Key Idea: Writing skills are the habits behind a good Paper 1 text: plan first, choose the right text type and tone, link your ideas, and check for common mistakes at the end.
Planning your answer
- Decode — Work out the text type, the audience and the tone.
- Brainstorm — Find three points.
- Order — Put them into the structure of the text type.
- Note — Jot down key words and connectors.
Two minutes, five short lines on scrap paper, never full sentences.
Choosing the text type
- Personal: email, blog, diary.
- Professional: formal letter, report, proposal.
- Mass media: article, review, interview, speech, leaflet.
- Write the form the task asks for, with its conventions such as a title or a sign-off. Never a general essay.
| Reader | Tone |
|---|---|
| A friend | Informal: tú, «¡Hola!», «Un abrazo» |
| A company or a teacher | Formal: usted, «Estimado/a», «Atentamente» |
| Blog readers | Semi-formal |
Connectors & cohesion
- Build each paragraph: topic, develop, example, transition.
- Match the connector to its job: {{además, sin embargo, ya que, por lo tanto, es decir|furthermore, however, since, therefore, that is}}
- Vary them. Avoid «y… y… y…» and a sentence that is only «Porque…».
- No giant paragraphs.
| Mistake | Criterion that loses marks |
|---|---|
| Wrong or mixed tone | C |
| Ignoring the text type | C |
| Too short | B |
| Listing ideas without developing them | B |
| Verb tense and agreement slips | A |
Plan for two minutes at the start. In the last five minutes, check words (250–400 words), tone, conventions, verbs and ideas.
You write to the school director. Tú or usted? Usted: the reader is formal.
Which family does a blog belong to? Personal.
You start with «Querido Juan» and end with «Atentamente». What is wrong? The greeting and sign-off clash. They must match one tone.
Your text lists many ideas, one sentence each. Which criterion suffers? B: develop fewer ideas with reasons and examples.
What is wrong with «Porque es importante.» as a sentence? It is a fragment. Join it to the idea it explains.