Writing Skills and Process

What this page covers

This unit is about how writing is planned, structured and polished. Most of what is listed is mind maps, with quizzes, flashcard decks, notes and a few slide sets alongside them. The topics fall into a few clear groups: connectors and linking words, letters and emails, essays and reports, persuasive and descriptive techniques, and creative writing.

Where to start

If your writing feels choppy, begin with the Linking Words mind map, then move to CONNECTORS IN ENGLISH. It sorts expressions by purpose, such as opinion, sequence, contrast and cause and effect. For longer pieces, CONNECTORS AND USEFUL EXPRESSIONS FOR WRITING ESSAYS AND REPORTS is a natural next step.

For layout, the PARTS OF A FORMAL LETTER mind map walks through the sender's address, the date and the punctuation of each line. There is also a flashcard deck with the same title for quick recall.

Techniques and devices

Persuasive writing has its own memory aids. The DAFORREST deck asks what a rhetorical question, direct address, fact, opinion, repetition, statistics, emotive language and alliteration are. The Functional Skills English flashcards cover the same ideas with a short definition for each. The GCSE English - Creative Writing mind map moves into narrative, openings, endings and the five senses.

Using quizzes and maps together

1. Read a mind map on one topic, such as formal letters or persuasion.
2. Take a related quiz, for example Concise Sentences or Persuasive language techniques.
3. Note what you missed and go back to the map for those branches.
4. Use flashcards to practice the terms until they come easily.

Quizzes like Writing to argue, persuade and advise revision also help you check form, audience and purpose before you write.

Where it fits

This unit sits in the Communication Skills strand of English language. Teachers can pick a map or quiz to set for a class. Students can choose one resource today and see how it goes.