Transactional Writing: Techniques (Edexcel GCSE English Language)
Revision Note
Written by: Deb Orrock
Reviewed by: Nick Redgrove
In order to get full marks for your Paper 2 writing task, it is essential that you read both tasks carefully, decide which one you can write the most about and construct your writing accordingly.
The following guide to getting full marks includes:
Audience and purpose
Persuasive language techniques
Technical accuracy
Audience and purpose
Audience
Adapting your language and tone to suit your intended audience and purpose is crucial to achieve high marks. You should use Standard English, although the use of colloquialisms is acceptable where appropriate. Remember, you are being assessed on your ability to adapt your language and tone to suit your intended audience.
For example:
A parent will have different concerns and values than a student would have
A local MP would need convincing, using facts and evidence, to support your arguments
Readers of a local newspaper would be more persuaded by emotive language
A letter to a headteacher or someone in authority requires formal, respectful language which is not aggressive or inappropriate
Teenagers would need something to relate to, so personal anecdotes would work well
Addressing your audience or reader specifically is a convincing technique to persuade people to agree with your point of view, or at least to acknowledge its validity. You can use inclusive language, such as “we” and “us”, and you can also make your audience feel involved by using terms such as “fellow students” or “parents”.
Below are some examples of language that has been adapted to suit a target audience:
Target audience | Language adaptation example |
|---|---|
Teenagers | I’m sure we’ve all had our parents or guardians moan at us for how long we spend on our gaming machines. However, gaming can help us develop important skills, such as teamwork, as well as being an awesome way of connecting with friends from all over the world! |
The use of inclusive pronouns and colloquial language, such as “awesome”, demonstrates that this example is aimed at teenagers or younger people | |
Adults | Using animals for sports, such as fox-hunting, has been debated for many years, and it is an issue which elicits strong emotions from both sides. |
The use of more sophisticated vocabulary, such as “elicits”, as well as complex sentences, demonstrates that this text is aimed at adults reading about a serious topic | |
Older people | The purpose of wearable technology, such as smart-watches and fitness trackers, is to make staying connected as easy and hands-free as possible. In addition, wearable technology can have important health benefits, as they can monitor your blood sugars, heart rate, blood pressure and quality of sleep. |
The simple explanations and examples show that this is written for people who might not know much about wearable technology | |
Purpose
The transactional writing task will ask you to write for a specific purpose. This means you are required to deliberately use language for impact to achieve that purpose. This also means you will be rewarded for your ability to select relevant language techniques appropriate to this purpose. The tasks also require you to organise your writing in a way that conveys your opinions and ideas convincingly. It will generally be necessary to use persuasive devices in order to achieve the purpose of the task.
Generally, the purpose of the tasks will be one of the following:
To argue your point of view or to give your opinion
To persuade or convince
To advise or guide
To inform
To entertain
Purpose | Devices and techniques to demonstrate you understand the purpose of the task |
|---|---|
Writing to argue your point of view or to give your opinion |
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Writing to persuade: |
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Writing to guide or advise: |
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Writing to inform or entertain: |
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Examiner Tips and Tricks
If the purpose of the task is to give your opinion, do not try to give both sides of the argument. You can acknowledge that there might be another perspective, but your piece of writing will be more convincing and coherent if you maintain your own point of view throughout, developing your points in order to persuade your reader.
Persuasive language techniques
Persuasive language techniques, or rhetorical devices, are the linguistic devices that make your language more persuasive and convincing. There are lots of techniques you can use, so it is important to utilise them in a sophisticated and integrated way in order to add impact to your argument.
For example, political speech writers use lots of rhetorical devices to convince their listeners that the speaker is correct and should be agreed with. It is, however, important to remember that you are not trying to sell something; instead, you are trying to convince your readers to accept your views or ideas.
Before writing, it is useful to consider:
What your readers’ opinions may be on the subject
How you will use persuasive techniques to offer a convincing argument:
Do not over-use any one technique — this will detract from the overall effectiveness of your writing
Consider whose perspective you will write from and how you can build rapport with your reader or audience:
It may be more effective to write from an adult’s perspective if your intended audience is comprised of adults
Plan the tone of voice you wish to adopt:
Use sophisticated vocabulary and avoid slang
Use modal verbs to construct a tone:
Words like “must” are more aggressive than “could”, or “should”
Vary your punctuation and sentence lengths to avoid a monotonous voice
The acronym DAN FOREST PIE can be useful to help you to remember some of the key persuasive devices, but there are many other techniques you can employ for effect. For definitions of some of these, and over 100 more language devices, check out our dedicated Literary Glossary page.
Device | Why this is effective | Example |
|---|---|---|
Direct address | Addressing your audience directly helps build rapport, and involves them in the issue at hand | When it comes to the issue of animal cruelty, you cannot stand back and not take a stand. This is your fight as well. |
Audience | Acknowledging the whole of your audience in your writing is inclusive: your writing is addressing all who read it | Parents, you must surely agree that banning mobile phones in classrooms will improve concentration and enable your children to make better progress in their studies. |
Not only, but also | Enables you to add a point to an argument with a flourish | Not only does this issue affect local communities, but also has wider implications for the whole of the country. |
Facts | Lends credibility to your argument | London Zoo is the oldest zoo in the UK. |
Opinions | Offers the reader your perspective. Best if you present your opinion as fact | In my view, banning fox hunting with hounds is the best thing to have happened for a long time. |
Again, involves the audience directly | Is it right that reality TV stars are paid vast amounts of money while not actually having any skills? | |
Emotive language | Eliciting an emotional response from your reader can help them see the importance of your argument | The horribly cruel, brutal and violent manner in which hunting hounds murder a fox when caught, ripping them apart, is completely wrong. |
Statistics | Again, factual information lends credibility to your argument | 80% of commuters agree that rail fares currently do not represent good value for money. |
Triplets | Great to emphasise a point | Nutritious, delicious and environmentally conscious, plant-based eating is the only way to reduce our impact on the environment. |
Personal and inclusive pronouns | Great for directly involving an audience or reader | We must act now on climate change, as it matters not only to us, but to our children and children’s children. |
Imperatives | These command verbs serve as a call to action for the reader | Act now, as further delay could be catastrophic. |
Exaggeration | Hyperbole can be effective when you are trying to emphasise how serious something is | If we do nothing, we will regret our inaction for the rest of eternity. |
You could also consider using:
Flattery | Complimenting your readers or audience will make them more likely to share your point of view | As well-educated and intelligent people, you will surely agree that this situation must not continue. |
|---|---|---|
Playful, poetic language can help to get an audience on-side | Is fast food making us fatter, or is this idea just a fad? | |
A great rhetorical device to help illustrate consequences of decisions | Just a small act of defiance could have a huge effect. | |
Double adjectives | A neat way to vary your sentence structures | Smart and exciting, new wearable technology is the latest craze. |
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