Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500/22 is the May/June 2026 Paper 2 (Directed Writing and Composition), variant 2. It lasts 2 hours and is worth 80 marks. You answer two questions: the compulsory directed writing task in Section A, a 40-mark speech based on two articles about technology in schools, and one 40-mark composition from a choice of four in Section B. This guide goes through each task and shows how the official mark scheme awarded the marks. The paper, insert and mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of both 0500 papers from this series, see IGCSE First Language English 0500 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

0500/22 at a glance

Rubric: answer Question 1 in Section A and one question from Section B.

Question	Section	Task	Words	Marks
1	A: Directed writing (compulsory)	Speech on removing technology from school classrooms, using Texts A and B	About 250–350	40 (25 writing + 15 reading)
2	B: Descriptive	A person in a place you wouldn’t expect to see them	About 350–450	40
3	B: Descriptive	An area where waste or rubbish is dumped	About 350–450	40
4	B: Narrative	A story including the given words about looking towards the stars	About 350–450	40
5	B: Narrative	A story where a decision is made to leave	About 350–450	40
			Total answered	80

Each composition is marked 16 for content and structure and 24 for style and accuracy.

Task-by-task walkthrough

The two texts

• Text A: an article about schools in some countries moving young children back towards printed books, quiet reading and handwriting, citing experts, a research institute and teachers who worry that screens make children shallow readers and weaken their appetite for learning to read.
• Text B: an article arguing that schools are stuck in a world before the internet, and that children should learn online from the best educators anywhere, with teachers acting as facilitators who help them find information, including with AI.

Question 1: the speech (40 marks)

Your area is considering a proposal to remove technology from every school classroom. You write a speech for a meeting of parents, teachers and local people, giving your view. The two bullets ask you to evaluate how the proposal would affect students and their learning, and to give your views on its impact on teachers and the wider community. You must use both texts, in your own words, and cover both bullets.

Marks split: 25 for writing (style, structure, vocabulary, register and accuracy) and 15 for reading (selecting and evaluating ideas from the texts).

Indicative content: explicit ideas.

• From Text A: a trend towards rolling back technology in schools; disagreement about whether technology helps reading; the view that it harms learning, especially for young children; and children arriving already hooked on screens, reluctant to tackle harder skills and reading only on the surface.
• From Text B: the brain hasn’t changed, but knowledge and skills have; schools are built on an older way of learning; technology is expensive to buy and keep updated; children can reach teachers and lessons anywhere; and the internet isn’t always reliable.

Indicative content: implicit ideas to evaluate.

• For technology in schools: more engaging lessons; teaching based on the past doesn’t fit future lives; you can’t teach students to spot misinformation without using technology; it can help poor or disabled students; it may cost less than physical resources over time; removing it risks an under-skilled workforce; it builds independence and collaboration.
• Against technology in schools: it may reduce resilience and perseverance; it weakens the trusting relationship between teachers and children; it can harm teachers’ jobs, careers or workload; some younger children lack the self-discipline to use it sensibly; and the internet is unsafe without strict supervision.

Moving up the reading levels. The reading grid has six levels. The top band (13–15) evaluates both explicit and implicit ideas successfully and pulls them together into a developed, sophisticated argument. At 10–12 there is some successful evaluation and a thorough, well-supported response. At 7–9 you begin to evaluate, mainly the explicit ideas. At 5–6 and below you select or simply identify ideas from the texts without judging them.

Moving up the writing levels. The writing grid also has six levels. The top band (22–25) has a style that conveys subtle meaning, careful structure for the listener, a wide and precise vocabulary, a register that fits the audience and almost always accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. At 18–21 these are effective and mostly accurate. At 14–17 they are sometimes effective. The 10–13 band includes answers that follow the order of the original texts and use simple or borrowed vocabulary, and copying words from the texts features in the bands below.

Advice from the scheme: decide where you stand, then weigh points from both articles against each other and against the implicit ideas above. Build your own order of argument rather than working through Text A and then Text B, and address the audience as a speech should.

Questions 2 and 3: descriptive compositions (40 marks)

• Question 2: describe a person in a place where you wouldn’t expect to see them.
• Question 3: describe an area where waste or rubbish is dumped.

Marks split: 16 for content and structure and 24 for style and accuracy. The mark scheme gives no indicative content for the compositions: they are marked only with the level grids.

Moving up the content levels. The top band (14–16) has many well-defined, developed ideas and images that build a convincing overall picture with varied focus, in a structure managed for deliberate effect. At 11–13 frequent, well-chosen images and details make a mostly convincing picture. At 8–10 there is a selection of relevant ideas and details, even if the writing slips towards narrative. At 5–7 the details are relevant but straightforward and may read more like a story. Below that, a description records some events with little detail or is unclear.

Advice from the scheme: keep it a description. Plot-driven answers are placed lower in the descriptive grid. The top band asks for varied focus, so shift between close detail, the wider scene and different senses rather than listing what is there; in Question 2, the person and the unexpected place can both be described.

Questions 4 and 5: narrative compositions (40 marks)

• Question 4: a story that includes the given words about people looking towards the stars.
• Question 5: a story in which a decision is made to leave.

Marks split: the same 16 for content and structure and 24 for style and accuracy.

Moving up the content levels. The top band (14–16) has a well-defined, strongly developed plot with description, characterisation, an effective climax and convincing details. At 11–13 the plot is defined and developed with those features. At 8–10 it is relevant and cohesive with some characterisation and scene-setting. At 5–7 it is straightforward with few narrative features. Lower bands have events that are only partly linked or a plot that lacks coherence.

Advice from the scheme: for Question 4, the required words must appear in your story, so place them where they matter. The top band looks for an effective climax, so in Question 5 the decision to leave is a natural place for it.

Style and accuracy (all compositions, 24 marks)

The style and accuracy grid has six levels. The top band (21–24) has precise, well-chosen vocabulary, varied sentence structures used for effect, a consistent register and almost always accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. At 17–20 these are mostly secure, and at 13–16 they are sometimes used for effect with some errors. Simple vocabulary and straightforward sentences with frequent errors sit at 5–8.

Where the marks are on 0500/22

Skill	Question 1	Composition	Total
Reading (selecting and evaluating ideas from the texts)	15	–	15
Writing quality: style, structure, vocabulary, register, accuracy	25	–	25
Content and structure	–	16	16
Style and accuracy	–	24	24
Total	40	40	80

So 65 of the 80 marks are for writing, and only 15 depend on your reading of the insert, all in Question 1.

How to self-mark 0500/22 with the mark scheme

1. Mark the speech twice. Give a reading mark out of 15 and a writing mark out of 25 separately, as examiners do.
2. Check the reading mark against the content lists. Tick the explicit ideas you used from each text, then find any implicit ideas and see whether you evaluated them or only repeated them. Evaluation decides the top two bands.
3. Look for borrowing. Highlight any wording lifted from the texts and check whether your speech follows the texts’ order. Both features belong to the lower writing bands.
4. For the composition, decide the content level first. Use the descriptive or narrative column that matches your title, and check that a descriptive piece hasn’t turned into a story.
5. Then mark style and accuracy. Look at vocabulary, sentence variety, register and the number and seriousness of spelling, punctuation and grammar errors.
6. Place the mark within the band. Choose the top or bottom of the level depending on how fully the descriptors fit.

Sit 0500/22 as a timed mock

The paper allows 120 minutes for 80 marks, and the two questions carry equal marks. A workable plan:

Block	Marks	Time
Read Texts A and B and annotate	–	10 minutes
Plan the speech	–	10 minutes
Write the speech	40	35 minutes
Choose and plan the composition	–	10 minutes
Write the composition	40	45 minutes
Proofread both answers	–	10 minutes

When you annotate the texts, mark each idea as for or against the proposal so your speech plan can set them against each other.

Other May/June 2026 0500 papers

• 0500 Paper 12 (Reading)

Practise and download

• Download 0500/22, its insert and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 0500 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free IGCSE First Language English quiz

Need help with a 0500 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an IGCSE First Language English tutor →

Frequently asked questions

What was the directed writing task on 0500/22 May/June 2026? +

A speech to parents, teachers and members of the local community about a proposal to remove technology from all school classrooms. You had to evaluate the effect on students and their learning and give your views on the impact on teachers and the wider community, using two articles in the insert.

How many questions do you answer on 0500/22? +

Two. Question 1 in Section A is compulsory, then you choose one composition from Questions 2 to 5 in Section B. Each is worth 40 marks, making 80 in total, and the paper lasts 2 hours.

How is the 0500/22 speech marked? +

Out of 40: 25 for the quality of writing and 15 for reading. The reading mark rewards evaluating the ideas in both texts, including implicit ones, rather than just repeating them.

What were the composition titles on 0500 Paper 22 in 2026? +

Two descriptive titles (a person in a place you wouldn't expect to see them, and an area where waste or rubbish is dumped) and two narrative titles (a story including the words about looking towards the stars, and a story where a decision is made to leave).

How long should the 0500/22 answers be? +

The question paper asks for about 250 to 350 words for the speech and about 350 to 450 words for the composition.

Where can I download 0500/22 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

The question paper, insert and mark scheme are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 past papers page.

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