Young Writers Society

Everyone wants an A*, right?

Well part of the criteria reads:

"Organisational skill and originality and displays control of extended linguistic and structural devices."

I shall make an assumption that linguistic devices means powerful/extended metaphors, poetic, simile, ellipsis, rhetorical question... the the simplicity of the list is exemplified the longer I continue. By the way if those are not what it means by linguistic devices, PLEASE correct me[u]

And strutural devices I have no clue about. Does it mean things such as, well let's speak in computer terminology: <Text><ENTER><ENTER><Powerful sentence><ENTER><ENTER>

AS in putting one powerful sentence on a separate line to the rest of the text. Again, please correct me if I'm wrong. If I'm right, give me some more examples! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! My grade (gah I hate cliches) hangs in the balance.

Yeah I would think your example for structural devices is on the right lines. Basically I think it just means to make sure you paragraph your work correctly, subtitles, titles, etc. The criteria just makes a mountain out of a molehill - do what you would do in ordinary writing, spell everything correctly, use the correct punctuation. That's all it really means.

Thinking of my english A-level I'd assume that by structural devices it means they way you choose to set out the piece. Like presenting your points in a logical and thought order, rather than whenever they came to mind. Linking words are the key methinks.

Having just done my GCSE original writing coursework, I have to say, I didn't do anything more structured than my normal writing, and I got an A*. I don't think putting the linguistic devises in as linguistic devices is good as such, but they should be part of the piece of writing. Also, put in semicolons, they seam to get you higher marks.

Also, put in semicolons, they seam to get you higher marks.

I forgot about that XD my GCSE teacher told our class, put in at least one semi-colon used properly and it can boost your mark by a whole grade, 'cause so few students even know what they are.

By structure, it's referring to how you put your piece together. For example, for poems, are you doing it stanza by stanza?

My tip on poems would be do a stanza by stanza for evaluations; for comparisons have 60-70% of one poem and the remainign percentage of the other for the first two or first paragraph and vice versa on the remainign paragraphs.

On plays etc. don't fall into the scene by scene structure; it doesn't make it stand out. Refer back onto past points to strengthen what you have just said. Only don't take it so far that your essay becomes a mess.

These are the tips I got and I recieved nothing less than an A throughout Y10 and so far in Y11 (though I doubt it was just because of structure, but it's there). I just hope A-level english doesn't slay me. Hope those tips help.