Writing to inform, explain, describe revision quiz

Question 1 of 10

1

What is the purpose if the following piece of writing?

We are a father and two sons living in a household without women. We are like an experiment in a satellite, free of normal earthly influences (like guilt, and bleach and sock drawers). We've lived for years now in a whole new all-male institution. Given its inadequacies as a child-rearing unit, I like it. It's so different from a household run by a woman. It's home alone except there are three of us. Here are a few characteristic gender moments.

Select one of the following:

Inform
Explain
Describe

Explanation

Question 2 of 10

1

Which of the following are the typical features of writing to inform?

Tick all that apply.

Select one or more of the following:

Present tense
Causal connectives (connecting words indicating cause and effect)
Appeals to the senses
Clear topic sentences
Nouns and verbs dominate
Tendency towards simple and compound sentences

Explanation

Question 3 of 10

1

Select from the dropdown lists to complete the text.

Complete this piece of writing to describe by choosing the most powerfully descriptive words and phrases from the drop-down menu. It is the opening of a story about one soldier's experience on the battlefields during the First World War.

The ( muddy field, quaggy battlefield, battleground ) was ( empty, deserted, devoid of life ) and the ( cold, biting, freezing ) wind was ( blowing on my, gnawing at my, lashing my ) face. I was ( alone, desolate, isolated ) and ( felt tired, exhausted, worn-out ). I hadn't slept ( for a long time, for ages, for what felt like years ). My legs ached and my ( worn-out, ragged, broken-down ) boots were ( heavy because of the mud., like lead weights due to the mire, dirty because of the filth )

I could still hear the ( deafening sounds of fighting, haunting sounds of the battle, loud noises from the battle ). Smoke ( rose slowly, curled gently, came from ) from the ( places where the bombs had fallen, craters left by the exploding shells, shell-holes ). I saw the ( broken remains, skeletal remains, burnt-out remains ) of tanks that had been ( hit, destroyed, obliterated ) by shells. All around ( lay dead people in their uniforms., lay the empty husks of my fellow men., lay the dead of the battle. ) The frozen faces ( looked at, admonished, watched me ) me as I ( walked, trudged, stumbled ).

I searched for my friend among the dead. I continued ( looking for hours, to forage among the dead for hours, searching for hours ). It ( got dark and cold, grew dark and raw, became dark and dank ). I had to go because ( it would have been dangerous to stay., nothing could survive here for long, to stay would mean certain death. )

Explanation

Question 4 of 10

1

Writing to describe just means writing a fictional story.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 5 of 10

1

Which of the following is NOT a form of writing to inform?

Select one of the following:

Leaflets
Articles
Summaries
Reports
Autobiography

Explanation

Question 6 of 10

1

Complete the sentences by dragging and dropping the correct causal connectives in the spaces.

1) Water expands as it freezes, ❌ ice takes more space than water.

2) Sales are down ❌ high prices.

3) As a ❌ overnight rain, the pitch is not fit to use and ❌ the match has been cancelled.

Drag and drop to complete the text.

so

and

but

because of

despite

but there are

result of

response to

precaution against

therefore

now

thus

Explanation

Question 7 of 10

1

When writing to inform or explain it is O.K to use bullet points.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 8 of 10

1

Annotate this piece of writing to explain to show the key techniques that are used to make it an effective piece of writing to explain.

Drag an answer into the correct orange point.

Third person

First person

General statement

Assertion

Active voice

Passive voice

Impersonal, formal tone

Friendly, informal tone

Causal connective

Temporal connective

Answers how

Answers when

Answers why

Answers who

Explanation

Question 9 of 10

1

Which of the following techniques could you use when writing to describe?
Choose all that apply

Select one or more of the following:

Sensory language
Metaphors
Onomatopoeia
Similes
Personification
Technical or specialist vocabulary
Adjectives and adverbs
Imperatives
Bullet point lists

Explanation

Question 10 of 10

1

Select from the dropdown lists to complete the text.

In any piece of writing, whatever the purpose, it is important to be able to use punctuation for effect. See if you can remember how to use the 7 most common punctuation marks by choosing from the drop-down menus to complete the explanations.

1) A full stop (.) is used to ( indicate that you have finished a point, indicate you need to take a breath, indicate you are about to start a list ) and are about to make a new one.

2) Commas (,) can indicate ( a pause, time, a stop ), ( separate clauses,, join sentences, end sentences ) allow the use of more than one ( adjective or adverb, noun or verb, word ), ( separate items on a list, separate sentences, separate paragraphs )

3) Exclamations marks (!) should be used sparingly at the ( end of sentences, beginning of sentences, end of paragraphs ) to convey ( emotions such as surprise, anger, fear, emotions such as love, greed, and envy, emotions clearly and concisely ) etc. .

4) Questions marks (?) are used to ( turn sentences into questions, ask rhetorical questions, grab the reader's attention ) which can be ( direct or rhetorical., long or short, open or closed )

5) A colon (:) is used to make a ( very definite pause, slight pause, definite stop ) and is most often used ( just before a list., at the end of a sentence, to separate clauses )

6) A semi colon (;) is used instead of ( a full stop, a comma, a colon ) so that two sentences which ( are linked by theme, are not linked at all, about opposite ideas ) can be joined.

7) The apostrophe (') has ( two, three, four ) main uses. It can be used to ( indicate possession, indicate time, indicate place ) or to show ( when a letter is missing., when a word is missing, when a sentence is missing )

	Created by Sarah Holmes about 9 years ago

Multi-question quiz allowing learners to revise the features of writing to inform, explain and describe in preparation for the written component of Paper 1 of the Edexcel Level /1/ Certificate in English Language exam.

Writing to inform, explain, describe revision quiz

Question 1 of 10

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 2 of 10

Which of the following are the typical features of writing to inform? Tick all that apply.

Select one or more of the following:

Explanation

Question 3 of 10

Select from the dropdown lists to complete the text.

Explanation

Question 4 of 10

Writing to describe just means writing a fictional story.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 5 of 10

Which of the following is NOT a form of writing to inform?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 6 of 10

Complete the sentences by dragging and dropping the correct causal connectives in the spaces. 1) Water expands as it freezes, ❌ ice takes more space than water. 2) Sales are down ❌ high prices. 3) As a ❌ overnight rain, the pitch is not fit to use and ❌ the match has been cancelled.

Drag and drop to complete the text.

Explanation

Question 7 of 10

When writing to inform or explain it is O.K to use bullet points.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 8 of 10

Annotate this piece of writing to explain to show the key techniques that are used to make it an effective piece of writing to explain.

Drag an answer into the correct orange point.

Explanation

Question 9 of 10

Which of the following techniques could you use when writing to describe? Choose all that apply

Select one or more of the following:

Explanation

Question 10 of 10

Select from the dropdown lists to complete the text.

Explanation

Which of the following are the typical features of writing to inform?

Tick all that apply.

Complete the sentences by dragging and dropping the correct causal connectives in the spaces.

1) Water expands as it freezes, ❌ ice takes more space than water.

2) Sales are down ❌ high prices.

3) As a ❌ overnight rain, the pitch is not fit to use and ❌ the match has been cancelled.

Which of the following techniques could you use when writing to describe?
Choose all that apply