Formal and Informal Writing Styles: A Guide for Year 5 Students
Year 5 English writing
Biographies part 2
Formal or informal?
Biographies are written in a formal style. So let’s warm up our
brains with an activity to remind you of the difference.
Head over to Eliot Bank’s YouTube channel where you can find
Miss Steadman’s video explaining more about writing in formal
and informal styles.http://eliotbank.lewisham.sch.uk/eliot-bank-you-tube-channel/
What is formal or informal?
Sort the following criteria into formal or informal language:
use more contractions and
abbreviations (e.g. it’s or
TV)
has a more serious tone
has a more ‘chatty’ tone
uses the correct grammar
and punctuation
uses text-style words (lol)
uses specific vocabulary
for the subject
uses clichés (e.g. raining
cats and dogs)
often uses complex sentence
structures
What is formal or informal?
Answers
formal
has a more serious tone
uses the correct grammar
and punctuation
uses specific vocabulary
for the subject
often uses complex
sentence structures
informal
use more contractions and
abbreviations (e.g. it’s or TV)
has a more ‘chatty’ tone
uses text-style words (lol)
uses clichés (e.g. raining cats
and dogs)
1.
OMG, that film was sick!
2.
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the
youngest Nobel Prize laureate
.
3.
The managing director requests that everyone arrives for the
meeting at 9am prompt.
4.
What d’ya think?
5.
My li’l sis is soooo annoying! Arghhh!
What is formal or informal?
1.
OMG, that film was sick!
2.
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the
youngest Nobel Prize laureate
.
3.
The managing director requests that everyone arrives for the
meeting at 9am prompt.
4.
What d’ya think?
5.
My li’l sis is soooo annoying! Arghhh!
What is formal or informal?
Answers
What is formal or informal?
Change these sentences into
formal
language:
1.
I’m writing to moan about the rubbish service I got in your
shop yesterday.
2.
Malala did a lot of cool things.
3.
I’m sure your journey is gonna be brilliant!
4.
She never did nothing to them.
Visionary, bold and exceptional
Not everyone gets chosen to have a biography written
about them! The Little Leaders series use words like
visionary
,
bold
and
exceptional
in their titles.
What do these words mean?
Definitions
Visionary
:
If you refer to someone as a visionary, you mean
that they have strong, original ideas about how things might
be different in the future, especially about how things might
be improved. They have a
vision
of a better future.
Bold
:
Someone who is bold is not afraid to do things which
involve risk or danger.
Exceptional
:
You use exceptional to describe someone or
something that has a particular quality, usually a good quality,
to an unusually high degree.
The men and women included in these books are real people with real stories.
Here are some facts about them. Can you write down what each fact tells you
about each person’s talents, profession, identity and personality? The first
one has been done as an example.
Complete the rest of this table.
Let’s look more at the structure and features of biographies.
Structure
Open
an attention-grabbing introduction
summarising the main
events of the
person's life
and makes the audience want
to read on.
Key events are in
chronological order.
Early life, family, home and influences
help the audience to understand the person.
Use
relevant images
and captions for
interest.
Concludes with
what they are doing now,
or
how they are/will be
remembered
.
Features
Past tense.
Closing statements using
past/present
tense.
Info about
personality and facts
about
achievements and their feelings.
Quotes
from the person or other key people.
3rd person.
Adverbials
: accordingly, consequently etc.
Paragraphs.
Formal language and tone.
Can you identify the features and structure in this biography of Martin
Luther King?
Famous around the world, Martin Luther King was a
Black clergyman whose ideas helped Americans
accept that black and white people were equal.
Born in the southern USA in 1929, Martin Luther
King grew up in a time when black people were
treated very badly. They were paid much less than
white people and often could not eat in the same
place as whites or travel in the same buses. As a
young man, he went to college and trained as a
clergyman.
From the beginning of his career, Martin Luther King
preached that all people were equal and promoted
peaceful protests as a way of bringing about
change.
In Alabama
at the time, black people were
only allowed to sit on certain seats at the back of
buses. In 1955, he encouraged them to boycott the
buses, which eventually forced the bus company to
change their rules.
In 1963, Martin Luther King
planned a march to
Washington to celebrate
the one hundredth
anniversary of the abolition
of slavery. This was the site
of his renowned ‘I have a
dream’ speech, witnessed
by more than 250,000
campaigners. As he became increasingly famous, he
encouraged more and more black people to ‘strike’
peacefully to demand their rights. This made him so
unpopular with white racists that in 1968 he was shot
and killed.
Despite his early death at the age of 39, Martin
Luther King is remembered as one of America’s
greatest men. In fact, he is so respected in America
that his birthday is a public holiday.
“The time is always right to do
what is right.” Martin Luther King
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Despite his early death
at the age of 39, Martin
Luther King is remembered as one of America’s
greatest men. In fact, he is so respected in America
that his birthday is a public holiday.
“The time is always right to do
what is right.” Martin Luther King
Introduction,
why he is
important.
Early life and
influences
Events in
order
Events in
order
Photo with
caption and quote
How he is
remembered
Examples of
Past tense and third person
Adverbials
Formal language/tone
Who inspires you?
Choose somebody you think is inspirational to research and write
a biography of.
Things to think about:
What makes them special?
Did they have to overcome any
challenges to be successful?
What impact have they had on
their community or the world?
Research your chosen person.
Use the headings on the next
page to organise your notes.
If you are stuck for ideas,
choose from Malala Yousafzai
or Greta Thunberg.
Malala Yousafzai links
https://kids.britannica.
com/kids/article/Malala
-Yousafzai/610609
https://www.bbc.co.uk/
newsround/amp/468651
95
Greta Thunberg links
https://www.bbc.co.uk/ne
wsround/amp/47467038
https://www.natgeokids.co
m/uk/kids-club/cool-
kids/general-kids-
club/greta-thunberg-
facts/
Research notes
Basic facts
Name: ______________________________
Famous for: __________________________
___________________________________
Born (date and place): __________________
Died?: _______________________
Early life (family, school, interests)
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Important events and achievements
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
What are they doing now (if alive) / how are
they remembered (if dead)
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
Writing time!
Now it’s time to write your biography about the
person you have researched.
Use these sentence starters and other
vocabulary to help you.
Famous for/around the world/from
a young age…
_________ is best known for …
Born in …
As a child/young man/woman, …
_______’s early life was …
At the age of ________, …
While at school/studying/training, …
From an early age, …
In [
year
], …
When he/she was ___, …
At the time of…
As he/she became …
By [
year
]/the age of ___, …
However, …
As a result, …
Even though …, …
Despite…
After many years of… , …
Following his/her…, …
determined
inspiration(al)
inspired
potential
challenge
achievement
success
setback
global fame
disappointment
We would love to read your biographies!
Please ask an adult to email us your work on:
info@eliotbank.lewisham.sch.uk
Explore the concepts of formal and informal writing styles through engaging activities and examples in this educational resource tailored for Year 5 English students. Learn to distinguish between the two styles, understand the criteria for each, and practice transforming sentences from informal to formal language. Enhance your writing skills with this comprehensive guide.
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Year 5 English writing Biographies part 2
Formal or informal? Biographies are written in a formal style. So let s warm up our brains with an activity to remind you of the difference. Head over to Eliot Bank s YouTube channel where you can find Miss Steadman s video explaining more about writing in formal and informal styles. http://eliotbank.lewisham.sch.uk/eliot-bank-you-tube-channel/
What is formal or informal? Sort the following criteria into formal or informal language: uses clich s (e.g. raining cats and dogs) use more contractions and abbreviations (e.g. it s or TV) has a more serious tone uses specific vocabulary for the subject uses text-style words (lol) uses the correct grammar and punctuation often uses complex sentence structures has a more chatty tone
What is formal or informal? Answers formal informal uses specific vocabulary for the subject use more contractions and abbreviations (e.g. it s or TV) uses the correct grammar and punctuation has a more chatty tone uses clich s (e.g. raining cats and dogs) has a more serious tone uses text-style words (lol) often uses complex sentence structures
What is formal or informal? 1. OMG, that film was sick! 2. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. 3. The managing director requests that everyone arrives for the meeting at 9am prompt. 4. What d ya think? 5. My li l sis is soooo annoying! Arghhh!
What is formal or informal? Answers 1. OMG, that film was sick! 2. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. 3. The managing director requests that everyone arrives for the meeting at 9am prompt. 4. What d ya think? 5. My li l sis is soooo annoying! Arghhh!
What is formal or informal? Change these sentences into formal language: 1. I m writing to moan about the rubbish service I got in your shop yesterday. 2. Malala did a lot of cool things. 3. I m sure your journey is gonna be brilliant! 4. She never did nothing to them.
Visionary, bold and exceptional Not everyone gets chosen to have a biography written about them! The Little Leaders series use words like visionary, bold and exceptional in their titles. What do these words mean?
Definitions Visionary: If you refer to someone as a visionary, you mean that they have strong, original ideas about how things might be different in the future, especially about how things might be improved. They have a vision of a better future. Bold: Someone who is bold is not afraid to do things which involve risk or danger. Exceptional: You use exceptional to describe someone or something that has a particular quality, usually a good quality, to an unusually high degree.
The men and women included in these books are real people with real stories. Here are some facts about them. Can you write down what each fact tells you about each person s talents, profession, identity and personality? The first one has been done as an example. Fact Talent/Profession Athlete (heptathlon) Identity and personality Sporty Hard-working Determined Tessa Sanderson (1956 - ) Frida Kahlo (1907 1954)
Complete the rest of this table. Fact Talent/Profession Identity and personality Charles R Drew (1904 1950) Harriet Tubman (1822 1913) Frederick Douglass (1818 1895)
Lets look more at the structure and features of biographies. Structure Open an attention-grabbing introduction summarising the main events of the person's life and makes the audience want to read on. Features Past tense. Closing statements using past/present tense. Info about personality and facts about achievements and their feelings. Key events are in chronological order. Early life, family, home and influences help the audience to understand the person. Quotes from the person or other key people. 3rd person. Use relevant images and captions for interest. Adverbials: accordingly, consequently etc. Concludes with what they are doing now, or how they are/will be remembered. Paragraphs. Formal language and tone.
Can you identify the features and structure in this biography of Martin Luther King? Famous around the world, Martin Luther King was a Black clergyman whose ideas helped Americans accept that black and white people were equal. In 1963, Martin Luther King planned a march to Washington to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the abolition of slavery. This was the site of his renowned I have a dream speech, witnessed by more than 250,000 campaigners. As he became increasingly famous, he encouraged more and more black people to strike peacefully to demand their rights. This made him so unpopular with white racists that in 1968 he was shot and killed. Born in the southern USA in 1929, Martin Luther King grew up in a time when black people were treated very badly. They were paid much less than white people and often could not eat in the same place as whites or travel in the same buses. As a young man, he went to college and trained as a clergyman. The time is always right to do what is right. Martin Luther King From the beginning of his career, Martin Luther King preached that all people were equal and promoted peaceful protests as a way of bringing about change. In Alabama at the time, black people were only allowed to sit on certain seats at the back of buses. In 1955, he encouraged them to boycott the buses, which eventually forced the bus company to change their rules. Despite his early death at the age of 39, Martin Luther King is remembered as one of America s greatest men. In fact, he is so respected in America that his birthday is a public holiday.
How did you get on? Photo with caption and quote Famous around the world, Martin Luther King was a Black clergyman King was a Black clergyman whose ideas helped Americans accept that black and white people were equal. Martin Luther Introduction, why he is important. In 1963, In 1963, Martin Luther King Martin Luther King planned planned a march to Washington to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the abolition of slavery. This was the site of his renowned I have a dream speech, witnessed by more than 250,000 campaigners. As he became he encouraged more and more black people to strike peacefully to demand their rights. This made him so unpopular with white racists that in 1968 he was shot and killed. Events in order Born in the southern USA in 1929, Martin Luther King grew up in a time when black people were treated very badly. They were paid much less than white people and often could not eat in the same place as whites or travel in the same buses. As a young man, he went he went to college and trained as a clergyman. Early life and influences They were The time is always right to do what is right. Martin Luther King often he became increasingly famous, Events in order From the beginning of his career, From the beginning of his career, Martin Luther King preached that all people were equal and promoted peaceful protests as a way of bringing about change. In Alabama the time, the time, black people were black people were only allowed to sit on certain seats at the back of buses. In 1955, he encouraged them to boycott the buses, which eventually forced the bus company to change their rules. Despite his early death at the age of 39, Martin Luther King is remembered as one of America s greatest men. In fact, he is so respected in America that his birthday is a public holiday. How he is remembered In Alabama at at Examples of Past tense and third person Adverbials Formal language/tone
Who inspires you? Choose somebody you think is inspirational to research and write a biography of. Things to think about: What makes them special? Did they have to overcome any challenges to be successful? What impact have they had on their community or the world? Research your chosen person. Use the headings on the next page to organise your notes. Malala Yousafzai links https://kids.britannica. com/kids/article/Malala -Yousafzai/610609 Greta Thunberg links https://www.bbc.co.uk/ne wsround/amp/47467038 If you are stuck for ideas, choose from Malala Yousafzai or Greta Thunberg. https://www.natgeokids.co m/uk/kids-club/cool- kids/general-kids- club/greta-thunberg- facts/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/ newsround/amp/468651 95
Research notes Basic facts Name: ______________________________ Important events and achievements ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Famous for: __________________________ ___________________________________ Born (date and place): __________________ Died?: _______________________ Early life (family, school, interests) ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ What are they doing now (if alive) / how are they remembered (if dead) ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________
Now its time to write your biography about the person you have researched. Use these sentence starters and other vocabulary to help you. Writing time! Famous for/around the world/from a young age _________ is best known for Born in As a child/young man/woman, _______ s early life was At the age of ________, While at school/studying/training, From an early age, In [year], When he/she was ___, At the time of As he/she became By [year]/the age of ___, However, As a result, Even though , Despite After many years of , Following his/her , determined inspiration(al) inspired potential challenge achievement success setback global fame disappointment
We would love to read your biographies! Please ask an adult to email us your work on: info@eliotbank.lewisham.sch.uk
