Organising and structuring transactional writing on Unit 1 (AO3), planning before writing and using paragraphs, sequencing and cohesive devices to build a coherent whole text with a strong opening and ending.

What this dot point is asking

AO3 rewards not only clear sentences but coherent organisation: ideas built into structured, sequenced paragraphs that form one whole text. On Unit 1 the writing task is marked partly on this shape, so a piece with strong individual sentences but no plan, no paragraphing and no clear arc cannot reach the top band. The skill is to plan before writing, sequence your points so the piece builds, paragraph clearly, link with cohesive devices, and frame the whole with a strong opening and ending. Because you write under time pressure, a quick plan is the single most efficient way to protect the structure marks, and this dot point is about how to do it.

Planning before you write

A short plan is the foundation of structure.

The plan need only be a few words per point, plus a note for the opening and the ending. For an argument, decide which point opens, how the case develops, and how it concludes. For a report, group points into sections. With the shape fixed, you can write each paragraph knowing where it sits and where the piece is going.

Paragraphing and sequencing

Paragraphs are the visible structure AO3 looks for.

Each paragraph should have a clear focus and develop it, not cram three points together. Sequencing then arranges these focused paragraphs into a deliberate order. An argument often saves its strongest point for last or answers the obvious objection before closing; a report moves from situation to recommendation. The reader should feel the writing going somewhere, which is what coherence means.

Cohesion and framing

Cohesion is the glue; the opening and ending are the frame.

Frame the whole with a strong opening and ending. The opening should hook the reader and, in an argument, signal the line you will take; the ending should land, with a call to action, a return to the opening idea, or a memorable final thought, not simply stop. A piece that opens well, develops in linked paragraphs and closes deliberately reads as a controlled whole text rather than a list of sentences.

Try this

Q1. Why plan before writing a Unit 1 transactional piece? [2 marks]

• Cue. A plan sequences your points so the piece builds, prevents repetition and drying up, and protects the structure marks AO3 rewards.

Q2. Give two cohesive devices and the relationship each signals. [2 marks]

• Cue. Any two, for example "however" (contrast), "as a result" (cause), "firstly" (sequence), "in addition" (addition).