Writing for friends
Four bullet points in about 160 to 180 characters, written for friends or people your own age.
Learn
Writing for friends, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know what the task asks for
This question is shared by both tiers: Question 3 at Foundation and Question 1 at Higher. You choose one of two tasks and write about 160 to 180 characters in a familiar style, such as a message or an article for people your age, covering four bullet points. It is worth 20 marks, 12 for communication and content and 8 for accuracy, and you must cover all four bullets to reach the top band.
Plan around the four bullets
Aim for about 40 to 45 characters a bullet, which is two sentences each. Answer each bullet as it stands: if it asks where, say where.
Check which time frame each bullet needs
Bullets often ask for the past in one place and the future in another. Mark each one before you start: the past with ました or でした, the present with ます, the future with たいです or a time word like らいねん.
Write in a friendly style
Your reader is a friend or someone your age. Open with a friendly greeting, use names with くん or ちゃん, and sign off with じゃ、 また or またね. At Foundation the です and ます endings are fine: the friendliness comes from your greetings and how you address the reader.
Write in plain style, if you can keep it upHigher only
At Higher you can write the whole piece in plain forms, as friends do: きのう 映画を 見た。 とても おもしろかった。 Choose plain or polite and keep to it, because switching back and forth reads as a slip.
Interest your reader and convince them
The marks reward language that interests the reader and opinions that convince. Give real reasons, ask the reader a question (〜くんは どうですか。), or suggest something: いっしょに 行きましょう！
Show a range of kanji you know well
The communication marks climb from limited kanji to a variety of kanji. Use the ones you are sure of, such as 学校, 先生, 日本, 行きます and 食べます, because a mistaken kanji can hide your meaning.
Link your sentences
Join ideas with くて, で, が, から and the te-form, and use そして or それから between sentences. The accuracy marks reward extended sentences that are well linked.
Writing for friends key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Familiar register
- The friendly style for friends and people your age: casual greetings, くん and ちゃん, endings like ね.
- Bullet point
- One of the four things the task asks you to write about. All four are needed for the top band.
- Character count
- The suggested length: 160 to 180 characters here.
- Time frame
- Past, present or future. The bullets tell you which to use.
- Kanji range
- Using a variety of kanji correctly, which the marks reward.
- くん and ちゃん
- Friendly name endings: くん mostly for boys, ちゃん for girls and close friends.
- じゃ、 また
- See you, a friendly way to sign off.
- Extended sentence
- A sentence that joins two or more ideas, for example with から or the te-form.
Common mistakes in Writing for friends
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Leaving out one of the four bullets.
The top band needs all four. Plan two sentences for each before you start writing.
Writing about a habit when the bullet asks about one occasion.
A bullet like a time you did something wants the past: 〜ました. Check each bullet's time frame first.
Writing a loanword in hiragana, such as あるばいと for a part-time job.
Loanwords go in katakana, whichever language they come from: アルバイト is from German. Others to watch are コンサート and ギター.
Using あそびます for playing a sport or a game, as in テニスを あそびます.
Sports and games take します: テニスを します, ゲームを します. あそびます means to have fun or hang out: 友だちと あそびます.
Using します for playing an instrument, as in ピアノを します.
Instruments have their own verb: ピアノを ひきます, ギターを ひきます. Learn the verb along with the instrument.