Practice Worksheet
FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH
Directed Writing (Paper 2)
NAME: ………………………………………………………………………… CLASS:………………………………..
Read both texts and then answer Question 1(a) and 1(b) on the question paper.
Text A: Teamwork
Wiser employers have always known that the key to a productive business is investing time
and effort in understanding what makes people happy at work. Yes, promotion opportunities
and bonus pay for individual success are important, but employee happiness is dependent on
so much more. Increasingly, workers place greater value on things such as wellbeing and
working conditions, where flexible working, collaboration and a great team spirit are essential 5
parts of the company culture.
‘This is the era of the collaborative workplace,’ says Grace Chi, a lecturer in business studies.
‘The best places to work are those where colleagues help each other to complete projects
and celebrate others’ success, not try to outdo each other or impress the boss at someone
else’s expense.’ 10
‘I love having a workplace that embraces collaboration,’ agrees Ali Perez, whose small family
business creates and sells personalised gifts. ‘We respect everyone’s opinion and make
decisions together for the good of the company. We include all employees in new projects,
whatever their skills or experience. We have opportunities to mentor colleagues who find
their work challenging or difficult, developing their expertise by sharing our own. Yes, tasks 15
may take a little longer to complete, but the end result is better when everyone has an equal
say and works equally hard.’
Many organisations are shifting to this kind of ‘flatter’, more equal, management structure.
The traditional hierarchy – where a worker could expect one manager to be watching over
their shoulder and another higher-paid manager watching over the first – may in the future 20
become a thing of the past. In a collaborative model, responsibility lies with the individual
worker to play their part – if there are people in the team not contributing, that leaves more
work for everyone else and soon enough that person is not going to be popular.
Text B: Competition
Competition such as bonuses, performance management and promotion can motivate
employees, making them put in more effort, and building a sense of personal pride in the
results. Similarly, employees competing to find new clients or devising a way to bring a new
product to market faster can result in a real commercial advantage for organisations.
However, pressure to achieve can affect people in different ways, tempting some workers to 5
follow unethical paths, including cheating or stealing someone else’s ideas, with high long-
term costs for everyone.
Some kinds of competition create fear and anxiety, because they focus employees on the
threat of dismissal, losing income or being publicly humiliated. One manager described a
weekly ‘Cash or Cabbages Day’ when, employees who missed their sales targets were given 10
cabbages instead of cash bonuses. Other incentive schemes focus employees on winning a
coveted award or public recognition, making them feel excited. Anxiety and excitement are
very different emotional responses to competition. More importantly, these emotions make
people behave differently. Studies show that when workers feel anxious about employment
policies, they are significantly more likely to cut corners or sabotage colleagues, something 15
former salesperson, Jaz Gupta, knows only too well.
‘I’d worked for months to cultivate one prospective client,’ explains Jaz. ‘Everyone knew
winning a big order from that client could be a deciding factor in which of us from the
international sales team got promoted. Then I discover from a junior colleague that Ravi’s
also trying to net this wealthy individual, even though Ravi knew I was already in pursuit! I 20
knew if I ignored the situation, he’d just seal the deal, profiting shamelessly from all my
slaving away, and our boss would promote Ravi. But if I’d directly confronted Ravi, it could’ve
made me look petty and selfish. At the time, I calculated the best way to fight back was to be
just as devious as Ravi.’
Page 2 of 6
Question 1(a)
Reread this extract from Text B:
‘I’d worked for months to cultivate one prospective client,’ explains Jaz. ‘Everyone knew winning
a big order from that client could be a deciding factor in which of us from the international sales
team got promoted. Then I discover from a junior colleague that Ravi’s also trying to net this
wealthy individual, even though Ravi knew I was already in pursuit! I knew if I ignored the
situation, he’d just seal the deal, profiting shamelessly from all my slaving away, and our boss
would promote Ravi. But if I’d directly confronted Ravi, it could’ve made me look petty and selfish.
At the time, I calculated the best way to fight back was to be just as devious as Ravi.’
Use your own words to evaluate Jaz’s attitude to work. Give details from the text to justify your
answer.
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Question 1(b)
Write a letter offering advice to your younger sister who is about to join the workplace.
Use your own words to write your letter based on what you have read in both Text A and Text B.
In your letter you should:
• outline the different attitudes to teamwork and competition people may have
• explain some of the challenges young people might face in different kinds of workplaces and
how best to deal with them.
Write about 250 to 350 words. Up to 10 marks are available for reading and up to 25 marks for writing.
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