9ENO, A-Level, A-level Language, A2 Language, Creative Writing, Edexcel, English Language, Exam, iAL, KS5, Language, Support, WEN0, WEN03, Year 13

A-level Language: Paper 3 How to Approach Section A Crafting Language

by Jancke Dunn

The Crafting Language Task

What is Section A testing?

Section A is not a comprehension exercise and it is not a summary task.

You are being assessed on your ability to:

• Craft an original text for a specific genre.
• Adapt language for a particular audience and purpose.
• Use source material selectively and creatively.
• Demonstrate control of style, tone and register.
• Create a convincing writer or speaker persona.

The examiners repeatedly state that the strongest responses are not those which use the most information from the source texts, but those which transform that information into something original and purposeful.

Step 1: Identify Your GAPC

Before writing anything, decide:

Genre (Mode)

What type of text am I creating?

Examples:

  • Speech
  • Blog
  • Newspaper article
  • Presentation
  • Video script

Audience

Who am I writing for?

Examples:

  • Teenagers
  • Parents
  • University students
  • Readers of a broadsheet newspaper
  • Social media followers

Purpose

Why am I writing?

Examples:

  • Inform
  • Persuade
  • Entertain
  • Educate
  • Inspire

Context

Where would this text realistically exist?

Examples:

  • School assembly
  • Educational website
  • YouTube channel
  • Charity blog
  • Newspaper feature

The best responses make clear decisions about all four before writing.

Step 2: Create a Persona

One of the most common recommendations from examiners is to adopt a clear persona.

Instead of being:

✗ A student writing an exam response

Become:

✓ A journalist
✓ A teacher
✓ A museum curator
✓ A scientist
✓ A photographer
✓ An influencer
✓ A historian
✓ An expert speaker

Ask yourself:

Who is speaking?
Why are they qualified to speak?
How would they sound?

A convincing persona immediately gives your writing a clear voice.

Step 3: Mine the Sources

Read the source booklet and highlight:

Facts

Statistics
Dates
Research findings

Stories

Case studies
Anecdotes
Personal experiences

Experts

Specialists
Researchers
Professionals

Quotations

Powerful ideas
Interesting viewpoints

Do not try to use everything.

Examiners repeatedly state that weaker responses try to include too much information.

Strong candidates select only the most useful material.

Step 4: Transform, Don’t Transfer

This is the most important examiner message.

Never copy.

Never summarise.

Never rewrite paragraphs from the source text.

Instead:

Source

“The project planted 20,000 trees.”

Weak

The project planted 20,000 trees.

Better

Imagine transforming a grey urban landscape into a thriving green space. One recent initiative planted more than 20,000 trees, demonstrating the scale of change that is possible.

The information remains the same.

The language becomes yours.

Step 5: Match Language to Audience

Ask yourself:

Would this audience realistically enjoy reading or hearing this?

For example:

Teen Audience

  • Contractions
  • Direct address
  • Rhetorical questions
  • Humour

Professional Audience

  • Formal lexis
  • Technical vocabulary
  • Objective tone

Mixed Audience

  • Accessible explanations
  • Varied sentence structures
  • Clear organisation

The strongest responses sustain this throughout the entire text.

Step 6: Craft Structure Deliberately

Before writing, create a quick plan.

A useful structure:

Opening

Hook audience

Main Point 1

Introduce key idea

Main Point 2

Develop argument

Main Point 3

Case study or example

Conclusion

Leave audience with a memorable final thought

Do not simply follow the order of the source booklet.

Examiners specifically advise against this.

Step 7: Demonstrate Genre Awareness

Every genre has conventions.

Speech

  • Direct address
  • Inclusive pronouns
  • Rhetorical devices

Blog

  • Headings
  • Personal voice
  • Reader engagement

Newspaper Article

  • Headline
  • Introduction
  • Quotations
  • Balanced tone

Video Script

  • References to visuals
  • Audience interaction
  • Spoken style

A Band 5 response sounds authentic to its genre.

Common Mistakes

Avoid

✗ Copying large sections of source material

✗ Using every source equally

✗ Following the structure of the source texts

✗ Writing without deciding audience

✗ Producing generic writing with no clear persona

✗ Forgetting the conventions of the genre

✗ Writing excessively long responses

What Does a Top-Level Response Look Like?

A top response:

✓ Has a clear persona.

✓ Uses source material selectively.

✓ Sounds authentic to the genre.

✓ Maintains a consistent register and tone.

✓ Demonstrates clear awareness of audience and purpose.

✓ Transforms information rather than copying it.

✓ Feels like a real-world text rather than an exam response.

Section A Planning Checklist

Before writing, I have:

□ Identified my genre

□ Identified my audience

□ Identified my purpose

□ Identified my context

□ Chosen a persona

□ Selected the most useful source information

□ Planned my structure

□ Considered my register and tone

□ Considered conventions of the genre

□ Left enough time for Section B

Remember: Section A is worth 20 marks. Section B is worth 30 marks. The strongest candidates produce a focused, carefully crafted Section A response and leave sufficient time to analyse their decisions in the commentary.

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