Persuasive and Discursive Writing Focus Set 2 - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

15 original exam-style questions - 13 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

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11+ · English - Non-Fiction Writing (Persuasive, Discursive, Letter and Report Skills)

EP.E78 Persuasive and Discursive Writing Focus Set 2

GL ASSESSMENT / CSSE 11+ Entrance English (GL Assessment / CSSE style) · Calculators not allowed · about 250 minutes
Total Marks
Name: _______________________________    Date: ____ / ____ / ______
Answer ALL questions. Show all your working.
1
Persuasive writers use a small set of recognisable techniques. Identify which technique each short example below demonstrates: a rhetorical question, the rule of three, direct address, or emotive language.
(a)Wouldn't every child benefit from a warm, healthy meal at lunchtime?(1)
(b)The new plan is cheap, effective and long overdue.(1)
(c)You have the chance to make a real difference today.(1)
(d)It would be an utter disgrace to let this beautiful old building crumble into ruin.(1)
(Total for Question 1 is 4 marks)
2
Discursive writers use connectives to link their ideas. Identify whether each connective below is typically used to add a similar point, or to introduce a contrasting point.
(a)Furthermore(1)
(b)Nevertheless(1)
(c)In addition(1)
(d)By contrast(1)
(Total for Question 2 is 4 marks)
3
Formal writing avoids contractions, slang, vague quantifiers and personal opinion. Rewrite each informal sentence below, about feedback on the after-school club timetable, in a formal, impersonal register, keeping the same meaning.
(a)Honestly, hardly anyone signed up for the new coding club, it's a bit rubbish.(1)
(b)Kids reckon the new timetable clashes with football practice, no joke.(1)
(c)I dunno, but loads of parents weren't happy about the short notice.(1)
(d)The club leaders didn't sort out a proper register, to be fair.(1)
(Total for Question 3 is 4 marks)
4
Timed task: you have 5 minutes. Plan (do NOT write in full) a persuasive letter to Mrs Chen, the manager of Greenfield Stores, persuading her to remove unnecessary plastic packaging from the fruit and vegetable aisle. Use bullet points only, not full sentences.

Note: your main argument in one line; two supporting reasons or pieces of evidence; one objection Mrs Chen might raise, and a brief answer to it; a memorable closing line or call to action.
(Total for Question 4 is 6 marks)
5
Timed task: you have 5 minutes. Plan (do NOT write in full) a discursive (balanced-argument) essay on the question: 'Should all pupils be required to learn to swim before leaving primary school?' Use bullet points only, not full sentences.

Note: one viewpoint in favour, with a specific reason or piece of evidence; one contrasting viewpoint, with a specific reason or piece of evidence; a connective you will use to link the two viewpoints; a balanced concluding idea (not a one-sided opinion).
(Total for Question 5 is 6 marks)
6
Timed task: you have 5 minutes. Plan (do NOT write in full) a formal report to your Headteacher recommending changes to after-school clubs, based on a survey of Year 6 opinions. Use bullet points only, not full sentences.

Note: a heading or sub-heading you will use; two findings from the survey, each with a specific detail or statistic; one clear recommendation, using formal language (for example 'it is recommended that'); how you will keep the register formal and impersonal (for example, avoiding 'I think').
(Total for Question 6 is 6 marks)
7
Write a letter to Councillor Priya Nair, the leader of your local council, persuading her to build a new skate park on the disused land behind the leisure centre instead of leaving it empty (250-350 words, about 20-25 minutes).

PLANNING FRAME (not marked, but use it before you write): your main argument and at least two supporting reasons or pieces of evidence; a counter-argument the councillor might raise (for example cost or noise) and how you will answer it; at least one persuasive technique you plan to use (for example a rhetorical question or the rule of three); a memorable closing line.

Use appropriate letter conventions (for example an address and date, a suitable greeting and sign-off).
(Total for Question 7 is 18 marks)
8
Write a speech to be delivered in assembly, persuading your fellow pupils to take part in a new weekly 'Silent Reading Friday' session during form time (250-350 words, about 20-25 minutes).

PLANNING FRAME (not marked, but use it before you write): your main argument and at least two supporting reasons or pieces of evidence; acknowledge a reason pupils might not want to take part, and plan how you will answer this; at least one persuasive technique you plan to use; a memorable opening and closing line.

Use appropriate speech conventions (for example direct address to your audience).
(Total for Question 8 is 18 marks)
9
Write a balanced discussion of the question: should professional footballers be paid the same as nurses and teachers (250-350 words, about 20-25 minutes)? You must consider more than one point of view before giving your own opinion.

PLANNING FRAME (not marked, but use it before you write): at least one argument in favour of the current pay gap; at least one argument against it; a discourse marker to signal each shift in viewpoint (for example 'however', 'on the other hand'); your own considered conclusion.

Focus on fairness: give genuine weight to both sides before you reach your own view.
(Total for Question 9 is 18 marks)
10
Write a balanced discussion of the question: should the UK stop changing the clocks twice a year and keep the same time all year round (250-350 words, about 20-25 minutes)? You must consider more than one point of view before giving your own opinion.

PLANNING FRAME (not marked, but use it before you write): at least one argument in favour of keeping the clock changes; at least one argument against them; a discourse marker to signal each shift in viewpoint; your own considered conclusion.

Focus on fairness: give genuine weight to both sides before you reach your own view.
(Total for Question 10 is 18 marks)
11
Write a report to your class teacher, Mr Whitfield, evaluating the success of this year's Year 6 residential trip to Foxglove Outdoor Centre and recommending one change for next year (250-350 words, about 20-25 minutes). You may invent plausible details about what happened on the trip.

PLANNING FRAME (not marked, but use it before you write): a heading and at least one sub-heading (for example 'What Went Well' and 'Recommendation'); at least two specific pieces of evidence about the trip's success or shortcomings (for example a comment on a particular activity, or the level of staff supervision); one clear recommendation for next year, with a reason; how you will keep your register formal and impersonal throughout.

Use a formal, impersonal register; do not use contractions or personal opinion phrases such as 'I think'.
(Total for Question 11 is 18 marks)
12
You surveyed 50 pupils about a proposed breakfast club. The results were: 30 pupils (60%) said they would attend if it started 15 minutes earlier than currently planned; 10 pupils (20%) said the cost put them off attending; the remaining 10 pupils (20%) were not interested regardless. Write a formal report to your Headteacher, Mrs Adeyemi, presenting these findings and making one clear recommendation (250-350 words, about 20-25 minutes).

PLANNING FRAME (not marked, but use it before you write): a heading and at least one sub-heading (for example 'Findings' and 'Recommendation'); how you will present the survey results clearly and accurately; one recommendation that follows logically from the findings; how you will keep your register formal and impersonal throughout.

Use a formal, impersonal register; do not use contractions or personal opinion phrases such as 'I think'.
(Total for Question 12 is 18 marks)
13
Write a letter to Mr Ahmed, the editor of your local newspaper, persuading readers to support a campaign against cars idling with their engines running outside the school gates (250-350 words, about 20-25 minutes).

PLANNING FRAME (not marked, but use it before you write): your main argument and at least two supporting reasons or pieces of evidence; a counter-argument (for example that idling is only for a short time, or that it is a driver's own choice) and how you will answer it; at least one persuasive technique you plan to use; a memorable closing line.

Use appropriate letter conventions (for example an address and date, a suitable greeting and sign-off).
(Total for Question 13 is 18 marks)
14
You surveyed 70 pupils about a proposed change to school PE kit: allowing plain black trainers instead of the current all-white trainers. 49 pupils (70%) were in favour and 21 pupils (30%) were against. Write a formal report to your Headteacher, Mrs Adeyemi, that first presents both sides of the survey findings in a genuinely balanced way, before ending with a clearly and persuasively worded recommendation (350-450 words, about 30-35 minutes).

PLANNING FRAME (not marked, but use it before you write): a heading and sub-headings (for example 'Findings' and 'Recommendation'); at least one specific reason given by pupils in favour, and at least one specific reason given by pupils against, presented with genuine balance; a clear final recommendation that follows from the findings, using persuasive language appropriate to a formal recommendation (for example a confident, justified final sentence); how you will keep the findings section impersonal while making the recommendation section more persuasive in tone.

This task asks you to control two registers within one document: balanced and impersonal for the findings, then confident and persuasive for the recommendation.
(Total for Question 14 is 21 marks)
15
Write a discursive essay considering the question: should zoos exist in the 21st century (350-450 words, about 30-35 minutes)? You must present at least three distinct perspectives (for example those of conservation organisations, animal welfare campaigners, and local communities who rely on zoos for jobs and tourism), not simply two opposing sides, before reaching your own reasoned conclusion in your final paragraph.

PLANNING FRAME (not marked, but use it before you write): the conservation perspective, with a specific reason or piece of evidence; the animal welfare perspective, with a specific reason or piece of evidence; the local community/economic perspective, with a specific reason or piece of evidence; discourse markers to move between all three; your own considered, personal conclusion.

This task asks you to control more than a simple two-sided balance: give genuine, specific weight to three different perspectives before reaching your own view.
(Total for Question 15 is 21 marks)
Mark scheme · EP.E78 Persuasive and Discursive Writing Focus Set 2

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14

Question 15