Write the form the task names: Every Paper 1 task names a text type — a blog, an email, an article, a speech and so on — and you must write that form, not a generic essay.
Text types fall into three families: personal texts (a blog, a diary, an email to a friend), professional texts (a formal letter, a report, a proposal) and mass-media texts (an article, a review, an interview, a speech, a leaflet).
Each family has its own conventions and typical register, and getting them right protects Criterion C (Conceptual understanding).
- text type
- the form you are told to write — a blog, an email, an article, a speech…
- personal texts
- private/informal forms: an email to a friend, a blog, a diary entry
- professional texts
- formal forms: a formal letter, a report, a proposal
- mass-media texts
- forms for a wide audience: an article, a review, an interview, a speech, a leaflet
- conventions
- the features that mark out a text type (a headline, a greeting, a sign-off…)
- register
- how formal or informal your language is, set by the text type and the reader
- audience
- the people you are writing for, which decides the register
- purpose
- why you are writing — to inform, persuade, narrate, advise
The form is named — use it: The text-type word is almost always printed in the prompt (blog, email, article, speech…). Underline it first, then ask: what features does this form need?
Writing the right form is the easiest way to bank Criterion C marks.
Each form has its features: Each text type has key conventions — the features the examiner expects to see — and a typical register. Learn the handful you're most likely to be asked for. The table below gives the must-haves for four common forms.
| Text type | Key conventions | Typical register |
|---|---|---|
| Blog | Catchy title + direct address to the reader + a sign-off | Semi-formal, friendly |
| Formal letter / email | Dear Sir/Madam (or Dear Ms…) + clear paragraphs + Yours faithfully / sincerely | Formal |
| Article | Headline + subheadings + an opening hook + a conclusion | Semi-formal |
| Speech | Greeting to the audience + rhetorical questions + a call to action | Depends on the audience |
Features before sentences: Blog → title and reader address · Formal letter → Dear… and Yours faithfully · Article → headline and hook · Speech → audience greeting and rhetorical questions.
Sketch the features before you write a single sentence — they're the backbone the examiner looks for.
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Find it, then serve it: Handling the text type is the same routine every time: find the form named in the prompt, recall its conventions, pick the register, and frame the answer with the right opening and closing.
Do this before you develop any content.
Spot and serve the text type
1
Find the text-type word in the prompt
Underline the form the prompt names — blog, email, article, speech. That word fixes everything that follows.
2
Recall its conventions
Bring to mind the features that form needs — title, greeting, headline, rhetorical questions — so you can include them.
3
Pick the register
Choose formal or informal based on the text type and its reader — a formal letter is formal, a blog is semi-formal.
4
Frame it (opening & closing)
Set up the opening (title or greeting) and the closing (sign-off or conclusion) before filling the body — the frame is what the examiner checks.
Find → Recall → Register → Frame
The frame protects Criterion C: Even a strong body scores poorly if the frame is missing — no title on a blog, no greeting on a letter.
Set the opening and closing first: that frame is exactly what Criterion C rewards in the text type.
Identifying the type, worked through: Here's a real-style prompt taken through the moves — finding the text type and listing its must-have conventions before any writing.
Spotting the text type and its conventions
From the prompt to the form's features
- The prompt — "Write a speech to deliver at your school assembly about the importance of recycling. Encourage your classmates to act." First, find the text-type word: here it is "speech".
- Text type = a speech. The prompt names it directly, so you must use a speech's conventions — you can't write a neutral essay about recycling instead.
- Must-have conventions — a greeting to the audience ("Good morning, everyone"), rhetorical questions to involve the listeners ("How much do we throw away each day?"), and a closing call to action ("Let's start today."). These features are exactly what Criterion C checks for.
- Register — it depends on the audience. Here it's your school, so the register is correct but warm, addressed directly to your listeners. Decide the register from who is listening.
- Quick plan — greeting → why recycling matters → two concrete actions → a final call to action. With the text type and its conventions fixed, the structure writes itself.
Conventions are non-negotiable: Once you've named the text type, its conventions are non-negotiable — a speech needs a greeting and rhetorical questions, a blog needs a title and a sign-off.
List them in your plan and tick them off as you write to secure Criterion C.
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Right form vs costly mistakes: Marks lost on text type rarely come from weak English — they come from writing a generic essay, missing the conventions, or using the wrong register for the form. Here's the contrast.
The right approach
- Write the exact form the prompt names.
- Include the text-type conventions (title, greeting, sign-off).
- Use a headline in an article, a title in a blog.
- Match the register to the text type and reader.
Common mistakes
- Write a generic essay whatever form is named.
- Miss the conventions — no title, no sign-off.
- Use the wrong register (too chatty in a formal letter).
- Start writing without framing the form first.
A great essay can still score low: If the task asked for a blog and you wrote a polished essay, Criterion C drops — the examiner can't see the form.
Name the text type in your head, then give it the features expected. That alone protects those marks.