Planning for Writing
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Basics on the topic Planning for Writing
Do you want to know how to plan your writing and how to use a graphic organiser for writing? Learn planning writing through an interactive video, activities and worksheets!
Planning Sheets for Writing – Introduction
The writing process consists of planning, drafting, revising, formatting, editing and proofreading. The first stage of writing is planning, during which we think about what we are going to write. Spending more time in the planning phase of the writing process leads to better results, which is why it is important to do planning in the writing process properly.
Graphic Organisers – Planning Sheets for Writing an Essay
To make sure our writing is well-structured and we don’t forget anything important, we use a graphic organiser template for writing. This graphic organiser is sometimes called a planning sheet for writing an essay, and it helps us think about what we are going to write.
We use it to take short notes about ideas we will include in our writing. This writing planning graphic organiser would be perfect for a 5-paragraph piece of writing.
Remember, that we can use this graphic organiser for narrative writing (story writing), descriptive writing, opinion writing, persuasive writing or argumentative writing.
Planning a writing project involves determining what title you are going to use. You can do it as a first step of your planning, or at the very end if you can’t think of a good title immediately.
Next, we plan the introduction. The introduction of your writing should include a hook, which grabs readers’ attention.
The hook can include facts, questions or quotes that will make the reader want to keep reading further.
Then, you should include some background information which gives the purpose of your writing. This part can include the main points on why the topic you are writing about is important.
After planning the introduction, we can start planning our body paragraphs. Usually, the main points from the introduction become the topics of each paragraph.
Body paragraphs can include things like facts and directions, 5 Ws (who? what? when? where? why?) and how, descriptions, text evidence or opinions and reasons.
| Body paragraphs can include: | |
|---|---|
| 1. | facts and directions |
| 2. | 5 Ws and how |
| 3. | descriptions |
| 4. | text evidence |
| 5. | opinions and reasons |
When using a graphic organiser for writing body paragraphs, make sure that each paragraph includes a topic sentence, the body (5-7 sentences long), and a closing sentence that restates the topic sentence.
Finally, we plan the conclusion.
In the conclusion we restate the main idea, summarise main points and draw to a close by making a final impactful observation, making a call to action or ending with a powerful quote or fact.
Planning for Writing – Summary
Let’s summarise what we have learnt about planning for writing. We can use a graphic organiser to plan our writing more efficiently. When using a graphic organiser, you should include notes about the introduction, the body paragraphs and the conclusion paragraph.
Now you are ready to start writing! If you want more practice, check out our writing planning worksheets and watch our video!
Frequently Asked Questions about Planning for Writing
Planning for Writing exercise
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Complete the organiser.
HintsThe first paragraph should get the reader's attention and give the main idea.
The last paragraph should repeat and clarify the previous paragraphs, then bring the writing to an end.
The first paragraph introduces the writing and the last paragraph concludes the writing.
SolutionA graphic organiser should include the following:
- Title - This is the name of the piece of writing.
- Introduction paragraph - This should include a hook to catch people's interest and general background information about the topic.
- Body paragraph - This should include the main points from the introduction and most of the information about the topic.
- Conclusion paragraph - In the last paragraph, the main ideas and points are repeated and the writing is drawn to a close.
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Pair terms and definitions.
HintsThe introduction paragraph is the first paragraph people will read and should get the reader's attention.
The body paragraphs should include facts and directions, descriptions, evidence and opinions and anything else the reader should know about the topic.
The conclusion paragraph should repeat and clarify the previous paragraphs, then bring the writing to an end.
Solution- Title - This is the name of the piece of writing.
- Introduction paragraph - This should include a hook to catch people's interest and general background information about the topic.
- Body paragraph - This should include the main points from the introduction and most of the information about the topic.
- Conclusion paragraph - In the last paragraph, the main ideas and points are repeated and the writing is drawn to a close.
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Describe the information in a body paragraph.
HintsBody paragraphs are where you present the majority of your information and arguments. They should work together with the introduction and conclusion paragraphs.
Body paragraphs come after the introduction paragraph and continue what the introduction paragraph has already started.
There are three true choices and two incorrect choices.
SolutionTRUE:
- The topic of a body paragraph is usually a point from the introduction paragraph.
- Body paragraphs should include things like facts and directions, questions, descriptions, text evidence and opinions and reasons.
- Body paragraphs should include a topic sentence, body of the paragraph and closing sentence.
- Body paragraphs are always about the human body.
- Body paragraphs introduce new ideas for the first time.
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Describe the conclusion paragraph.
HintsThink back to the graphic organiser. Does the conclusion come at the beginning or the end?
Here we can see the conclusion comes at the end. The conclusion paragraph should reference or close the main points brought up previously.
The conclusion paragraph should:
1) Remind the reader what the focus of the writing was.
2) Remind the reader what the most important information or points were.
3) Leave a clear, final closing message for the reader.SolutionThe conclusion paragraph is the last paragraph in a writing piece.
A conclusion paragraph should:- Restate the main idea.
- Summarise the main points.
- Draw to a close by making a final impactful observation or ending with a powerful quote or fact.
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What do we NOT need to do when planning for writing?
HintsYou should think about what you need to say. What can you use to plan and organise your ideas?
You should also consider:
- The name of the piece of your writing.
- What is your main idea and supporting information?
We can just make notes when planning our writing.
SolutionThe correct answer is:
Write everything out in full sentences with lots of detail.
When we are planning our writing, we can make notes. We will then write everything out in full sentences with detail when we write our final piece.
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Complete the graphic organiser.
HintsYou want to get the reader's attention at the beginning of your writing.
What part of the graphic organiser comes first and would be the best place for this?
Body paragraphs have a beginning sentence, middle content and end sentence.
Drawing the entire writing to a close should be the last part of your writing.
Solution- The introduction should include a hook to catch people's attention.
- The body paragraph begins with a topic sentence, followed by the body of the paragraph, followed by the closing sentence.
- The conclusion paragraph should restate the main idea before it draws the entire writing to a close.
