Task -Planning
Planning
There are lots of ways to plan what you are going to write - some of them are fancy, some of them are simple, but the most important thing is to write your main idea down. This is the idea that underpins the reason for your text, you could call it your 'controlling idea'. If you don't write this down, it is easy to lose focus. Once on a piece of paper, you will be clearer what other ideas you could then use to support this single main idea. These supporting ideas now need to be added to your list.
Supporting ideas
Question
As part of your plan, write a list of arguments for keeping the park.
Keep the park because:
- has a war memorial
- great for children
- ideal for dog walking
- already too many car parks
- don’t want more noise and pollution
- want to protect nature
Creating a balanced argument
Question
To show you have considered other opinions, and to create a balanced argument, you need to make two lists – the 'pros and cons' of the argument. One is the positive side, which supports your view (Pros); the other is the “negative” side, which goes against your view (Cons). Have a go, then compare your lists with ours.
| Pros | Cons |
| Has war memorial | Creates some jobs |
| Great for children | Already have two good parks |
| Ideal for dog walking | Costs a lot to keep clean |
| Already too many car parks | Very few people use it |
| Don't want more noise and pollution | |
| Want to protect nature |
| Pros | Has war memorial |
|---|---|
| Cons | Creates some jobs |
| Pros | Great for children |
|---|---|
| Cons | Already have two good parks |
| Pros | Ideal for dog walking |
|---|---|
| Cons | Costs a lot to keep clean |
| Pros | Already too many car parks |
|---|---|
| Cons | Very few people use it |
| Pros | Don't want more noise and pollution |
|---|
| Pros | Want to protect nature |
|---|
Some people find a spider diagram an effective way to make a list of ideas. These are more complicated, but they can show how points are linked, like this:
Use whichever way you find works for you, but don't forget that planning is something you need to practice. Over time, you will get much quicker and make more detailed plans.
After you have made a plan, you should move on to the process of creating your first draft. But, even if you feel confident that your first draft is really good, you always need to check it to see if it can be made better in ways that will make it yet more convincing for your readers.