Writing composition, Year 8: more practice

Nothing earlier in the story led to it

HintAsk what the reader was given to prepare for it.

The whyAn earned ending follows from events and clues the reader has already seen. A surprise that comes from nowhere feels like a cheat, however dramatic it is.

Readers may stop early, so they get the key facts first

HintThink about a reader who only has a moment.

The whyOrdering by importance lets a reader leave at any point and still know the essentials. A story builds towards its best moment, but an information text does not.

Present

HintThe process is happening in the world right now, as it always does.

The whyExplanations of how things work use the present tense: 'water evaporates, then it condenses'. The past tense is for telling what happened on one occasion.

'This essay will argue that school uniform should stay, because it is fair and practical.'

HintWhich one tells the reader where the piece is heading?

The whyA good introduction states the position and hints at the reasons to come. The first sentence could open an essay on any side of the debate.

Sum up the argument and end with a final thought or judgement

HintThe reader has travelled somewhere since the opening.

The whyA conclusion that only repeats feels like standing still. Pulling the points together and ending on a judgement gives the piece finality.

However

HintIs the second paragraph agreeing with the first or pushing against it?

The why'However' signals a change of direction, which is what the cost point does here. 'Furthermore' would add another point on the same side.

It lists the points instead of connecting the ideas

HintDo these words say how one idea relates to the next?

The whyNumbering only tells the reader the order. A better link picks up an idea from the end of the last paragraph and builds on it.

'My back aches from hauling the lord's hay all day.'

HintWhich sentence uses words and a world the peasant would know?

The whyA role's vocabulary and details come from its time and life. 'Shift' belongs to modern working life, and it breaks the illusion.

'She was exhausted.'

HintOne precise word can do the job of a weak word plus an intensifier.

The whyPiling on 'very' only adds volume. A stronger single word, like exhausted, carries the strength itself.

alliteration

HintThink of 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers'.

The whyHere the repeated 's' sound is soft and hushing, which suits snow. Poets repeat sounds on purpose to create a mood.