Guidance for Section B (Writing Task)

Answering the Writing Task!

In a lot of ways, the writing task should be the easiest part of the exams this summer. A lot of people say that ‘Anyone Can Write’. I agree with this to a certain extent, but there are definitely things we can do to make our planning and preparation better.

You will not know what the writing question is until you get into the exam, so we have to be prepared for a few different outcomes.

You have a CHOICE OF TWO questions. You only have to do ONE! So pick the one which looks best for you.

The first thing we have to do is to be prepared for the TYPE of writing we are being asked to do.

Type:

You will be asked to write a particular TYPE of writing, and you must show that you understand what you have been asked to do by including certain things. For example:

NEWSPAPER/ MAGAZINE ARTICLE – Headline, date, subheadings, picture boxes, author name, speaking to audience, paragraphs, columns?, bullet points?

LETTER – Name and address at the top, Dear Sir/Madam, Yours Sincerely/Faithfully, paragraphs.

WEBSITE/WEB ARTICLE – URL bar, links, tabs etc?

You also have to think about you AUDIENCE. Who are you writing for and how do you appeal to them?

Audience:

TEENAGERS – Maybe use A BIT of slang, maybe A BIT of text speak, talk about things which young people are interested in. Be funny.

OLD PEOPLE – Be formal, be polite, don’t use slang, try to talk about things which old people are interested in. Make them feel safe and included.

SOMEONE IMPORTANT – Be very polite, very formal, set out your writing in a sensible and orderly way, always back up your points with lots of reasons. Try to flatter them.

etc.

The last thing you need to think about is the PURPOSE of what you are being asked to do.

You will either be asked to PERSUADE, EXPLAIN, DESCRIBE, REVIEW or INSTRUCT (Or something similar) and you should make sure that you approach this directly!