The blog post: A blog post is a personal article published online for anyone to read. You share an experience or an opinion and talk directly to your readers.
Tasks where it fits
- Sharing an experience: a trip, a course, a change of habit
- Telling young people about a friend's choice
- Reflecting on your relationship with the internet
Conventions the examiner checks
- A catchy title, your name and a date
- A first-person voice that talks to "you"
- An invitation to comment or share at the end
Traps that cost Criterion C
- Writing an essay with a title on top
- Forgetting the readers: no questions, no "you"
- A formal tone that sounds like a report
The blog post at a glance
- Voice: lively and friendly.
- Paper 1: choose it when the task asks you to write a blog post / an entry for a website.
- It belongs to Unit 2: Text Types.
- A lot of the marks come from getting its conventions and register right (Criterion C), not just the message.
- blog / blog post (entry)
- an article published online; one piece is a 'post' or 'entry'
- title / headline
- the eye-catching line at the top, often a question
- hook / intro
- the opening that grabs the reader and introduces the topic
- reader(s)
- the people who read the blog — a blog has many, not just one
- personal voice
- a lively, opinionated 'I' voice — how a blog sounds
- comments (section)
- where readers reply below the post
Spot it in the task: The task names the platform and the public. "Write a post for your blog…", "Write a text for the school website…" all point to a blog: written for many readers at once, in a personal but public voice. Read where it will be published and who will read it.
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Reading it is one thing — hearing it is another
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Informal but public: A blog is informal yet public: you address many readers at once ("you", "everyone") in a lively, personal voice.
What the blog voice uses
- Plenty of opinion and energy
- Exclamations
- Rhetorical questions
- "I" to share your experience
Consistency matters: Slipping into a stiff, neutral or formal tone kills the lively blog voice and costs you Criterion C.
Blog — do this
- Hi everyone! Today I want to talk to you about…
- Honestly, I loved every minute of it.
- And what about you — what do you think?
Avoid here
- Dear Sir or Madam,
- The purpose of this text is to outline the following points.
- Readers are kindly requested to submit their comments.
Talk TO your readers: A blog isn't a private letter and it isn't an essay. Address the crowd directly with "you", keep the energy up, and let your personal opinion show from start to finish.
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The five parts: Every blog post follows the same shape. Hit all five parts and you've covered the conventions the examiner is looking for.
Blog — 5 parts
1
Catchy title
A short, eye-catching headline — often a question to the reader. "A weekend without a phone: could you do it?"
2
Hook / intro
Greet the readers and introduce your topic with energy. "Hi everyone! Today I want to talk to you about…"
3
Body
Tell your story or argue your opinion in a personal voice — the longest part. "At first it was really hard, but little by little…"
4
Question to readers
Turn the topic back to your audience to spark a reply. "And what about you — what do you think?"
5
Upbeat close
Sign off warmly and invite comments. "See you next time — and leave me your comments below!"
Title → Hook → Body → Question → Close
Don't skip the frame: Students lose easy Criterion C marks by forgetting the catchy title or the question to readers — the two features that make a text feel like a real blog. They take seconds and prove you know the text type — never leave them out.
A model, part by part: Here's a complete blog post built from the five parts above. Read it once for the message, then look at how each part does its job.
Model: the 5 parts in action
The blog post, part by part
- A weekend without a phone: could you do it?
- Hi everyone! Today I want to talk to you about a slightly crazy challenge I set myself last week: spending a whole weekend without looking at my phone.
- At first it was really hard — every five minutes I reached for my phone without even realising. But little by little I started reading more, going out for walks and, above all, really talking with my family. Honestly, I slept better than ever.
- And what about you? Could you last a whole weekend without screens?
- I'd encourage you to try it: you might discover something, just like I did. See you next time, and leave me your comments below!
Why it scores: This short blog post earns marks on all three Paper 1 criteria — here's what earns each one:
A — Language /12
- Lively, accurate language addressed to "you"
- Connectors & variety: "at first", "little by little", "above all", "but"
- A range of tenses: "I want", "it was", "I started", "I slept"
B — Message /12
- Clear purpose: shares an experience AND a reflection
- Ideas developed (the challenge, then the results)
C — Conceptual /6
- Blog conventions: catchy title + question to readers
- Consistent informal-but-public register
- A lively, personal, opinionated voice
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A toolkit you can reuse: Learn a few ready-made phrases for each part. They make your blog sound natural and save time in the exam.
To open (hook)
- Hi everyone!
- Today I want to talk to you about…
- Have you ever wondered…?
For the body (opinion & story)
- Let me tell you about my experience…
- Honestly… / In my opinion…
- At first… but little by little…
To close (question + sign-off)
- And what about you — what do you think?
- I'd encourage you to try it.
- See you next time! Leave me your comments below.
Use one from each: One hook, one or two opinion phrases in the body, and a question + sign-off at the end is plenty — and instantly makes the text feel like the real blog text type.