English language exam tomorrow

Hey guys I have my english language exam tomorrow which is my first GCSE. I was wondering whether anyone could help: Sometimes the questions ask you to write a newspaper article or letter and things like that. It may sound very stupid but what is the best way to set out a newspaper article and what kind of language to use? Also, if writing a letter do you think it would be good to write the persons and your address?
Thanks for any help and if you have any tips or tricks I would really appreciate it.
Also if wondering I am doing English from the CIE exam board

Reply 1

KatNutkin

English isn't exactly my strongest subject, so you may want to take this loosely, but newspapers are generally fairly formal, and try and remain informative. If it's a local newspaper, it can be somewhat more informal, but not as if you were talking to a friend. In terms of setting it out, start with a brief introduction (obviously using the start given) and then give each bullet point a separate paragraph. Beyond that, I don't think there's really any set structure?

I wouldn't bother with addresses myself, but I could be wrong. It will give you a way to start it, and since you must start with that, there won't really be a chance to put an address.

Others may want to correct me though, but that's how I would do it.
Also, we've been told to start with question 3, and then move on to 1 and then 2. Since question 3 focuses on a different text, that's entirely possible, and 3a is the quickest way to get marks. If you feel like you've taken too long on the bullet points, you can then leave part b to the end since it's only worth 5 marks.

Good luck!

Reply 2