Introductory Guide to ENB5

The aim of this module is to develop your skills in producing a new text based on a
substantial quantity of source material, writing to satisfy a specific brief.

What does the exam involve?

The examination is 2 ½ hours and is based on two sets of pre-released material,
available one week before the exam. The paper will have a choice of two questions on
each set of material – four questions in total. You will have to choose one of these
questions.

The exam question will require you to produce an original text of around 1100 words,
re-presenting sections of the pre-released material for a given purpose and audience.
You are also required to write a brief commentary of 150-200 words explaining some
of the choices made in the construction of the new text.

Brief annotation of the source material is allowed and this can be taken into the
examination room. Brief annotation includes highlighting, underlining, cross-
referencing, tables of contents, index, provisional groupings, etc. Post-it notes or
additional pages are not allowed. Teachers are not allowed to discuss the pre-release
material with you in any way.

What kind of tasks might be set?

Some previous editorial writing tasks from 2001 onwards are listed below, to give an
indication of the variety of different text types and audiences:

• Family history text for a wall display in a library

• Family history text for a ‘How To…’ article
• Script for a dramatised documentary on Radio 4
• Text for a feature in a broadsheet newspaper’s magazine for young people on
‘The Secret World of Codes’
• Web page on codes for a ‘Language Matters’ website
• Article on the regeneration of Gateshead Quays for a national rail magazine
• Audio tape script for a self-guided tour of Gateshead Quays
• Article on alternative medicine for a tabloid newspaper
• Leaflet on alternative medicine for prospective patients
• Radio 5 script for a programme on mountain biking
• Web page entitled ‘Mountain Biking: Your Fun Ride to Fitness’ for a local
leisure centre’s website
• Text for an illustrated booklet in a CD case for a CD of music from the
Glastonbury Festival
• Script for a Radio 1 programme covering the history and development of the
Glastonbury Festival
• Text for two posters on spelling aimed at key stage 3 pupils
• Article on spelling for a magazine aimed at parents
• Two sections of a book on past civilisations for children aged 9-13 –
‘Medicine’ and ‘Sport’ in ancient Greece
 • Audio tape for tourists in Greece – script for sections on ‘The Ancient
Olympic Games’ and ‘Medicine and Health in Ancient Greece’
• Introduction for a magazine called ‘Real Crimes’, focussing on crimes of
forgery and deception
• Radio 4 script for a programme about famous forgeries
• Article for ‘Radio Times’ on Psycho for a BBC season of Alfred Hitchcock
films
• Script for Radio 4’s daily arts programme ‘Front Row’ on Psycho
• Text for an illustrated publicity leaflet persuading tourists to visit the Heritage
and Visitor Centre at the Royal Mint
• Wall display from a high street bank to be used as a classroom resource on
opening a savings account and good money management (aimed at pupils
aged 14-16)

What genres should you be familiar with?

A wide range, including:
• posters
• radio scripts
• magazine articles
• broadsheet and tabloid newspaper articles
• audio tours
• publicity leaflets
• advice leaflets
• web pages
• documentary scripts (TV and radio)
• wall displays
• advertising copy
• travel writing
• drama
• business and administrative writing
• fiction

What audiences should you be familiar with?

• young children
• teenagers
• adults
• over 50s
• academic / specialist interest
• general public

What editorial skills should you have?

• Selection of appropriate material from the source booklet
• Structuring a coherent whole, using narratives, arguments and expositions
• Paraphrase and summary skills
• Achieving cohesion within and between texts
• Control of the tone, voice or register of a text
 • Use of texts within texts (e.g. diagrams, figures, sound effects, directions to
presenters)

What skills are needed for the commentary?

• the same analytical methods used for any spoken or written text - objectivity
is, of course, needed as this is more personal
• ability to make judicious selection of the most significant features of the text -
examiners want to know about what source material was selected, how it was
organised, the conventions of the genre that were selected and the important
language choices made
• time-management and discipline in order to complete the commentary within
the word limit

What are the keys to success in this module?

You must know the pre-release material extremely well and use it to create an entirely
new text. The most important question asked by the examiner is: would the new text
be effective for its intended audience in the real world? If the answer is 'yes', then you
will gain high marks for your text.

What pitfalls are there in this module?

The key to this module is finding the right 'voice' for the task. Sometimes, results for
this module can seem surprising: weaker students can gain very high marks, while
exceptionally able students struggle to gain a D.

There are several possible pitfalls:

• Students do not understand how to address their audience. They use too formal
or too informal a 'voice', or include inappropriate material from the sources.
• They are too conscientious with the source material. The mark scheme (up to
January 2007) suggested that students should aim to use around 65% of the
total pre-release material but this does not mean 65% of each source text -
some can be completely discarded, in fact.
• Key features and conventions of the genre are not used
• The student has included material from outside the pre-released booklet, or
invented extra details to ‘flesh out’ the task – e.g. interviews with people, case
studies, etc. The specification states that the module is concerned less with
originality of content and more with the interpretation, adaptation and
re-presentation of source material for specified purposes and audiences
other than those for which the source material was originally written.

Preparing the pre-released material (adapted from chief examiner's advice)

The pre-released material is extremely daunting and you need to practice preparing it.
You should prepare both sets of material, even though you only answer on one.
Preparing only one severely limits options in the exam. You should draw on
approximately 65% of the material – but this does not mean only the first two articles!
The page numbers in the pre released material are only there to check you have a full
set. Once checked, you should take the material apart and read it in any order they
like. Deal with one article at a time – don’t plough through the whole thing in one
sitting.

It is vital that you look up any words you don’t understand. Underline and put the
definition in the margin. A summary heading should also be placed at the top of each
article. Dates and facts should be circled and cross referenced – any differences? The
examiner expects accuracy – the facts need to be right. Students will be heavily
penalised for incorrect reporting (and weak technical accuracy).

Close shadowing or copying of the pre-released material will be penalised. You are
writing for a new audience, and so need to create a new voice, context, etc. Some
originality and flair is needed.

Don't forget the pictures in the pre-released material. You can include pictures in your
new text. Don’t waste time drawing – just write in a picture box what you want in it
and caption it appropriately. Refer to this in the commentary.