Mr Curr's help for the Original Writing section of your coursework

• this section of your folder counts for 5% of your final grade for GCSE English
• it is marked wholly for attainment target 3; in other words, for spelling, punctuation, grammar and sentence construction together with the originality and quality of your ideas
• you are expected to show that you can write for different types of readers and purposes
• the coursework must be writing to explore, imagine or entertain

So, it follows that you would be well advised to

• check all grammar and spelling very carefully;

helpful hint: even if you are handwriting, draft this on a pc first, making sure that the grammar and spellcheckers are ON

• check that you have used a variety of punctuation marks and that you have used them correctly

helpful hint: check every sentence that goes on for more than two lines; the chances are that you have joined two sentences, wrongly, with a comma. Either split it up into smaller sentences, or use a semicolon, as in my last sentence!

helpful hint: try to include some speech marks - check that you have used them correctly by checking with any passage of speech in a book or by going to http://www.gcse.com/ and clicking on the quick fix doctor link.

• use some chapters from Mr Curr's Rock Festival Project. This is fun to do, and provides tasks for different audiences and purposes - exactly what the Examiner is looking for!

helpful hint: remember that your handwriting is marked, so take extra care to make sure that it is your best

Click here for The Rock Festival Project or here for the Football Project or here for The School Reunion