DAFOREST Lesson – Narrative & Persuasive Writing Techniques, Definitions, Examples & Labelling Task

A teacher-created PowerPoint lesson introducing and explaining the DAFOREST framework for narrative and transactional/persuasive writing. This resource supports students to identify, interpret, and apply key language techniques used in prose and speech writing, making it ideal for secondary English lessons, GCSE preparation, and literacy intervention.

The lesson includes clearly modelled definitions, memorable examples, and an extended labelling/identification task using a full speech extract, enabling students to analyse a real text like an expert reader and transfer these skills into their own writing.

Techniques Taught and Modelled:

Direct address (audience/reader positioning)
Example reference: Mark Antony’s speech in Julius Caesar

Alliteration and sound patterning

Fact vs Opinion (writer viewpoint awareness)

Repetition (language for emphasis and learning)

Rhetorical question (reader engagement and reflection)

Emotive language (crafting reader response)

Statistics as evidence to support viewpoints

Triple / list of three (rhythmic structural device)

Core Learning Activities:

‘What does DAFOREST stand for?’ gap-fill task

Explanation boxes defining each technique in student-friendly language

Multiple concrete, high-interest examples that aid memorisation

Speech annotation/modelling activity, including a full 272-word extract by Abraham Lincoln delivered at the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, US.

Students highlight and label techniques, supporting AO2 analysis and reading-to-writing skill transfer

Teacher notes clarify the purpose of this extract as a model text for technique spotting (not presented as novel content)

Skills Developed:

Recognising and naming figurative and structural methods

Explaining the intended effect on reader or audience

Distinguishing fact from viewpoint

Analysing semantic fields and tone

Applying language techniques in original writing

Transferring method analysis into GCSE English Language responses

Building cohesion, emphasis, and reader engagement in non-fiction writing

Best For:

KS3 Secondary English lessons

GCSE English Language method analysis and transactional writing

Functional Skills

Literacy intervention and skills reinforcement

Guided annotation modelling

Homework or revision planning

Reading strategy and evidence tagging before writing