Developing confident and successful life-long learners

BELMONT INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

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Writing
 Contents
Memoir Writing

• Support Summary
• Glossary

Narrative Writing

• Support Summary
• Glossary
• Text Type Examples

Persuasive Writing

• Support Summary
• Glossary
 SUPPORT SUMMARY FOR ASSESSING PERSONAL MEMOIR
This category of writing falls between defined, specific genres, namely personal recount and
poetic. According to TKI exemplars, this type of writing is Poetic Writing (Personal
Experience) and under asttle, it falls under recount and narrate (where ‘narrate’ is not
narrative). Accordingly, we have provided some features to support the BIS marking matrix.

This writing includes anecdotes that recall meaningful events and memories. They could be
events students have heard about or personal experiences (early experiences, stories of
lives, surroundings, feelings, ‘slice of life’ writing, etc.). A jumping off point for motivation are
the types of samples that Gail has given us, which can be used to stimulate students’ own
experiences, memories, etc.

AUDIENCE

Students begin with a hook to engage the audience. There should be a strong sense that
they realise that they are writing for the audience, rather than
themselves.

Level 3 to level 4
• they give the audience more information and description of the experience. (The NZ
exemplar for ‘Voice’.
Level 4
• state ‘demonstrate the deliberate choice of language features to enhance writing’.
• conveys thoughts, feelings and ideas about, and responses to experiences with some
perception; sustained sincerity of voice in the portrayal of a character’).
Level 5
• the hook should be succinct yet comprehensive, with the written piece convincingly
targeting the audience, with strong personal voice evident.

IDEAS

Thoughts, feelings and ideas that are personally meaningful are developed. These should
relate to the experience or character.

Level 3 to level 4
• they focus on describing and developing main attributes with detail.
Level 4
• should be not limited to ‘next, afterwards, etc.’ – event order should be obvious
through choice of language and descriptions.
Level 5
• requires a strong main idea and the sequence of events should contain observations
and interpretive comments. Events that are elaborated upon should add real
significance to the subject. Sequence may be evident in description, rather than
through use of particular connectives

STRUCTURE

Level 2
• may show a series of events or comments in different paragraphs or sentences, but
there would be very little, if any, cohesion to the piece.
Level 3 to level 4
• paragraphs should reflect a sense of theme. There should be a sense of cohesive
development of theme/story throughout.
Level 4
• within each paragraph details should be elaborated upon with personal voice and
audience awareness still being obvious.
Level 5
• should show experimentation with connectives and effects; features such as
flashback and repetition of ideas for effect should be evident and sustained to be
marked as this level.
 LANGUAGE FEATURES

Variety of sentence structures, beginnings and lengths add to the effect of a memoir. Choice
of vocabulary should show cohesive links to personal voice and to the impact on the
audience (audience awareness).

Level 3
• sentences should show increasing control and use of compound sentences, with
some attempts at complex sentences. Vocabulary choices should include varied
adjectives, verbs and nouns. For memoir writing in particular, writing should include
some figurative language.
Level 4
• sentences should show control of compound sentences with increasing and
successful use of complex sentences (see glossary). For memoir writing in particular,
writing should include selective use of figurative language for impact.
Level 5
• vocabulary choices should show words that communicate precise meaning and suit
the audience and purpose of the writing; vocabulary should be carefully chosen to
make an impact. Features should include imagery, personification, analogies and
metaphors (see glossary). Sentences should be complex and compound (refer to
glossary).
 Selected glossary of terms for the ‘to narrate’
purpose
Purposes: - to inform or entertain the reader by constructing a world that the reader can
enter and make the reader enter into and believe a creative imagined world of events,
problems, situations, or people.
 Terms Explanation
Elements of Story
Plot What happens and why.
Setting Where the story takes place.
Character An individual in a story, play or poem whose personality can be inferred by their actions and dialogue
and physical features
Orientation Where the characters, setting and time of the story are established (who, what where).
Problem/complicatio The structures, activities and events involving the main characters are outlined.
n
Conclusion/resolutio (Ending) the complication is resolved satisfactorily but not necessarily happily.
n
Coda (Optional) reflective statement often related to the theme that may occur anytime within the narrative
but usually at the end.
Proportion of The elements of the story flow together well, e.g., neither the beginning nor the ending, dominate the
elements story and the other elements are not rushed in order to end the work
Dumping Adding in unnecessary information. The content may not be ordered to interest the reader.

Sense of disjunction The ending doesn’t relate back to the beginning and or the plot is disjointed. The events are not linked
in a logical or realistic way.
Semblance of order Text is organised chronologically, i.e., some form of time helps to sequence and structure the text, e.g.,
beginning, middle and end or orientation, complication and resolution (not always in that order).
Stream of Records the thoughts going on in a person's mind as they occur, e.g., I'm winning the race. One more
consciousness kick I say to myself and ... now "Kick" I'm running, running, running and try time.

Non traditional Follows a different way of organising the story, e.g., slice of life, starting with the resolution or a
structures flashback sequence.
Nouns
Nouns A noun answers the question: who or what? In narratives they name specific people, places, things and
events.
Some types of nouns are:
Abstract: hope, love, joy, beauty Collective: class, team, swarm Common: apple, dog, hat, boy
Proper: Monday, New Zealand, Easter
Pronouns Pronouns are used often, but not always, to ‘replace’ a noun or noun phrase and help the writer to avoid
repetition. They can be confusing to a reader if the pronoun references are not clearly made.
Some categories of pronouns are:
Demonstrative: this, that, these, those Indefinite: anybody, everything, nobody Personal: I/me, you,
he, her, we/us, they/them, it Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, its Reflexive: myself,
herself, themselves Relative: who, whom, which, whose, that
Adjectives
Adjective/ Adjectival Adjectives are words that describe somebody or something. They build up information around the noun,
characters or events. They answer the question: which, whose, how many, what like or what type?
Some types of adjectives are:
• Classifying: African, plastic, wooden, social,
• Comparing: smoother, prettier, smallest
• Descriptive/factual: old, busy, rocky, soft, red, brick
• Distributive: each, every, either
• Opinion: elegant, poor, scary, difficult
• Quantity: five, sixth, two dozen
•
An adjectival Is a group of words that are used to give more information about the noun. They are sometimes
preceded by a preposition.
In the top branches of the last apple tree (where?), cleaner than mine (what like?), the old scuffed boots
(which?)
Verbs
Verbs Verbs refer to an action, a process, happening, or a state of being. Action verbs: are generally the
more physical actions that can be observed. In narratives saying verbs help depict the character by
the way they say something. Stative verbs: give information about a state of being or mind.
Some types of verbs are:
• Action: danced, twisted, ventured, crept, held, slunk
• Saying: said, pleaded, replied, shouted, cried
• Stative: am, hoped, felt, seemed, prefer, feared, love, smelt, heard, thought, believed, know
Adverbs/ Adverbials Adverbs give extra meaning to a verb, an adjective, another adverb or a whole sentence. Adding -ly to
an adjective forms many adverbs, but there are also many that do not end in -ly.
In many cases, adverbs tell us: how (manner): slowly, happily, carefully, grumpily where (place): here,
away, home, outside when (time): now, tomorrow, later, soon how often (frequency): often, never,
sometimes why (reason): thus, consequently, accordingly
Adverbial phrase A group of words that function in the same way as a single adverb.
How: in a threatening way, where: a few miles away, when: over the weekend, a few days ago
Conjunctions
Conjunctions Conjunctions join two clauses together and only operate within a sentence. They can show the
relationship between the ideas within and between sentences.
They show four main types of relationship:
• Adding information: and, but, or
• Cause and effect: as, because, if, since
• Time: after, as, since, until
• Contrasting ideas: unless, but, although the cat saw its owner come out of the shop but did
not follow her home.
Connectives/ Connectives are a word or phrase that also link clauses or sentences. They can be placed at various
linkages positions within the sentence and contribute to the cohesion of the text.
 SUPPORT SUMMARY FOR MARKING NARRATIVE TEXT
This document supports the marking of imaginative narrative (deeper features). Please refer
to accompanying details on ‘Narrator and Point of View‘, which may also give you ideas for
teaching narrative.

AUDIENCE: PERSPECTIVE

Audience perspective is the main contributor to ‘personal voice’.

Perspective = point of view that the story’s written from:

First-person narrator: this is when a character in the story tells the story from a personal
point of view, i.e. uses ‘I’ to relate events, tell about other characters, etc. An example is the
John Marsden ‘Tomorrow when the War Began’ series, told from Ellie’s point of view. The
point of view is limited to what that character sees, interprets, feels, etc. Other characters’
personalities, feelings, etc. are seen only through the narrator’s eyes.

Third Person Narrator: Overall, the third-person narrator is not a character in the text. They
are outside of the text and commenting/narrating the events. Characters are referred to as
‘he, she, they’. There are three different types of third person narrator:

• ‘omniscient’ (all-knowing) narrator: has an unlimited point of view – knows everything

and comments about characters and events to reader
• ‘limited’ narrator: here, the story may be told from more than one character’s
perspective or point of view (e.g. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman) – parts
of the story may be told by different characters or the same event may be told by
different characters, etc.
• ‘unobtrusive’ narrator: here, the story is told impartially, as only observed events,
without any character’s thoughts being made evident. Done well, the audience is left
to draw their own conclusions, but done badly, results in a long list of actions (‘..and
then the alien leader gunned everyone down. Their arms and legs flew off in different
directions. Then everyone shouted and screamed……’)

Level 2 Perspective:
• probably very limited, but the story may have some internal consistency (i.e. who’s
telling the story? Is it mainly impersonal ‘The wolf climbed down the chimney’ or
mainly first person ‘I climbed down the chimney.’?)
Level 3 Perspective:
• Writer is beginning to tell a story from a particular perspective (see matrix).
Level 4 Perspective:
• depending on chosen narrator perspective, listed elements should be present.
Level 5 Perspective:
• Perspective: the chosen narrator perspective needs to be strongly developed, i.e. if
narrating from an omniscient point of view, characters and events must be
consistently detailed, so that personalities are clearly evident and the reader is able
to relate to characters and events.

STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION

Level 5:
• May attempt techniques such as ‘stream of consciousness’ writing, to convey an
‘inside-the-head-of-a-character’ viewpoint; time may not be sequential events, but
may flow between past, present and future (time will be clear).

LANGUAGE FEATURES
Level 4:
• Some verbs are deliberately chosen for impact and effect to describe actions, events,
thoughts, etc.
Level 5:
• More consistent use of deliberately chosen, precise verbs.
 Selected glossary of terms for the ‘to narrate’
purpose
Purposes: - to inform or entertain the reader by constructing a world that the reader can
enter and make the reader enter into and believe a creative imagined world of events,
problems, situations, or people.

Terms Explanation
Elements of Story
Plot What happens and why.
Setting Where the story takes place.
Character An individual in a story, play or poem whose personality can be inferred by their actions and dialogue
and physical features
Orientation Where the characters, setting and time of the story are established (who, what where).
Problem/complicatio The structures, activities and events involving the main characters are outlined.
n
Conclusion/resolutio (Ending) the complication is resolved satisfactorily but not necessarily happily.
n
Coda (Optional) reflective statement often related to the theme that may occur anytime within the narrative
but usually at the end.
Proportion of The elements of the story flow together well, e.g., neither the beginning nor the ending, dominate the
elements story and the other elements are not rushed in order to end the work
Dumping Adding in unnecessary information. The content may not be ordered to interest the reader.

Sense of disjunction The ending doesn’t relate back to the beginning and or the plot is disjointed. The events are not linked
in a logical or realistic way.
Semblance of order Text is organised chronologically, i.e., some form of time helps to sequence and structure the text, e.g.,
beginning, middle and end or orientation, complication and resolution (not always in that order).
Stream of Records the thoughts going on in a person's mind as they occur, e.g., I'm winning the race. One more
consciousness kick I say to myself and ... now "Kick" I'm running, running, running and try time.

Non traditional Follows a different way of organising the story, e.g., slice of life, starting with the resolution or a
structures flashback sequence.
Nouns
Nouns A noun answers the question: who or what? In narratives they name specific people, places, things and
events.
Some types of nouns are:
Abstract: hope, love, joy, beauty Collective: class, team, swarm Common: apple, dog, hat, boy
Proper: Monday, New Zealand, Easter
Pronouns Pronouns are used often, but not always, to ‘replace’ a noun or noun phrase and help the writer to avoid
repetition. They can be confusing to a reader if the pronoun references are not clearly made.
Some categories of pronouns are:
Demonstrative: this, that, these, those Indefinite: anybody, everything, nobody Personal: I/me, you,
he, her, we/us, they/them, it Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, its Reflexive: myself,
herself, themselves Relative: who, whom, which, whose, that
Adjectives
Adjective/ Adjectival Adjectives are words that describe somebody or something. They build up information around the noun,
characters or events. They answer the question: which, whose, how many, what like or what type?
Some types of adjectives are:
• Classifying: African, plastic, wooden, social,
• Comparing: smoother, prettier, smallest
• Descriptive/factual: old, busy, rocky, soft, red, brick
• Distributive: each, every, either
• Opinion: elegant, poor, scary, difficult
• Quantity: five, sixth, two dozen
•
An adjectival Is a group of words that are used to give more information about the noun. They are sometimes
preceded by a preposition.
In the top branches of the last apple tree (where?), cleaner than mine (what like?), the old scuffed boots
(which?)
Verbs
Verbs Verbs refer to an action, a process, happening, or a state of being. Action verbs: are generally the
more physical actions that can be observed. In narratives saying verbs help depict the character by
the way they say something. Stative verbs: give information about a state of being or mind.
Some types of verbs are:
• Action: danced, twisted, ventured, crept, held, slunk
• Saying: said, pleaded, replied, shouted, cried
• Stative: am, hoped, felt, seemed, prefer, feared, love, smelt, heard, thought, believed, know
Adverbs/ Adverbials Adverbs give extra meaning to a verb, an adjective, another adverb or a whole sentence. Adding -ly to
an adjective forms many adverbs, but there are also many that do not end in -ly.
In many cases, adverbs tell us: how (manner): slowly, happily, carefully, grumpily where (place): here,
 away, home, outside when (time): now, tomorrow, later, soon how often (frequency): often, never,
sometimes why (reason): thus, consequently, accordingly
Adverbial phrase A group of words that function in the same way as a single adverb.
How: in a threatening way, where: a few miles away, when: over the weekend, a few days ago
Conjunctions
Conjunctions Conjunctions join two clauses together and only operate within a sentence. They can show the
relationship between the ideas within and between sentences.
They show four main types of relationship:
• Adding information: and, but, or
• Cause and effect: as, because, if, since
• Time: after, as, since, until
• Contrasting ideas: unless, but, although the cat saw its owner come out of the shop but did
not follow her home.
Connectives/ Connectives are a word or phrase that also link clauses or sentences. They can be placed at various
linkages positions within the sentence and contribute to the cohesion of the text.
Connectives have the following functions:
• Adding information: also, furthermore, moreover
• Explaining: for example, in other words, that is to say
• Sequencing ideas/listing: firstly, first of all, finally
• Indicating result: therefore, consequently, as a result
Linking devices Conjunction of time (time connective) link words and or phrases.
After, next, later, when the cat got home, suddenly it stopped so she did as well

Figurative language
Alliteration The repetition of consonants, especially the initial consonant so that the words are linked together by
sound.
The wild wet Wellington wind, slithering snakes, and ruby red rose.
Hyperbole Is exaggeration for dramatic effect.
I’ve told you a million times to clean your room!
Idiom Is an expression which is not meant literally and whose meaning cannot be worked out from knowledge
of the individual words. They can be special to a particular country or its language.
You look a bit under the weather this morning. I’m off to see a man about a dog. She’ll be right. It was a
storm in a teacup
Imagery Use of language to create a vivid sensory image. May include vocabulary and or choice of synonym,
adjectives and adverbs. The image may be visual (picture), auditory (sound), tactile (feel), olfactory
(smell) or gustatory (taste).
Imagery may be combined with metaphors:
The sleek, oily-black pistons hissed musically.
Metaphor The writer writes about something or someone as if they were really something else, without using the
words: like or as.
Her gaze was icy. The salesman was a shark. The moon was a ghostly galleon floating across the sky.
The ship ploughed through the sea.
Onomatopoeia A word or group of words that attempt to replicate sounds that are associated with their meaning.
The wind whistled, a rustle in the leaves, clang, hiss, crash, cuckoo, woof
Personification Where language relating to human action and emotion is used to refer to non-human agents or objects
or abstract concepts.
Soccer has been good to me. The weather is smiling on us. The flames licked at the walls of the house.
The tree watched him sleep.
Rhetorical questions The question implies the answer is obvious. It is the kind of question that doesn’t need to be answered
in the text.
Don’t you think it’s time you settled down? Have you ever built a tree hut?
Simile The writer creates an image in readers' minds by comparing a subject to something else, by using the
words: like, as, or as if.
As brave as a lion, as strong as an ox, He smokes like a chimney. She swims like a fish.
Speech
Direct speech Is when the writer quotes the speaker's original words. Speech marks are used to denote the beginning
and end of direct speech.
“I don’t know what to do,” said Dean.
Indirect / reported Is when the writer reports what is said. The exact meaning of the speaker’s words is given but the exact
speech words are not directly quoted.
The wolf said that he would huff and puff. He said he might go to the party if he was asked to.
Dialogue Written conversation between two or more people.
“What do you want?” I asked. “An ice cream please,” replied Tom.
Sentence Structure
Simple sentences Simple sentences have a single clause. They have one main idea expressed as subject, verb and object.
The cat was safe. It was late.
Compound Compound sentences have two or more clauses joined together by conjunctions such as ‘and’ and ‘but’.
sentences The clauses are of equal weight; that is, they are main clauses.
He climbed into bed and he fell fast asleep. It was late but I wasn’t tired.
Complex sentences Complex sentences contain at least one clause that does not make sense without the other clause(s),
i.e., the rest of the sentence.
When morning came the cat ran home for some food. Although it was late, I wasn’t tired.
 Narrator and Point of View
Narrator (Erzähler): The “voice” that tells a story. Unless it is an
autobiography, the narrator is not identical with the author/writer.
Point of view (Erzählperspektive): The perspective from which
characters, events, etc. are presented in a fictional text. The chosen
point of view has a strong effect on the reader; for example, we
tend to respond (reagieren) more sympathetically to a character
whose mind we “enter”, as we experience for ourselves what the
character goes through. In the course of many stories the point of
view changes to make reading more interesting.
First person narrator / limited point of view (Ich-Erzähler): The narrator is a
character in the story and uses the first person singular (“I”). This
narrator may be either the protagonist (Hauptperson) or a minor
character, who is just a kind of observer (neutraler Beobachter). As
first person narration presents the action through the eyes of only
one character, the narrator has a limited point of view. The reader
tends to identify with the narrator.
Interior monologue (innerer Monolog): A particular form of first person
narration which presents a character’s thoughts, associations and
memories. Interior monologues often do not follow chronological
order, since, when people think, their thoughts jump from one
subject to another.
Third person narrator / limited point of view (personaler Erzähler/~s
Erzählverhalten): The narrator stands outside the story and uses the
third person (“he”, “she” or “they”) to refer to the characters but
presents the events mainly from the perspective of only one
character, i.e. he “limits” himself to the perspective of this
character.
Third person narrator / unlimited point of view, often called omniscient
narrator [ ℜ µ  ν Ι σ ι Ε ν τ ] [from Latin omnis: everything, scire:
to know] (allwissender Erzähler): The narrator can (at least theoreti-
cally) look into the minds of all characters and tell us about their
thoughts and feelings. He can look into the past, tell about the
present and also anticipate the future.
Reported thought (erlebte Rede): Thoughts, memories, associations,
etc., are presented as reported speech (third person, past tense)
but without common phrases like “she thought”, “he wondered”,
“she asked herself” etc. This technique creates the illusion of
intimate access to a character’s mind.
Stream of consciousness (Bewusstseinsstrom): An attempt to convey
the continuous, often unstructured or even chaotic flow of thoughts
and emotions in the human mind. Typical characteristics of this
technique are incomplete sentences, sudden jumps or even
complete lack of any traditional syntactical structure and
punctuation.
Intrusive narrator (auktorialer Erzähler/~s Erzählverhalten): The
narrator makes e.g. comments on the story, may reflect about the
process of writing and may try to influence the reader. He sort of
“intrudes” (stören, eindringen) on the reader and the reading
process.
Mode of presentation (Art der Darstellung): The way a writer narrates
events. The author can either tell the readers about events and their
significance or show the reader what is happening. Most stories use
a combination of both techniques.
Scenic presentation (szenische Erzählung): An event is presented in
detail as it occured, i.e. a scene is described (= showing).
Panoramic presentation (berichtende Erzählung): The narrator tells the
story as a condensed (verdichtet) series of events, summarizing in a
few sentences what happened over a longer period of time (=
telling).
 SUPPORT SUMMARY FOR ASSESSING PERSUASIVE TEXT
YEAR 7 ARGUMENT; YEAR 8 DISCUSSION
This document supports the marking of persuasive writing (deeper features). For the distinction in physical structure
of argument (one-sided) versus discussion (two sided), please refer to examples in folder. An argument should
clearly put forward a viewpoint and provide evidence to support it, whereas a discussion is more sophisticated and
considers a topic from more than one perspective. Early discussions tend to be for/against only.

AUDIENCE
Level 2
• Some attempt to persuade or convince audience. Opinions are personal (not really generalised to appeal
to the audience).
Level 3
• Opinion of writer stated in first paragraph or orientation, often with some attempt to persuade.
Level 4
• More consistent effort to persuade the audience to a viewpoint; more awareness of writing for an audience,
particularly in orientation and conclusion.
Level 5
• Very clear acknowledgement of audience that they’re targeting; evident in language choices, writing style
and chosen content.

IDEAS

Level 2
• Writer states position or viewpoint, supported by at least two related opinions or statements. These may be
presented as a list.
Level 3
• Writer should state a main point and support it with some evidence. Conclusion may make a
recommendation.
Level 4
• Opinion and viewpoint obvious in structure, i.e. states position and elaborates with support for main points.
Position is also restated and strengthened.
Level 5
• Opinion and viewpoint plausible, backed by restatement and elaboration and supporting evidence for main
points. Conclusion may reflect and reiterate position, as well as strengthening it. Viewpoints/opinions have
strong, supporting statements and evidence.

STRUCTURE

Level 2
• Some level of organisation evident, e.g. sentences with same opinion/idea may be grouped together in
some fashion.
Level 3
• Sentence structure groups ideas (i.e. two sentences may link and continue an idea). Some simple
connectives (since, though, etc.)
Level 4
• Topic sentences are used for main ideas. Consistently uses connectives (such as, on the other hand,
however) correctly
Level 5
• Structure of paragraphs builds the strength of the argument – ideas/opinion/viewpoints flow logically and
cohesively throughout the piece. Supporting detail elaborates and strengthens the topic sentence. To help
to distinguish clearly between level 4 and level 5, writing at level 5 means that words, phrases ,
conjunctions and connectives are used in a sophisticated manner and appear consistently throughout the
text.

LANGUAGE FEATURES
Level 2
• Probably confined to statements for and against (discussion), with little of persuasive verbs.
Level 3
• Beginning to use persuasive verbs and viewpoint is made more obvious in choice of language. May be
using some modal verbs (see glossary).
Level 4
• Definite viewpoint expressed with language that aims to persuade audience; use of modal more common
(see glossary). Concluding statements finalise arguments using conjunctions such as ‘consequently’ and
‘therefore’.
Level 5
• Argument is strengthened by use of passive structure (see glossary), language chosen is objective and
formal; emotive noun groups are used to reinforce viewpoint (‘terrorists’ versus ‘freedom fighters’,
‘protestors’ versus ‘concerned citizens’, ‘tree-huggers’ versus ‘environmentalists’)

SURFACE FEATURES

For all levels, verbs must be in timeless present (‘lions live in the desert’).
 Selected glossary of terms for the ‘to persuade’
purpose

Purpose: to argue a position or to persuade a reader to a particular viewpoint and make

a reader believe or accept the writer’s position on a topic.

Term Explanation
Nouns A noun answers the question: who or what?
Some types of nouns are:
• Abstract: hope, love, joy, beauty
• Collective: class, team, swarm, school
• Common: apple, dog, hat, boy
• Proper: Monday, New Zealand, Easter, Board of Trustees
• Neutral nouns: Nouns that are not gender orientated, i.e., neither masculine nor
feminine.people, children, friends
• Point of view nouns: Words selected to represent the world in a certain way and to
present a point of view. bureaucrat, crime, victim, problem, hero, home invasion Cats are
killing machines. Cats are violent bullies.
Pronouns Pronouns are used often, but not always, to ‘replace’ a noun or noun phrase and help the writer to
avoid repetition. They can be confusing to a reader if the pronoun references are not clearly made.
Some of the categories of pronouns are:
• Demonstrative: this, that, these, those
• Indefinite: anyone, everything, nobody, someone
• Interrogative: who, whom, whose, which
• Personal: I/me, you, he/him, she/her, we/us, they/them, it
• Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, its
• Reflexive: myself, herself, themselves
• Relative: which, that, whose
Adjectives Adjectives are words that describe somebody or something. They build up Information around the
noun. They answer the question which, whose, how many, what like or what type?
Some types of adjectives are:
• Classifying: African, plastic, wooden, social,
• Comparing: smoother, prettier, smallest
• Descriptive/factual: old, busy, careful, horrible, soft, red
• Distributive: each, every, either
• Indefinite: some, few, many, most
• Interrogative: which, what, whose
• Opinion: elegant, poor, scary, difficult,
• Quantity: three, eighth, one dozen
• Opinion adjectives give the writer’s evaluation of the thing in question and can be formed
by adding a suffix to a noun or a verb, e.g., ful, y, ed, ish, ous or ing.
• Opinion: lovely, elegant, difficult, poor, smelly, favourite, worn, wonderful, funny,
frightening, marvellous, foolish, respectable, embarrassed
Adjectivals An adjectival is a group of words that are used to give information about the noun. They may be
preceded by preposition.
with a great deal of, plenty of, most idiotic idea, broadest and silliest rule
Verbs Verbs express an action, happening, process or a state of being. Action verbs: are the more
physical actions that can be observed.
Some types of verbs are:
• Action: eat, play, twisted, screams, repeated, crept Saying: said, pleaded, replied,
shouted, cried
• Stative verbs: give information about a state of being or a state of mind. Sensing verbs:
can be used in arguments to describe the writer’s thoughts, feelings, opinions or beliefs.
• Sensing /feeling: think, decide, hope, feel, prefer, love, believe, like, assume, consider,
know, want, fear, understand, imagine, enjoy, wonder, disgust, observe
• Active voice: when the verb is active, the subject performs the action. The sentence is
written in the active voice, e.g., I am concerned that... Police have warned residents.
Passive voice: when the verb is passive, the subject has the action done to it by an agent
 who may/may not be named, e.g., Concern has also been raised about... Residents have
been warned.
• Modal auxiliary verbs Modal verbs are those verbs that express a range of judgements
about the likelihood of events. They allow us to make three kinds of judgement. I think
that all cats should be exterminated.
• Provide an option: can, could, may, might
• Make a requirement: must, should, need to, ought to, had better, have got to, be
supposed to
• Anticipate the future: will, would, shall, be going toTerms

Adverbs Adverbs give extra meaning to a verb, an adjective, another adverb or a whole sentence. Adding
-ly to an adjective forms many adverbs, but there are many that do not end in -ly.
In many cases, adverbs tell us: how (manner): slowly, carefully, sadly, hopefully where (place):
here, there, away, home, outside when (time): now, tomorrow, later, soon how often
(frequency): often, never, sometimes why (reason): because, so, consequently Modal adverbs:
perhaps, definitely, certainly, possibly
Adverbials An adverbial phrase is a group of words that functions in the same way as an adverb.
first of all, like a dream, as a result of, due to her efforts, for that reason, a few years ago
Viewpoint adverbials express a viewpoint and the writer’s attitude towards the topic.
in my opinion, unfortunately, from my point of view, of course
Conjunction Join two clauses together and only operate within a sentence.
s and, or, but (most common ones used), so, because, since, whenever
Connectives/ linkages
Connectives are words or phrases that form links between sentences. They can be used at various
places within a sentence and help contribute to the cohesion of the text.
Connectives have the following functions:
• adding information: also, furthermore, moreover, similarly
• clarifying: in other words, I mean, to put it another way, to be more precise, in particular,
in fact
• explaining: for example, in other words, that is to say, for that reason
• indicating time: afterwards, before that, at this moment, previously
• indicating result: therefore, consequently, as a result, so, because of this,
• opposition: however, nevertheless, although, on the one hand, on the other hand
• sequencing ideas/ listing: firstly, secondly, first of all, finally, given the above points, to
conclude,
Simple Simple sentences have a single clause. They have one main idea expressed as subject, verb and
sentence object.
I think children should go to school.
Compound Compound sentences have two or more clauses joined together by conjunctions such as ‘and’ and
sentence ‘but’. The clauses are of equal weight; that is, they are main clauses.
People should not drop rubbish because it makes the playground messy.
Complex Complex sentences contain at least one clause that does not make sense without the other
sentence clause(s), i.e., the rest of the sentence.
However, even if all this is done, cats will still kill.