Using ideas from texts

English Language · Writing: directed writing. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

Test this topic free All English Language topics

The idea

In directed writing you read one or two texts and then use their ideas for a new task, such as a letter or a speech. Two skills are tested.

First, evaluate. Judge how strong each argument is. Ask who is speaking, how much evidence there is, and whether the claim goes too far.

Second, select and develop. Choose the ideas that suit your purpose and your reader, and ignore the rest. Then build on each idea in your own words by adding a reason, a result or an example. Copying a detail is not developing it.

Rules to remember

Reliable evidence: large numbers, a long period, an independent source such as a hospital or a survey.
Weak evidence: one person’s experience, a very small group, or no support at all.
Bias: be cautious when the source gains from the claim, such as a company praising its own product.
Exaggeration (‘everyone’, ‘always’, ‘never’) is easy for an opponent to challenge.
Select by asking: what would persuade this reader of this point?
Develop = add a reason, a result or an example: ‘so that…’, ‘which means that…’.
A strong argument admits the other side and answers it: ‘Although…, …’.

Common mistake

Choosing a detail because it is interesting, not because it helps your purpose, or copying it without explaining why it matters. Every idea you use should be chosen for your reader and then explained.

Worked example

You are writing a speech to persuade classmates to join a first aid course. A leaflet says: the course began in 2015; lessons are in Room 12; eight out of ten pupils who took it now feel able to help in an emergency. Which detail is most useful, and how could you develop it?

Purpose: to persuade. Audience: classmates. You need a reason for them to join.
The starting year and the room number are plain information. They persuade nobody.
The ‘eight out of ten’ figure is evidence that the course works for pupils like them.
Develop it with a result: knowing what to do means you could help a friend who is hurt.

Answer: Use the ‘eight out of ten’ detail, for example: ‘Eight out of ten pupils who took the course now feel ready to help in an emergency, so you could be the one who knows what to do when a friend is hurt.’

Ask about this

Type what you are stuck on. The helper finds the explanation, worked examples and the notes to read, free and instant.

Read the full notes

Keep going

← Purpose, audience and register Forms and conventions →Take a English Language test