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Advanced Writing Development

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Advanced Writing Development

You are preparing a short opinion piece for a New Zealand youth magazine. Use the extracts and tasks below to develop a clear, persuasive argument. For open-ended tasks, the answers are examples; other well-supported responses may also work.

Shape the argument

Read this draft opening: “Schools should start later. Teenagers are tired. Some people say transport would be difficult. Sleep is important. Later starts could help students.”

1.Which revision strategy would most improve the coherence of this opening?

Add unrelated examples to make the paragraph longer.
Establish a claim, connect the supporting ideas, and address the transport counterpoint.
Replace every short sentence with a long sentence.
Repeat “later starts could help students” several times.

2.Rewrite the draft opening as a coherent paragraph of about 50–70 words. Keep the position in favour of later school starts and include the transport concern.

3.Match each cohesive device to the relationship it signals in an argument.

However
Consequently
For instance
Furthermore

Example
Contrast or qualification
Result
Additional support

4.A writer claims, “Later school starts improve learning,” and supports this only with, “My cousin says they would be better.” Identify one weakness in the support and describe one kind of evidence that would strengthen the claim.

Refine language and voice

Consider how sentence choices, precision and audience shape an effective piece of writing.

5.Revise this sentence to make the claim more precise and measured: “Later starts are obviously amazing and fix all the problems students have.”

6.Which sentence best acknowledges a counterargument while maintaining a clear position?

Buses are annoying, so transport does not matter.
Some families may face transport difficulties; nevertheless, a trial with adjusted bus schedules could test workable solutions.
Everyone who disagrees is wrong.
There are many opinions about school.

7.Write two versions of a one-sentence call to action about later school starts: one aimed at students and one aimed at a school board. Make the difference in audience clear.

Plan, revise and reflect

Build a concise plan for the magazine opinion piece, then apply a purposeful revision strategy.

8.Create a three-step outline for an opinion piece arguing that secondary schools should trial later start times. Include a claim, a supporting reason with evidence you would seek, and a counterargument with a response.

9.Edit this sentence for punctuation and clarity: “Although a later start could benefit students schools would need to consult families bus operators and staff before making changes”

10.You have five minutes to revise a draft argument. Name two checks you would prioritise and explain how each could improve the finished piece.