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 two or three points you'll develop and a few useful words. A plan is what earns Criterion B (Message), because it gives your answer a clear, organised shape instead of rambling prose.
| Elemento del piano | Che cosa annotare |
|---|---|
| Il tipo di testo e le sue parti | blog / email / articolo… e le sezioni (titolo, corpo, chiusura) |
| 2–3 idee chiave | i punti che svilupperai, in ordine |
| Una frase-gancio d'apertura | una prima frase che catturi il lettore |
| Una chiusura o un saluto finale | come chiudi (Un abbraccio, Cordiali saluti, una conclusione) |
| Vocabolario e connettivi utili | parole chiave del tema e collegamenti (inoltre, perciò, tuttavia) |
Five lines, no sentences: Tipo di testo · 2–3 idee · gancio · chiusura · vocabolario. Your plan is five short lines, written in note form — never full sentences. It's scaffolding for you, not text for the examiner.
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 directly lifts Criterion B. Examiners reward an answer that is clearly organised.
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 — they shape everything else.
2
Brainstorm 3 points
Jot three ideas you can actually develop on this task. Three 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 (inoltre, perciò, tuttavia) you'll reach for, so they're ready when you write.
Decode → Brainstorm → Order → Note vocab
Order matters as much as ideas: Two strong points in a muddled order read worse than two ordinary points in a clear order. The Order step is where you protect Criterion B — make your reader follow you from opening to close without getting lost.
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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. Tap Mostra traduzione to see the English explanation, or 🔊 to hear the Italian.
Planning an informal email
From the prompt to a four-line plan
- Consegna: «Scrivi un'email a un amico per invitarlo a passare le vacanze con te e la tua famiglia.» Piano: Tipo di testo = email informale.
- Destinatario = un amico → registro informale (tu, Ciao!, Un abbraccio).
- Tre idee: (1) le date e il luogo, (2) quali attività faremo, (3) perché sarà divertente e che cosa deve portare.
- Vocabolario e connettivi: invitare, alloggiare, inoltre, perciò, non perdertelo!; aprire con Ciao! e chiudere con Un abbraccio.
Four lines is a whole plan: Notice the plan is just four short lines — text type, register, three points, vocabulary — and yet it fixes every big decision. Build this on scrap paper first and your Criterion B marks are half-won before you start writing.
Good planning vs costly mistakes: The marks lost around planning are rarely about Italian — they come from skipping the plan, piling up shallow points, or planning content that ignores the text type. Here's the contrast.
Buon piano
- Annota 2–3 idee e sviluppale.
- Ordina i punti prima di scrivere.
- Il piano segue la struttura del tipo di testo.
- Segnati vocabolario e connettivi utili.
Errori tipici
- Write with no plan and ramble off the point.
- Cram in too many shallow points and develop none.
- Make a plan that ignores the text-type structure.
- Dimenticare il gancio e la chiusura.
Depth beats quantity: Two or three points developed with examples beat six points mentioned and dropped. When you plan, ask of each idea: can I write three sentences on this? If not, cut it — that protects Criterion B.