Remember
- Choose purpose, audience and form before writing.
- Give reasons and practical details without invented real evidence.
- Proofread meaning → sentences → spelling and punctuation.
Write for a reader and edit with purpose
Hi, I am Pip! Welcome to Write for a reader. Let’s write for a real reader, link our ideas and check our work step by step. Best for Years 4–6. Not every 11+ test has a writing task, so check your school’s.
Pip’s writing control room
Pip says: Set three dials before your words take off: why, who and what shape! Then check meaning before you polish the little details.
Set the purpose, audience and form
- InvitePurpose: why?
What should the writing do?
- FamiliesAudience: who?
Who needs to understand it?
- A short noticeForm: what shape?
Choose a useful kind of writing.
Pip builds an example
An invented seed-swap notice
Join our seed swap on Saturday at ten in the school hall. Bring a spare packet if you have one.
InvitePurpose: why?FamiliesAudience: who?A short noticeForm: what shape?
Right time and place1. MeaningClear and welcoming2. SentencesSpellings and full stops3. Final check
- Meaning firstThe notice needs the event, day, time and place. It must not give two different meeting times.
- Sentences nextUse clear sentences and a welcoming voice for families.
- Spelling and punctuation lastCheck names, sentence endings and spellings after the message makes sense.
Your turn
Choose or suggest an answer, then tap to compare. Open writing prompts can have more than one good response.
Writing control dialThe notice asks families to attend. What is its purpose?Tap to check · tap again to close
PurposeTo invite.Purpose tells you what the message is trying to do.
Writing control dialWho is the seed-swap notice written for?Tap to check · tap again to close
AudienceFamilies.They are the audience.
Writing control dialA few lines on a board: which form fits, a short notice or a long story?Tap to check · tap again to close
FormA short notice.The reader needs the practical details quickly.
Writing control dialMake this request polite: “Open the library longer!”Tap to check · tap again to close
Possible polite request“Please could the library open for one extra lunchtime?”A respectful request can still be clear about what is wanted.
Writing control dialOne line says ten o’clock; another says eleven. Which editing pass comes first?Tap to check · tap again to close
Meaning checkMeaning: check the real time and make the message consistent.A neat comma cannot fix a contradiction.
Writing control dialGive one practical detail an invitation should include.Tap to check · tap again to close
Possible useful detailThe place, such as the school hall.A day or time would also be useful details.
Writing control dialSpot Pip’s mistake: “Every pupil agrees!” Can we say that without asking them?Tap to check · tap again to close
Honest wordingNo.Explain your idea without inventing support.
Writing control dialPut the editing passes in order: spelling, meaning, sentences.Tap to check · tap again to close
Editing orderMeaning → sentences → spelling and punctuation.Fix the message before its smaller details.
Paper challenge
Set your own Purpose, Audience and Form dials for a made-up club. Write a short invitation, then tick three paper checkboxes: Meaning, Sentences, Spelling and punctuation. No invented real survey results!
Pip says: You have tried the idea. Ready for another go? Try English practice.
Short lesson
Start with purpose, audience and form. Instructions help someone carry out a process; a report presents information; a persuasive letter asks a reader to consider a position. A formal request to a headteacher needs a different tone from a message to a friend, but formal does not mean long, fancy words.
Organise related ideas into paragraphs. Cohesion means the parts connect: repeat a key idea when needed, make pronoun references clear and use links such as however, therefore or meanwhile only when the relationship fits. “Therefore” should introduce a consequence, not a random next point.
Support a proposal with reasons, examples and practical details. Do not invent a survey and present it as real evidence. You can acknowledge a difficulty and suggest a workable solution. For instructions, use a clear sequence and precise verbs; omit unsafe or unnecessary steps.
Proofread in passes: meaning → sentences → spelling and punctuation. First fix a missing idea or contradiction, then check tense and sentence boundaries, then small errors. Neat punctuation cannot rescue instructions in the wrong order.
Worked example
Weak request: “We need a reading corner because it is great. Everyone agrees.”
Revision: “Please consider a lunchtime reading corner. Pupils who want a quiet activity could use it. A small supervised trial would help us see whether the space works.” The revision gives a reason and a practical next step without pretending to have surveyed everyone.
Common mistakes
“Persuasive” does not mean shouting, promising that everyone agrees or adding an exclamation mark to every sentence. Treat the reader's likely questions respectfully.
Try it
Have a go on paper or say your answer aloud, then open the answer. Writing has many good answers; the examples are guides, not scripts to copy.
Foundation
Choose a suitable opening for a letter to the headteacher requesting more library time: A. “Give us more time. Now.” B. “Please could you consider opening the library for one extra lunchtime?” Explain your choice.
Show example and guidance 1
B. It is a clear, specific and courteous request suited to the headteacher. A is abrupt and does not explain the request. Accept discussion that polite language should be followed by useful reasons, not treated as persuasion by itself.
Core
Write four clear instructions for borrowing and returning a classroom book. Include a way to record what was borrowed. Use numbered steps and put events in a workable order.
Show example and guidance 2
One possible sequence: 1. Choose an available book. 2. Record its title, your name and the date in the borrowing book. 3. Take it away and keep it safe. 4. Return it to the designated place and mark the record as returned. Accept practical alternatives with a usable order and a record of borrowing/return. Do not require rules that the fictional classroom has not specified, such as a particular loan duration.
Core
Choose a logical link and explain it: “The courtyard was wet. ___, the reading session moved indoors.” (However / Therefore / Meanwhile.)
Show example and guidance 3
Therefore. Moving inside is presented as a consequence of the wet courtyard. However would signal contrast; meanwhile would emphasise simultaneous events rather than the stated causal link.
Core
Edit this report for Standard English, spelling and sentence boundaries, preserving its meaning: “The pupils was pleased with there new shelf it keeped the books tidy.”
Show example and guidance 4
“The pupils were pleased with their new shelf. It kept the books tidy.” Correct was → were for plural agreement, there → their for possession, keeped → kept for the irregular past and separate the independent sentences. Accept a suitable conjunction or a correctly used semicolon instead of the full stop. Do not alter the reported idea.
Stretch
Write a letter of about 150–200 words asking for a quiet lunchtime activity space. Include a clear request, two developed reasons, one practical difficulty and a possible solution. Do not invent real survey results. Explain one change you made after rereading for your audience. This word range is a teaching suggestion.
Show example and guidance 5
Review the letter for: a specific courteous request; two reasons developed beyond a list; a genuine practical difficulty and workable response; paragraphs and logical links; a tone suited to the headteacher; accurate sentences and spelling. The child should identify an audience-focused revision, for example clarifying the proposed time or removing an unsupported “everyone agrees”. Accept varied proposals and lengths near the suggested range. No invented real survey evidence, automatic numerical writing score or requirement to copy a model letter.
Printable revision box
Pip’s tip: Check meaning first, sentences next, then spelling and punctuation.
Check yourself
Can your intended reader tell what you want and why? Are paragraphs linked by meaning rather than a repeated list of connectives? Use the answer guidance above to choose one next step.