Here are a few feedback observations I made when marking your work.
Use the word limits given in the question as a guide to how little and how much you should write. The recasting text is usually between 300 - 400 words. If you write under 300 words you are probably not covering the answer fully. The examiner will conclude you've never read the text before and/or you've only read the source text very superficially. If you write over 400 words you are probably repeating ideas already stated or you are not being concise in your answer. The examiner will think your writing will be irrelevant in parts.
You should aim to write between 350 - 400 words in the recast text.
Only use material from the source text that is relevant to your specific purpose. Be ruthless when you are planning the task and ask yourself, 'can this piece of information be used for my recasting task?' If you think you can use it then consider the point it is making, where in your text you can use it and what imaginative and creative ways can you adapt this point.
Avoid imitating or using the structure of the source material. The structure of the recast text should be determind by the audience, purpose - not just the general purpose to entertain, pursuade, inform or instruct, but also the specific purpose - inj this case to pursuade women to support the campaign for birth control, and genre of your recast text. An examiner will consider similar openings and similar structure of the recast and original text as unimaginative, lazy or disengaged with the question / task.
Be very conscious of the aim / function of your recast task. Make sure you make it absolutely clear what your aim is in this speech. This aim should inform every aspect of your text; from selecting the relevant material from the source text to choosing the appropriate techniques for the text.
All information must come directly from the source text. It is absolutely vital that yiou do not include information from other sources. The only new materisl you can include in the recasting text is material to make the genre
