Paper 2 Q5 - Planning
Focus: Writing Your Views Marks: 40 Time: 45 mins
Q5 will have a very clear focus. Read the task carefully and you'll see it contains all the information you need to plan your answer. Let's look at this example from June 2019.
'It is the people who have extraordinary skill, courage and determination who deserve to be famous, not those who have good looks, lots of money or behave badly.'
Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper in which you argue your point of view in response to this statement.
In the first part you'll find an opinion statement. This will have lots of points to include in your writing. If you address all of the points you will have plenty to write about. For example, here they give you the ideas of skill, courage and determination vs. good looks, money and bad behaviour. Base your plan on these points.
When planning, use DAFOREST to make sure your writing is effective.
Direct Address - ‘I’ ‘You’ ‘We’ ‘Our’
You are the key to this entire idea succeeding - We will be with you all the way. I can’t thank you enough!
Anecdotes. Short, personal stories that help to illustrate a point.
'I know that many of you think the homeless are a lost cause and that they are lazy good for nothings. Well, of course, that might be true for some of them, but let me tell you about Dave. I went to school with Dave for three years until Year 11. It was just before our exams when Dave's mum and dad hit problems - big-time! From there on in life began to fall apart for Dave. He just wasn't able to cope. By the time he was eighteen, when I was sitting for my A-levels, Dave was on the streets...'
Facts – gives authenticity to your work e.g. It has been proven that people who have to live on the streets, have a low life expectancy
Flattery – persuades the reader to agree with you e.g. A person of your intelligence deserves much better than this.
Opinion In my view, this is the best thing to have ever happened.
Repetition. phrases and ideas can be used to reinforce an argument and drive home the message to a reader. e.g. “It has been well established here and overseas that if teenagers think they can see a doctor in confidence, they are more likely to do so, more likely to go back for repeat visits, and more likely to disclose sensitive information.”
Rhetorical question. A question where the answer is obvious, can help lead readers to a particular conclusion. e.g. “It has been well established here and overseas that if teenagers think they can see a doctor in confidence, they are more likely to do so, more likely to go back for repeat visits, and more likely to disclose sensitive information. And isn’t this the outcome we want? “
Emotive words provoke an emotional reaction from the audience.
Exaggeration. exaggerate or overstate something to help persuade readers of their point of view.
e.g. “But no, people from the bush were saying it is cruel to kill foxes with a poison that causes a slow, agonising death.”
e.g. It is simply out of this world – stunning!
Statistics help support your argument. e.g. 1 in 5 people questioned stated that...
Sarcasm A mocking tone. e.g. Everyone knows that you don’t need to travel anymore - right? Wrong!
Triple e.g. Safer streets means comfort, reassurance and peace of mind for you, your family and your friends.
Format
This could be a LETTER, ARTICLE, SPEECH or ESSAY. The format will mainly affect how you start and end your writing.' For example, 'Dear Sir/Madam (letter), 'Good morning everyone' (speech), 'RIGHTS FOR FREE SPEECH' (heading for Article) etc.
Top Tips!
- Communicating your point of view is the key skill. Avoid switching sides, disagreeing with yourself or sounding unsure.
- Two sides (depending on the size of your handwriting) is enough. The examiner wants to see a well organised, well planned answer - not five or six pages of waffle.