Planning and Drafting

What is planning?

• When you write something you plan your writing. Even when you write a short note you plan it by first thinking about it in your head. This is called planning.

• Planning your writing is when you think about it in advance.

What do I need to think about when planning?

When planning your writing you need to think about why you are writing, what situation you are in when writing and who you are writing to. Think of the three WWW's

• W - Why: Purpose

• W - What: Context

• W - Who: Audience

 

• The content: the ideas and information you write

The format: the layout of your writing

The style, or language, used: how formal or informal you are

The purpose of your writing affects:

W - What is the purpose of your writing?

There are lots of different reasons for writing something. The reasons you write are called the purpose. For example, the purpose of your writing could be:

To write a letter to a potential employer asking for work

To send a postcard to a friend about your holiday

To write a complaint about a train being delayed

W - What is the context of your writing?

You could be writing for lots of different situations. The situation, or setting, you are writing for is called the context. For example, you could be writing:

 A memo to a student reminding them of a

coursework deadlineAn email to a work colleague An information leaflet for new students

about Northampton college courses

W - Who is your audience?

Each time you write you may write to different people. The person, or people, you are writing to is called the audience. For example, you could be writing to:

Your boss requesting leaveA family member informing them about your

holidayFuture employers  

ACTIVITY

• Complete the handout on planning and drafting

• You have a maximum of ten minutes!

• Get planning

The order of things!• Stage 1—Thinking

• · What are you writing about?- What is your topic/subject?

• Stage 2—Notes

• · Write down all your ideas in note form, you may want to use a topic web/ mind map/ bullet points or spider diagram.

• · Write down some of the main points you want to cover

• Stage 3– Outline

• Once you have jotted down all the ideas you can think of, you will need to organise them into a plan.

• · Think about which topics can form paragraphs in their own right and others will combine together to make a paragraph.

• · You will often see that several ideas can be linked together to form the outline of how you are going to organise your paragraphs.

• Stage 4- Draft

• Get writing! Proof read until perfect!

How do I plan my writing?There are many different ways you can plan your writing. There

isn't a correct way to plan; you choose the method that suits you or the situation.

Diagrams : diagrams are a visual way of planning and organising your writing

Flow charts : step-by-step process, like a recipe

Lists: jotting down and ordering all the different points

Bulleted list: used on the computer

sticky note : can move around until your happy with they order

Writing frames: have frames, or headed boxes, with titles to prompt what to write

Diagram – Spider map

Flow Chart

Bullet PointsSalas Club Open Evening

 - Day and time - 8th November at 7pm - Location - college student bar - Events during the evening - try your hand at salsa dancing! - Live salsa band will be there - The evening is free - Spanish food to try - Evening is open to everyone, family and friends - Salsa instructors on hand to answer questions - Picture of salsa dancers to make poster eye-catching 

Sticky Notes

The sticky notes are rearranged in to the order you wish

Ideas are written onto sticky notes

Writing Plan What is the party for? To celebrate my 30th birthday

When is the party? Saturday, 2nd October

At what time? 7.30pm until midnight

Where? College of St Mark and St Johns, Plymouth

Will there be entertainment? A DJ called Arion

Will there be food? A buffet. People will need to let me know if they are vegetarian

Is there a place people can buy food? -

Can people buy drinks? Yes, there is a bar

Parking facilities? People can park on campus

Can they bring a partner? Yes, the more the merrier!

Do people need to respond to the invitation? Yes, by Monday, 27th September. I need to know numbers for catering

Any other information? I have details of bed and breakfasts nearby if people will be staying overnight

Drafting Creating a draft copy of your writing is the next

step after planning.

A draft is a rough plan of your writingWhy?Content – have you included everything?Flow – does it flow when you read it?Layout – is it in the correct order/place?

NextProofread your writing. This is the time to check

your spelling, punctuation etc.

To sum up..

• What are the main stages of planning and drafting?

• Define ‘ target audience’, why is it important?

• What is drafting? Is it important ?