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Key Stage 3 English · Writing

KS3 writing: organising ideas and persuasive devices

Good writing is organised before it is decorated. In Years 7 to 9, pupils learn to summarise and organise material and back up ideas with factual detail, to choose the right form and apply what they know of vocabulary, grammar and structure, and to use literary and rhetorical devices they have met in their reading to give their writing impact. The aim is writing that is clear, purposeful and persuasive, not just fancy.

Organising and rhetorical devices, explained

The first skill is summarising and organising. A summary shortens a longer text to its essentials in the writer’s own words, and it is harder than it looks, because it means deciding what matters. Organising means grouping related points, putting them in a sensible order and giving each paragraph a clear job. A typical paragraph has a topic sentence that makes the point, supporting detail or evidence, an explanation of why it matters and a link to the next idea. Facts, examples and figures from reliable sources make an argument far stronger than opinion alone.

The second skill is applying growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and text structure, and selecting the appropriate form. Pupils choose words with the right shade of meaning, vary sentence length and structure for effect, and use connectives and paragraphing to guide the reader. They also decide which form suits the task: an article, a speech, a letter, a report or a leaflet each has its own conventions. Choosing the wrong form, such as a chatty blog post for a formal request, weakens even good ideas.

The third skill is drawing on literary and rhetorical devices from reading and listening. Rhetorical devices are the tools of persuasive speaking and writing, such as rhetorical questions, the rule of three, direct address, repetition, contrast and emotive language. Literary devices include imagery, simile, metaphor and personification. Pupils meet these in speeches, poems and novels and are then taught to use them deliberately. The key word is deliberately. A device is useful when it serves the purpose and the audience, and it falls flat when it is dropped in to look clever.

Teachers usually build these skills in stages. A class might analyse a speech, identify the devices and discuss their effect, then plan an argument of their own with an introduction, three developed points and a conclusion. They draft, share, improve and proof-read. At this stage, pupils are not expected to use every device, but to choose a few well and to be able to say why. This is also the foundation of GCSE English language, where the writing tasks reward clear organisation and purposeful craft.

Words your child will hear

Rhetorical device
A technique used to persuade or move an audience, such as a rhetorical question or repetition.
Rhetorical question
A question asked for effect, not to get an answer. “Who wouldn’t want a longer lunch?”
Rule of three
A list of three words, phrases or ideas, which sounds complete and memorable.
Anaphora
Repeating the same words at the start of successive sentences or clauses for emphasis.
Register
The level of formality in language, chosen to suit the audience and purpose.
Topic sentence
The sentence that opens a paragraph and states its main point.
Summary
A shorter version of a text that keeps the main points in the writer’s own words.

What the National Curriculum says

In Key Stage 3, pupils should be taught to:

  • Write effectively through summarising and organising material, and supporting ideas and arguments with any necessary factual detail
  • Write effectively through applying their growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and text structure to their writing and selecting the appropriate form
  • Write effectively through drawing on knowledge of literary and rhetorical devices from their reading and listening to enhance the impact of their writing

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: strengthening a persuasive paragraph

A pupil writes: “We should have longer lunch breaks because students are tired and hungry.” Improve it into a short paragraph for a school council speech.

  1. Decide what the paragraph has to do. It should state a clear point, support it with a reason or fact, explain why it matters and link to the next idea. Here the point is that the lunch break is too short.
  2. Add factual detail. Suppose the writer knows that the break is thirty minutes and that the queue takes ten of them. A specific fact is more convincing than “students are tired”: “Pupils have only twenty minutes to eat once the queue is over.”
  3. Choose one or two devices to fit. A rhetorical question draws the audience in. A list of three gives the solution a ring of completeness. Direct address (“you”) or inclusive words (“we”, “our”) make the audience feel involved. Do not use every device at once.
  4. Check the register. This is a speech to a school council: formal enough to be taken seriously, but spoken, so sentences stay short and clear. Avoid slang, and avoid long words that are hard to say.
  5. Draft, read aloud and cut. Cut anything that is only decoration. Check the paragraph still makes its point clearly in the first sentence.

“Our lunch break is too short. Once the queue is over, we have only twenty minutes to eat. How can anyone concentrate all afternoon on an empty stomach? A longer break would give us time to eat, to rest and to return ready to learn.” The paragraph states the point, gives a fact, draws the audience in with the inclusive “our”, “we” and “us”, uses a rhetorical question and finishes with a rule of three.

Common mistakes and how to help

Believing more devices make better writing

Pupils learn lists of techniques and can come to think that using as many as possible is the goal.

What helps: Choose a few and use them where they matter. Read the writing aloud: if it sounds forced or overloaded, take some out. One well-placed rhetorical question beats five in a row.

Thinking a summary is the original with some words removed

Copying and trimming is the easiest way to shorten something, and it feels safe.

What helps: Cover the original and write from memory: three sentences saying what it is about, in your own words. Then check you have kept the main points and left out the detail.

Treating persuasion as opinion without evidence

Pupils feel strongly about an issue and assume that feeling is enough to convince a reader.

What helps: Ask for a reason and a fact for each opinion. “I think X because Y, and for example Z.” An argument that deals with the other side also sounds more confident.

Starting a new paragraph at random, or not at all

Pupils often break paragraphs when the page looks full or when they pause for breath, not when the idea changes.

What helps: A new paragraph signals a new point or a change of time, place or speaker. Underline each paragraph’s main point in a different colour, and if one paragraph has two, split it.

How to help at home

  • Listen to a speech and spot the tools. Find a short speech by a well-known speaker, in the news or from history, and listen for repeated phrases, lists of three and rhetorical questions. Ask which one worked best and why. Hearing devices in action is the best way to learn them.
  • Summarise in a text message. After a chapter, a documentary or an article, ask your child to summarise it in 25 words or fewer, as if it were a text message. Choosing what to keep and what to cut is the heart of summarising.
  • Plan before you write. For any argument, ask your child to jot down their main point and three supporting reasons or facts on the back of an envelope before they write a word. A two-minute plan usually gives a better-organised piece.
  • Debate a family question. Choose a light-hearted motion, such as whether homework should be banned, and give each person two minutes to argue it. Afterwards, note which points were backed with an example and which were just claimed.
  • Edit with one question. Look at a paragraph your child has written and ask “What is the point of this paragraph?” If they can say it in one sentence, check it appears at the start. If they cannot, the paragraph needs reorganising.

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