Unlike U grade writing, which will sound quite random, G grade writing has some structure.

Some of your writing is in sentences. Most simple or common words are spelt correctly. You have tried to use punctuation, especially full stops, but not always accurately.

You have tried to give your writing some structure. You have thought about how to start with an effective opening. You have written things down in the order in which they happened. You may have tried to include speech. There is some limited detail about, for instance, characters and setting.

You have ideas, but you have not really thought about how best to express them.

Unlike U or G grade writing, F grade writing will be structured and will contain a little more detail. Writing below this grade sometimes reads as if it is still in note form.

Some of your writing is in sentences. Most simple or common words are spelt correctly. You have tried to use punctuation, especially full stops, but not always accurately.

Narratives will contain more than just plot: there may be some dialogue and setting.

You have made a clear effort to suit a particular purpose. You have made a clear effort to match your writing to a particular audience.

Commonly used words are spelt correctly. More difficult words are spelt correctly most of the time. Full stops, commas, question marks and exclamation marks, are used correctly most of the time.

Unlike F, G and U grade answers, you will have varied your sentences for effect. For example, you may have used long sentences to add detail or to slow the pace of your story. You may have used short sentences to show surprise. In non-fiction writing, you may have used simple sentences to begin each paragraph clearly.

In narrative writing, there is more detail to do with character and setting than there is in an F grade answer, but it is still mostly plot. In other words, you spend most of your time telling the reader what happens instead of showing them or allowing the characters to speak for themselves.

[Telling = David was angry.
Showing = David kicked the door open, marched into the room and flung himself into the nearest chair.
Showing is usually better!]

Narrative writing is well-plotted, but there is now much more detail to do with character and setting. You are not just telling the reader what happened in a dry step-by-step way.

Although the structure is still fairly straightforward, your writing is more controlled. In other words, you have used language to create deliberate effects.

You use varied vocabulary to create effects. Most complex words are spelt correctly.

You use paragraphs to help make meaning clear. You use a range of punctuation to help make meaning and purpose clear.

You use a range of different sentence structures.

Your writing engages and sustains the reader’s interest—ie. it does not just start well and then trail off.

Your written style and structure suits the audience and purpose.

If you have written a narrative, it will be interesting and will contain developed characters and setting.

An important difference between this grade and the ones below is that you now have much more control over structure. You can see that ideas and structure are not two separate things. You have thought about what kind of structure best suits your ideas.

Your writing is coherent and controlled. You use paragraphs to aid meanings. Your written style and structure are very well suited to the audience and the purpose. Spelling is accurate. You use a wide range of punctuation, probably including semi colons and colons.

It is obvious from your writing that you can manipulate sentences to create deliberate effects.

For an A grade, your writing demonstrates an assured control of style. In other words, it is consistent throughout. You use a range of grammatical constructions accurately. Your paragraphs are well constructed, (this doesn’t mean that all you have to do is use paragraphs; they have to be good paragraphs!) Your paragraphs are linked to make the organisation of your writing as a whole much clearer. For example, you could link them with connectives, pronouns and key sentences. The best way of learning how to make good links between paragraphs is to find and pay attention to some real-life examples by expert writers.

Narratives will show powerful accounts of real or imagined experience. Meanings and effects will be improved by use of interesting and appropriate structural devices. In a narrative, for example, you may tell a story in a different order from that in which it happened (murder mysteries, for instance, usually start with a dead body and work backwards to find out ‘whodunnit’).

In non-fiction writing, you might use separate sections or different styles of writing in, for example, a travel guide. You will have a good understanding of the features of the kind of writing you are doing, and you will be able to use several of these features. If your piece is persuasive, for example, you will understand and be able to use rhetorical questions, the rule of three, repetition, alliteration, personal pronouns, etc.

If you have written a narrative, it will engage the reader through the presentation of subtle ideas and depictions. Your use of structure will also be subtle.

Subtle = showing skill or ingenuity; clever. If your writing is subtle, you are able to make fine distinctions.

The opposite of subtlety is heavy-handedness. If you want to show that a character is scared, you could write: ‘AAAAAGGHHH!!!!’ screamed James. However, this is far too obvious and heavy-handed. Can you think of a more subtle way of showing that this character is scared?

What would a heavy-handed structure look like? What would a subtle one look like?

If you have written a narrative, it will engage the reader through the presentation of subtle and sophisticated ideas and depictions. It will be a pleasure to read.