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.
- el tipo de texto
- the text type — the form you must write
- personales
- personal texts: el correo, el blog, el diario
- profesionales
- professional texts: la carta formal, el informe, la propuesta
- medios de comunicación
- mass-media texts: el artículo, la reseña, la entrevista, el discurso, el folleto
- las convenciones
- the conventions — the features that mark out each text type
- el registro
- the register — formal or informal, set by the type and reader
The form is named — use it: The text-type word is almost always printed in the prompt («blog», «correo», «artículo», «discurso»…). 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.
| Tipo de texto | Convenciones clave | Registro típico |
|---|---|---|
| Blog | título + dirigirse al lector + despedida | semiformal |
| Correo formal | Estimado/a + usted + Atentamente | formal |
| Artículo | titular + subtítulos + gancho | semiformal |
| Discurso | saludo al público + preguntas retóricas | según el público |
Features before sentences: Blog → título y dirigirse al lector · Correo formal → Estimado/a y Atentamente · Artículo → titular y gancho · Discurso → saludo al público y preguntas retóricas. 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», «correo», «artículo», «discurso». 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 (usted) or informal (tú) based on the text type and its reader — a formal letter is usted, a blog is semiformal.
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. Tap Ver traducción to see the English explanation, or 🔊 to hear the Spanish.
Spotting the text type and its conventions
From the prompt to the form's features
- Enunciado: «Escribe un discurso para pronunciar en la asamblea del colegio sobre la importancia del reciclaje.»
- Tipo de texto = un discurso. La palabra clave del enunciado es «discurso».
- Convenciones obligatorias: un saludo al público (Buenos días a todos), preguntas retóricas para implicar al público, y un cierre que llame a la acción.
- Registro: según el público — aquí es el colegio, así que es correcto pero cercano, dirigido a «vosotros / ustedes».
- Plan rápido: saludo → por qué importa el reciclaje → dos acciones concretas → llamada final a la acción.
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 Spanish — they come from writing a generic essay, missing the conventions, or using the wrong register for the form. Here's the contrast.
La forma correcta
- Escribe la forma que pide el enunciado.
- Incluye las convenciones del tipo de texto.
- Pon un titular en un artículo, un título en un blog.
- Ajusta el registro al tipo de texto.
Errores típicos
- Write a generic essay regardless of the named form.
- Miss the conventions — no title, no sign-off.
- Use the wrong register for the type (tú in a formal letter).
- Empezar a escribir sin enmarcar la forma.
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 out loud in your head, then give it the features expected. That alone protects those marks.