how to write an article gcse edexcel

Writing: Exercise 6 (Writing an article)

This is the final exercise of Paper 1 and 2. It can be an article, a report or a review writing. We’ll look at articles here.

You will be given a topic (more like a question to ponder up on) on which you have to write your views and opinions. This can either be a two-sided article (for and against) or a one-sided article (just your opinion). It is up to you to decide.

The topics usually given for this exercise are easy enough that you can come up with points right there in the exam, but it is good if you read upon various issues from around the word (obesity, technological influences, environmental issues, animal welfare, teenager issues etc).

So here’s how to attempt this question:

• Before you start it is a good idea that you come up with a plan . Use the blank space below the question to make your plan, in pencil. In your plan write down the answers to these questions:
• The audience : this will be specified in the question (it is almost always a school magazine). So when you write, keep in mind that you need to write to that audience. Your language, tone and vocabulary should reflect this.
• Is my article going to be two-sided or one-sided?  If you know a lot about the topic and can weigh up the pros and cons, then go for two-sided. If you’re not too knowledgeable about it, stick to one-sided.
• How do I introduce the topic? Start off by saying what the topic is and how important the topic is in today’s world. Why it is such a problem? Or is it a problem?
• What’s in the body ? Write down three points . (If it’s two-sided write two pros and two cons) . You will develop your body based on these points. A few points will be given in your question paper, and you can use those!
• How will I conclude the article? You need to sum up your points and give your final opinion (even if it’s two-sided, give your final opinion on the matter).
• Organise . By now, you’ve pretty much come up with the contents of your article. Now organise your points into paragraphs.
• One-sided Article: Paragraph 1: Introduction
• Paragraph 2: First point with justification (or counter-argument)
• Paragraph 3: Second point with justification (or counter-argument)
• Paragraph 4: Opposing point which you contradict (here, you state a point said by people who have a different opinion from yours and explain why they are wrong. This is called argument and   counter-argument )
• Paragraph 5: Conclusion- summary, (solution?), repeat your opinion
• Two-sided Article: Paragraph 1: Introduction
• Paragraph 2: Advantages/’For’
• Paragraph 3: Disadvantages/’Against’
• Paragraph 4: Conclusion- Summary and final opinion
• Write . Use a variety of connecting words and argumentative phrases . Examples:
• Expressing opinions: I agree/ disagree with the above statement that
• In my opinion
• I believe that
• I am in favour of
• I am against the idea of
• It seems to me that
• I sympathize with
• Presenting and contrasting opinions: The main argument in favour/ against is
• It is often said that
• First of all I should like to consider
• Apart from that
• Even though
• Furthermore
• In addition
• Nevertheless
• Despite the fact that/ In spite of
• On the other hand
• On the contrary
• What is more
• What matters most in this case is
• It is a fact that
• There is no doubt that
• Reasoning: Because of
• As a result of
• Consequently
• On account of
• Concluding: To sum up
• To conclude
• It can be concluded that
• Thus, I am of the opinion that
• Argumentative verbs (use these instead of say/tell ):

Here’s an example of a  one-sided article . This is one-sided because, even though it weighs up both ‘for’ and ‘against’ points, in each paragraph it contradicts the ‘for’ points and alludes to the same conclusion that zoos should be abolished. This is called the argument/counter-argument format.

• Use your own points , words and phrases as far as possible. The more original your content is, the better.
• Give a suitable title
• Keep to the word limit 150-200 words. Exceeding a little over 200 is not a problem.
• Always have an introduction and conclusion
• Always organise your points into paragraphs . One para for each point (one-sided) or all advantages in one para and disadvantages in another para (two-sided) is the ideal format.
• A final opinion has to be given.
• Punctuation, spelling and grammar is very important. Check your writing once you’re done.

Time Management

For the core paper 1 take 20 minutes for this exercise

For the extended paper 2, 30 minutes should suffice to answer this question. Spend 10 minutes to come up with a plan, 15 minutes to organise and write your article. Use the 5 minutes left to read over your article, make changes and correct spelling, grammar and punctuation errors.

Notes submitted by Lintha

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46 thoughts on “ Writing: Exercise 6 (Writing an article) ”

wonderful! hope you keep updating with the new Syllabus

OMGGGG this information in awesome, thanks a lottt. Tomorrow im having a test on this!!!!!!!!

Like Liked by 1 person

Hi, this post was really helpful, but I have a question. Is it ok to take a stand (for or against) in magazine article writing? It is not a persuasive writing.

It’s preferable to remain neutral when it comes to magazine articles unless the specific topic you are addressing in the article expects you to take a stand for something, then go for it.

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Dear Edexcel GCSE PE students, this is how to ace your Paper 2 exam in 2024

Editor's note : this post was originally released in june 2022 and has been updated to make it relevant for teachers supporting their students with their 2024 pe and sport exams. .

Dear Edexcel GCSE PE student,

Yes, you! The one reading this post. I wanted to ask for a few moments of your time now that your Paper 1 PE exam is behind you in order to share a few ideas about how to really prepare sharply for your Paper 2 exam.

With the Paper 1 exam behind you – I hope it went well! – I want to share guidance for Edexcel GCSE PE Paper 2.

The aim of this post is to give you 10 ideas that you can use to prepare better for your Edexcel GCSE PE Paper 2 exam. Follow these guidelines as part of a thorough revision experience and I am confident you will fly. 

• Practise a broad range of question types .
• Learn the command terms and what they mean .
• Be prepared to explain .
• Use the E-I-O method when making examples .
• Know Commercialisation, Engagement Patterns and Classification of Skills .
• Use The EverLearner's planning documents for your nine-mark answer .
• Know the new format for the Paper 2 exam .
• Complete and mark the National Mock Exam .
• Learn The EverLearner's model answers .
• Watch The EverLearner's revision sessions in May .

You will notice that none of these top tips involve common-sense advice such as eating well, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep. You don’t need me to tell you these things. Instead, we’ll be focusing on the key behaviours that lead to success.

Top Tip #1 Practise a broad range of question types

Well, this one is pretty obvious. Edexcel ask a wide range of question totals on Paper 2. Take a look at this graph:

It should be noted that the Paper 2 structure has changed the nature of these averages but, overall, we can see that Edexcel tries to ask a balanced range of question totals across their paper. As your teacher will already have told you, you will only receive one nine-mark question in 2024. If you’re unsure about the new paper structure, please read tip 7 below.

There is nothing more impacting that you can do in order to prepare for your Paper 1 exam than to practise and become skilled at writing and marking one-, two-, and especially four-mark questions. If we take the one-markers as a given, this gives you a major focus on two-, and four-mark questions.

There are hundreds of examples available for you to practise on. If you do not already have access to ExamSimulator via TheEverLearner.com, speak to your teacher about this. Within this system, there are hundreds of relevant questions for you to engage with.

Top Tip #2 Learn the command terms and what they mean 

It is so easy to think of your exams as testing your knowledge... Well, they do, of course. But your exams (and, in this case, your Edexcel GCSE PE Paper 2 exam) also test your skills. 

The skills that you need to perform have a degree of consistency. Identify (often for one mark) is obvious but take a look at explaining and evaluating. If you are able to really understand the requirements of these skills, you are going to develop an excellent advantage.

So, what do these skills actually mean? Take a look at the table below and start to think about how to respond when asked to develop each different skill. I also encourage you to highlight the skills that appear most commonly on Edexcel GCSE PE Paper 2 exams.

Top Tip #3 Be prepared to "explain"

As you can see above, explaining is a key skill. Edexcel consider that explaining…

In other words, you need to be able to state “how” and/or “why” for every single topic on the course. Simply knowing a definition or being able to describe a concept well within “Explain” responses is not enough.

Let’s take an example. Let’s say I get two different questions about the same topic. The answers to each question are completely different. Let’s have a go:

Now, if I changed Q2 to “ Explain how James blogs ,” can you see how the answer would change? Do you agree that we may need to talk about my use of English, my computer, my website and even processes such as getting the articles proofread and a graphic designer making the imagery? Can you see that my answer is specific to the question posed? You need to do this.

If you are asked to explain, which you will be, you must explain! Here’s some language that you should use in your explain responses:

Just like you prepare for your knowledge, you need to prepare for your skills. I will take this further below.

Top Tip #4 Use the E-I-O method when making examples

AO2 skills (otherwise known as making examples) is the second biggest feature of a successful Edexcel GCSE PE Paper 2 performance:

On average, 24 marks have previously come from making examples effectively . Therefore, you need to prepare for this and I encourage you to use the E-I-O method. Thankfully, this is nice and simple:

When you make your example, you MUST state the impact and the outcome of the concept on the example. Let’s take our own example:

Our author has clearly stated what the example is (manual guidance in table tennis), has stated the impact of the concept/manual guidance and has gone on to state the outcome of the concept. This is the standard I urge you to achieve when making your own examples.

Let’s look at another example from Paper 2:

This second example has a double outcome, in fact.

Teachers and students wishing to study the E-I-O method in more detail should visit...

• 100 Practical Examples in PE (Part 1)
• 100 Practical Examples in PE (Part 2)
• 100 Practical Examples in PE (Part 3)

Top Tip #5 Know Commercialisation, Engagement Patterns and Classification of Skill inside out

How can I put this without being accused of predicting your 2024 paper? I guess the only way I can say it is that, by some margin, Commercialisation, Types of feedback and Ethics - Sportsmanship, gamesmanship and deviance have been the most heavily examined topics between 2018 and 2022.

Therefore, only a fool would not have these topics absolutely nailed down in preparation for their exam in 2024. 

So, in summary, whilst there are no guarantees about what might appear on a 2024 exam paper, preparing for these three topics diligently and with the key skills in mind is a very good investment of your revision time. 

With this in mind, I urge you to take part in my utterly free Paper 2 revision in May .

Top Tip #6 Use The EverLaerner's planning documents for your nine-mark answer

As you will probably already know, you will answer one nine-mark extended writing piece in your Edexcel GCSE PE Paper 2 exam. Whilst it is true that two-markers and four-markers carry more total raw marks, it’s really useful to become competent at answering this question because it is the exact area where most students perform less well. Therefore, if you want to mark yourself out and get a better mark than others taking your paper, extended writing is an excellent way to do so:  

In order to do that, I strongly recommend that you use my preparation document for the nine-mark writing. Using these resources in preparation for your exam will serve you very well.

If you are a teacher and are wondering about the best use of these resources, you can watch a webinar on scaffolding synoptic writing for AQA GCSE PE students I broadcast around this time last year. 

Top Tip #7 Know the new format for the Edexcel Paper 2 exam

Calling all teachers and students of Edexcel GCSE PE: The Paper 2 exam in 2024 is formatted differently than 2022 and earlier. Ensure you are aware of this. To be fair, if you didn't know this already I would be worried...

I have blogged extensively on this topic in the past and you can read full details here. But here is the most important information as a summary:

Edexcel have also stated that Paper 2 will now be split into three specific sections:

Section C of Paper 2 (containing the nine-mark question) will only be taken from the Sport Psychology and Sociocultural Influences part of the content (examined in section B). This will provide centres with the opportunity to focus their practice on this area of the course only.

I urge teachers and students to become fully aware of this new structure in advance of May 2024.

Top Tip #8 Complete and mark the National Mock Exam

As I think you can probably tell, I think about how to perform well on Edexcel GCSE PE Paper 2 quite a lot. All of my thinking has been put into writing a highly relevant National Mock Exam paper which I published in January 2024. I urge you to download this paper and mark scheme and answer it, ideally under assessment conditions, before marking it using the mark scheme. You will find our Edexcel Paper 2 PE National Mock Exam in our Edexcel Revision Hub .

There is quite literally no better preparation for your exam that you can do. 

Top Tip #9 Learn The EverLearners model answers

The model answers for the National Mock Exam are available for everyone to download and read. I am going to make a very fundamental point about them here: LEARN THE MODEL ANSWERS. I mean, really now, please learn them. The model answers are hyper-relevant to your exam experience this summer and represent the ideal ways to answer all kinds of questions including the skills discussed in many of the points above. You will find my model answers for the Edexcel Paper 2 PE National Mock Exam in our Edexcel Revision Hub .

Please, please, please, learn those answers. You will not regret one second of doing so.

Top Tip #10 Watch The EverLearner's revision sessions in May

And finally… a very, very simple message: I actually broadcast my live revision show yesterday, Tuesday 28th May ( recording available after the live broadcast ) , based on all the points made above.

Folks, I cannot make this clearer: Be there! Whilst I can’t promise you entertainment like Netflix or giggles like going out with your mates, I can guarantee you that this session is delivered with everything I am and will help you massively in your preparations for the exam itself. The revision is utterly free and comes with an entire notes pack as well as the previously published infographics, mock exam, mark scheme and model answers. You can access the revision session here live on the day or on demand.

BE THERE!!!

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day. 

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Related posts, dear ocr gcse pe students, this is how to ace your paper 2 exam.

Dear AQA GCSE PE students, this is how to ace your Paper 2 exam

Dear Edexcel GCSE PE students, this is how to ace your Paper 1 exam

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Writing an article

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

14 April 2024

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Year 10 and 11 - writing an article. (Edexcel and AQA)

I have exhausted the typical article question such as write an article on why ‘homework should be banned’ and ‘school uniform is good’ etc etc… and my classes wanted something new and different. So, I picked something controversial such as whether cycle lanes were good or bad and my classes was surprisingly upbeat and very engaged! They had some really excellent ideas, I was proud of them all!

The PowerPoint went down well and they really enjoyed it.

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