Year 8 Writing Practice Statement trackers

Audience, purpose, and language choice

• Selecting or deliberately combining modes to enhance the message in texts in relation to their purpose
• Using codes and conventions of different modes and text types in the texts they compose
• Considering the effectiveness of the writing in relation to its purpose
• Deliberately selecting and using a range of language features (e.g. hyperbole, cliche, contrast, pun) to shape meaning and influence the audience, explaining the intended effect
• Deliberately selecting and using words and phrases that clearly express their intended meaning, considering the nuances of synonyms to enhance clarity, impact, and personal voice
• Using a physical or appropriate digital thesaurus to locate synonyms for different purposes

Sentence structures, grammar, and punctuation

• Writing compound-complex sentences
• Using their understanding of sentence structures to craft sentences that effectively communicate ideas, using complex sentences that combine phrases and clauses to illustrate the connections between ideas
• Crafting sentences that communicate meaning clearly, correctly using: indirect objects; predicate nouns; predicate adjectives; participles; gerunds
• Distinguishing between active and passive voice and making deliberate choices about which to use when writing
• Using colons for introducing a list after a complete sentence (e.g. 'The recipe calls for several ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, and butter')
• Using colons for introducing explanations or examples (e.g. 'There was only one thing left to do: finish the project')
• Using semicolons to separate two independent clauses (e.g. 'The weather was perfect for a hike; the sun was shining and the sky was clear')

Writing to entertain

• Writing texts to entertain that present real or imagined experiences or events or a combination of these
• Writing texts to entertain that orient the reader, listener, or viewer by establishing a situation and setting that supports the purpose of the text
• Writing texts to entertain that use a variety of techniques to sequence events, thoughts, or experiences and signal shifts from one setting or idea to another
• Writing texts to entertain that include carefully selected words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events
• Writing texts to entertain that provide a resolution that follows from and reflects on the rest of the text

Writing to inform

• Writing texts to inform that clearly introduce the topic, provide a preview of what will be covered, and organise ideas and information logically within and across paragraphs
• Writing texts to inform that include considered use of headings and visual features such as illustrations, charts, tables, and multimedia
• Writing texts to inform that link ideas within and across categories of information using carefully selected and varied transition words, phrases, and clauses (e.g. similarly, consequently, conversely)
• Writing texts to inform that include relevant and carefully selected facts, definitions, examples, and quotations
• Writing texts to inform that provide references for the sources of information used in the text
• Writing texts to inform that include precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to explain the topic
• Writing texts to inform that provide a concluding paragraph which highlights the most important points and encourages further reflection
• Interrogating the validity of digital and media texts by examining authorship, use of evidence, and signs of bias
• Engaging in the responsible use of digital content, including linking to or citing sources for created texts and considering copyright and Creative Commons when sharing to a wider audience

Writing to persuade

• Writing texts to persuade that clearly introduce a preferred position, acknowledge alternative or opposing position(s), and organise the reasons and evidence logically
• Writing texts to persuade that support the preferred position with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, trustworthy sources
• Writing texts to persuade that include emotive language and rhetorical devices that are compelling but respectful
• Writing texts to persuade that present the opposing position with evidence, pointing out why the preferred position is stronger
• Writing texts to persuade that have a concluding section that clearly restates their position and ends with a strong statement that reinforces why the reader should support it

Handwriting

• Handwriting with fluency while maintaining legibility, size, spacing, and slope

Keyboarding

• Using efficient keyboarding with fluency and accuracy

Spelling

• Spelling words with ambiguous vowel spellings including: schwa for unstressed syllables (e.g. awkw__ard__, wat__er__); <or> representing /er/ following 'w' (e.g. worse)
• Spelling words with ambiguous consonant spellings, including <gh> representing /f/ (e.g. 'enough') and <ch> representing /ch/, /sh/, or /k/
• Using the correct spelling for advanced homophones (e.g. patients–patience, cite–site–sight, I'll–aisle–isle)
• Spelling words with common chameleon prefixes (e.g. 'in–', 'im–', 'il–', and 'ir–' meaning 'not', and 'con–', 'col–', 'co–', 'com–' 'cor–' meaning 'with' or 'together')
• Spelling words where the consonant changes when adding the suffix (e.g. 'mischief' → 'mischievous') and where the vowel changes when adding the suffix (e.g. 'explain' → 'explanation')

Drafting

• Transferring ideas from planning to writing, including transferring main ideas to topic sentences
• Using structural features such as linking words across the whole text to support cohesion
• Writing multi-paragraph texts for specific purposes, organising the information and ideas using structures that best suit the purpose and audience (e.g. chronological order, cause and effect, compare and contrast, or narrative sequencing)

Planning

• Selecting and adapting planning and note-taking strategies to meet the needs of the writing purpose, form, or genre
• Synthesising and prioritising notes using key words, phrases, and annotations to support idea development and coherence
• Structuring ideas into cohesive sections, using transitions and paragraph organisation that suit the writing purpose
• Reflecting on planning strategies, considering their effectiveness in supporting the writing purpose

Revising and editing

• Making revisions to the content, style, features, and tone of draft texts and adding, deleting, and re-sequencing words and sentences to improve clarity, focus, grammar, and coherence for the intended audience and purpose
• Requesting and selectively using peer feedback to determine where revision is needed, justifying their decision when the feedback is not used
• Editing draft texts, checking for errors in spelling, punctuation, and formatting