Writing composition, Year 11: rhetorical devices, given information and timed writing

antithesis

HintThink of the device in which two balanced phrases pull in opposite directions.

The whyAntithesis puts opposites in matching grammar so that the contrast rings: 'best' against 'worst', in two clauses of the same shape. In an argument it makes a choice sound stark and memorable.

Parenthesis

HintThe sentence would still make sense with it lifted out.

The why'The council (as usual) said nothing.' The aside lets a writer slip in a comment, a fact or a joke without starting a new sentence. The plural is 'parentheses', which is also a name for round brackets.

The pair of dashes

HintLook at the punctuation inside the sentence that sets the aside apart, and name the marks used.

The whyThe dashes mark a parenthesis. They are more emphatic than brackets, so the aside ('once the pride of this county') is thrown forward instead of tucked away, which sharpens the contrast with 'open sewers'.

One, at the turning point of the argument

HintThink about frequency: what happens to the effect of a technique when it appears constantly?

The whyA rhetorical device should strengthen a point, not decorate the page. One well-placed question makes the audience stop and think; eleven of them sound like a quiz.

Last

HintThink of the climactic position, where the audience's final impression forms.

The whyA group of three builds: the final item carries the stress of the sentence and stays in the listener's ear. Writers often make it the longest or the most serious of the three.

No: reorder and reword them for the new reader

HintThink about who reads a leaflet and whether the notes were drafted for that audience.

The whyWriting from given information means making it your own piece: choose what this reader needs, put the most useful things first, and say it in words that suit the new form.

The annual budget

HintWhich fact would matter to adults and not to ten-year-olds?

The whySelecting is the first step. Opening hours and the story club are things a ten-year-old can use; the budget matters to councillors, not to this audience.

plagiarism

HintThe term for a serious academic offence in coursework; it comes from a Latin word for kidnapper.

The whyUsing the facts you are given is the task; lifting the sentences they came in is plagiarism. Put the information in your own words, and use quotation marks for any phrase you keep.

B

HintWhich version has been rewritten in plain words for the audience?

The whyVersion B keeps the fact (25% is a quarter) and drops the official vocabulary. The information is the same; the words now suit pupils and parents.

plan; check

HintName the stages that come either side of drafting.

The whyBoth papers print the reminder in Section B: plan your answer, and leave enough time to read your work through at the end. A common split is about 5 minutes, 35 minutes and 5 minutes.

Technical accuracy

HintThink about which mark-scheme heading covers errors you could catch in a final read.

The whyFive minutes cannot rebuild an argument, but it can catch missing full stops, comma splices and misspellings. Those belong to the 16 marks for technical accuracy on each paper.

20

HintThe specification fixes the same figure for every exam board.

The whyAO6 is worth 16 marks on each paper: 32 of 160. That makes accuracy worth more than any single reading question, and it is the same on every exam board.

Cross it through

HintThink of a simple mark that tells the examiner to disregard it.

The whyThe papers tell you to do all rough work in the answer book and to cross out any of it that should not be marked. A plan left uncrossed can be confused with the answer itself.

Writing a short conclusion

HintThink about what gives a piece a sense of completeness when time is nearly gone.

The whyOrganisation is part of the 24 marks for content and organisation, and a piece that simply stops has no shape. Two closing sentences that return to your main claim finish the structure.