IGCSE English Formats Flashcards

News Report

• Structure includes a headline to grab attention
• Essential components: who, what, when, where of the event
• Provides background information, exploring causes and lead-up to events
• Detailed descriptions convey what occurred and ongoing developments
• Optional subheadings for quotes enhance depth
• Incorporates quotations from relevant parties: witnesses, police, etc.
• Discusses future implications: consequences, predictions, and investigations

Narrative Essay

• Composed of key elements: setting, characters, conflict, climax, and resolution
• Focuses on storytelling with a structured flow

Descriptive Essay

• Centers on creating vivid imagery through the following phases: setting, positioning, approaching, arrival, and farewell
• Aims to immerse the reader in the experience

Argumentative Essay

• Structure includes an introduction, alternate views, critiques of those views, your perspective, and a conclusion
• Your stance should be seamless throughout, though formally placed after alternate views

Argumentative Style

• Characterized by a one-sided approach strongly favoring a particular view
• Follows a standard format that reflects the writer's bias
• Aimed at audiences who may oppose the argument presented

Discursive Purpose

• Offers a balanced analysis of multiple viewpoints on a topic
• Maintains a more formal and impersonal tone compared to other essay types

Speech

• Begins with a hierarchical greeting and acknowledgments
• Main body delivers the core message or argument
• Concludes with final thanks and relevant parting remarks

Interview

• Does not require speech marks and lacks frequent interruptions
• Clearly delineated Q&A format between interviewer and interviewee

Magazine Article

• Structure consists of a topic introduction, background context, detailed discussion, predictions, and a conclusive closing

Conversation

• Format stipulates names on the left margin followed by a colon indicating speaker changes
• Frequent alternating dialogue, promoting fluidity of conversation
• No definitive conclusion is essential; can vary in formality

Letter

• Essential components: date, location, opening salutation
• Organized into distinct paragraphs covering body content, development, conclusion, future actions, and a final note
• Ends with a sign-off and printed name for formality

Journal

• Maintains first-person perspective with dated entries
• Emphasizes context of time and place within each entry
• While not strictly formatted, it can generally adhere to a five-paragraph structure for cohesiveness