Year 10 - English
Summarising a non-fiction text: 'a letter to my son' (the Guardian, 2014)
Non-fiction: crime and punishment
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils develop their non-fiction reading and writing skills by reading and responding to a selection of nineteenth century and modern non-fiction texts on the theme of crime and punishment. They practise summarising and comparing texts before writing an article and information text.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to show understanding of a non-fiction text by summarising it, as well as exploring the writer's use of direct address.
Key Notes
- An open letter is written to a particular person or group but published so that the public can read it.
- A summary captures the main ideas of a text in a short and clear format.
- When writing a summary of a text, it can be helpful to include short quotations.
- You can develop your summary by including inferences; inferences explore a text's suggested ideas.
- Direct address sees a writer directly address their audience, often using pronouns like "you", "we", or "us".
Vocabulary To Learn
- open letter: a letter written to a particular person or group but which is published in a newspaper or journal so the public can read it
- discourse marker: a word or phrase which helps structure writing or talk, for example: first, then, finally
- infer: in relation to a text, to come to understand a text's suggested ideas
- suggest: to hint, or imply
- direct address: when a writer directly addresses their audience, often using pronouns like "you", "we", or "us"
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- The pronoun "you" is the only example of direct address.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
An open letter is written to a particular person or group but published so that the public can read it. A summary captures the main ideas of a text in a short and clear format.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'open letter'
a letter written to a particular person or group but which is published in a newspaper or journal so the public can read it.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: The pronoun "you" is the only example of direct address. Correction: Direct address is any way in which a writer directly addresses their audience. This could be a title, name or term.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Comparing texts about drug misuse: 'Confessions' (1821) and 'A letter to' (2014) Study Guide
- Developing a summary of a non-fiction text by including inferences Study Guide
- Planning an open letter using single paragraph outlines Study Guide
- Planning and writing website content Study Guide
- Reading an opinion article and creating rhetorical questions Study Guide
- Reading and comparing two texts about prisons: London (1862) and Norway (2013) Study Guide
- Revising and editing non-fiction writing Study Guide
- Using credible statistics in a piece of non-fiction writing Study Guide
- Using figurative language in non-fiction writing Study Guide
- Using structural features effectively in non-fiction texts Study Guide
- Using the conventions of website content creatively Study Guide
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