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Planning & proofreading the Section B writing task

Section B: Writing is a single extended task with a tight, recommended time window of 35 minutes. The pupils who do best are not the fastest writers - they are the ones who spend a little time planning, write to a clear skeleton, and leave time to check. This masterclass shows you exactly how.

What this builds

W9.1A

Gather and shape a range of relevant ideas before writing.

W9.1B

Develop a reliable proofreading strategy based on an evaluation of strengths and weaknesses in written accuracy.

W9.1C

Review and revise sentence and text structure and vocabulary choice after writing.

An invented sample task

This task is original and written for practice on this page - it is not taken from any past paper. We use it throughout so the plan, the writing and the checking all join up.

Form: LetterPurpose: to persuadeAudience: the head teacher of your school

Your school is deciding whether to keep its old library or replace it with a computer suite. Write a letter to your head teacher persuading them to keep the library. You should explain why the library matters and answer the arguments on the other side.

Gathering and shaping ideas - a 3-minute plan (W9.1A)

Gather and shape a range of relevant ideas before writing. You do this in three quick moves: a spider to dump ideas, a FAP box to lock form, audience and purpose, then a numbered paragraph skeleton so you never lose your way.

1 · Spider - dump every idea

Quiet space - somewhere to think away from screens
Books open doors - discovering writers you would never search for
Fairness - not every pupil has devices or quiet space at home
Counter-argument - "computers are the future" - answer: a library can hold both
Memory hook - a personal moment that the library made possible

2 · FAP box - lock the brief

Form: Letter - address, greeting, sign-off, formal register
Audience: Head teacher - respectful, reasoned, not slang
Purpose: Persuade - rhetorical questions, evidence, a counter-argument answered

3 · Paragraph skeleton

1Opening: State your position politely and clearly; name the decision.
2Point 1: The library as a calm, screen-free place to think and read.
3Point 2: Fairness - the library levels the field for pupils without devices at home.
4Counter + rebuttal: “Computers are the future” - concede, then show a library serves that future too.
5Close: A short, memorable appeal; restate the request; sign off correctly.

The whole plan should fit in the margin and take three minutes. It is scaffolding, not prose: short notes only. A plan you can read at a glance keeps your paragraphs ordered when you are under pressure.

Budgeting the 35 minutes

Split the recommended window into three jobs and protect the checking time - it is the easiest set of marks to lose by simply running out of time.

Plan

~3 min

Spider the ideas, draw the FAP box, number a five-paragraph skeleton. Do not write full sentences yet.

Write

~28 min

Follow the skeleton paragraph by paragraph. Keep moving; do not rewrite openings - you can polish those when checking.

Check

~4 min

Run the proofreading checklist below, then the last-three-minutes rescue routine.

The figures add up to the full 35 minutes recommended for Section B: Writing. If you wrote slowly, take the extra time from the writing phase - never from checking.

A reliable proofreading strategy (W9.1B)

Develop a reliable proofreading strategy based on an evaluation of strengths and weaknesses in written accuracy. The key word is your: a good proofreader does not re-read everything hoping to spot mistakes - they hunt for the specific errors they personally make. Before the exam, look back at marked work and write down your top three recurring slips. In the exam, search for those first.

Target	What to check
Sentence demarcation	Every sentence starts with a capital and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. No comma joining two complete sentences (a comma splice).
Capital letters	Sentence openings, the pronoun “I”, and proper nouns (names of people, places, the school) are capitalised. No random capitals mid-sentence.
Commas	Commas separate items in a list and mark off a starting phrase. Check you have not used a comma where a full stop or connective is needed.
Speech marks	If you quote or report speech, the spoken words sit inside the marks and the closing punctuation is placed correctly.
Apostrophes	Possession (“the school’s plan”) and contraction (“it’s” = it is) only. Plain plurals never take an apostrophe.
Spelling traps	Homophones you personally confuse: their/there/they’re, your/you’re, to/too, where/were, its/it’s. Read these words extra slowly.
Tense consistency	You stay in one tense unless meaning requires a shift. Re-read for a verb that has slipped from present to past or back.

The five named punctuation marks above - capital letters, end punctuation, commas, speech marks and apostrophes - are exactly the marks the writing skills ask you to use with accuracy and confidence. Accurate sentence demarcation and spelling are what move work up the grammar, punctuation and spelling grid, so make them your first checking priority.

Reviewing structure and vocabulary (W9.1C)

Review and revise sentence and text structure and vocabulary choice after writing. Proofreading fixes accuracy; reviewing improves quality. If you have a spare moment after the accuracy check, make small, high-value edits rather than rewriting.

Sentence structure

Find two sentences that start the same way and change one opening. Break one over-long sentence into two. Variety of openings and sentence length lifts the writing.

Text structure

Check each paragraph does one job and links to the next. Confirm the counter-argument is answered, not just raised, so the piece stays persuasive throughout.

Vocabulary

Swap two weak, vague words for precise ones you can spell. An ambitious word spelled correctly helps; one spelled wrong does not. Precision beats showing off.

The last 3 minutes - a rescue routine

When time is nearly gone, do not start a new paragraph and do not panic-read the whole answer. Run this fixed routine instead - it recovers the most marks for the least time.

Minute 1 - full stops

Run a pen-tip under each line and pause at every full stop. Where a sentence runs on too long, split it. A short correct sentence beats a long broken one.

Minute 2 - your three errors

Hunt only for the three mistakes you make most (e.g. comma splices, its/it’s, missing capitals). You know your own pattern - target it, do not re-read everything.

Minute 3 - strongest finish

Make sure the final sentence lands clearly and the form is closed correctly (sign-off, name). A weak or unfinished ending costs more than an early typo.

Practise this routine on every timed piece you write, not just in the exam. A rescue routine only works if your hand already knows it.