Writing in Role

1
Writing in Role

• The following notes will help you prepare
  yourself to write in the role of a character at
  an important moment in a novel, or a play, or a
  poem.
• Remember
• You have 50 minutes to write your answer, so its
  important that you use your time efficiently

2
Writing in Role Language Hints

• Before you read on, make sure you understand that
  your writing style can be informal and subjective
  when writing in the role of a character
  generally you are asked to write down your
  thoughts, feelings, memories or personal opinions
  about something that has happened in the story
• Try to use the language that the character uses
  in the story
• You can use contractions, especially in
  recounting conversations you might have had
  doesnt, cant, wont etc.
• You can use slang phrases be guided by the
  nature of your character
• Above all, be descriptive, using a variety of
  adjectives and verbs and adverbs

3
Writing in Role Structure
Preliminary (5 mins)
Planning (15 mins)
Writing (26 mins)
Opening (3 mins)
Section 1 (7 mins)
Section 2 (7 mins)
Section 3 (7 mins)
Ending (2 mins)
Planning (15 mins)
4
Writing in Role Preliminary (5 mins)

• Give yourself 5 minutes to scan through the
  extract and the questions
• Once youve selected the writing in role
  question, highlight the key words and re-write it
  your own words
• Remember the key words will guide you as to what
  you must write in youre answer and how
• Be prepared to write in a variety of forms
  formal/informal letter, diary entry, speech,
  autobiography
• Whatever form you are asked to use, it should
  follow the five-part structure youre familiar
  with

5
Writing in Role Planning Your Answer (15 mins)

• Planning needs to be detailed and thorough
• Give yourself approximately a third of the
  writing time for planning ie. third of 45 mins
  15 mins
• Use this planning time as follows
• Opening 2 mins
• Three Sections 4 mins each
• Ending 1 min
• Write your plan in bullet points or short
  phrases/sentences theres no need to write in
  full sentences yet
• You might even write a topic sentence for each
  of your planned paragraphs
• If youre writing a letter, diary or news report,
  make sure youve got all aspects of the layout
  correct

6
Writing in Role Opening (3 mins)

• Your opening sentence should be interesting and
  immediately grab the readers attention Whatever
  happened to that Golden Future Time of Old
  Majors?
• Make sure you immediately answer the aspects of
  the question perhaps use some of the key words
  of the question in your opening sentence
• Your second sentence should give your immediate
  thought/feeling/opinion about the events youre
  writing about I feel so utterly depressed and
  useless about whats happening on the farm.
• Give some idea of the events leading up to the
  events youre writing about
• Note your opening should be limited to 4-5
  sentences and make a great impression on the
  reader

7
Writing in Role Sections 1, 2, 3 (7 mins each)

• Try to write a maximum of 2 paragraphs for each
  section
• Your section heading will vary depending on the
  type of questions youre asked
• Try to give yourself a main topic for each
  section, so as to focus your writing you can
  choose your topic from the various paragraph
  annotations youve made in your texts

8
Writing in Role Ending (2 mins)

• This should be brief and to the point and refer
  back to the question
• Sum up your overall thoughts feelings about the
  events youre writing about Overall, it seems to
  me that
• You might want to speculate about the future and
  what lies in store I cant help wondering what
  will happen
• Note the conclusion should have a maximum of 2-3
  sentences

9
Writing in Role Re-reading (4 mins)

• Always give yourself time to re-read your essay
  this could make the difference between a D and a
  C Grade
• The more time you can bank for re-reading, the
  better
• Check for spellings, grammar, punctuation
• Do not use tip-ex for corrections
• Cross out mistakes by putting one line through
  the error