Layout and Formatting in Informational Writing

PROCEDURAL

English›Writing Composition|Ages 10—11|ID: mt_AHAFw-atka

Use layout devices including headings, sub-headings, columns, bullets, and tables to structure text and guide the reader through informational and explanatory writing

Mastery Evidence

Organise an informational text using headings and sub-headings to separate sections
Present comparative information using a table with clear row and column headers
Use columns and bullet points to display information in a scannable format

Assessment Prompt

“When [child] writes a non-fiction piece — like a guide or an explanation — do they use layout features like headings, bullet points, and columns to help the reader navigate the information easily?”

Curriculum Standards1 alignment

Eng.App2.Y6.Text.2The national curriculum in England

Layout devices

Layout devices [for example, headings, sub-headings, columns, bullets, or tables, to structure text]

English · Key Stage 2

Prerequisites2

Writing Craft Vocabulary
softAges 8—11
Organising Writing into Paragraphs
hardAges 7—10

Show full prerequisite tree

Writing Craft Vocabulary soft
Layout devices guide readers through structure; 'structure', 'coherence', and 'form' vocabulary is helpful
Organising Writing into Paragraphs hard
Layout devices build on paragraph organisation
- Building Writing Stamina hard
  Paragraph organisation requires writing for different purposes
  - Joining Letters soft
    Joined handwriting supports sustained writing stamina
    - Forming Capital Letters soft
      Capital letter formation supports correct sizing in joined writing
      - Sitting and holding a pencil hard
        Master lowercase formation before capitals
    - Sitting and holding a pencil hard
      Joining letters builds on Y1 lowercase letter formation
  - Expressing Feelings with Words soft
    Writing about real events draws on the ability to put feelings into words — the SEL skill of expressing emotions verbally before encoding them in written form
    - Triggers and Causes of Feelings soft
      Expressing feelings in words benefits from understanding triggers
      - Feelings Change and Differ soft
        Identifying triggers benefits from knowing feelings change
        
        Naming Basic Emotions soft
        Understanding feelings change benefits from naming basic emotions
    - Simple Calming Strategies soft
      Expressing feelings in words benefits from calming down first
      - Naming Basic Emotions soft
        Calming strategies benefit from naming the emotion you're trying to manage
      - Words for Big Feelings hard
        Calming strategies (calm, breathe, settle) rely on knowing this vocabulary to name and apply the techniques
  - Writing to inform soft
    Informative writing skills support writing for different purposes
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Informative writing requires knowing 'genre', 'audience', 'purpose', and 'detail' as concepts
    - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
      Oral rehearsal precedes informative writing
      - Describing Aloud soft
        Oral description supports oral rehearsal
        
        Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
        
        Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
      - Building sentences hard
        Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
      - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
  - Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending hard
    Writing about real events builds on narrative writing skills
    - Rote counting to 100 soft
      Sequencing events in narrative writing draws on the ordinal/sequential thinking developed through counting
      - One-to-one counting hard
        One-to-one correspondence requires knowing the number name sequence
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
    - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
      Oral rehearsal precedes written narrative
      - Describing Aloud soft
        Oral description supports oral rehearsal
        
        Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
        
        Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
      - Building sentences hard
        Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
      - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
        Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
    - Characters, settings, and events soft
      Story elements from reading inform writing
      - Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
        Need to engage with stories before identifying elements
    - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
      Handwriting needed for written narrative
  - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
    Writing for different purposes requires the vocabulary of purpose, genre, recount, and instruction
- Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending hard
  Organising paragraphs requires narrative writing ability
  - Rote counting to 100 soft
    Sequencing events in narrative writing draws on the ordinal/sequential thinking developed through counting
    - One-to-one counting hard
      One-to-one correspondence requires knowing the number name sequence
  - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
    Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
  - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
    Oral rehearsal precedes written narrative
    - Describing Aloud soft
      Oral description supports oral rehearsal
      - Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
      - Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
    - Building sentences hard
      Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
  - Characters, settings, and events soft
    Story elements from reading inform writing
    - Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
      Need to engage with stories before identifying elements
  - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
    Handwriting needed for written narrative
- Writing Process Vocabulary hard
  Organising into paragraphs requires 'paragraph', 'heading', 'theme', and 'organisation' as named concepts

Unlocks1

Developed Informational and Explanatory Writing
hardAges 11—14