Select and use the relevant information from the visual text or stimulus in a situational writing task, addressing all the bullet points and reorganising details into your own writing

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to use the visual text or stimulus you are given in Section B (a poster, a notice, an email, a set of notes) and the bullet points in the task. Your job is to pull out the relevant details, cover every bullet point, and rework the information into your own writing rather than copying it word for word. The Situational Writing task gives you the content you need; the marks come from selecting the right details, addressing all the bullet points, and reorganising them into clear sentences that fit your purpose and audience.

The answer

The bullet points are a checklist

The task usually gives you two or three bullet points telling you what to include. Treat them as a checklist: every bullet point must be answered somewhere in your response. Tick each one off as you write. Missing a bullet point is one of the easiest ways to lose marks, and it is completely avoidable.

Selecting the relevant details

The stimulus often contains more information than you need. Match the details to your bullet points and your purpose. A detail is relevant if it helps you answer a bullet point or serve the purpose; if it does neither, you can leave it out. For example, if a poster lists a venue, dates, cost and a phone number, and your task is to persuade a friend to attend, you use the dates, cost and what is on offer, and you might skip the phone number.

Reword, do not copy

Copying the stimulus word for word scores poorly because it shows no language skill. Instead, put the details into your own full sentences and link them together. Turn a list ("kayaking, cooking, art") into flowing prose ("There is plenty to do, from kayaking to cooking and even an art class"). This shows you can handle the information, not just copy it.

Connect details to purpose and audience

Do not just report the facts; use them. If your purpose is to persuade, add why each detail is appealing. If your audience is a friend, the tone stays warm. Weaving the details into your purpose is what turns a copied list into real situational writing.

Examples in context

Example 1. A holiday camp poster. The poster lists dates, cost and activities. For a persuasive email to a friend, you fold every detail into warm sentences ("It runs from 1 to 3 June and costs only $30, and there is so much to do") and add why it is exciting, rather than copying the poster as a list. Every detail appears, but in your own words and serving the purpose.

Example 2. A set of meeting notes. A task gives you rough notes for a report on a class outing: the venue, what went well, and one problem. You reorganise these into proper report sections (where you went, what worked, what to improve), turning the notes into full, factual sentences rather than copying the bullet form straight into your answer.

Try this

• Cue. A poster lists four details but your task only has two bullet points. How do you decide what to use? Match the details to the bullet points and your purpose; include the details that answer a bullet point or serve the purpose, and leave out the rest.

• Cue. Reword this notice line into your own sentence for a persuasive email: "Free snacks provided." You could write: "And the best part is that there are free snacks at every session, so you will never go hungry!" This rewords the detail and links it to the purpose of persuading.

• Cue. Explain why copying the stimulus word for word loses marks. It shows you can read but not handle language; the task rewards reorganising and rewording the information into your own clear sentences that serve the purpose and audience.