Writing Tips: Plan your work

The importance of planning your writing should not be underestimated. 


I recently invigilated in an exam where the candidate had not completed her writing in the time allowed, and she was not the first. The reason? Instead of spending five to ten minutes planning her work, she dived straight in and started writing the whole thing. As a result, her work was littered with mistakes and she was trying to write the whole paper out again, cleanly. She did not have the time to do that, and undoubtedly failed.

Before you even begin writing the first sentence you need to plan what you are going to say. Planning, whether in an exam or for a portfolio, is vital to enable you to produce first-class work.

I cannot stress enough the importance of planning your work. It allows:

• a coherent piece of writing to evolve with appropriate paragraphing, something that the exam boards are looking closely at.

• you to work out a logical structure and an end point for your argument before you start writing.

• a more relaxed approach to writing. It means you don't have to do this type of complex thinking at the same time as trying to find the right words to express your ideas.

• you to stick to the point!

Read the Question!

The question will clearly state the different points that you have to address to successfully answer it.

Read the question carefully. Underline the key points including, the format (essay, letter, etc.) and the audience. This information allows you to consider the purpose of your writing and who will be reading it.

The following is a sample portfolio question from Trinity (B1 level). I have underlined the important points around which you should base the plan and your subsequent writing.

Your college magazine is publishing articles on healthy living. You decide to write an article explaining how you keep fit and healthy and how you think the college could help students be healthier. (100-130 words)


You now have all the details to start planning:

Format: article
Audience: college students (and possibly college teachers)
Introduction (you always need some form of intro.)
Idea 1: How I keep fit and healthy
Idea 2: How the college could help students be healthier.
Conclusion (you always need one of these too!)

I know my limit - definitely not a word more than 130. Less than 100 and either I haven´t answered the question or I´m not doing myself justice.

How do I approach the plan?

The different types of writing: letter, essay, article, review, proposal, e-mail etc. all have distinct formats to be followed. Start with the format and build from there using the introduction, idea 1, etc.

Which type of plan is best for me?

Spider diagrams / visual plans - These are sometimes known as mind maps. This kind of plan gets all the main ideas down on a page with key words and phrases round the central question. You can then order your ideas by numbering the arms of the spider diagram. This method is flexible and creative.

Example of a quick linear plan

Bullet points / linear plans - This type of plan lists the main points using bullet points or numbers. It can be a brief outline of the main point per paragraph, or a more detailed plan with sub-points and a note of the evidence to support each point (e.g. source and page no.).


Top tip:
If you know you tend to write too much, cut down the number of individual points in your plan. If you find it difficult to write enough, expand on some of your points with sub-points in the planning stage.