This document provides guidance on transactional writing for the IGCSE exam. It introduces the TAP framework for planning transactional texts, which stands for Type of text, Audience, and Purpose. It then provides examples of different text types, audiences, and purposes that may be addressed in the exam. The document includes sample planning points and introductions/conclusions that students could use when writing about the pros and cons of virtual versus physical travel. The introductions set up an argument comparing online and real-life travel experiences, while the conclusions wrap up the argument by advocating for getting out in the real world.

1. Transactional Writing

2. IGCSE Language
Writing Skill

3. T.A.P: When we first plan to write a non-fiction extract, there are three
basic features we should immediately identify – can you work out what
each initial stands for?
•T
•A
•P
What type of text is it? E.g.
a newspaper article, a blog,
a letter…
Who is the audience? Who
does this text particularly
appeal to and how can you
tell? E.g. teenage
audience…
What’s the text’s purpose?
What effect is it trying to
achieve? E.g. is it arguing a
particular view?

4. Text Types for the Exam…
• Article (news/magazine/blog)
• Speech
• Letter (formal/informal)
• Advertising copy (advert/leaflet)
• Watch this space!

5. Audience Types for the Exam…
• The ‘real’ audience is always the examiner!
• Class mates / peers
• Authority figures
• General adult audience

6. Persuade Inform Advise
Application letter
Newspaper article
Agony Aunt column
Political speech
Autobiography
Self-help book
Police report Movie review
Travel guide
Editorial column
Charity poster
CHALLENGE: Can you think of other example of your own for each category?
Purpose Types for the Exam…

7. 45 minutes
AO4 – 27 marks
AO5 – 18 marks

11. Travel – pros/cons of virtual vs. physical travel
• Click to Identify TAP
• Choose stance
• Plan using bullet
points from the
question

12. •T
•A
•P
Magazine article
General adult
To persuade / argue our view
Travel – pros/cons of virtual vs. Physical travel

13. Physical tourism Digital 'tourism'
Advantages
Disadvantages

14. Possible introduction - 1
Offer weak counter
position to your
own as an
inoculation and
then use a
rhetorical question
to provoke
engagement...
'Google the terms 'Iceland' and 'travel' and in fractions of a
second, you'll be swamped by over 450,000 unique search
results. If you clicked on just a fraction of these, you could
spend weeks behind your keyboard, wading through all
kinds of facts and figures about that wonderful country's
history, folklore, cuisine, geography and wildlife. With more
information available at a touch of a button than you could
possibly consume in a lifetime, it begs the question – is
virtual tourism a viable alternative to physically visiting
faraway destinations? Is there ever a reason to leave our
own front door?'

15. Possible introduction - 2
Start with a clear
thesis statement
which sets out
your position
which you will
then go on to
develop...
'Never, in the history of civilization, has travel been as
affordable, safe and convenient as it is today. We have an
array of colourful cultures and landscapes just waiting to be
discovered, inviting us to enrich our understanding and
appreciation of the world. We are, after all, global citizens.
Unfortunately, we would also seem to be the most
apathetic and xenophobic people to have ever spawned on
this planet, a surprising number of us choosing to 'explore'
the globe from behind a keyboard, rather than actually
being willing to embrace the diversity and richness of life
beyond our own front doors!'

16. Possible conclusions
Clear 'applause cue' - must be purposeful
• Return to the opening in some way?
• Leave open ended – invitation for further reflection (use a ?)
• Use an imperative or a call to action

17. Possible conclusion - 1
Return to the
opening in some
way? At the click of a button, you may well be able to summon
450,000 unique search terms, but I assure you, none of
them will be as satisfying as the salt spray and bracing sea
breeze as you watch a whale breaching on the shores of
Iceland, so close you could reach out and touch it.
Google the terms 'Iceland' and 'travel' and
in fractions of a second, you'll be swamped
by over 450,000 unique search results.

18. Possible conclusion - 2
Leave open ended
– invitation for
further reflection
(use a ?)
'The internet and the TV certainly have their place; they are
wonderful tools for research and planning, but let's not
confuse pixels for real life. After all, would you rather be
leaving a digital footprint in cyberspace, or real footprints
on the mountains and beaches of the big wide world?'

19. Possible conclusion - 3
Use an imperative
or a call to action
'So the next time you find yourself staring at your screen
and wishing you could be on that beach, with the waves
lapping at your toes, break the digital stranglehold and do
something about it. Don't look back on your life as a series
of screenshots. Get out there and spread your wings. The
world is waiting for you.'