English Second Language·Writing skills · NSSCO 5.11
Speeches & diary / journal entries
Narrated lesson · press play
Two very different kinds of writing can appear in your Paper 1 writing task, and today we learn both. A speech is written to be SPOKEN out loud to an audience — you greet them, grab their attention, make your points, and end with a call to action, using clever persuasive techniques along the way. A diary or journal entry is the opposite: a private, personal record of what happened in your day and — most importantly — how you felt about it. We will build a speech skeleton and a diary skeleton step by step, and see exactly how a diary is different from a plain report.
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCO English Second Language 5.11):
- Explain that a speech is written to be spoken to an audience, and identify where a speech is used (assembly, debate, ceremony)
- Structure a speech with an opening (greeting and hook), a body (one clear point per paragraph) and a strong, memorable closing that thanks the audience
- Use persuasive speech techniques: direct address, rhetorical questions, repetition, the rule of three, emotive words and a call to action
- Explain that a diary or journal entry is a personal, private record of what happened and how the writer felt
- Set out a diary entry correctly: the date, often 'Dear Diary', written in the first person and past tense, in an informal, honest, reflective tone
- Explain the difference between a diary (facts plus feelings and reflection) and a report (facts only)
- Plan and write the opening of a speech and a short diary entry
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Miss Veronica and Mike talk through the whole topic — with the figure and working drawn live.