Improving writing through reading a 19th century persuasive text: GCSE English preparation.

Little and often is the best way to prepare students for the demands of GCSE English, so this task would suit y9 students as well as those doing GCSE already. Based on a paragraph of just 6 lines from William Corbett’s 1821-22 ‘Cottage Economy’, the task comprises a close reading to analyse tone, argument and structure. Being so short, this passage is an ideal ‘taster’ of a 19th century text. Students are also given a ‘typical’ reading question to consider. Feedback on the analysis is supported by the PP, which covers the whole lesson from Introduction- which also offers contextual information - to the writing task. Students use the persuasive techniques they have already learned to re-work Corbett’s argument in a modern way.