IGCSE English 0500: Directed Writing. Notes into a Welcome Leaflet

You are helping to produce a "New Starters' Guide" leaflet, handed out to incoming Year 7 students in their first week, using the following notes about school clubs.

Notes:

The Chess Club meets every Wednesday lunchtime in Room 14; no experience is needed, and there is always a spare board for beginners.
The Wildlife Society looks after the school pond and has "adopted" two rescued hens that live in the garden.
The Drama Club stages one full production a year, and even backstage roles such as lighting count towards the cast photo at the end of the year.
Membership of any club is free, and every club has a table at the Week 1 "Clubs Fair" in the main hall.

Using at least THREE ideas from the notes above, write an extract from the leaflet (with a heading) introducing the clubs on offer, in a style designed to reassure and welcome nervous new students. Write about 80–100 words. [8]

Assessment focus

This question tests whether a candidate can select relevant content from source notes and reshape it using the conventions of a welcome leaflet (a warm heading, direct second-person address, and specific reassuring detail) rather than simply listing facts about each club in turn.

Mark scheme (8 marks)

Heading (2 marks): warm and inviting, signalling reassurance rather than a plain label (e.g. avoid “List of School Clubs”).
Register (2 marks): consistent second-person address (“you’ll find…”, “you don’t need…”) and a reassuring tone throughout, suited to a nervous new reader.
Use of source ideas (2 marks): accurately incorporates at least three ideas from the notes, chosen for their reassurance value (e.g. “no experience needed”, “free to join”) rather than picked at random.
Organisation and length (2 marks): clubs are introduced as connected, developed prose (or clearly signposted short sections) rather than a disconnected list, and the response stays close to the 80–100 word guideline.

Model extract (88 words)

New Here? There’s a Club Waiting for You

Not sure where to start? You don’t need any experience to turn up to Chess Club every Wednesday lunchtime in Room 14 (there’s always a spare board for beginners. Prefer the outdoors? The Wildlife Society looks after the school pond, home to two rescued hens you can help feed. And if you love the stage (or the lighting desk!), Drama Club puts on one full production a year, with every backstage role counting towards the cast photo. Best of all, joining any club is free) just find their table at the Week 1 Clubs Fair.

Why this works

The heading poses a reassuring, direct question rather than announcing a fact; three clubs are selected (not all four) and each is developed with a specific, welcoming detail rather than just named; second-person address (“you don’t need”, “you can help”) is sustained throughout; and the response closes on the practical, low-barrier detail (free, a table at the fair) that a nervous new student most needs to hear.

Common pitfalls specific to this task

“The school has a Chess Club, a Wildlife Society and a Drama Club.”, accurate, but a flat list with no reassurance and no leaflet-style hook.
Naming all four clubs in one crowded sentence, leaving no room to develop any of them with the specific detail that makes a leaflet genuinely inviting.