Writing: Clear Structure and Precise Language
What the section tests
Selective writing tasks ask for a short piece - narrative, persuasive or informative - marked on ideas, structure, vocabulary, sentence variety, punctuation and spelling. A controlled, well-organised response scores better than an ambitious, muddled one.
Concepts to master
- Planning: spend two or three minutes deciding the central idea, the order of paragraphs and the ending.
- Paragraphing: one idea per paragraph, with a clear opening and closing sentence.
- Sentence variety: mix short and long sentences; avoid starting every sentence the same way.
- Precise verbs and nouns: sprinted beats ran quickly; argued beats said.
- Punctuation: use commas for clarity, and quotation marks and apostrophes correctly.
- Persuasive structure: position, reasons with evidence, acknowledgement of the other side, strong close.
Traps to watch
- An exciting opening that leads nowhere.
- Listing ideas without linking them.
- Overwriting with long words used imprecisely.
- Losing tense consistency in a narrative.
Rule of thumb
Before writing, state your purpose in one sentence. If a paragraph does not serve that sentence, cut it. Leave a minute to check tense, apostrophes and full stops.
Worked example
Weak: "The storm was very bad and it was scary and lots of things happened." Stronger: "The storm tore the roof from the shed and flung it across the yard." The second version shows the effect through specific detail instead of telling the reader how to feel.