Language Paper 2 – Question 5 Suggested Simple Structure

You are going to have to write an article. It could be about anything but you will have to give your opinion about it.

E.g.

‘If Lockdowns have taught us anything, it is that face to face conversations are much better than virtual ones: in the
school, in the workplace and in our social lives.’

Write an article in which you give your opinion about this topic.

Possible structure for the article.

Headline
Paragraph 1

Picture the scene: [Here, write a description of a person (give them a name) doing something related to the topic.]

[Ask a question and answer it to finish the paragraph]

Paragraph 2

According to a recent study, [Here, make up a study and its findings, or some statistics to support your view on the
topic. Develop the paragraph with your reaction to this.]

Paragraph 3

Some people argue that … but… [Here, give the opposite view to the one you believe and then explain why this is
total rubbish!

At the end of the paragraph write a sentence beginning: It seems obvious to me that … which restates your opinion
confidently.]

Paragraph 4

So let’s go back to [name of person in the first paragraph]. What does all this mean for him/her?

[Here, explain how this person’s life would be better if people followed your opinion.]

Top Tip: Leave a space between paragraphs and go back at the end to add in subheadings if you have time.

Example:

You’re on Mute!
Ellie Thompson argues that virtual video calls will never replace face to face
communication.
Picture the scene: it’s April 2020 and 92 year old Mabel has had an old ipad pushed through her letterbox by her
family. It is the only way she can communicate with them ‘face to face’. Her first attempt is terrible and her family
spend half an hour viewing Mabel’s carpet whilst shouting at her to ‘turn the camera round’. On her second attempt,
they see her face, but Mabel has accidentally pushed the mute button. After several attempts, she gives up and
spends the rest of lockdown relying on daily phone calls. Is this the way forward for communication in the future? I
don’t think so. Face to face conversations are always going to be preferable to virtual ones.

Loneliness has doubled

According to a recent study, the number of elderly people complaining of loneliness and isolation doubled between
2019 and 2021. 85% of students said they preferred lessons in school to online classes and business bosses are trying
to get people back into the workplace because they say face to face working is ‘better for business’. These figures
clearly show that Zoom calls, Teams meetings and Whatsapp chats may have their uses, but they are not the best
way of communicating.

55% of our communication is non-verbal

Some people argue that you can communicate just as well with people online as you can when you are face to face.
They say that meetings online can be just as productive and people like the opportunity to work from home - enjoying
not having to commute to work and loving the fact that they can work in their slippers. But if you have a screen full
of people, can you really tell from their facial expressions which ones are still listening to you and which ones have
EarPods under their hair tuned to Spotify? Can you tell whose foot is tapping with irritation under the table? Can you
spot the person who perhaps needs you to take them aside to check they are alright? The answer is no. 55% of our
communication is non-verbal and you cannot spot that kind of communication online. It seems obvious to me that
face to face meetings are always better than virtual ones.

Mabel: happy, healthy and hopeful again

So let’s go back to Mabel. What does all this mean for her? Well now that she can have visitors and speak face to
face with them, her life has been transformed. Her family get to see her face daily and not just her carpet or left ear.
They can tell when she is only pretending to be OK through really noticing her body language and picking up signs
from what she is saying. She is finally happy, healthy and hopeful again. Her family, seeing her every day, never have
to shout ‘You’re on Mute’ – in fact, Mabel, like millions of others around the world will be happy if they never hear
that phrase again.

Practice Question 2

‘Today’s teenagers do not know how to speak to people in the real world as they spend the majority of their free
time online.’ Write a newspaper article in which you express your opinion on this topic.

Headline

Picture the scene:

According to a recent study…

Some people argue that … but … It seems obvious to me that

So let’s go back to [Name]. What does this all mean for him/her?

Practice Question 3

‘Year 11 Proms encourage young people to spend too much time and money on their appearance.’

Write a newspaper article in which you argue either for or against this point of view.
Headline

Picture the scene:

According to a recent study…

Some people argue that … but … It seems obvious to me that

So let’s go back to [Name]. What does this all mean for him/her?