Persuasive and Discursive Writing Focus Set 2
Persuasive and Discursive Writing Focus Set 2 covers the specific conventions of formal letter writing, an address, a date, a salutation, and a matching sign-off, and formal report writing, headings, subheadings, and an objective third-person tone, which 11+ papers often combine with persuasive or discursive content, for example a letter to a headteacher arguing for a change, or a report recommending an action.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the standard formal letter layout: the writer's address at the top right, the date, a salutation, "Dear Mr Khan" or "Dear Sir/Madam" if the name is unknown, clear paragraphs, and a matching sign-off, "Yours sincerely" if a name was used, "Yours faithfully" if it was not.
- Keep a formal letter's tone polite and professional throughout, avoiding slang, contractions such as "don't" or "can't", and overly casual phrasing, even when arguing strongly for something.
- Structure a persuasive or discursive letter's paragraphs around one clear point each, opening with the reason for writing, then developing each argument in turn, before a closing paragraph that restates the request or conclusion.
- Learn the standard report structure: a title, headings and subheadings that organise the content into clear sections, and often a brief introduction followed by findings and a recommendation.
- Write a report in a more objective, factual tone than a letter, generally in the third person, and support any recommendation with the specific findings given, rather than a personal, emotional appeal.
- Check which format the prompt is actually asking for, since using a report's headings and objective tone in a letter, or a letter's salutation and personal tone in a report, will lose marks for not matching the task's required format.
Worked example
A prompt asks for the opening of a formal letter to a headteacher persuading them to introduce a new after-school club. Write the salutation and opening paragraph, and explain two formal features used.
- Recall a correct salutation for this context, where a name may not be known: "Dear Headteacher," or, if a name is given, "Dear Mr/Mrs [Surname],".
- Draft an opening paragraph that states the purpose of the letter clearly and politely: "I am writing to suggest that the school introduces a new after-school coding club, which I believe would benefit a large number of pupils."
- Identify one formal feature used: the phrase "I am writing to suggest", a standard, polite formal-letter opening rather than a casual one.
- Identify a second formal feature used: the absence of contractions and slang, keeping the tone professional throughout.
- Final answer: "Dear Headteacher, I am writing to suggest that the school introduces a new after-school coding club, which I believe would benefit a large number of pupils." Formal features used: a standard polite opening phrase, and consistently formal vocabulary with no contractions.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Give the correct sign-off for a formal letter that began "Dear Sir/Madam,".Show answer
Answer: Yours faithfully
Q2Give the correct sign-off for a formal letter that began "Dear Mrs Owusu,".Show answer
Answer: Yours sincerely
Q3Rewrite the informal sentence "I don't think this is fair and you should change it" in a more formal register suitable for a letter to a headteacher.Show answer
Answer: Any suitably formal rewrite, for example "I do not believe this policy is fair, and I would respectfully ask that it be reconsidered."
Q4Name two features you would expect to see in a formal report but would not usually see in a persuasive letter.Show answer
Answer: Any two of: headings or subheadings, a title, an objective third-person tone, a clear findings-and-recommendation structure.
Q5Explain why a report's recommendation should be based on the findings given rather than a personal, emotional appeal.Show answer
Answer: Because a report is expected to be objective and evidence-based, and a recommendation grounded in stated findings is more credible within that format than an emotional argument would be.
Q6A pupil writes a persuasive letter to a local council. Which paragraph should generally state the reason for writing: the opening or the closing paragraph?Show answer
Answer: The opening paragraph.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Plan the structure of a formal letter from a pupil to a headteacher, persuading them to extend the school's library opening hours. List, in order, the layout features and paragraph purposes your letter would include. (5 marks)
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Explain why using a report's objective, third-person tone in a persuasive letter to a headteacher would likely lose marks, even if the content and spelling were both excellent. (3 marks)
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the persuasive and discursive writing focus set 2 worksheet pack - 19 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 31 of 11+ English Workbook 2, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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