When an answer should wait
Original practice source: a commentary about answering questions.
A quick answer can show attention. Someone needs a practical fact before they can act, and unnecessary delay leaves them doing work which another person could have prevented. Saying that everything is complicated may be a way of avoiding an ordinary responsibility.
Some questions, however, expose what is not yet known. An immediate confident reply can conceal uncertainty instead of resolving it. The useful response may be to identify what needs checking, explain when an answer can reasonably be expected or admit that no complete answer is available. Waiting is not automatically thoughtful, just as certainty is not automatically knowledge.
A national newspaper is running an essay competition on the statement: “A question left unanswered shows that somebody has failed.”
Write an essay for the competition arguing your view. You may use ideas from the source and your own ideas.
60 exam-style questions on Oxford AQA IGCSE English Language 2.2 Section B: Directed writing, covering 2.2.1 Writing for audience and purpose, 2.2.2 Responding to multiple and diverse demands, and 2.2.3 Writing linked to the Section A sources. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.