Transcript WRITING TO INFORM, EXPLAIN AND DESCRIBE

WRITING TO
INFORM,
EXPLAIN AND
DESCRIBE
Inform
Your aim is to tell the reader about
something or someone. Try to make it
interesting and give new or original
information.
YOU MAY BE ASKED TO WRITE:
• Autobiographies or biographies
• Information leaflets
• Newspaper/ magazine articles
Conventions (rules)
• Use a range of detail – a combination of facts and opinions
• Often uses the present tense (Jamaica is one of the islands in
the Caribbean…).
• Make the detail interesting
• You may use sub-headings to structure your work
• You may use facts and figures
• Use a range of sentence structures to ensure variety
A - Write about your local town or city
B - Many people have interests to which they give a great
deal of time, effort and money. Write to inform a reader
about an interest of yours.
Explain
Your aim is to tell the reader why or how
something has happened or will happen.
You must give reasons and explain
yourself clearly.
Conventions (rules)
• You will often have to provide a number of reasons to explain
yourself clearly
• You may be required to explain thoughts and feelings
• Your ideas will need to be organised clearly and logically so as
always, a paragraph plan is the best way to go about this
• Connectives will help you keep it chronological and ordered.
• Use a range of sentence structures to ensure variety
A - Choose something that has happened that has had a strong effect
on you. Explain what happened, why it affected you so much and
how you felt about it.
B -Lottery winners sometimes say that winning the lottery has not made
them happy. Imagine you have won 2 million pounds on the lottery.
Explain how you would spend the money.
• A - Choose something that has happened that has had a
strong effect on you. Explain what happened, why it
affected you so much and how you felt about it.
• B -Lottery winners sometimes say that winning the
lottery has not made them happy. Imagine you have won
2 million pounds on the lottery. Explain how you would
spend the money.
A - Write about your local town or city
B - Many people have interests to which they give a great
deal of time, effort and money. Write to inform a reader
about an interest of yours.
DESCRIBE
This question requires you paint a picture with words.
Your aim is to make the place, people or thing you are
describing seem real to the reader and really come to
life.
Conventions
Detail is essential
Use the 5 senses where appropriate
Use similes/ metaphors/ personification
Use onomatopoeia/ alliteration etc.
Your vocabulary needs to be advanced and you need to be
able to use strong and powerful adjectives where
appropriate
Your piece still needs to be organised and structured so
ensure you plan as you normally would
Work on creating an atmosphere/mood for your piece
‘describe’ TASKS
• Describe the room you are sitting in
• Describe someone you know well
• Describe a recent event at your school for
the local community newspaper
• Describe a shopping centre at night time
• Describe a family tradition that is important
to you
AFOREST •
•
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A = anecdotes/ alliteration
F = facts
O = opinions
R = rhetorical questions/ repetition
E = emotive language
S = statistics
T = triples (or ‘rule of three’)
AFOREST – advanced version!
• A = anecdotes/ alliteration
• F = facts/ figurative language
(metaphor/
personification)
• O = opinions/ onomatopoeia
• R = rhetorical questions/ repetition
• E = exaggeration/ emotive language/
exclamation marks
• S = statistics/ similes
• T = triples (or ‘rule of three’)
Describe the view from your bedroom window
From my bedroom window I can see
a path that leads from my front
door and towards the road. The path
is covered in weeds as my family
don’t like gardening much.
Across the road I can see the red
curtains of the lady who lives in the
house opposite. She has a tree in
her front garden and her garden is
much neater than ours.
I can also just about see the post
box which is on the corner… etc
x
Which piece is more interesting? Why?
As I gaze out of my bedroom window
I see before me giant Egyptian
pyramids which dwarf our tiny
house, small and vulnerable. They are
majestic and covered in the same
golden shimmer which can be found
in the sand that runs from my front
door to the horizon miles away. I can
hear the angry voices of the
exhausted market traders nearby
who are trying to fetch a fair price
for goods they trawl up here
everyday.
I can already feel the blistering
heat through the pane of glass as I
move my curtains to one side to peek
out; it’s boiling already and I haven’t
even left for school yet!
Describe your home
My house has got a red
front door which leads
into the hallway. On the
left is the living room
where you will probably
find my dad…
x
?
Tasks – complete the following sentences –
write 1 paragraph and the HIGHLIGHT THE
DEVICES you have used – this will tell you
whether you are using enough
• As I walked through the field of corn on
that peaceful summer day I saw… /
heard…
Writing to describe…
• You are applying to take part in a TV
makeover show. Describe your bedroom
in a way that convinces the producers of
the show that you need a makeover.
Tips for writing to inform, explain,
describe
• ALWAYS use paragraphs – you cannot gain a D
grade or above without them.
• Check spelling and sentences carefully when
you have finished writing – there should never
be a point in the exam where you are doing
nothing. Use all available time.
• Use full stops where they are needed – full
sentences. Remember to use apostrophes
where needed and try to use an exclamation
mark or question mark. To gain B/A/A* you need
to use semi-colons and colons.
Getting extra marks
• Remember to use 1 or 2 word sentences
now and then e.g.
I was afraid. Terrified. I knew he was
coming for me.
Remember to use more punctuation than just
commas and full stops e.g.
I was afraid; he was getting close now.
The sheer terror of it!
Remember to try to use advanced vocab
– even if you are unsure of the spelling e.g.
‘I was tired’
Could be changed to
I was exhausted