Writing to Argue of Persuade Five quick steps to exam success! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
PAF Five points Order A FOREST Proofread
PAF = Purpose…audience…form Underline or highlight these. How will they affect what you write? – contents, layout, language, sentences, vocabulary, tone? Find five points for your argument or persuasion As messy as you like: no-one’s going to see them! List or spider – it’s up to you. Be quick – it’s only a list: you can expand on them a bit later. Order? Find the best order for these points. Remember – you want a Big Opening to catch attention and an Ending with Impact! Go through A FOREST:
Proofread Check spelling, full stops, other punctuation, paragraphs, vocabulary and anything else before it costs you marks.
Writing an Essay – Linking Words and Statements
Introduction: Firstly Primarily Chiefly Importantly The writer/author introduces … We are introduced to …
Main Body: The reason for this is … From this, we can note that … Secondly. Thirdly etc. Moving on … The reader can see from this that … The author writes … because … Another … Also … Therefore … Significantly … We can see from this that … The writer then moves on to … Next Obviously, this shows that … This shows that … Following this … Then … This then means that … Penultimately (last but one) Later … It can be noted/said that …
Conclusion: In summary In conclusion It is important to conclude with … Weighing up the evidence, we can see that … Finally … Lastly . The message conveyed is therefore … Summarising, we can see that …
Using Quotations Effectively What is a quotation? Quoting simply means repeating what someone else has said or written. When you do this you must use quotation marks (also known as speech marks or inverted commas) to show that it is not your work. Why use quotations? Quotes and examples work like evidence in a court case – they convince your audience that what you’re saying is true. Quotations, then, are used to support your own ideas; they should not take the place of your ideas or be used to tell the story. Quotes are a useful way of exploring how theme, character and language are used in a play, novel or piece of non fiction writing. You should usually provide some kind of context for the quote and comment on what is interesting about it. Think: P – make a point E – use and example E – explain what makes the quotation (example) effective.
How to use quotations Using a quote is like building a sandwich or burger.
The quote is the meat in the middle of the sandwich. (E) It might be yummy but it tastes better between two bits of bread!
The first bit of bread is like your introduction for your quote. (P) After making a point, give some context for the quote and explain how it illustrates your argument
The second piece of bread is like your comment on your quote. (E) Why is it interesting? What does it reveal about character/language/plot/opinion…?
For West Indian poet Grace Nichols, the hurricane which hit the Sussex coast (where she was living at the time) is a kind of catalyst, stirring up her feelings about her homeland, her ‘roots’. She refers to the wind as a “howling ship” as if it might have travelled from her home in the Caribbean. It is also a “spectre” – a ghost haunting her with memories of that country. She ‘talks’ to the hurricane, giving it the names of West Indian gods and even refers to it as “cousin” Hattie, a hurricane that hit the West Indies.
Writing skills – planning your response 1. Underline the purpose, audience and form (PAF) in the question. Write these at the top of your page to keep you focused. 2. Jot down general success criteria for writing at the top of your page. e.g. •
vocabulary (adventurous, for effect)
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spelling (accurate, complex words)
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punctuation (use a range e.g. : ; “ ” ! ‘ ?)
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sentence structure (use for effect and to suit purpose. Try a variety of sentence openings – don’t always start sentences with a subject e.g. ‘I’)
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paragraphs (different lengths including one word paragraphs if appropriate, cohesion devices, topic sentences if appropriate.)
3. Write a list of the specific success criteria relevant to the purpose of your writing. Writing to inform: Clearly organised and sequenced Full of facts – who, what, where, when, why Completely focused on the topic Sometimes divided into sections with headings Not always in continuous prose. Writing to explain: Clear and logical Gives reasons and develops them Sees all sides of the issue Convinces the reader of the appropriateness of the issue. Writing to describe: Detail to capture what you are trying to describe and interest the reader Senses: sight sound, smell, touch, taste Adjectives and adverbs (don’t overuse) Imagery. 4. Create a rough paragraph plan at the top of your page, outlining (in brief) the content of each paragraph. If you prefer, jot down all your ideas for topics of paragraphs in a brainstorm then number them afterwards: you are aiming for four or five different points/arguments. It may be useful to include a brief note of the points/ideas you will include in each paragraph. 5. Choose a cohesion device(s) e.g. rhetorical question or firstly, secondly … which is going to link your paragraphs together and/or be the link inside paragraphs and write it at the top of your page also. 6. Plan an attention grabbing opening and a thrilling ending (e.g. cliff-hanger, thinking point), perhaps even write these out first at the top of your page.
Planning a poetry essay •
You will need to make notes on each poem before you begin writing. Then you must try to match similarities and differences up in your plan. • You may make notes by highlighting similarities in both poems in the same colour, and differences in a different colour …. • …or you may ‘brainstorm’ what you know about each poem onto your booklet, and then match up your points. (= POSSIBLY BETTER METHOD) • Remember – you will be trying to write about FIVE similarities and differences in some detail, with quotations and explanations (PEE). • Always try to ANALYSE the poems rather than simply DESCRIBING them. For example You won’t get any marks for saying, ‘There is a metaphor in the first stanza’ You WILL earn marks for writing, ‘The poet compares her use of language to a flower which shows how she feels it is alive and growing’. For higher marks your plan should be structured so that your essay ANSWERS THE QUESTION and EXPLORES KEY WORDS in it rather than explaining everything you have learned about the poems or describing them line by line. An essay plan should look like: • • • • •
Introduction – briefly outline key similarities and differences between the poems. Para 1 – discuss how each poem handles the theme of (see the question). Contextual knowledge could be mentioned here. Para 2-3 – consider how the structure, and/ or layout and/or punctuation affects our interpretation of each poem (make 1-2 points) Para 3-5 – focus on language and key imagery in each poem (Make 2-3 points) Conclusion – sum up arguments, referring back to the question.
A good introduction does NOT: • Repeat the question • Say what you are going to do • List all the poems you are going to write about. A good introduction…… • Addresses key words in the question • Shows an understanding of the texts and topic that have been selected • Introduces some key arguments (which will be developed in the rest of the essay) Try writing an introduction for the following question: Compare the ways in which the poets use nature in ‘ Hurricane Hits England’ and one other poem of your choice.
Format and terms used in Paper 1 section A Remember, before answering the questions in this section, you should: 1. read the questions before reading the text, 2. think about how many marks each question is worth, 3. underline the key words in each question.
For this part of the paper you will receive an insert with 2 related articles. The first question will usually get you to write about the main points raised in the first article. You may also be expected to differentiate between use of facts and opinions. Other terms used - image and language. In the second question, you will also be asked to compare the methods used in each of the articles and to comment on their effectiveness. Methods may include use of presentational devices (font, use of colour, layout, headlines, pictures), use of words (including imagery, word play, sounds) sentence structure and paragraphing. When you write about effectiveness, you are giving reasons why each writer has chosen to use certain methods depending on the purpose of their article and the audience for whom they are writing. You can, if you wish express a preference and give reasons for it.