MARVEL By Mr CR Harrison
Your address on the right hand side The date of the letter 120 Castle Road Dartmouth S.Devon TQ30 4HS The person you were invited to write to The address to which you are sending the letter The Manager Somerfield Supermarket High Street Dartmouth S.Devon TQ30 6JH Dear Sir/Madam, 7 th September 2011 Clear, coherent, formal, polite use of language to explain your purpose Further information to help your application I wish to apply for the job, advertised in the local newspaper, working parttime in your supermarket. I am 16 years old and have done shop work before. I am reliable and can be trusted. I get on with people well and I am a quick learner. I am still at school but able to work evenings and at weekends. I would also be available for work during the holidays. I hope that you will consider my application and I hope to hear from you in due course. The correct way to sign off a business letter to someone whose name you do not know Yours faithfully, Michael Talbot Michael Talbot
First things first! A question may require you to address the person by name. If this does happen, then by all means start the letter this way by writing Dear Mr / Mrs/Miss/Ms If the question asks you to write a letter and you are unsure who you are writing to then you can use the following salutation Dear Sir / Madam, To whom it may concern, Remember not to state the obvious when writing. Instead of: I am writing to you because of Why not try: I wish to enquire / I wish to apply/ I would like to express my views Remember! Do not state the obvious. The person to whom you are writing (the Examiner) already knows you are writing to them as they are asking you to write them a letter. Why would you do this? The Length: A formal letter should 3 paragraphs minimum. No more, no less! Remember though there has to be a level of detail there, so make sure you have addressed all areas of the question. sincerely or faithfully? Yours sincerely = If you know the name of the person you are writing to Yours faithfully = If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to
The email address of the person to whom you are sending the email. To: Tsoprano@live.co.uk CC: Subject: Fashion Show The subject This does not need to be too detailed. Keep this brief! Hi Tony, Good example of how to start an email informally. Always use a comma after your salutation. How are you? It s been a while. I was wondering if you would like to come with me to a fashion show at Waltham Forest College? It s something we re both interested in and it would be a good idea to get some ideas for the assignment that I have to do. Good use of informal language The show starts at 6:00pm and will last around 2 hours. What do you think? I think it will be a right laugh and we can go for drinks after. Let me know, ok? See you soon, Good use of persuasive language e.g. rhetorical questions Gerad
To: Chris.harrison@waltham.ac.uk CC: Subject: Hall Hire To whom it may concern, An excellent way to start a formal email unless given a name. The email address of the person whom you are sending the email. The subject This does not need to be too detailed. Keep this brief! I wish to enquire about whether it is possible to hire the college hall for a fashion show that I intend to hold on the 23 rd March 2014. The hall, I believe, will be more than suitable for the event. A good example of opening a formal email. Straight to the point and stating purpose immediately. The fashion show is being held in aid of a local charity with all the proceeds going to support the local community. This is a good cause and we hope to make a considerable donation. The hall will be required for the entire day as we need to set up equipment and lighting rigs. We will require these from you if possible. The show itself should last around three hours with it beginning at 7:00pm and finishing at 10:00pm. Could you let me know if it is possible to hire the hall for this date and send me a quote for the overall cost of the day? Any further information you require, please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind regards, Chris Harrison Good way of closing a formal email. Always leave a few spaces, then type your name.
Formal Start = Dear To whom it may concern, Formal Finish = Kind regards, Regards, Informal Start = Informal Finish = Hey there, Hello there, Hi, Hello, See you soon, Many thanks, Best wishes,
Keep your Email simple and short Stay focused on the key issue If you have more than one point to make then you can use numbers or bullet points
The audience can change depending on the item / topic you have to review. MAKE SURE YOU READ THE QUESTION! The audience = who is the person you are writing this review for? This can be for teenagers, families, young children, adults etc. The purpose is important as you need to state this immediately! The purpose = reviews are mainly written to inform and persuade. So make sure you use some facts and statistics and also some persuasive devices.
Paragraph One = Introduction to the item / subject you are reviewing Paragraph Two = Explains the detail (does not reveal too much about the item or details about the episode) Much like a book blurb Paragraph Three = Give your overall impression and your recommendation. You must rate it out of five stars.
The Simpsons, the long running and highly successful animated comedy show, is back to celebrate in style as it reaches the impressive milestone of 200 episodes. Debuting in 1989, the smash hit has gathered momentum from the first episode and continues to surprise and delight. Now over 25 series later, it still has right combination of heart and humour to draw a crowd. Trash of the Titans is a classic episode from series nine, a personal favourite, that demonstrates everything that the incredible show has to offer: from impressive celebrity cameos (Irish superstars U2) to the ever present wit and warmth you would expect from America s most out of control family. The episode begins in top satirical form by poking fun at corporate greed (a room full of executives creating a new holiday, Love Day) before letting the Simpsons loose to create their classic brand of chaos (Homer becomes Springfield s Sanitation Commissioner!) The slapstick humour is hilarious as always, with Homer stealing the show as he has a hissy-fit when he receives an unwanted teddy bear instead of Lord Huggington. I can t get enough of the show s unique band of side splitting comedy. What is most impressive is the sheer volume of jokes the writers manage to cram into a 20 minute episode from the Flanders undead rabbit to Krusty s box of adult magazines; the huge cast each have their moment to shine as the jokes come thick and fast, creating a tidal wave of laughs. Some might argue that The Simpsons has had its day, that the quality has declined over the past 500 episodes; however I cannot get enough of Matt Groaning s incredible creation. How many other shows last 14 years? How many win countless awards and even have a blockbuster movie? How many have entertained an entire generation week in and week out? Long may the d ohs, duffs and donuts continue.
1) Decide what your article is about 2) Use formal language 3) Write in the third person (he,she, it or they) 4) First paragraph should include the following: Who? What? When? Why? 5) Round off your article. Try ending with a quote or catchy phrase
My Article Planning page
Yesterday (Monday) evening The event occurred It is believed According to eye-witnesses It was said to be Many claim For further information Headline Do not forget this! Make sure you include the date and your name. Sub-headings (these will help you structure your article better)
I'm there for her': Simon Cowell reveals he has been supporting fellow X Factor judge Cheryl Cole during her marriage Simon Cowell has revealed how he has been supporting Cheryl Cole during her marriage crisis. The X Factor Svengali told how he had been there for his fellow judge as her threeand-a-half year marriage has fallen into crisis. Speaking to the Daily Mail at Sir Elton John s post-oscar party in Los Angeles, Mr Cowell said: She's a friend and you're always going to be there for friends. Cowell, 50, went on: 'She's going through a hard time, but you know, she's a strong girl. I've been in touch and I'm there for her. When asked if he believed the pop star and shamed Chelsea and England footballer Cole would split, he replied: 'You've got to do what feels right for you.
Heading Posted: Thursday February 17, 1:07am Post subject: who needs a degree? [Nowadays it seems like everyone has to have a degree. You can t get a job unless you have a degree even if you want to work in a shop. How ridiculous! I left school at 16 and went straight out to work. It didn t do me any harm.] I ve now got my own business and made a really good life. Most of kids that stay on to a degree are just lazy. They don t know what they want to do. They would be better off getting a job! If everyone has degrees what s the point of them anyway? Writer s opinion Eileen Name of the writer Evidence to support writer s opinion Responded: Thursday February17, 1.55pm post subject: who needs a degree? Acknowledging the writer Well, Eileen, if kids don t know what they want to do why not give them the extra few years to get a degree and decide? They can t get a job if they don t know what to do and don t have a degree. If they get a degree it will give them more choice in life over what to do. The trouble with you, Eileen, is that you are clearly living in the past. You might have your own business but most people don t. You are forgetting the most important point about having a degree is that education is good in itself! Katerina
A report is usually written for a specific audience. The purpose of a report is to pass on specific information about a particular issue or investigation, so that others may take action using the findings of the report.
Title (What is it about?) Terms of Reference (Why is it being written/who is it for?) Procedure (How you found the information) Findings (What information you have found) Conclusions (A summary of what you have found) Recommendations (What you think should happen from your findings)
You need to use of all of these in all of your writing! 1) Simple Sentences Communicates one idea: It was raining. The cat sat on the mat. My friend gave me a lift. A simple sentence needs 3 things : A subject, a verb, and object. The subject does something in the sentence. The actions are verbs. The object has something done to it. Here are the reasons why you might choose to write simple sentences: To keep things simple, especially for a young audience. To make points clear in instructions, information or explanations To create drama, tension or a fast pace in descriptive or persuasive writing.
2) Compound Sentences- joins two simple sentences to communicate two ideas. The parts of the sentence are linked by connectives, such as and, but, whereas, because and therefore etc. Compound sentences do not usually contain commas: It was raining and we had to stay indoors. The boys walked down the road and the parents waved from the house. My friend gave me a lift because it was raining. Spot the connectives The advantage of compound sentences is that they allow you to build more detail into your writing without using loads of short simple sentences, which can sometimes sound babyish.
3) A Complex Sentence communicates more than one idea, and joins them in different ways. The ideas involve the use of commas to guide the reader through the sentence. The parts of the sentence clauses are joined by conjunctions or connectives. Although we had to stay indoors because of the rain, there were plenty of videos to watch. The boys walked quickly down the road, feeling a little nervous because today was their first exam. The cat, which had already slept all day, sat lazily on the mat. Using complex sentences shows you are a versatile writer, and can help you to build up an argument or a sense of atmosphere or character. However, they are not always helpful if you are trying to give clear instructions or information.
Marvellous Convincing Precious Engaging Superb Timeless Exceptional Prevailing Splendid Staggering Fantastic Glorious Sensational Tremendous Incredible Immense Miraculous Phenomenal Striking Stunning Astounding Breathtaking Powerful Gracious Positive Vocabulary = really good for when writing Reviews!
Add more sophisticated vocabulary by replacing the italicised red words in the following sentences. The first one has been done for you. Use a dictionary to help you if you re stuck. `carry on is replaced by continue here The trouble with smacking is that it is easy to carry on continue smacking after the event when the child no longer knows what the smack is for. Globalisation means that big firms get bigger and start to take over the towns. Promoting size zero as the norm is a bad idea. I can improve my marks by using more difficult vocabulary. Using a mix of complex, compound and simple sentences is also a very good way of increasing my marks. Examiners get bored if all sentences start with the same type of words. To get better results, use a mixture of sentence starters. To increase my mark I should also use a mix of punctuation. I know that if I make some adjustments to my coursework, getting more marks is possible. I aim high because I want to do well at English. I can write well, I just need to make sure that the examiner can see this. This can be achieved by working smarter, not harder, which means ensuring that I obtain loads of marks from checking my technique (e.g. including a mixture of sentences, some sophisticated vocabulary, a variety of punctuation and paragraphing well.)
In the writing exam you may have to write persuasively. Here is an excellent way to remember all of the persuasive devices that you can use. Facts Repetition / Rhetorical questions Triplets = the Power of 3 Alliteration Statistics Opinions Exaggeration / Emotive language
Language = Does the piece of writing need to be formal or informal? Format = the layout of the piece of writing. For example, letter, email, report, review etc. Structure = use of paragraphs, variety of sentences etc. Do your sentences make sense?
Punctuation Full Stops. At the end of a sentence that is not a question or exclamation Capital Letters ABC At the beginning of sentences For the names of people, places, titles (proper nouns) Question Mark? At the end of a sentence which asks a question Exclamation Mark! At the end of a sentence which is a surprise or a shock Comma, To divide items in a list and clauses after a connective Speech Marks Used for direct speech e.g. the teacher said Read your books Brackets ( ) Give extra information Apostrophe Shows letters are missing or ownership Quotation Marks Around words written or said by someone else Semi colon ; Separates items in a list. Used to link two connected ideas Colon : Used to introduce a list Introduces an idea that is an explanation of the one before it Spelling Rules I before e except after c When the sound is long eeeee eg achieve / ceiling Plurals usually add an s if a word ends with f or fe add ves eg knife/knives If a word ends ch or sh or x then add es eg boxes/wishes/watches Learn irregular plurals eg Tooth / Teeth Mouse / Mice Paragraphs Common Errors A lot Its / It s Your / You re Their/there/they re To/too/two We re/were/where Past/passed Topic / Time / Place / Talk Weather / Whether
It is important when you are writing longer pieces of writing to make sure that you organise your writing to make it easy for your reader to understand. One of the ways to make your writing easy to read is to make sure you have a clear structure. This means choosing carefully where you put each part of your writing. You can remember this by remembering that your writing should be a bit like a burger! Introduction You should start your writing with an introduction which gives the reader some information about your topic. You may also explain what else you are going to write about. Main Body This is like the filling of the burger it is the most important part. This where you should include all of your main points. You might need more than one paragraph in this section. Conclusion This is really important like the base of your burger: if you don t have it, then it all falls apart! This is your chance to draw together your main points. It may also be where you give your points of view.