Original Writing Coursework - Finding a Style Model

As we discussed on Monday, we are starting your first piece of coursework, Original Writing, which is worth 10% of your final A Level. The second piece is the language investigation which we won't be starting until the summer.

You will need to produce one piece of original writing (with a commentary) based on one of the following three areas:
• the power of persuasion
• the power of storytelling
• the power of information

The topic choice is down to you (in discussion with me) but you must have looked at a range of style models and chosen one to comment on in more detail as part of your commentary. Again, you will do some of this in class, but it is a good idea to think about the kind of thing you can write and might enjoy doing. Some suggestions for original writing tasks might be:

The power of persuasion
• A piece of investigative journalism.
• A speech delivered on a controversial topic.
• A letter to an MP.

The power of storytelling
• A short story.
• An extract from a biography.
• A dramatic monologue.

The power of information
• A piece of travel journalism.
• A blog focusing on social issues.
• A piece of local history.

Each folder submitted should contain:
• a piece of original writing
• an annotated style model
• a reflective commentary references (paper and web-based)

Style Models

Your final coursework folder should include a text which you have found and annotated and adapted ideas from. The text should be in the same genre as the text you will write, but it cannot be the same subject. For example, if you are writing an opinion article about Brexit, your style model will also be an opinion article, but the subject should not be political. Your final piece and your commentary should clearly demonstrate that you have studied and adapted the conventions of the style model into your own work.

It is not sufficient to simply read a style model. The key objective is to consider and explore the process that the writer may have gone through to produce the final text. Start by using GRAMPS on the text. Once you have understood the approach and aims of the writer, you can evaluate the overall success of the text after you have analysed the various methods that have been used to fulfill the required purpose.



What you can do now

Read and write. Find stories, articles and speeches to read. Practise writing in different styles. Use the time in class for Directed Writing tasks as part of the exam components to experiment with form, style and voice. This is one of the few areas on any A level that allows you to write what you like.