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 an example of what a good one looks like, with a brief explanation of how it fits the criteria.

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

minus
any of these things

No plan provided

Does not go from start to the end, or is incredibly short

Does not address the question

Does not use the codes for the paragraph types

equals (just) to plus (secure)
all of these things

An actual plan that goes from the start to the end of the article

Uses the codes for the paragraph types, including the opening and closing

Has enough detail to make sense - doesn’t have to be massively detailed, though it may feel like they’ve quite thought out each paragraph completed

star
all of these things

All the = criteria

At least 3 paragraphs planned in the body

Clear link back to opening in the closing to create a circular structure

Clear argument is evident through the piece – it should feel as if the main thinking has been done

What a good one looks like — article example

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 – an no car ownership

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

  • The plan goes from the start to the end of the article.

  • It plans each paragraph with codes for the type of paragraph.

  • There are 4 body paragraphs, plus the opening and closing

  • It blends different types of paragraph, though it uses the ARG type most.

  • The argument is complete — the writer has thought through the whole piece.

  • It has an opening and matched closing (e.g. they are both the same type - anecdote).

  • The closing echoes the opening to create a circular structure for the piece.

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

Notes on this response

  • The plan goes from the start to the end of the letter.

  • It plans each paragraph with codes for the type of paragraph.

  • It includes other directions to the writer such as formality (good for a letter), which is really useful to make sure you don’t forget to do things when you’re writing fast in an exam.

  • The argument considers the audience for the piece.

  • The argument is complete — the writer has thought through the whole piece.

  • It has an opening and matched closing (e.g. they are both the same type - anecdote).

  • The closing echoes the opening to create a circular structure for the piece.