Different types of writing

Writing to DESCRIBE

• Using vocabulary to paint a picture. Push for detail, e.g. “she was wearing a nice dress”- what colour, material, style, length etc!
• Examples include short stories, poetry and songs.
• Plan using film, pictures, cartoons, games, songs, a description that they can take ideas from.

Writing to PERSUADE

• Using vocabulary to reason, demonstrate balance, provide evidence and conclude.
• Examples include opinion columns, political campaigns materials, reviews (films, books), letters of complaint, or advertising.
• Plan through you taking up an opposite view to theirs and telling them why you disagree. Draw a table of points for and against – they will use one or the other, but mention the opposing argument as part of their technique.
• Practise making up facts such as statistics and names (nothing in English needs to be scientific!) and stating an opinion as if it was a fact. e.g. Dr Grey from the Institute of Science said that 95% of all fizzy drinks make young people hyperactive. This must be stopped!

Writing to ADVISE

• Uses modals (could, should, may, might).
• Examples include (suitable!) Agony Aunt columns, advice about health, starting school, bullying, friendships, online safety.
• Plan through brainstorming the problems first and then the solutions- a spider diagram or table is useful.

All these writing tasks require adjectives and adverbs, and language features such as idioms, metaphors, similes; onomatopoeic language, rhetorical questions and alliteration. They need to use speech and other interesting puncutation and show structure with paragraphs.

Writing to EXPLAIN

• Using imperatives, accurate and economic writing, avoiding the expression of opinions.
• Examples include instructions, directions and synopses.
• Plan using diagrams, flow charts, bullet points.