1 6 7 Tone Imagery Register 2 5 8 Humour Sentences Vocabulary 3 4 9 Punctuation Segue Form
1 Tone Tone is the ability to use sentence and structure to reflect your tone/attitude to a topic. Tone can critical, humorous, ironic, sarcastic etc. It s important to match the right tone to your audience and topic. Certain types of punctuation can reflect your tone: e.g. exclamation marks (!) to intensify an emotion, colons (:) for emphasis, inverted commas for irony. Example Write a letter informing Year 7s of the rules of SHS Rules, detentions, going into the wrong toilet, realising you ve lost your packed lunch and getting lost all day! Welcome to Stourport High School! But don t worry that s only on your first day After that, you ll be turning up early, super organised and ready to learn as we like to say. So, for the inside tips on how to be golden, here you go.
2 12 3 Humour Humour helps to put across your viewpoint/feelings towards a chosen topic. It adds to the tone of your writing. It also helps to portray your general personality: i.e. eccentric, opinionated, comical, cynical etc. Irony Hyperbole Sarcasm Anecdote Creating a contrast for humorous effect Using exaggeration to suggest an overreaction Creating a contrast to suggest distaste, contempt Referring to a past experience which has an element of humour
312 3 Punctuation Punctuation, like sentence types, establishes the tone of your writing. It s not merely the case that punctuation is about showing your grammar is okay. It s more the point that each type of punctuation achieves something different and enriches writing. semi-colon: used to link two points helps to build on a point you are making Example: The need to protect the environment is now beyond debate; the question now is to what extent can change be effected, and is it too late? colon: used to emphasise a point Example: There is an essential dichotomy regarding school uniform: suppression versus individual expression. The issue: conformity limits individuality. dash: used to elaborate on a point helps you to explore different ideas Example: The likelihood of the voting age changing is minimal arguably a reflection of society s negative perception of adolescence the concept of the teenager as having a general malaise and disinterest in the adult world.
412 3 Segue Segue means transition. The structure and cohesion of your writing is dependent on your use of segue. This is because effective sentence and paragraph structure depends on having clear transitions/links between them. There are two types of segue: internal segue (between sentences) and external segue (between paragraphs). Example: Genetic cloning continues to be a highly emotive topic: the debate on the moral framework of science and, perhaps more subliminally, the fear of catastrophe. The likelihood of disaster, however, is increasingly small as our knowledge of the structure of DNA improves. The current breakthroughs in the molecules within the DNA double helix structure...
12 53 Sentences Sentence types are important in formal writing because it establishes the tone of your writing. This is because each sentence-type is a certain length each length creates its own rhythm: each rhythm has its own tone. Below are examples of sentence types and effects. Minor sentence: Disgusting! Shocking, really. = emphasis Simple sentence: Smoking is bad for your health. = basic statement (neutral tone) Compound sentence: Exams are stressful and unnecessary. = minor elaboration Complex sentence: However necessary, some rules are entirely draconian. = consideration Multi-clausal sentence: The likelihood of the voting age changing is minimal which, arguably, reflects society s negative perception of adolescence or, perhaps, highlights the reasons why governments tend to be unable to relate or engage young people = ability to explore ideas
1 6 Imagery Imagery is using figurative language to add mood and feelings to your writing in a more sophisticated way. Imagery includes: simile, metaphor, personification, pathetic fallacy and onomatopoeia. Explaining my ambitions for the future The future always seemed a world away yet as it draws closer the world has shrunk into a map - an exam timetable to be exact - and thinking about my future is like asking a teenager to think about quantum physics: impenetrable and extremely frustrating. metaphor simile
12 7 Register Register is the type of language you use based on the topic you are writing about. For example, writing about health has a certain semantic field, as does science, music etc. Therefore, using the appropriate semantic field/language is important to show you can use the right register. Example of formal, factual register regarding obesity Obesity is the state where body fat is far in excess of expected levels, affecting the kidney, heart, blood vessels, leading to heart and circulatory problems. There are a number of causes, including genetic disorders which cause patients to lack the chemical which suppresses appetite.
812 3 Vocabulary Using sophisticated vocabulary is important in the written exam. This is because your vocabulary reflects the quality of your expression and ideas. The easiest way to do this is to use synonyms for common words. An example of simple, limited vocabulary: Smoking can damage your health and lead to illness and sometimes death. There are lots of way to stop smoking from nicotine patches to e-cigarettes. An example of sophisticated vocabulary (using synonyms for common words): Despite a plethora of evidence documenting the ruinous aspects of smoking, ignorance appears to prevail regarding the human psyche and the nihilistic and, at worst, masochistic desire to inflict self-harm.
912 3 Form Form simply means the format of writing. In the writing exam, they will specify the form and it s critical that you write in the specified form. For example, a letter needs to be set out as a letter; a leaflet like a leaflet and so on. It s also important to remember that the form of writing dictates the register, language and tone of your writing: i.e. writing in the wrong form often makes you write in the wrong register, language and tone. So the Form (format of writing) guides the accuracy and specificity of your writing.