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Writing to share your viewpoint....Paper 2

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Writing to share your viewpoint....Paper 2

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Okay, so you've been asked to write to persuade. But what's the difference between PERSUASION AND ARGUMENT - what's the difference? persuading and arguing? Well... not a lot! In fact, you'll be creating two very similar styles of writing. This is because they are both writing that has a similar purpose, that of seeking to influence. But, you've guessed it... there are key differences that the examiner looks for and knowing about these will help push up your marks and help you towards a higher grade!

When you set out to persuade someone, you want them to accept your opinion on an issue: you want to change that person's mind to your way of thinking. To do this, you will - just as with 'writing to argue' - be presenting a form of written argument; but when you are trying to persuade, your argument is expected to be more passionate, even more one-sided than the far more balanced presentation of views typical of "Writing to Argue". This is because persuasion is based on a personal conviction that your way of thinking is the right way.

This does not mean you should ignore your opponent's views - far from it. That's a sure fire way to 'put their back up' if ever there was one! And lose marks! You're looking only for success and high marks. Are you persuaded yet? Read on...

When writing to argue, you're expected to take account of opposing views and find ways to counter and overcome these, mostly through the use of well-reasoned points. This is because when you are asked to argue, you need to show you have recognises that other equally valid views exist on the subject.

This difference means that when you write to persuade, you can afford to be:

Your reader or listener needs to feel "warm" towards you - to be brought to feel that you are worth listening to - worthy of their time. This means that you need to find a way to present yourself as both TOP TIP NUMBER ONE
reasonable and authoritative on your topic. In your opening paragraph explain this. Perhaps you can say that you are the head of the Year 11 committee, or have been a girl guide / boy scout leader, and so on.

One way to bring your reader to start agreeing with you, right from the outset, is to TOP TIP NUMBER TWO
"forge common ground". This means finding a way to show that both you and your opponent have a similar goal. This reduces the differences between the two of you to something much more manageable and achievable. There's much more on this later.

A highly effective persuasive device, almost foolproof, is to tell an emotional anecdote. An anecdote is a brief and fascinating story from life, often from personal experience. Its purpose is to create a powerful and emotional illustration of why TOP TIP NUMBER THREE
your view is the right view to hold.

Although a necdotes are based on real events, for your coursework and exam, you can make up the story, so long as it is realistic andreasonable . Click here for more on this.

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU?
For coursework or exam, you will be asked:

to write in a particular (i.e. form format: a newspaper or magazine article, a formal or informal letter or the text of a speech)

to write for a particular kind of audience .

To gain a high grade, you will need to:

use an effective and persuasive structure built up through several clear topic paragraphs

use what are called discourse markers (i.e. 'argument sign-posts' such as,for a start..., on the other hand..., therefore..., to continue..., as you can see..., however..., but..., to conclude...).
These help your ideas flow and help your reader follow your argument

show you are aware of the form you are writing in and its genre conventions

show a clear awareness of your intended by writing in a suitable audience style

use effective persuasive techniques .

The art of argument and persuasion is a very ancient art indeed. In fact, the ancient Greeks called the art of using language persuasively, WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW...
rhetoric (hence, phrases you might have heard such as'rhetorical language' and 'rhetorical devices' - these both refer to ways of using language that seem especially persuasive or powerful). Two of the most famous teachers of the ancient art of rhetoric were Plato's student, Aristotle and the Roman, Cicero.

CLASSICAL RHETORIC

If the two ancient teachers Aristotle and Cicero were helping you write to persuade, they would be trying to convince you (using rhetorical language, no doubt...) that the ideal form of argument was through the use of one thing and one thing alone... reason (which they called logos ); however, these ancient scholars both realised that, humans being human after all, we were prone to being persuaded by two other techniques: an appeal to character (which they called ethos ) and an appeal to emotion (which they called pathos ) .

LOGOS
THE APPEAL TO REASON Most people believe themselves to be reasonable and to have a logical mind, so appealing to a person's sense of reason is generally thought to be the single most effective means of convincing them to change their way of thinking (e.g. 'If you do this, then that will happen...').

ETHOS
THE APPEAL TO CHARACTER
We all share certain common ideas about what is right, just or fair. By demonstrating your own, or appealing your opponent's, sense of what is right and fair, you can create quite a powerful persuasive device. (E.g. 'Both of us, I'm sure, would agree that trampling roughshod over a child's rights must be very wrong...').

PATHOS
THE APPEAL TO EMOTION
It is said that when emotion comes in through the door, reason leaves via the window, thus when trying to persuade, using emotional pleas need great care. That said, persuasion does very often succeed by the careful and considered use of an emotional plea - especially one that shows just how passionate you feel for your point of view (E.g. 'Can we genuinely call ourselves human beings when we allow this kind of thing to continue unabated..?).

HOW TO GAIN A HIGH GRADE
1. In all you write, never ignore your audience (i.e. your reader): always show you have thought closely about their needs
Just imagine how difficult it would be to persuade a stranger! Always 'get to know' your reader by working out what brought them to think the way they do. Showing a close awareness of your audience is a key aspect of the mark scheme for this particular question in the exam.

Follow these tips...

Be respectful ... Use an appropriate level of formality by creating an effective register to suit your and audience purpose.

Be interesting ... especially as you open and close your writing aim for maximum interest! Don't be shy - be different! It gains attention and it gains marks!

Be personal ... Persuasion works best when you know your audience well so consider your reader, think about what their current views are and what has brought them to think that way - think about addressing them as a 'friend using the pronoun 'You'.

Be concerned ... and show that you share your reader's concerns - even if your view is different.

Be reasonable ... To change a person's mind, you need to recognise that they feel they hold a reasonable view already. You must use reason in return and show how much more reasonable your own position is.

. Back up claims with Be convincing ... The most important persuasive technique is to sound authentic and passionate (as if you really mean what you say!) and this requires a confident tone: sound like you are sincere and believable. Try things like solid evidence. For more on these see below. rhetorical devices and emotive language

Be yourself ... In an exam, what you write will - naturally - be purely made up: you are being tested on your writing skills, not on your ability to speak the truth and nothing but the truth. So the evidence you choose to support your case will need to be made up to suit the question. There is no problem with this, but you must make sure it is realistic and reasonable. Also, unless in the unlikely event that the exam question specifies differently, write as the sixteen-year-old school student that you are, never as some imaginary adult. Remember that sincerity and conviction are very convincing traits in a person pretending you are someone else will make it very difficult to sound sincere and authentic.

2. Show you have thought long and hard about why you are writing - your purpose Read your question with care until you are absolutely absorbed into the scenario it requires : try to become the person that holds this viewpoint. Only then will you be at your most convincing.

But be realistic: your purpose is to change minds and sometimes a compromise is the most sensible next step in the process. Minds rarely change quickly and easily: take this into account when working out your objectives - maybe a meeting to discuss the issue is a sensible objective to hold?

3. Show clearly you have considered the needs of what you are creating - its form Be sure you know the conventions required for various forms of writing

You need to understand how to write in a variety of forms: formal and informal letters, magazine articles, essays, speeches, and so on.

Make sure you understand the particular conventions of whichever form you must use for example, if you write a speech use a conversational tone without speech marks if you write a letter, set it out correctly and neatly.

Whichever form you use, you must capture and hold on to your reader's attention - but be subtle and consider exactly what would appeal to that kind of reader with that kind of mind-set.

The examiner absolutely expects to see a 'consciously shaped essay, letter, speech or article. Plan well and give what you write a progressively effective structure one that is interesting and clear. Build each paragraph around one topic that is introduced by an initial 'topic sentence aim to link each paragraph smoothly together by finishing with a sentence that subtly 'hooks into the opening topic sentence of the following paragraph.

4. Show you know how to be persuasive

Writing that is coherent and fluent and which flows naturally, smoothly and with a sense of unity (i.e. singleness of purpose) is writing that seeks to help your reader trust and believe in you and your cause; it shows a sensitive understanding of their current beliefs; it seeks to forge common ground ; it is consciously shaped and is a form of crafted persuasion that offers something in return to your 'opponent'...

A ll of this will show that you are using a sophisticated and subtle persuasive style . It is such points as these that will allow the examiner to give you the high grade you want.

S witch roles!
Which points and style would change your mind?

Here is a small section of the mark scheme the examiners from a major examining board use when they award a grade A:

shows sustained awareness of the audience

arguments are convincingly developed andsupported by relevant detail

ideas are selected and prioritised to construct a sophisticated argument

paragraphs are effectively varied in length and structure

a wide range of appropriate, ambitious vocabulary is used

the writing flows and is madecoherent through the use of connectives

a range of rhetorical devices are used appropriately - CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS IMPORTANT ASPECT!

WRITING YOUR ESSAY FOR COURSEWORK OR EXAM...

1. Plan
2. Write
3. Check

1. PLAN

Planning: in the mark scheme, you are awarded extra marks if your writing shows clear evidence that it has beenconsciously shaped; this means creating writing that iswell-structured. Aplan is the best way to make sure your writing scores highly in this area.

Think hard about the requirements of the form of your writing: what voice must you adopt; whatlayout is needed; what genre conventions must you adhere to. Is it an essay, an article, a speech, a letter... or what?

Decide on a suitable style: what kind of language and layout willappeal to, engage and convince your reader?

Brainstorm to create a list of the best points in favour of your idea - many students use a 'spider diagram' but others prefer two columns of 'for' and 'against' ideas.

Choose four or five of the most convincing points from your brainstorm. Check that each point is truly separate and not a part of a larger, more general point. If it is, use only the larger point.

Make sure each point is truly convincing - switch roles:would it persuade you ?

Organise your points into a progressively persuasive order.

What is the strongest reason against your view? What are the 'other side's views? At all costs, avoid making the other side feel foolish for believing differently from yourself - but do counteract their most important beliefs by showing, with evidence (which needs to be sensible and, if necessary, made up)that your way of thinking is the better considered.

Engage your reader's attention by beinginteresting lively and .

Always avoid stating the boringly obvious.

Create a sense of - if you truly believe what you say you do, sound as if you do! Make your writing sound authenticity sincere and trustworthy.

Create a sense of authority - consider making up some believable evidence to support your views (a survey, a respected opinion, etc.).

2. WRITE THE OPENING PARAGRAPH

Engage or 'grab your reader's attention straight away - involve and interest them at the outset.

State why you are writing

Involve your reader by using 'you', 'we - if appropriate!

State why you have the authority to write on this topic and that you are reasonable and trustworthy.

Forge common ground between you and your reader - mention an outcome both of you would endorse.

Use a rhetorical question.

Choose your words with precision and care.

THE BODY (CENTRAL) PARAGRAPHS

Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that tells what it's about.

- make it Use one further rhetorical question subtle.

Develop only a single main point only per paragraph.

Explain the topic of the paragraph by writing four to five extra sentences, using 'connectives such as 'therefore...', 'and so...', 'so you see...'.

Acknowledge the main opposing view but with common ground care, subtlety and tact countering it tactfully to show how much more likely your view is to produce the desired outcome (i.e. the between you).

Help your reader relate and involve them - use an interesting (and if appropriate, amusing) anecdote.

Add authority - quote an acknowledged expert, a survey or any similar appropriate and sensibly made up support for your case.

Use vivid description - create a vivid image that will help your reader see your point of view.

Use emotion carefully. Again, an anecdote might work well, e.g. 'People think that living on the streets is a matter of choice, but let me tell you about Alex. He was twelve when he left home...'.

Make your argument powerful by using a few, well chosen rhetorical devices :

RHETORICAL DEVICES

Rhetorical questions, similes, metaphors, emotive language (used with care), irony (but never sarcasm), 'lists of three', repetition, parallel structures, hyperbole (i.e. exaggeration for effect), humour (care: backfires very easily!)...
CLICK HERE FOR THE ENGLISH BIZ GUIDE TO RHETORICAL DEVICES

by using interestingvocabulary and sentences. Remember that Add variety shorter sentences are snappier and often clearer and that an occasional ultra-short sentence can be very powerful.

Be fluent and coherent - link your ideas effectively.

LINKING EXPRESSIONS
'However... 'although...', 'if so...', 'and so...', 'but...', 'clearly...', 'on the other hand...', 'therefore...', 'supposing that...', 'furthermore...', 'looked at another way...', 'in contrast...', 'on the contrary...', etc.

THE CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

Aim to finish strongly, positively and interestingly.

Restate your viewpoint in an interesting way - express it slightly differently from the way you did in your first paragraph.

Emphasise again, very succinctly, why your view is worthy of close consideration.

Make sure your reader knows precisely what you would like to happen next. This might be a discussion, acompromise... you decide.

If appropriate to your audience and purpose, end with an emotional plea .

3. CHECK

Each year, literally thousands of students fail to achieve the marks they could. Don't be one of them ALWAYS CHECK YOUR WRITING BEFORE HANDING IN!

Use a variety of sentence types and styles and remember that Read each sentence immediately after you write it shorter sentences are often clearer and crisper sounding. An occasional ultra-short sentence can add real impact to writing.

Read each sentence before you proceed to the next to check it is fluent, accurate and complete. Does it follow on logically from the previous sentence?

is a series of sentences (often at least five) that develop from Check every paragraph
A paragraph a single topic sentence used to introduce the point of the paragraph.

Avoid creating overly short paragraphs as this suggests either a) you do not know what a paragraph is or b) that you have no explained the point of the paragraph in sufficient detail. Try to make sure that each paragraph flows naturally on from its predecessor by using the final sentence of each paragraph to subtly 'hook into the topic of the next paragraph.

To correct a missed paragraph simply put this mark where you want in to be: // then, in your margin write: // = new paragraph. The examiner will not mark you down for this so long as you have not forgotten all of your paragraphs.

A very common error and poor style is to use a comma instead of a full stop to end a sentence. This makes two or more stylish, short and crisp sentences into one long, drawn out and boring sentence! Always end each sentence with a Examine each comma
full stop - or a semi-colon if you know how to use this punctuation mark.

Apostrophes are only ever used for two reasons. But so many students fail to use them effectively. If two words are squeezed together into one and a letter is missed out in the process, show where the letter was by inserting an apostrophe. So should not becomes Look at every apostrophe
shouldn't

And when one of two nouns belong to the other, show which one possesses which by adding apostrophe+s to its end. So the school's entrance is correct because the entrance is 'possessed by the school, also Alan's book shows a similar possession.

But watch out for your use of it's. With an apostrophe this is always a shortened form of it is or , as in it has . If you mean it's cold , as in , no apostrophe is needed. belonging to it its fur is shiny and smooth

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Okay, so you've been asked to write to persuade. But what's the difference between PERSUASION AND ARGUMENT - what's the difference? persuading and arguing ? Well... not a lot! In fact, you'll be creating two very similar styles of writing. This is because they are both writing that has a similar purpose, that of seeking to influence.

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Useful for both papers.

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Commenting on the language of a text is where the really detailed analysis comes from. When talking about language, you might comment on:

The literary devices an author uses, like and and for what effect - how does it help them to present their idea or viewpoint in a specific way?

The type of words used in the text. Are words long and elaborate or short and easy? Are words used - does the author use jargon (terms which are only understood by certain audiences)?

The of specific word choices - are words being used that remind you of something else to create an effect, eg using words with connotations of death to create an effect?

The appropriateness of word choice: are words being used to match the context, or to extend a metaphor? For example, if a sports report uses the metaphor of the match being a battle, does the rest of the report talk about 'fighting' for points, or players as 'foot soldiers'?

Is the text written in the first person? Is the author directly addressing the reader using 'you'?

Is the text written in the past tense or the present tense? What effect does it have?

When you identify literary devices in a text, think about how you can link them to purpose or audience; how is it clear that the writer has chosen particular words or used techniques to cause you as the reader to react in a certain way?

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BBC Bitesize - GCSE English Language - Language and structure - Revision 1

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Commenting on the language of a text is where the really detailed analysis comes from. When talking about language, you might comment on: The literary devices an author uses, like and and for what effect - how does it help them to present their idea or viewpoint in a specific way?

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This Video Has Been Replaced With an Updated Version

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AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 Question 5: Narrative Example

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This Video Has Been Replaced With an Updated Version

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Improve your writing with these punctuation exercises

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Improve your writing with these punctuation exercises

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Commas signal to your reader to pause very slightly while reading. This can help make the individual parts of a sentence clearer in meaning. It also shows how sentences are split up, and separates words in a list.

For example:

The kitten was cute, fluffy and cuddly.

To make a perfect cup of tea, you need a teabag, sugar, milk and hot water.

Jones, the baker, is now also the candlestick maker.

Sam Haskins, who broke his leg in that car accident, still managed to pass all his exams.

Sentence separation and comma splicing

A common mistake in writing is to place a comma where in fact a full stop is needed. This creates an over-long sentence. This misuse of the comma creates what is called a 'comma splice'. Aim to avoid comma splices in your writing.

When you proofread your work, highlight each comma and decide whether it is needed, or whether a full-stop would be more effective.

Look at the example below:
The room filled with smoke, I froze in panic.
This is an example of comma splice. The comma in the middle should not be there because each half is a complete sentence in its own right.

So in fact you should use two full sentences, each ending with a full stop. This makes for two shorter but much livelier, sentences:
The room filled with smoke. I froze in panic.
Alternatively - you could use a conjunction (joining word) to connect the two sentences:
The room filled with smoke and I froze in panic.
- when the two sentences are closely linked in some way, you could use a semi-colon:
The room filled with smoke; I froze in panic.

Identify the comma splices in the following piece of writing. As you find each comma think about what would happen if it were replaced with a full stop. Remember that the two sentences each side of a full stop must be meaningful and complete.
I was nervous, making my way through the crowd in the darkness. Lights glistened in time to the music, I blinked at the brightness. Fetching a drink from the corner, I looked at the food on offer. It was a pretty good spread, Hollie had really made an effort. It was just a shame that her mum had made a massive princess cake. The thing was wonky, but the creepy smile on its face was the worst part.

Lights glistened in time to the music, I blinked at the brightness. It was a pretty good spread, Hollie had really made an effort.
These are both examples of comma splicing. A full stop, semi-colon or conjunction is needed for the sentences to be grammatically correct.

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BBC Bitesize - GCSE English Language - Punctuation - Revision 2

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Commas signal to your reader to pause very slightly while reading. This can help make the individual parts of a sentence clearer in meaning. It also shows how sentences are split up, and separates words in a list. For example: The kitten was cute, fluffy and cuddly.

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Example of Descriptive writing with revision task

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Example of Descriptive writing with revision task

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BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Writing to describe - example

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A secondary school revision resource for GCSE English. Exam tips on writing to inform, explain or describe.

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Access our range of courses, all designed to help you develop skills, build confidence and progress your career. View all courses and events Meet with fellow teaching colleagues, experts and subject associates. Discuss strategies, best practice, share resources and exchange experiences with your local English community. Check dates and availability