Section B: Transactional Writing (Edexcel GCSE English Language)

In Section B of Paper 2 you have one task to complete and you are assessed on your transactional writing.

The following guide to Section B: Transactional Writing includes:

• Transactional writing overview

• How to approach the task

• Exam tips

Transactional writing overview

In Section B you will be given a choice of two writing tasks, linked by theme to the reading extracts, and you should choose one to respond to. Each task will give you a scenario, and you will be asked to write in a certain non-fiction form (letter, article, etc.) aimed at a particular audience and written for a specific purpose. The purpose could be to persuade, argue or present your point of view.

There are five levels to the AO5 and AO6 mark scheme for this task, and at the highest level you are expected to:

It is important that you understand what you are being asked to do in this section. Each task will give you the form, or genre, you are expected to write in, who your intended audience is (such as your fellow students, or readers of a local newspaper), and why you are writing (such as to give your opinion).

The two task choices are separated into Question 8 and Question 9. You should indicate which question you are answering by marking a cross in the box on your question paper:

You may be asked to write in any of the following forms:

• Speech

• Article (newspaper or magazine)

• Letter

• Review

• A section of a guide, textbook, leaflet, or booklet (an informative text)

You should consider where your writing would appear in a real-life context:

• A magazine, for example, tends to be more informal than a news article

• A letter tends to be more formal and, in the exam, written to someone you do not know

The mark scheme rewards answers which consider how the conventions of form can be used to convey ideas:

• A letter is more personal than a news article, which targets a large audience

• A speech is more interactive than a report and will actively attempt to engage and persuade the audience

Whichever form you are writing in, there are likely to be some elements which you have to make up. However, your writing still needs to be realistic and believable for the most convincing arguments.

It is important that you use the correct form for each task and adapt your style and register appropriately to reach the higher reaches of the mark scheme. For example, for a formal letter, you should include an appropriate salutation (e.g., “Dear Editor”) and salutation (“Yours Faithfully,”), or for an article, it’s great to include a headline and strapline. We have included details of what should be included for the various formats on the following pages:

• How to Write a Speech for GCSE

• How to Write an Article for GCSE

• How to Write a Letter for GCSE

• How to Write a Review for GCSE

• How to Write an Informative Text for GCSE

How to approach the task

The first thing you should do is to read the task carefully and, as well as identifying the topic, identify the format, audience and purpose of the task. This is sometimes referred to as a GAP analysis or the “3 Ws”:

Let’s take a look at the Section B tasks taken from the June 2023 exam paper:

You have 45 minutes to complete this task. This is broken down into:

• 10 minutes to plan

• 30 minutes to write

• 5 minutes to re-read and correct

Following these steps will give you a strategy for answering this question effectively:

1. Read both of the tasks carefully:

   • Decide which one you have the most to say on

   • This does not have to reflect your actual opinion

2. In the task you have chosen, identify and highlight:

   • WHAT you are being asked to write

   • WHO you are being ask to write for

   • WHY you are being asked to write

3. Spend ten minutes planning your writing:

   • Use the bullet points in the question to help you plan your response

   • You can use a spider diagram or bullet points for this

   • When you write, you need to “flesh out” each of your points from your plan in a separate paragraph

4. Make your point of view clear in your introduction:

   • State what you are writing about, why you are writing and what your point of view is

5. Start each paragraph with a connective (if appropriate) and a topic sentence

6. Develop each paragraph in detail:

   • Make your point

   • Explain it

   • Develop it: use anecdotes, statistics, specific examples, consequences, imperatives and any other relevant persuasive techniques

   • Stick to one main point per paragraph

7. As well as pausing as you write to re-read what you have written, spend 5 minutes at the end to go back and correct any obvious mistakes

Exam tips

• In preparation for this task, practise a range of non-fiction writing techniques, as well as planning and proof-reading:

  • You are given space on the exam paper for planning

• When planning, you should consider two things:

  • The content and ideas you wish to include

  • The overall structure and organisation of your writing

• It is important to think about the form, purpose and audience and what these really mean:

  • If the form is a newspaper article, then what are the genre characteristics of a newspaper article?

  • If the purpose is to provide information, what are the language features of an instructional text?

  • If the audience is non-experts, then how might you adapt your writing to make it accessible to this audience?

• It is a good idea to pause regularly as you write to re-read what you have written, reminding yourself of your intentions in terms of form, purpose and audience:

  • Often re-reading a paragraph helps generate new ideas for the next, but it also helps keep the sense of the text as a whole in your mind

  • You should also pause before you get to the end of your writing and think for a moment about how to bring your response to an effective conclusion

• Consider different ways of expressing your opinion, other than just “I think” or “I believe”:

  • You could use “In my opinion”, “Clearly” or “Undoubtedly”

• Start each paragraph with a topic sentence, or thesis statement, to flag your main argument for that paragraph:

  • Also consider how to organise your paragraphs across the whole of your response to build a coherent and sequential argument

  • Consider the use of an occasional short paragraph for impact

  • Whatever the length of a paragraph, you must ensure your idea is fully developed in order to achieve the highest marks

• Stick to one point per paragraph:

  • But ensure you develop each point in detail

• Most importantly, manage your time effectively in the exam:

  • Ensure you leave the full 45 minutes to tackle this 40-mark task