Presenting Information Clearly

OCR

GCSE

Candidates must demonstrate the ability to organize information and ideas using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion. Assessment focuses on the selection and adaptation of tone, style, and register for specific forms, purposes, and audiences, such as broadsheet articles, formal letters, or speeches. Mastery requires the precise manipulation of sentence structures and vocabulary to ensure clarity while maintaining engagement, underpinned by rigorous technical accuracy in spelling and punctuation.

Objectives

Exam Tips

Pitfalls

Key Terms

Mark Points

What You Need to Demonstrate

Key skills and knowledge for this topic

Award marks for sustained register adaptation that perfectly matches the specified audience (e.g., using direct address and rhetorical questions for a speech to peers).
Credit structural control where paragraphing guides the reader through a cohesive argument, utilizing discourse markers (e.g., 'Conversely', 'Furthermore') to signpost shifts in thought.
Reward precise, sophisticated vocabulary choices (e.g., using 'detrimental' instead of 'bad') that enhance the authority of the writing without obscuring meaning.
Assess sentence demarcation rigorously; responses containing comma splices or run-on sentences must be capped in Level 2 or 3 for AO6.

Marking Points

Key points examiners look for in your answers

Award marks for sustained register adaptation that perfectly matches the specified audience (e.g., using direct address and rhetorical questions for a speech to peers).
Credit structural control where paragraphing guides the reader through a cohesive argument, utilizing discourse markers (e.g., 'Conversely', 'Furthermore') to signpost shifts in thought.
Reward precise, sophisticated vocabulary choices (e.g., using 'detrimental' instead of 'bad') that enhance the authority of the writing without obscuring meaning.
Assess sentence demarcation rigorously; responses containing comma splices or run-on sentences must be capped in Level 2 or 3 for AO6.

Examiner Tips

Expert advice for maximising your marks

💡Allocate 5 minutes to planning using the TAP method (Type, Audience, Purpose) to ensure the register is calibrated correctly before writing.
💡Use a cyclical structure: reference an image or idea from your introduction in your conclusion to create a sense of cohesion and completion.
💡Proofread specifically for homophone errors (there/their/they're) and sentence boundaries in the final 5 minutes to secure AO6 marks.
💡Memorise 3-4 sophisticated discourse markers (e.g., 'Notwithstanding', 'Consequently') to force complex sentence structures into the response.

Common Mistakes

Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

Drifting into a narrative or storytelling style when the task requires a transactional argument or formal letter.
Failing to demarcate sentences accurately, specifically using commas instead of full stops or semicolons between independent clauses (comma splicing).
Adopting an overly aggressive or informal tone that alienates the specified audience (e.g., insulting the reader in a persuasive article).
Neglecting the specific formatting conventions of the required text type (e.g., omitting the salutation and sign-off in a formal letter).

Key Terminology

Essential terms to know

Structural Cohesion: Paragraphing and discourse markers

Transactional Forms: Articles, letters, speeches, and reports

Technical Accuracy: Syntax, punctuation, and orthography

Likely Command Words

How questions on this topic are typically asked

Write a speech...

Write a letter...

Write an article...

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