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.
- el plan
- the plan — your quick outline before writing
- el guion
- the outline / running order of your text
- la idea clave
- a key idea — one of the points you develop
- el gancho
- the hook — an opening line that grabs the reader
- la despedida
- the sign-off / closing line
- el conector
- a connector / linking word (además, por eso…)
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.
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.
| Elemento del plan | Qué anotar |
|---|---|
| El tipo de texto y sus partes | blog / correo / artículo… y sus secciones (título, cuerpo, cierre) |
| 2–3 ideas clave | los puntos que vas a desarrollar, en orden |
| Un gancho de apertura | una primera frase que capte al lector |
| Una despedida o cierre | cómo terminas (Un abrazo, Atentamente, una conclusión) |
| Vocabulario y conectores útiles | palabras clave del tema y enlaces (además, por eso, sin embargo) |
Five lines, no sentences: Tipo de texto · 2–3 ideas · gancho · despedida · vocabulario. Your plan is five short lines, written in note form — never full sentences. It's scaffolding for you, not text for the examiner.
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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 — 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 (además, por eso, sin embargo) 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.
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 Ver traducción to see the English explanation, or 🔊 to hear the Spanish.
Planning an informal email
From the prompt to a four-line plan
- Enunciado: «Escribe un correo a un amigo para invitarlo a pasar las vacaciones contigo y tu familia.» Plan: Tipo de texto = correo informal.
- Destinatario = un amigo → registro informal (tú, ¡Hola!, Un abrazo).
- Tres ideas: (1) las fechas y el lugar, (2) qué actividades haremos, (3) por qué será divertido y qué tiene que traer.
- Vocabulario y conectores: invitar, alojarse, además, por eso, ¡no te lo pierdas!; abrir con ¡Hola! y cerrar con Un abrazo.
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.
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Good planning vs costly mistakes: The marks lost around planning are rarely about Spanish — they come from skipping the plan, piling up shallow points, or planning content that ignores the text type. Here's the contrast.
Buen plan
- Anota 2–3 ideas y desarróllalas.
- Ordena los puntos antes de escribir.
- El plan sigue la estructura del tipo de texto.
- Apunta vocabulario y conectores útiles.
Errores típicos
- 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.
- Olvidar el gancho y la despedida.
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.