Practise writing in the register of a real publication. Attempt each before revealing; all prompts are our own original material.
1Write the opening of an article for a school magazine on why students should learn to cook before leaving home.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Open with a lively hook and a clear angle. Keep the register bright and reader-friendly for a school audience.
Model opening: Ask most of us to name a life skill and we will say driving. Ask us to boil an egg and the room goes quiet.
Checklist:
- Engaging, publication-appropriate opening
- Clear angle or line of argument
- Register suits the named readership
- Not a formal essay in disguise
2Write the opening of an article for a local newspaper about the loss of green space in growing towns.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Adopt a slightly more serious register than a school piece; open with a concrete local image, then widen out.
Tried these practice tasks? A teacher can mark your child's attempt and explain the next step in a paid one-hour trial.
Model opening: The field behind Marlow Road has been 'temporary parking' for two years now. Nobody remembers voting for that.
Checklist:
- Register fits a local paper
- Concrete opening image
- Widens from detail to issue
- Balanced, not a rant
3Write the opening of an article arguing that reading for pleasure matters as much as reading for exams.
Show plan, model opening & checklist
Plan: Use a personal or provocative hook, then set up the two-sided angle you will develop.
Model opening: I have never once been tested on the novels I loved most, and they are the only reading I still remember.
Checklist:
- Hook draws the reader in
- Angle established early
- Voice suited to a feature article
- Sets up development, not just a claim
See the worked annotated model response for directed writing: article, or the method in our directed writing: article skills guide.