Writing to inform, explain or describe Paper 2 Writing to inform, explain or describe

What do you think? Inform Explain Describe What do you have to do? What types of task might you be asked to do?

Setting out a formal letter (inform) 6 Wands Close Sherwood Nottinghamshire NG4 6FT Toot Hill School The Banks Bingham NG13 8BL 4 May 2006 Dear ……

How to begin and end your formal letter. Dear sir/madam – ends with ‘Yours faithfully’ Dear Mr Tomasevic – ends with ‘Yours sincerely’

Magazine and newspaper articles. If asked to write an article of some sort you need to present your writing appropriately. Use headings, a strapline, a standfirst (opening paragraph that makes the content of your article clear), space for pictures with a caption. Don’t spend too long, but make the examiner aware of the form your writing should take.

Writing to Describe

Key Features…… Descriptive writing helps readers to visualize people and places. A good piece of descriptive writing appeals to as many senses as possible (sensory imagery). Choose verbs and adverbs carefully, don’t overload your writing with them. E.g. “The man walked slowly” or “The man staggered” the second description provides more of a visual image. Always aim to help the reader visualise a scene.

Writing to Explain Use personal experience Bullet points Headings and subheadings Example task: Explain what your dreams and ambitions for the future are. Explain, also, how you’d achieve them.

Popular writing techniques to use. List of 3 - ‘freedom, equality and security’ – for emphasis. Alliteration – emphasises key words. Repetition – to make your point stronger. Rhetorical questions – to get your reader thinking. Emotive words – specific words to try to raise emotion in your reader – e.g. ‘stuffed into a bag’. Short sentences for impact. Complex and compound sentences to develop points and add descriptions. In pairs, add 2 more of your own...