Secondary School Writing Guide
A complete guide to KS3–KS4 writing: build core skills, write with style and purpose, and excel in academic tasks.
What you'll master
Core to Advanced Progression
- ✓ Strong sentences and cohesive paragraphs
- ✓ Effective summarising and paraphrasing
- ✓ Crafted stories, descriptions, and narratives
- ✓ Real-world forms: emails, reports, and speeches
- ✓ Academic essays and textual analysis
- ✓ Modern writing: digital, media, and technical
Study-Smart Support
- Checklists: planning, drafting, editing
- Frameworks: thesis, PEEL/PEE, 5Ws, and more
- Practice: short, targeted tasks with examples
- Clarity: plain-language explanations for students
Quick Tips for Better Writing
Plan before drafting
Bullet your thesis and paragraph aims
Write topic sentences
Make the main idea obvious in the first line
Support with evidence
Facts, quotes, and data—then explain them
Vary sentence structures
Mix simple, compound, and complex for flow
Edit for clarity
Cut fluff, fix repetition, check transitions
Proofread last
SPaG pass: spelling, punctuation, and grammar
Explore the Five Sections
Click into each mini-book to learn the skills and practice with student-friendly tasks and examples.
Foundation & Core Writing Skills
Strong sentences, cohesive paragraphs, summarising, and paraphrasing
Creative & Expressive Writing
Story craft, descriptive technique, and narrative/personal essays
Practical & Real-World Writing
How‑to instructions, professional emails, reports, and speeches
Academic & Analytical Writing
Expository and argumentative essays, literary analysis, and research basics
Advanced & Modern Writing
Creative non‑fiction, digital/media writing, and technical/STEM writing
Sections at a Glance
| Section | Purpose | Key Features | Sample Tasks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Accuracy and cohesion | Sentence types, paragraphing, summary, paraphrase | Summarise a text; paraphrase a paragraph |
| Creative | Voice and craft | Story arc, imagery, dialogue, pacing | Write a short story from a prompt |
| Practical | Real purpose & audience | Procedures, email etiquette, report structure, speeches | Write a formal email; plan a short speech |
| Academic | Explain and argue | Thesis, PEEL/PEE, evidence and analysis | Write a paragraph analysing a quote |
| Advanced | Modern and specialised forms | Non‑fiction craft, digital style, technical clarity | Draft a blog intro; outline a lab report |
Start building strong, clear writing today
Explore a section, then practice with prompts or class tasks.