Plan before you write: Planning is the two-minute outline you jot down before writing your Paper 1 answer. You decide the text type, the audience and register, the three or four points you'll develop, and a few useful words.
A plan is what protects Criterion B (Message): it gives your answer a clear, organised shape, and it stops you missing a part of the prompt — a missing bullet caps your mark.
- the plan
- your quick outline jotted down before you write
- the prompt / task
- the question that tells you what to write and for whom
- a key idea
- one of the points you will develop in your answer
- the hook
- an opening line that grabs the reader's attention
- the sign-off
- the closing line (Take care, Best wishes, Yours faithfully…)
- a connector
- a linking word that joins ideas (however, therefore, what's more…)
Two minutes, big payoff: Spending two minutes planning feels like lost time — it isn't. A plan stops you drying up halfway, keeps your points in order, and makes sure you cover every part of the prompt. Examiners reward an answer that is clearly organised.
What goes in a good plan: A useful plan has five things, not paragraphs of prose. Note them in abbreviations — a word or two each. The table below is the checklist your plan should cover before you write your first sentence.
| Plan element | What to jot down |
|---|---|
| Text type and its parts | blog / email / article… and its sections (headline, body, sign-off) |
| 3–4 key ideas (one per prompt bullet) | the points you'll develop, in order — make sure every bullet is covered |
| An opening hook | a first line that grabs the reader |
| A sign-off or close | how you finish (Take care, Yours faithfully, a conclusion) |
| Useful vocabulary and connectors | topic words plus linkers (however, therefore, what's more) |
Five lines, no sentences: Text type · 3–4 ideas · hook · sign-off · vocabulary. Your plan is five short lines, written in note form — never full sentences. It's scaffolding for you, not text for the examiner. Tick off each prompt bullet as a key idea so none is missed.
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Four moves to a plan: Building a plan is the same four moves every time: decode the task, brainstorm your points, order them, then note the vocabulary. Do it on scrap paper in the first couple of minutes, before any real writing.
Plan in 4 moves
1
Decode the task
Pin down the text type, the audience and the register the prompt asks for, and list every bullet you must answer — they shape everything else.
2
Brainstorm your points
Jot one idea per prompt bullet that you can actually develop. Three or four is enough to fill 250–400 words well.
3
Order them
Put your points into the text-type structure — opening, body in a sensible order, then closing.
4
Note key vocab & connectors
List the topic vocabulary and connectors (however, therefore, what's more) you'll reach for, so they're ready when you write.
Decode → Brainstorm → Order → Note vocab
Cover every bullet, in a clear order: Two strong points in a muddled order read worse than two ordinary points in a clear order — and missing a prompt bullet caps Criterion B, however good your English. The Decode and Order steps are where you protect your mark: list the bullets, then lead the reader from opening to close without losing one.
A four-line plan, worked through: Here's the plan stage for a real-style task, line by line — the notes you'd scribble before writing the email itself. Notice how each line maps onto one decision the answer needs.
Planning an informal email
From the prompt to a four-line plan
- Prompt: "Write an email to a friend inviting them to spend the summer holidays with you and your family." Plan line 1 — text type = an informal email. Naming the form fixes its greeting, sign-off and register before you write a single word.
- Plan line 2 — audience = a friend, so the register is informal and warm: use "you", an opening like "Hi Sam!" and a friendly sign-off such as "Take care". Decide this in the plan, not as you go.
- Plan line 3 — three points to develop, one per prompt idea: (1) the dates and the place, (2) what we'll do together, (3) why it'll be fun and what to bring. Three ordered points are enough to fill 250–400 words well.
- Plan line 4 — useful vocabulary and connectors: invite, stay over, what's more, that's why, you won't want to miss it; open with "Hi Sam!" and close with "Take care". With four plan lines noted, the email almost writes itself.
Four lines is a whole plan: Notice the plan is just four short lines — text type, register, the points (one per prompt idea) and vocabulary — and yet it fixes every big decision and covers every bullet. Build this on scrap paper first and your Criterion B marks are half-won before you start writing.
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Good planning vs costly mistakes: The marks lost around planning are rarely about your English — they come from skipping the plan, missing a prompt bullet, piling up shallow points, or planning content that ignores the text type. Here's the contrast.
Good plan
- List every prompt bullet and give each one a point.
- Note 3–4 ideas and develop them with examples.
- Order the points before writing.
- Make the plan follow the text-type structure (hook → body → sign-off).
Common mistakes
- Write with no plan and ramble off the point.
- Miss one of the prompt bullets (this caps Criterion B).
- Cram in too many shallow points and develop none.
- Make a plan that ignores the text-type conventions (no headline, no sign-off).
Cover everything, then go deep: First check your plan answers every part of the prompt — a missing bullet caps Criterion B. Then make each point deep: two or three points developed with examples beat six points mentioned and dropped. Ask of each idea: can I write three sentences on this? If not, cut it.