ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT

Creating an effective structure (non-fiction)

Assessment Criteria and What A Good One Looks Like

Below you will find the Skill Check assessment criteria for this skill, and underneath you will find two examples of what a good one looks like, with a brief explanation of how each one fits the criteria.

Assessment Criteria for Creating an effective structure (non-fiction)

minus
any of these things

No plan provided, or plan much too short

Plan does not go from start to the end

Plan does not address the question

equals
all of these things

Provides a complete plan of acceptable length (at least 4 paragraphs)

Provides some indication of what paragraphs types will be used, including the opening and closing

Provides some kind of argument in response to the question

plus
all of these things

Provides a complete plan of good length (5-7 paragraphs, including opening/closing)

Clearly indicates paragraph types (e.g. with codes/words), including the opening and closing

Provides a clear argument in response to the question

star
all of these things

Provides a complete plan of good length (5-7 paragraphs, including opening/closing)

Clearly indicates paragraph types, including the opening and closing

Provides a thoughtful or compelling argument in response to the question, with a circular structure created by the closing

What a good one looks like

Example task

Imagine you had to answer the following question:

“Cars are noisy, dirty, smelly and downright dangerous. They should be banned from all town and city centres, allowing people to walk and cycle in peace.”

Write an article for a broadsheet newspaper arguing your point of view on this statement.

Plan a response to this question, creating an effective structure that you could follow in an exam. Remember to plan not just what you would write but how you would write it (e.g. codes for paragraph types).

Example response

OP AN – Trying to get out of my road in the mornings – weaving through parked cars - madness

ARG – Too many cars in the world – grown up kids living at home

RW – Research into air pollution – poor health – asthma – low emission zones

ARG – BUT – these zones are wildly unpopular – negative affect on economy

ARG – Electric cars will help with emissions – but that’s not enough – need self driving cars – and no car ownership — technology is the solution, not a ban

CL AN – Just picture it: 30 years time – me being driven by some rented car out of my own road, not a parked car in sight

Notes on this response

There are 4 body paragraphs, plus the opening and closing (6 in total), making it a good length.
It clearly indicates each paragraph type with codes, blending different types of paragraph in places, though using the ARG type most for the body.
The argument is compelling — the writer has thought through the whole piece and makes a clear case.
The closing echoes the opening to create a circular structure.

What a good one looks like — letter example

Example task

Imagine you had to answer the following question:

“Volunteering should be a compulsory part of education for all students aged 14–18.”

Write a letter to the Minister for Education in which you argue your point of view on this statement.

Plan a response to this question, creating an effective structure that you could follow in an exam. Remember to plan not just what you would write but how you would write it (e.g. codes for paragraph types).

Example response

FORM: address, salutation (formal)

AN – Politeness + thanks + my first experience of volunteering at donkey sanctuary

ARG – Changed my life – wrong path to right path

RW – Knife crime – gangs – anti-social behaviour – problems in society

ARG – Schools do their best – but only so much that they can fix in a classroom – getting kids out and away

ARG – Not easy (acknowledge) – many demands on money and time - know you have best interests of young at heart - but hope you can think about

AN – Return to experience of volunteering – how now I run the dokey sanctuary – changed my life – maybe together we can all change the lives of young people

Yours faithfully