Write imaginative, interesting and thoughtful texts

1. Write imaginative, interesting and thoughtful texts • Produce texts which are appropriate to task, reader and purpose • Select appropriate and effective vocabulary • Vary sentences for clarity, purpose and effect

2. Write imaginative, interesting and thoughtful texts FROM THIS – level 4 Josh and I hated our new house. Okay, it was big. It looked like a mansion compared to our old house. It was a tall redbrick house with a sloping back roof and rows of windows framed by black shutters. It’s so dark, I thought, studying it from the street. The whole house was covered in darkness, as if it were hiding in the shadows of the gnarled old trees that bent over it. It was the middle of July, but dead brown leaves blanketed the front garden. Our trainers crunched over them as we trudged up the gravel drive. Josh and I hated our new house. Okay, it was big. It was a tall house with lots of windows. It was so dark. The whole house was dark and gloomy. It was July. But some leaves were on the garden, and they made a noise as we walked over them. TO THIS - level 6+!

3. Write imaginative, interesting and thoughtful texts An immediate improvement by simply adding the following: Simile / Comparison It looked like a mansion compared to our old house Description rows of windows framed by black shutters. Sound effects Our trainers crunched Details gnarled old trees that bent over it.

4. Produce texts which are appropriate to task, reader and purpose • What exactly have you been asked to produce? • Descriptive piece about nature • The use of photographs in newspapers, magazines and advertisements • An amusing account of a journey • Why you think some people prefer to use their own transport Who the writing is aimed at – the audience To entertain? To inform? To argue?

5. Select appropriate and imaginative vocabulary SYNONYMS crooked twisted snake-like gnarled bent As bent as an old man walking in the wind curved Find a word that emphasises the mood of your writing; don’t just go for the familiar – be imaginative

6. Vary sentences for clarity, purpose and effect 1. This sentence of 4 words states the obvious 1.Okay, it was big. 2.It looked like a mansion compared to our old house.3.It was a tall redbrick house with a sloping back roof and rows of windows framed by black shutters. 2. This sentence of 10 words uses a simile to add to the imagery of the house 3.This sentence of 19 words goes into greater detail, using effective adjectives

7. We have given you the tools – now its your turn! REMEMBER Improve imagery, mood and understanding by using: • Thoughtful and purposeful vocabulary • Simile, metaphor and personification • All five of your senses in description • A variety of sentence lengths – simple and complex • Structure, paragraphs – good openings and effective endings

8. Your task is to improve this text - THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA 1.He was an old man who 2.fished alone in a 3.skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty four 4.days now without taking a fish.5. THINK! • Sentence length; name of character; more detailed description • How did he fish; what did he use; what type of fish; why was he fishing • Description; weather; sounds;sights;smells • Sentence length; extra detail • Character emotions; extra detail again

9. MY EXAMPLE Joe Garfield was old. He fished carefully, using a rod that had been left to him by his father, so it was as ancient and delicate as he was himself. He was as old as the hills in which he lived. He was always alone. He had a small, round, tennis-ball of a head, which was often lit up by a heart-warming smile that travelled from ear to ear. The small fish he hunted were the tasty sardines that graced the breakfast table of the tourists who stayed in the country hotel close by.