Key Idea: Writing skills are the habits behind a good Paper 1 answer: plan, choose the right form, keep one tone, link your ideas and check for the usual mistakes.
Planning your answer
- Decode — Text type, audience and tone.
- Brainstorm — Three points.
- Order — Put them into the structure of the text type.
- Note — Key words and connectors.
Two minutes, five short lines on scrap paper, never full sentences.
| Family | Text types |
|---|---|
| Personal | blog, diary, email |
| Professional | formal letter, report, proposal |
| Mass media | article, review, interview, speech, leaflet |
| Reader | Tone |
|---|---|
| A friend | Informal: "Hi", contractions, "See you soon" |
| A company or teacher | Formal: "Dear…", no contractions, "Yours faithfully" |
| A blog audience | Semi-formal |
Connectors & cohesion
- Build each paragraph: topic → develop → example → transition.
- Match the connector to the job: moreover (addition), however (contrast), because (cause), therefore (consequence).
- Never a "Because…" sentence on its own, never "and… and… and…".
Common errors to avoid
- Wrong or mixed tone, or ignoring the text type → loses C.
- Too short, or ideas listed without development → loses B.
- Verb tense and agreement slips → lose A.
- Final check in the last five minutes: Words (250–400) → Tone → Conventions → Verbs → Ideas.
The greeting, the requests and the sign-off move together: once you pick a tone, keep it to the end.
What are the four planning moves? Decode, brainstorm, order, note.
Which family does a proposal belong to? Professional.
You are writing to a company. Which sign-off fits? "Yours faithfully": formal.
Your text lists five ideas in one line each. Which criterion suffers? B: develop fewer ideas properly.
What do you check first in the final routine? The word count.