Write for a reader and edit with purpose

Short lesson

Start with purpose, audience and form. Instructions help someone carry out a process; a report presents information; a persuasive letter asks a reader to consider a position. A formal request to a headteacher needs a different tone from a message to a friend, but formality does not require awkward, inflated language.

Organise related ideas into paragraphs. Cohesion means the parts connect: repeat a key idea when needed, make pronoun references clear and use links such as however, therefore or meanwhile only when the relationship fits. “Therefore” should introduce a consequence, not a random next point.

Support a proposal with reasons, examples and practical details. Do not invent a survey and present it as real evidence. You can acknowledge a difficulty and suggest a workable solution. For instructions, use a clear sequence and precise verbs; omit unsafe or unnecessary steps.

Proofread in passes: meaning → sentences → spelling and punctuation. First fix a missing idea or contradiction, then check tense and sentence boundaries, then small errors. Neat punctuation cannot rescue instructions in the wrong order.

Worked example

Weak request: “We need a reading corner because it is great. Everyone agrees.”

Revision: “Please consider a lunchtime reading corner. Pupils who want a quiet activity could use it. A small supervised trial would help us see whether the space works.” The revision gives a reason and a practical next step without pretending to have surveyed everyone.

Try it

Have a go on paper or say your answer aloud, then open the answer. Writing has many good answers; the examples are guides, not scripts to copy.

1. Foundation

   Choose a suitable opening for a letter to the headteacher requesting more library time: A. “Give us more time. Now.” B. “Please could you consider opening the library for one extra lunchtime?” Explain your choice.

   Show example and guidance 1

   B. It is a clear, specific and courteous request suited to the headteacher. A is abrupt and does not explain the request. Accept discussion that polite language should be followed by useful reasons, not treated as persuasion by itself.

2. Core

   Write four clear instructions for borrowing and returning a classroom book. Include a way to record what was borrowed. Use numbered steps and put events in a workable order.

   Show example and guidance 2

   One possible sequence: 1. Choose an available book. 2. Record its title, your name and the date in the borrowing book. 3. Take it away and keep it safe. 4. Return it to the designated place and mark the record as returned. Accept practical alternatives with a usable order and a record of borrowing/return. Do not require rules that the fictional classroom has not specified, such as a particular loan duration.

3. Core

   Choose a logical link and explain it: “The courtyard was wet. ___, the reading session moved indoors.” (However / Therefore / Meanwhile.)

   Show example and guidance 3

   Therefore. Moving inside is presented as a consequence of the wet courtyard. However would signal contrast; meanwhile would emphasise simultaneous events rather than the stated causal link.

4. Core

   Edit this report for Standard English, spelling and sentence boundaries, preserving its meaning: “The pupils was pleased with there new shelf it keeped the books tidy.”

   Show example and guidance 4

   “The pupils were pleased with their new shelf. It kept the books tidy.” Correct was → were for plural agreement, there → their for possession, keeped → kept for the irregular past and separate the independent sentences. Accept a suitable conjunction or a correctly used semicolon instead of the full stop. Do not alter the reported idea.

5. Stretch

   Write a letter of about 150–200 words asking for a quiet lunchtime activity space. Include a clear request, two developed reasons, one practical difficulty and a possible solution. Do not invent real survey results. Explain one change you made after rereading for your audience. This word range is a teaching suggestion.

   Show example and guidance 5

   Review the letter for: a specific courteous request; two reasons developed beyond a list; a genuine practical difficulty and workable response; paragraphs and logical links; a tone suited to the headteacher; accurate sentences and spelling. The child should identify an audience-focused revision, for example clarifying the proposed time or removing an unsupported “everyone agrees”. Accept varied proposals and lengths near the suggested range. No invented real survey evidence, automatic numerical writing score or requirement to copy a model letter.