Inform,+Explain+or+Describe

=This is the one WRITING task which appears on Unit 1, the same paper as the Non-Fiction and Media Texts questions.=

===Writing to INFORM or EXPLAIN would appear to me to be very similar things. Basically, you need to find a way to make something make SENSE to somebody who didn't understand it before. In that way, writing to DESCRIBE isn't that different. You know what something is like; and you need to transfer that knowledge and understanding to someone else.===

Effective IED writing will use:
 * lots of SIMILES and METAPHORS;
 * frequent ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS;
 * regular CLAUSES (to expand the potential of the sentence);
 * a broad VOCABULARY.

Like the other types of writing, IED writing also needs to:
 * have a clear and powerful THREAD (in fact, without that your 'explanation' will be much weaker);
 * use a strong, original and striking INTRODUCTION and CONCLUSION;
 * be INTERESTING and ENTERTAINING to read; and
 * use correct SPELLING, PUNCTUATION and GRAMMAR (including PARAGRAPHS).

An entertaining example of IED writing can be found each week in //The Guardian// - in the 'How to...' articles of the journalist, Guy Browning. Click below for a selection of these short articles, each of which aim to EXPLAIN/DESCRIBE something apparently normal/straightforward in a fresh and original way. Think HUMAN BEHAVIOUR as it would need to be described to aliens from another planet, and that pretty accurately describes Guy Browning's writing. (Although the aliens would also need to speak English, and buy //The Guardian//, so it's a bit of a long shot...!)

Click here to see a list of practice questions for this task.