Purposes of non-fiction writing

What is meant by form, audience and purpose in relation to writing tasks

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.

Look at this plan for a piece of writing to argue. The candidate has been asked to write a letter to a local newspaper to express their views on the closure of a local school. Complete the plan by dragging and dropping the points that could be made as counter arguments. Plan: F = Letter so remember full addresses & postcodes, date in full. Start Dear . . . end Yours Faithfully. A = Local people, particularly parents and children. P = to argue that the school shouldn't be closed. Main argument: Lots of children attend the school The next nearest school would mean a drive = more traffic, pollution, dangerous roads Results have been getting better. Counter argument. [blank_start]Local population is aging[blank_end] [blank_start]County council will run a bus[blank_end] [blank_start]Results better at other school[blank_end]

When writing to argue you must always include points from both sides of the argument

Verb choice is important when writing to persuade, argue or advise. This text has been written to advise. Choose from the drop-down menus to label the verbs as either modal or imperative.

Which of these conventions can be found in all three writing purposes, argue, persuade, advise? Choose all that apply.

Annotate this advert which has been written to persuade by choosing the correct convention from each drop-down menu.

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

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

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 [blank_start]indicate that you have finished a point[blank_end] and are about to make a new one. 2) Commas (,) can indicate [blank_start]a pause[blank_end], [blank_start]separate clauses[blank_end], allow the use of more than one [blank_start]adjective or adverb[blank_end], [blank_start]separate items on a list[blank_end] 3) Exclamations marks (!) should be used sparingly at the [blank_start]end of sentences[blank_end] to convey [blank_start]emotions such as surprise, anger, fear[blank_end] etc. . 4) Questions marks (?) are used to [blank_start]turn sentences into questions[blank_end] which can be [blank_start]direct or rhetorical[blank_end]. 5) A colon (:) is used to make a [blank_start]very definite pause[blank_end] and is most often used [blank_start]just before a list[blank_end]. 6) A semi colon (;) is used instead of a [blank_start]full stop[blank_end] so that two sentences which [blank_start]are linked by theme[blank_end] can be joined. 7) The apostrophe (') has [blank_start]two[blank_end] main uses. It can be used to [blank_start]indicate possession[blank_end] or to show [blank_start]when a letter is missing.[blank_end]