening is worth only 55 characters (marks go to whether a suggestion can be carried out, not to how moving the background is).
Ask students: if only two suggestions are written, what goes wrong (each grows to 105 characters, the reasoning loosens, and the task usually asks for three).
Scene 2: Audience decides every sentence
The same matter reads differently to three readers: to a principal, recent efforts are noted and then student feedback is quoted; to parents, the arrangement and date come first; to classmates, the opening names a shared experience.
Keep the pronoun consistent: a proposal uses I or we, a speech may use I but should not repeat I think, and we draws the room closer.
Speeches have their own frame: address, pauses, a call to action at the end. Three minutes is about 660 characters at 220 characters per minute, so write 600 and keep 0.3 minutes as buffer, roughly 2.7 minutes.
Letters need both salutations: the opening line to the named reader and the closing signature with a date. One misplaced element loses marks, and the whole check takes 30 seconds, which is the best value in the paper.
Register also means avoiding spoken forms: replace very important wording with formal equivalents, but do not turn the whole text archaic, since that reads as affected and is marked down too.
Keep the pronoun consistent: a proposal uses I or we, a speech may use I but should not repeat I think, and we draws the room closer.
Speeches have their own frame: address, pauses, a call to action at the end. Three minutes is about 660 characters at 220 characters per minute, so write 600 and keep 0.3 minutes as buffer, roughly 2.7 minutes.
Letters need both salutations: the opening line to the named reader and the closing signature with a date. One misplaced element loses marks, and the whole check takes 30 seconds, which is the best value in the paper.
Register also means avoiding spoken forms: replace very important wording with formal equivalents, but do not turn the whole text archaic, since that reads as affected and is marked down too.
Ask students: rewrite a weak closing appeal as a speech call to action, and explain the change.
Scene 3: A suggestion needs four parts to stand
Split 70 characters into four cells of about 17.5: claim (what to do), reason (why), method (who does what and when), measure (how success is judged).
Model: open the library until 7 pm on school days (claim), because students in after-school classes have nowhere to study once it shuts at 6 pm (reason), with the librarian rota and student volunteers (method), reviewed after eight weeks by comparing daily entries (measure).
A suggestion with all four parts can be ticked cell by cell; one with only a claim earns format marks alone.
Order the three suggestions by feasibility: one immediately doable, one needing resources, one long-term policy change, so the closing can propose phases.
The measure cell works best with a number or a baseline, such as daily entries rising from 80 to 130, rather than an appeal to culture.
The 35-character closing does two things only: repeat the single action wanted, then thank the reader.
Model: open the library until 7 pm on school days (claim), because students in after-school classes have nowhere to study once it shuts at 6 pm (reason), with the librarian rota and student volunteers (method), reviewed after eight weeks by comparing daily entries (measure).
A suggestion with all four parts can be ticked cell by cell; one with only a claim earns format marks alone.
Order the three suggestions by feasibility: one immediately doable, one needing resources, one long-term policy change, so the closing can propose phases.
The measure cell works best with a number or a baseline, such as daily entries rising from 80 to 130, rather than an appeal to culture.
The 35-character closing does two things only: repeat the single action wanted, then thank the reader.
Ask students: complete the four parts for a suggestion about careers guidance (who acts, when, how it is measured).
04 Question types and worked steps
| Type | Example | Steps | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proposal | Three feasible suggestions to the school | Six components, four parts, phased rollout | 400 characters, 70 each |
| Speech | Promote an activity to classmates | Address, shared opening, call to action | 600 characters, about 2.7 minutes |
| Letter | Reply to a parent or an organisation | Opening, body, closing and date | Zero format errors |
| Register rewrite | Turn spoken lines into written ones | Swap words, keep meaning, no padding | Three sentences in class |
Sanity check (teach this): Check the budget by addition: 8 + 55 + 60 + 210 + 35 + 12 + 20 = 400, not by feel.
8.9 characters per minute is 400 divided by 45, and that already includes checking time.
220 characters per minute is Cantonese broadcast speed; reading aloud slows to about 150.
The three suggestions total 210 characters, not 210 each.
Official weightings follow the latest authority guidelines; this page only computes words and time and claims no mark share.
8.9 characters per minute is 400 divided by 45, and that already includes checking time.
220 characters per minute is Cantonese broadcast speed; reading aloud slows to about 150.
The three suggestions total 210 characters, not 210 each.
Official weightings follow the latest authority guidelines; this page only computes words and time and claims no mark share.
05 Independent practice (3 questions)
| Question | Answer | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Character rate for 400 characters in 45 minutes | 8.9 per minute | 400 / 45 |
| Characters in a three-minute speech at 220 per minute | 660 | 3 x 220 |
| Share of the text taken by three suggestions | 52.5% | 210 / 400 |
06 Common mistakes and what to say
| Mistake | Student writes | Say this |
|---|---|---|
| Claim without method | Writes that the school should care more about student wellbeing | Name who acts and when: the counselling team runs a Wednesday lunchtime group for eight weeks. |
| Register mismatch | Uses casual peer address in a letter to the principal | Use the formal school address for a principal and keep one pronoun throughout. |
| Budget out of balance | Spends 150 characters on background and two lines on suggestions | Keep the opening to 55 characters and give over half the text to suggestions. |
| Missing signature and date | Stops after the closing sentence | A letter needs opening address, signature and date; the check takes 30 seconds. |
07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)
- Secondary Chinese chapter index — Practical writing unit, questions 1 to 4
- Argumentative structure for comparison — Borrow the claim and evidence pattern
- Lesson-prep hub — Compare other subjects
08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)
| Question | Answer | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Characters for the suggestions | 210 (52.5%) | All three right means timed writing |
| Characters in a three-minute speech | 660 | One wrong means re-teach the rate |
| Three letter essentials | Opening, signature, date | Two wrong means repeat act two |
09 Tutor FAQ
Must the text reach 400 characters?
Yes. Falling 20 or more short is visibly penalised, and overshooting by 40 wastes writing time.
Can students practise only two text types?
Not advisable. The three types open and close differently, and an unpractised type costs marks outright.
Should model essays be memorised?
Memorise structure instead: six components, four parts, three openings, which transfer to any prompt.
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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.
