Category: Writing Skills

Writing techniques that work at every level — descriptive writing, persuasive essays, editing, vocabulary, and why strong writing skills help in every subject, not just English.

  • How to Write a Formal Letter for IGCSE English Language

    Formal letter writing is one of the most common directed writing tasks in IGCSE English Language — and one of the most penalised when students get the conventions wrong. The good news: the conventions are entirely learnable, and following them correctly earns marks before you’ve even written a sentence of content.

    The Layout

    A formal letter has a specific layout that signals immediately to the examiner that you know what you’re doing:

    • Your address (top right, or top left — conventions vary, but be consistent)
    • The date below your address
    • The recipient’s name and address (left-aligned, below the date)
    • Salutation: “Dear Mr Smith,” or “Dear Sir/Madam,” if you don’t know the name
    • Body paragraphs
    • Sign-off: “Yours sincerely,” if you used a name; “Yours faithfully,” if you used Sir/Madam
    • Your name (printed below the sign-off)

    The “sincerely/faithfully” rule trips up many students. Remember it this way: if you know their name, you’re being sincere. If you don’t know their name (Sir/Madam), you’re being faithful to the form.

    Tone and Register

    A formal letter is not the place for contractions (don’t → do not), slang, exclamation marks, or casual phrasing. The tone should be measured, polite, and direct — even if the letter is a complaint.

    This doesn’t mean stiff or robotic. The best formal letters have a clear, confident voice — they just channel it through formal structures. Read quality business correspondence or formal op-eds to develop a feel for this register.

    Structure: Purpose First

    Open your letter by stating its purpose clearly in the first paragraph. Don’t warm up with pleasantries — get to the point. “I am writing to express my concern regarding…” or “I am writing to apply for…” tells the reader immediately what this letter is about.

    Each subsequent paragraph should address one aspect of your purpose: background information, your specific points or requests, any relevant evidence, and what you’d like the recipient to do next.

    Close by summarising your main request or point, and thanking the recipient for their time. One sentence each is sufficient — don’t over-extend the ending.

    Common Mistakes to Avoid

    • Using “Yours sincerely” with “Dear Sir/Madam” — this loses marks
    • Forgetting the address and date entirely
    • Using an informal, conversational tone throughout
    • Making the letter too short — you need enough content to demonstrate range and vocabulary
    • Not reading the task carefully: if the task says write to a headteacher, the register should reflect that recipient specifically

    A Quick Template

    47 Thornbury Road
London
SE4 2PQ

22 July 2026

The Headteacher
Ashfield Secondary School
School Lane
London SE5 1AB

Dear Ms Harrison,

[Opening paragraph: state your purpose clearly]

[Second paragraph: develop your main point with detail/evidence]

[Third paragraph: additional point or elaboration]

[Closing paragraph: restate your request/purpose and thank them]

Yours sincerely,

[Your full name]

    Formal letter writing is covered in depth as part of the Thorogood English IGCSE English Language programme — along with reports, speeches, articles, and all other directed writing forms. Join the waiting list for January 2027.

  • Building Vocabulary for IGCSE English: A Practical Approach

    Students who score at the top of IGCSE English Language almost always share one quality: they have a wider, more precise vocabulary than their peers. But building vocabulary isn’t about memorising word lists. Here’s how to do it in a way that actually sticks.

    Why Vocabulary Matters More Than You Think

    IGCSE English rewards students who can express ideas with precision. That’s true in comprehension answers (paraphrasing effectively requires knowing alternative words for the same idea) and in writing tasks (a student who writes “the atmosphere was eerie and unsettling” scores lower than one who writes “the atmosphere was one of creeping unease”). Vocabulary doesn’t just affect how you write — it affects how accurately you read and understand texts, too.

    Stop Relying on Word Lists

    Teachers often give students lists of “good vocabulary words” to learn before exams. The problem is that words learned in isolation — without context, without seeing them used, without using them yourself — are forgotten within days. Worse, students sometimes use these words incorrectly, which actively costs marks.

    Vocabulary is best built through reading, active engagement, and deliberate use. Here’s how.

    1. Read Widely and Above Your Current Level

    The single most effective vocabulary builder is reading — specifically, reading texts that contain words you don’t already know. Quality newspapers, long-form journalism, non-fiction books, and challenging fiction all work. The Guardian, The Economist, and BBC News online are excellent free sources. Read actively: when you encounter an unfamiliar word, don’t skip it. Look it up, note it down, and see it in context.

    2. Keep a Word Journal (That You Actually Use)

    Not a list — a journal. For each new word, write: the word itself, the sentence you found it in, what you think it means in context, the dictionary definition, and one sentence you’ve written yourself using it. This process takes three minutes per word and is dramatically more effective than any list. Aim for five new words a week, used actively in your writing.

    3. Learn Word Families, Not Just Individual Words

    When you learn a new word, immediately learn its family members. “Ambiguous” (adjective) → “ambiguity” (noun) → “ambiguously” (adverb). “Melancholy” (adjective/noun) → “melancholic” (adjective). Understanding word families triples the vocabulary you gain from each new word you learn, and it gives you the flexibility to use words in different grammatical contexts.

    4. Use New Words in Your Writing Immediately

    The best way to make a new word stick is to use it. When you encounter a new word on Monday and use it in a practice answer on Tuesday, you’re much more likely to retain it than if you simply read it and move on. Find opportunities to use new vocabulary in every piece of writing you do — even informal ones. The more you use a word, the more naturally it comes to you when you need it.

    5. Pay Attention to Register and Connotation

    Two words can mean roughly the same thing but carry very different connotations. “Slim” and “scrawny” both mean thin — but slim is usually positive and scrawny is not. “Determined” and “stubborn” both describe persistence — but the first is admiring and the second is critical. At IGCSE level, students who notice and use these distinctions score significantly higher in both reading (spotting the writer’s attitude) and writing (controlling their own tone). Build vocabulary not just as a list of meanings, but as a map of tone and feeling.

    6. Revisit and Review

    Spaced repetition — reviewing new words at intervals — is one of the most well-researched memory techniques available. You don’t need special software for this. Simply review your word journal once a week, test yourself on words you’ve added in the last month, and revisit any that you couldn’t immediately recall. Consistent weekly review for six months builds a vocabulary that stays with you through the exam and beyond.

    Vocabulary and reading comprehension are central skills in all Thorogood English classes. Register your interest for January 2027 here.

  • How to Write Descriptively: 7 Techniques That Actually Work

    Descriptive writing is one of those skills that looks effortless when done well — and feels impossible to teach until you break it into its component parts. Here are seven specific techniques that improve descriptive writing at any level, from 11+ to A-Level.

    1. Choose Unexpected Verbs

    The simplest upgrade you can make to descriptive writing is to replace generic verbs with precise, unexpected ones. “He walked across the room” is fine. “He drifted across the room” or “he lurched across the room” or “he picked his way across the room” — each one creates a completely different character and atmosphere. The verb is one of the hardest-working words in any sentence. Make it earn its place.

    2. Appeal to All Five Senses — But Not Equally

    Students are often told to “use all five senses,” which leads to laboured passages that tick every sensory box in turn. Instead, choose one or two senses that most powerfully evoke the specific scene you’re writing. A dusty attic doesn’t need to be described visually — describe the smell and the sound of creaking floorboards and the reader will fill in the rest. Restraint in sensory description creates more atmosphere than exhaustiveness.

    3. Use Specific Details, Not Vague Generalities

    “The room was messy” tells us almost nothing. “Last week’s takeaway containers formed a small civilization on the desk” is specific, surprising, and instantly visual. Good descriptive writing is made of concrete, particular details — not vague impressions. Ask yourself: what specifically would I see if I were standing in this scene? What exactly does it smell, sound, feel like?

    4. Control Sentence Length to Control Pace

    Short sentences create tension and urgency. Longer, flowing sentences slow the pace and create a sense of ease, or depth, or lingering attention. Mixing the two — deliberately — is one of the hallmarks of accomplished descriptive writing. A paragraph that builds through long sentences and then lands on a very short one can be devastatingly effective. Try it.

    5. Avoid the Most Overused Similes

    “As white as snow.” “Like a knife through butter.” “As quiet as a mouse.” These similes were powerful once. They’ve been used so many times that they’ve lost all their force — readers’ eyes slide over them without registering anything. Original similes are much harder to write, but they’re the ones that make readers stop and think. What does this thing actually remind you of — in your experience, with your specific imagination?

    6. Use White Space and Paragraph Breaks Deliberately

    Readers unconsciously experience a short paragraph — or even a one-sentence paragraph — differently from a dense block of text. It feels more significant. It creates breathing room. Many writers use a single short sentence as its own paragraph to land an important image or idea with more weight than it would have buried mid-paragraph.

    Like this.

    7. Show Emotion Through Detail, Not Statement

    “She was terrified” tells us the emotion. “Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking; she’d folded them in her lap so no one would notice” shows it. In descriptive and narrative writing, the second approach is almost always more powerful. Readers want to feel the emotion themselves — and they will, if you give them the right details. Trust your reader to feel what the details are doing. Don’t label emotions; create them.

    The Bottom Line

    Descriptive writing improves fastest with two things: reading widely (see how skilled writers do it), and writing with feedback (have someone who knows what they’re looking for tell you specifically what’s working and what isn’t). The techniques above give you the framework; practice and feedback give you the skill.

    Thorogood English’s Creative Writing Workshop launches alongside the first cohort in January 2027. Register your interest here.

  • Welcome to the Thorogood English Blog

    Welcome to the Thorogood English blog — your resource for Cambridge IGCSE and GCSE English tips from a teacher with twenty-six years in the classroom.

    I’m Jacqueline Thorogood. I spent years marking Cambridge IGCSE papers, which means I’ve seen exactly what earns full marks — and exactly what doesn’t. This blog is where I share that insider knowledge with students and parents.

    What You’ll Find Here

    Each week I publish practical exam guidance across five areas:

    • IGCSE English Language & Literature — essay technique, Paper 1 strategy, unseen poetry, directed writing
    • A-Level English — linguistic frameworks, coursework tips, getting from Good to Outstanding
    • 11+ Preparation — comprehension, creative writing, how to prepare without burning out
    • Writing Skills — techniques that work at every level
    • Tutoring Advice — how to choose the right tutor, what to look for in a class

    Opening January 2027

    Small group online classes open in January 2027. If you’d like to secure a place before registration opens, join the waiting list here. Spaces are limited — I keep groups small so every student gets proper attention.

    In the meantime, explore the blog. There’s a lot here — use the categories below to find exactly what you need.

  • How to Improve Your Child’s Spelling: Strategies That Actually Work

    Spelling is one of those areas where well-meaning effort often produces poor results. Writing out a word ten times, testing on a list of twenty words, and then forgetting them all a week later is a familiar cycle for many families. Here are strategies that work better — and why they work.

    Why Rote Repetition Often Fails

    Writing a word repeatedly encodes the visual pattern — but spelling under exam conditions requires retrieving that pattern when you’re thinking about something else entirely. The retrieval practice that actually builds long-term retention is testing yourself (or being tested) after a gap — not immediately after learning. The spacing effect is one of the most robust findings in educational psychology: information tested after a delay is remembered far better than information tested immediately.

    Look, Cover, Write, Check

    This is genuinely effective for individual words: look at the word carefully, cover it, write it from memory, then check. The “from memory” step is the crucial one — it forces retrieval rather than copying. Do this three times per word with increasing gaps between attempts. It’s more effortful than copying, which is exactly why it works better.

    Learn Spelling Patterns, Not Just Words

    English spelling is more patterned than it seems. Teaching children the patterns — ie/ei rules, silent letter patterns, common prefixes and suffixes, etymological patterns (words from Latin or Greek roots often have predictable spellings) — gives them tools to apply to new words rather than individual words to memorise.

    For example: knowing that words ending in “-tion” always spell the “shun” sound that way (not “-shun”) handles hundreds of words at once. Knowing that “ph” makes an “f” sound (and why — it comes from the Greek letter phi) handles another set.

    Personal Spelling Lists Beat Generic Lists

    A list of twenty common words is far less useful than a list of ten words your child consistently misspells in their own writing. Work from real writing — go through a recent piece and pull out every word that was wrong. This creates a personally relevant list, and fixing errors in context means encountering the words in real use rather than in isolation.

    Read More

    Children who read widely have significantly better spelling — not because they’re consciously studying spellings, but because they encounter correctly spelled words thousands of times and the correct form becomes visually familiar. Poor spellers very often read rarely; fluent readers very often spell well. The connection is causal, not coincidental.

    At Thorogood English, spelling, grammar, and writing accuracy are developed alongside analytical and creative writing skills. Join the waiting list for January 2027.

  • How Good Writing Habits Help in Every Subject, Not Just English

    Students who are reluctant about English sometimes need reminding of something that becomes obvious later: the ability to write clearly, structure an argument, choose the right word, and communicate persuasively is not a skill confined to English lessons. It’s the skill that underlies success in almost every other academic and professional context. Here’s why.

    History and the Humanities

    History exams test essay writing. Geography exams test report writing. Philosophy and ethics exams test argumentative writing. The student who can structure an analytical essay, deploy evidence precisely, and write a well-reasoned conclusion will outperform a student with equivalent knowledge but weaker writing ability in every one of these subjects. The marking criteria are different from English, but the underlying writing skills are the same.

    Science and Maths

    At A-Level and beyond, science and maths increasingly require clear written communication — experiment reports, extended answer questions, university application personal statements, research proposals. The scientist who can explain their work clearly in writing has a significant advantage over one who can’t. Many scientists are poor writers, and they know it; the ones who aren’t stand out.

    University

    Almost every undergraduate degree involves essay writing — even those in STEM fields involve dissertations, research reports, and lab write-ups. The students who struggle most in their first year at university are often those who coasted through secondary school in English and arrive at degree-level written work without the foundational skills to meet the standard required.

    Professional Life

    Emails, reports, proposals, presentations, job applications, client communications — professional life is full of writing, and professional advancement is significantly shaped by the quality of it. The ability to write a clear, well-structured email is genuinely rarer than it should be; the person who can do it well is noticed.

    The University Personal Statement

    For UK students, the UCAS personal statement is perhaps the most consequential single piece of writing a student will produce before the age of 18. It requires exactly the skills English teaches: analytical argument, evidence, structure, vocabulary, and the ability to present yourself persuasively in writing. Students who are strong writers write better personal statements. It’s as simple as that.

    At Thorogood English, we build the writing skills that matter not just in English exams but in every academic and professional context your child will encounter. Join the waiting list for January 2027.