Formal writing is the act of making an argument or expressing an opinion in written form.
There are many different types of formal writing to help you achieve this:
Articles
Opinion columns
Reports
Essays
Blogs (although be careful with the language you use)
Section 2 - What does the task look like for NCEA Level 1?
Level 1 Formal Writing Task.docx
On the left here is the task for NCEA Level 1 formal writing. It is worth 3 credits and is INTERNALLY assessed.
You need to read through this task and brainstorm some ideas that you could write about.
You MUST complete all the learning exercises provided to ensure that you have a good understanding of how you can construct your writing.
You MUST have contacted your teacher and discussed your writing plan before you start drafting.
It must be a minimum of 350 words long (about 2/3 of a page).
Always remember to be formal, see the editing page for more information on this
Exemplars:
On the right here are the exemplars for this task that past students have written.
They are NOT based on the same task that you will be doing.
You need to make a bullet point list of what you need to do to get an Achieved, Merit and then Excellence.
This will be something you can keep looking back at during the writing process to make sure you are on track for the grade that you want.
Exemplars.pdf
Section 3 - Ok, so how do I get started on my formal writing piece?
Formal Writing Topics
Since the purpose of formal writing is to make a point, it is important that you write about something you have a strong opinion about.
On the left here are some ideas for topics. Your mission is to:
Read through them and pick the 5 statements that you most strongly agree/disagree with.
Write them down and write your three reasons for EACH statement for either agreeing/disagreeing with them.
Pick the STRONGEST one to write your essay about OR make another plan with your teacher.
It is really important that a formal writing piece is structured.
You want to follow what I call the McEssay structure with SEXY paragraphs:
INTRODUCTION: tell the reader what your essay will be about
BODY PARAGRAPH 1: Make your strongest point first, back it up with evidence and explain how the evidence makes your point, use the SEXY paragraph structure
BODY PARAGRAPH 2: Make your second strongest point, back it up with evidence and explain how the evidence makes your point, use the SEXY paragraph structure
BODY PARAGRAPH 1: Make your third and final point, back it up with evidence and explain how the evidence makes your point, use the SEXY paragraph structure
CONCLUSION: Bring it all together like a good sauce, reiterate the main point of your essay
USE THIS LINK TO HELP YOU STRUCTURE AND WRITE YOUR ESSAY, SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM FOR WHAT YOU NEED ON INTRODUCTIONS AND PARAGRAPHS
Section 4 - What do I do after I have finished my draft?
After you have completed your draft, you edit your work. You read and reread it to improve and develop it further.
Find out more about how to edit both creative and formal writing here.
It is a good idea to be looking for a different thing each time you read it over, for example:
Punctuation
Sentence structure
Spelling
Formal wording
Development of ideas
Paragraphing
Deleting uneccessary words or sentences
The above list is not definitive. It is a prompt to get you thinking about how to edit.