A task prompt for a short message tells you who you write to and what to include. Each thing to include is a point, and each point needs its own clear sentence. This lesson shows how to turn the prompt into a checklist before you write.
The prompt and message here are original, written for practice. This skill sits inside foreign-language reading and writing and builds on reading a notice for its condition.
How do you turn a prompt into points?
Work in three short moves.
- Circle the audience. Is it a friend, a teacher, a neighbour?
- Number each instruction. A question such as “when?” or “what should they bring?” is one point.
- Write one sentence per point, then add a greeting and a closing line.
If you can tick every number in your draft, the message is complete. If one number has no sentence, you have found the gap before it costs you.
Worked example
Original prompt (invented): Your friend Mei Ling will visit your town next month. Write her a message. Tell her (1) what you plan to do on Saturday, (2) where you will meet, and (3) what she should bring.
Step 1. The audience is a friend, so a warm tone is right.
Step 2. Three points are numbered in the prompt.
Step 3. One sentence for each point, with a greeting and a closing line.
美玲你好，
听说你下个月要来我家，我很高兴。星期六我们打算去海边骑自行车，然后一起吃晚饭。我们九点在地铁站门口见面。请你带一件外套和一瓶水，因为海边风很大。期待见到你。
小文
Měilíng nǐ hǎo, tīngshuō nǐ xià ge yuè yào lái wǒ jiā, wǒ hěn gāoxìng. Xīngqīliù wǒmen dǎsuàn qù hǎibiān qí zìxíngchē, ránhòu yìqǐ chī wǎnfàn. Wǒmen jiǔ diǎn zài dìtiězhàn ménkǒu jiànmiàn. Qǐng nǐ dài yí jiàn wàitào hé yì píng shuǐ, yīnwèi hǎibiān fēng hěn dà.
Check against the points. Point 1 is 骑自行车 and 吃晚饭. Point 2 is 九点在地铁站门口. Point 3 is 外套 and 水. All three are covered, and the closing line fits a friend.
A plausible mistake
A student writes four sentences about how excited they are, the long journey Mei Ling will make and the weather last week. Each sentence is correct Chinese. None says where to meet, so point 2 is missing.
The correction is to write the points first and add extra sentences afterwards. Warm feelings belong in the greeting and the closing line, not in place of a point.
Check yourself
1. A prompt asks you to tell your teacher (1) why you were absent, (2) when you will return and (3) whether you need the homework. How many points are there, and what tone fits?
Show answer
Three points. The audience is a teacher, so use a polite tone, for example 老师您好 at the start and 谢谢老师 at the end.
2. Which sentence covers “when you will return”? A. 我昨天头很疼。 B. 我下星期一会回学校。 C. 请把作业给我。
Show answer
B. 下星期一 gives the time. A states a reason and C is about homework.
3. Write one polite sentence for point 3 (whether you need the homework).
Show answer
One model answer: 请问我需要补交这几天的作业吗？ (Qǐngwèn wǒ xūyào bǔjiāo zhè jǐ tiān de zuòyè ma?) Other sentences are fine if they ask about homework clearly and politely.
Where this leads next
Linking your point sentences smoothly is the next skill: link simple sentences coherently. The audience register and purpose planner gives prompts to plan tone, and the writing revision compare view lets you compare two drafts. The mixed practice set tests it all.
A teacher in online one-to-one Chinese tuition can read your draft against the prompt line by line and show you which point went missing.