Question:
I want to practice my exam technique for Writing to Advise/Inform and I’ve found a question I like, but I’m not very confident structuring it. Please help!
The question is Advise a teenager how to deal with fame.
Answer:
Okay, thanks for this. It is always a good idea to start with a question you’re comfortable with. Try to avoid questions you don’t understand.
To start with, list about four points of advice.
You might use these, but do use your own if they’re better:
- Keep healthy
- Remain professional
- Remember your friends and family
- Don’t abuse your wealth
Put these four points in order of importance.
Then, take each one and list reasons why it’s important. So you’d say it’s good to remain professional because:
- That way you keep friends and make new ones (who could advance your career)
- You keep your reputation respectable
- You don’t get bad press coverage
- You might be asked to sponsor campaigns (– and then be paid more money)
Put these four points in order of importance and find a link between them. Repeat this process for every point of advice
Remember to give examples and stories in your answer. You might say something like:
Amy Winehouse neglects her health and is always in newspapers looking a mess. Her drug addiction and fascination for tattoos are unhelpful to her public image and her family should be ashamed of her because she doesn’t take care of herself, despite her money and musical success. Pete Doherty, similarly…
When you know what you’re going to write and have thought about examples to use to support your views, draft the first sentence in your head and then write it.
Then keep going, remembering to keep looking back at your plan and use it! If you are crossing out often, it’s because you’re not using your plan properly or haven’t thought through properly what you wanted to say.
You get marks for accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar; vocabulary – so do try to include longer, more sophisticated words; for using good paragraphs that link together; and for advising persuasively.
If the question tells you to write a letter to achieve this task, make sure you do!
Good luck!
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