Year 6 English · Writing for purpose: narrative, non-fiction, persuasive and discursive · Summary

Year 6 English Writing for purpose: narrative, non-fiction, persuasive and discursive: summary and key words

Part of the Year 6 English writing for purpose: narrative, non-fiction, persuasive and discursive chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

Chapter summary

Skill	Method
Audience, purpose, form	Name them before drafting: the audience decides the tone, the purpose the content, the form the structure.
Word choice	A stronger verb or a precise adjective changes the effect on the reader.
Narrative	Describe the setting, the characters and the atmosphere, and use dialogue to show character and move the action on.
Précis	A summary of a passage in fewer words, keeping the key points and leaving out examples.
Persuasive and discursive	Persuasive: opinions and a rhetorical question. Discursive: a balanced argument, with both sides.
Poems for a purpose	Plan the form, such as a repeated line or a rhyme, to suit the purpose.

I can name the audience, purpose and form before I write
I can choose a word that creates the effect I want
I can write a setting, a character and an atmosphere, with dialogue that moves the story on
I can write a précis of 25 words or fewer, keeping the key points
I can write a persuasive or discursive text, and a poem with a planned form

audience: the people who will read or hear a piece of writing
purpose: the reason for writing, such as to persuade, inform or entertain
form: the type of text, such as a letter, a story, a report or a poem
précis: a summary of a longer passage, in fewer words, keeping the key points
atmosphere: the mood or feeling that a setting creates for the reader
rhetorical question: a question asked to make the reader think, not to get an answer
balanced argument: an argument that gives both sides of an issue fairly
discursive: a text that explores different sides of an issue