Decoding the Writing Task: Topic, Purpose, Audience and Form

Task word: evaluate (judge how well it works, using criteria and evidence). Form: report. Audience: city council. Length: 600 words.

Main purpose: to inform families (date, place, cost). Secondary purpose: often to get permission or payment, so it also asks the reader to act.

A formal letter or email. The audience is an elected official, so the form should be respectful, clear and easy to answer, with your reasons and a specific request.

Any three: simple vocabulary, short numbered steps, pictures or diagrams, a list of parts first, safety reminders, a friendly tone.

Look at several sides of the issue fairly, then reach a reasoned conclusion. It is not a one-sided rant and not a list with no conclusion.

Main: to evaluate (judge the film). Secondary: to inform (what the film is about) and often to entertain.

The readers a text is written for.

Any four: inform, explain, analyze, persuade, entertain, describe, reflect, evaluate.

Format (the form the writing takes).

True. Most texts have a main purpose and secondary purposes.

Evaluate (or assess).

Example: Our town will spend a bit less money clearing snow this winter, so some streets might stay snowy a little longer. The vocabulary is simpler (town, spend less) and it explains what the change means for the reader, because young readers need the effect, not the percentage.

Form: personal narrative. Length: about 300 words. Point of view: first person (I). Focus: one single moment, not a whole summer. Content: something you learned (so include reflection). Technique: at least one line of dialogue. Six requirements in all.

The writer forgot the relationship: a manager is a possible employer, so the email should be formal and polite, with full words, correct capitals, a clear request and a sign-off with the student's name. The casual style suggests the writer is not serious about the job.

Compare asks for similarities and differences shown side by side or linked. Writing about each separately is only two descriptions. The student needs sentences that connect the two, such as Both narrators..., but unlike the first...

A handwritten thank-you card or letter fits best: the purpose is to show appreciation, the audience is one person you know, and a personal note feels more sincere than a text. (A thank-you post on a community page could be a secondary choice if the purpose is also to recognize them publicly.)

Example RAFT: Role: a Grade 10 student who studies there. Audience: the library board. Format: a formal letter. Topic: Sunday hours give students a quiet place to study and give families free programs. Language: because the audience is a decision-making board, I would write formally, include specific facts (how many people use it on Sundays, if I can find that), avoid slang, and end with a clear, polite request.

The student evaluated (gave an opinion on the decision) instead of explaining (showing why it surprises the reader). A fix: show what the earlier parts of the story led readers to expect, then show how the ending breaks that expectation, using quotations from both places. Their opinion of the decision is not part of the task.

Example (a): The Elm Park outdoor rink served an estimated 300 skaters per week last winter and is the only free rink in Ward 4. Example (b): Every winter of my childhood smelled like hot chocolate and cold air at the Elm Park rink, and now it's closing. Differences: (a) is formal and factual, with numbers council needs for a decision; (b) is personal and emotional, in the first person with sensory details, because blog readers want a voice and a story. (Rink details here are invented for the example.)