Formal Writing Toolkit

Overview

Students are introduced to formal writing as deliberate communication shaped by purpose and audience. They analyse a short informal/formal comparison, identify key features, then collaboratively plan and draft a formal paragraph for a school-based issue.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify the purpose, audience and expected tone of formal writing.
• WALT recognise language and structural features that make writing formal and coherent.
• WALT adapt informal ideas into precise, appropriately formal sentences.
• WALT plan a clear paragraph before drafting.

Success criteria

• I can explain how purpose and audience affect my language choices.
• I can identify formal features such as precise vocabulary, objective tone and controlled sentence structure.
• I can organise a paragraph around one clear point, relevant evidence and an explanation.
• I can revise my writing to make it clearer and more formal.

Curriculum links

• Audience and purpose: selecting and adapting planning strategies to improve clarity and coherence.
• Discursive texts: refining planning through detailed outlines that enhance coherence and depth.
• Visual and digital texts: considering how language, structure and style suit purpose, audience and mode.
• Crafting texts: deliberately shaping language, structural and stylistic features to convey ideas and engage readers.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Hook: who is this for? Teacher displays two versions of a message about reducing litter at school using the opening comparison slides: “Hey everyone, stop chucking rubbish everywhere—it’s gross” and “Students are encouraged to dispose of waste responsibly in order to maintain a clean and healthy environment.” Students silently decide which version suits a message to the principal and justify their choice to a partner. Take brief whole-class responses, recording the words purpose, audience and tone.

2. 7–17 min · Direct teaching: features of formality. Teacher uses the formal writing teaching slides to define formal writing and model four features: objective or respectful tone, precise vocabulary, complete and controlled sentences, and logical organisation. Contrast informal choices such as slang, contractions and emotional exaggeration with formal alternatives. Students annotate the examples in their books and suggest one improvement for each informal sentence. Emphasise that formal does not mean complicated: the goal is clarity and suitability.

3. 17–27 min · Hands-on sorting activity. Teacher places students in groups of three and displays the sorting activity instructions. Each group receives eight teacher-prepared sentence strips, mixing formal and informal examples, and sorts them under “suits a formal school proposal” or “needs adapting”. Sample sentences focus on keeping the school environment clean and tidy, including:

• "Students are encouraged to dispose of waste responsibly in order to maintain a clean and healthy environment."
• "Littering around the school grounds negatively impacts the appearance and safety of our community."
• "Please ensure that all rubbish is placed in the designated bins to prevent pollution."
• "We should totally get more bins because everyone’s always dropping trash everywhere."
• "Maintaining cleanliness on school premises promotes a positive learning atmosphere for all students."
• "Trash on the playground makes it look gross and unsafe for kids to play."
• "It is essential that we implement regular clean-up initiatives to uphold school standards."
• "Let’s keep the school neat by not throwing rubbish on the floor."

Students must explain one decision using the frame: “This suits/does not suit the audience because…”. Groups rewrite two informal strips. Invite two groups to share different solutions and discuss how both can be effective.

4. 27–39 min · Planning for coherence. Teacher introduces the task: “Write one formal paragraph recommending a change that would improve students’ experience at school.” Model planning a point, evidence/example and explanation with the paragraph planning model. Distribute the Essay Structure Planning Grid to groups or individuals and guide students to choose an issue such as study spaces, canteen options, lunchtime activities or reducing single-use plastics. Students complete the Purpose, Audience and Thesis prompts, then select two or three supporting ideas and relevant examples. Circulate and question: “How does this example prove your point?”

5. 39–52 min · Individual drafting and revising. Teacher directs students to draft one paragraph from their plan, using the formal paragraph practice worksheet and the drafting checklist. Students include a clear topic sentence, at least one specific example, an explanation linking back to the recommendation, and a concluding or linking sentence. They then revise with a partner: underline the main point, circle one precise word, and mark one place where the tone could be more formal. Students make one purposeful edit rather than simply correcting spelling.

6. 52–60 min · Share and exit check. Teacher displays the plenary questions and invites volunteers to read an effective sentence, explaining the choice of language or structure. Students complete the final section of the formal paragraph practice worksheet: rewrite “We should totally get more places to sit because everyone’s squashed” for a formal school audience, then name one feature they used. Collect responses as students leave.

Resources

• the formal writing introduction and teaching deck
• the formal paragraph practice worksheet
• the Essay Structure Planning Grid
• Teacher-prepared sentence strips for group sorting, including sentences about keeping the school environment clean and tidy
• Whiteboard and markers
• Exercise books or digital writing devices
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Accessible versions of all texts using a clear sans-serif font

Assessment

• Listen to group explanations during the sorting activity to check understanding of audience, tone and formality.
• Review planning grids for a clear purpose, audience, thesis or recommendation, and logically connected ideas.
• Use the drafted paragraph and exit response to assess formal vocabulary, sentence control, paragraph coherence and purposeful revision.

Differentiation

• Support learners with a feature bank, paired examples, colour-coded paragraph structure, sentence starters such as “One change that would benefit students is…” and oral rehearsal before writing.
• Provide dyslexia-friendly copies with a clear sans-serif font, left alignment, generous spacing, short chunks of text and the option to listen to instructions or use speech-to-text.
• For EAL learners, pre-teach audience, purpose, tone, objective, evidence and recommendation with simple definitions and model sentences. Allow bilingual dictionaries and collaborative planning.
• Extend advanced learners by asking them to address a possible counterargument, vary sentence openings, and use a carefully selected statistic or school-based example without making unsupported claims.