Speech tasks ask you to write words that will be said aloud to a specific audience – a meeting, a class, a team. They reward the same structure as an article, plus the techniques of spoken persuasion: addressing the listeners, repetition, questions, a strong ending. This free pack gives you two speech tasks in exam layout, the grids explained, and a model speech annotated to show the techniques at work.
Free to download, print and share for personal or classroom use. Answers included.
What’s in this worksheet
- Know-the-format box for this text type
- Task 1 in Pearson exam layout (Information box, bullet points, word count, marks)
- Task 2 in Highfield exam layout (notes stimulus)
- Planning grid and lined answer space for both tasks
- Plain-English version of the official marking grids
- Indicative content list for Task 1
- 292-word model answer with examiner notes
Common mistakes on this topic
From our tutors’ marking and the most recent examiner reports – check your work against these:
- Writing an essay or article – no greeting, no ‘you’, no ending. A speech must sound spoken.
- Long, winding sentences that would leave a speaker breathless. Keep them short; use full stops.
- Forgetting to actually ask the audience for something at the end.
- Ignoring the other side of the argument – acknowledging it and answering it is what persuades.
How to use it
- Read the ‘Know the format’ box, then do Task 1 under exam conditions – 5 minutes planning, the rest writing, timed as the task box says.
- Mark yourself against the grid and the indicative content list. Be honest about which band each strand lands in.
- Read the model answer and its notes, then rewrite your weakest paragraph. Do Task 2 a few days later without looking at the model.
Related free resources
- Leaflet – Exam-Style Writing Tasks (Functional Skills Level 2)
- Informal Letter or Email – Exam-Style Writing Tasks (Functional Skills Level 2)
- Plan a Functional Skills Writing Task in 5 Minutes – Free Planning Sheet
- All free Functional Skills English Level 2 resources
Frequently asked questions
How do you start a speech in the Functional Skills exam?
Greet the audience, say who you are and why you are speaking, and state your position in one sentence: ‘Good evening, everyone. My name is… and I am asking you to…’. That is the whole first paragraph.
What techniques should a speech use?
Direct address (you, we, us), rhetorical questions, repetition, the rule of three, a short personal example, and signposting words (firstly, secondly, finally). Write shorter sentences than you would in an article – it has to be said aloud.
How should a speech end?
With a clear request or message in one memorable line, then ‘Thank you.’ A rhetorical question or a contrast (‘a row of parked cars – or a place where…’) just before the ask gives it force.
Want a tutor to mark your work? Not sure where you stand? Take the free 15-minute mini mock test. Ready to get qualified? Our live 10-week Functional Skills Level 2 English course runs in small groups with a mock exam included, and the 5-day revision course is there if your exam is close.