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Writing to inform, instruct and persuade

Tests: 5 of 11 right · Exam: 3 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 8 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 44 of the english course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Your mate goes "all writing's the same, bruv, just write loads." What is the truth?

  • 1. Instructions and reports are the same as poems — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Only stories count as real writing — no support
  • 3. Each kind of writing has its own job and shape — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Writing more words always gets more marks — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓

★★★ Which set of features belongs to a newspaper report and NOT to instructions?

  • 1. Present tense, "you", a goal at the top — score 2
  • 2. Time order, short sentences, a title — no support
  • 3. Numbered steps, bossy verbs, list of equipment — no support
  • 4. Headline, past tense, quotes from witnesses — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 24, line 3: «A newspaper article has a headline in big or capital letters to grab you and sum up the story: «LOCAL GIRL SAVES DUCKS». The first paragraph tells who, what, w…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «quotes» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · right ✓

In a cartoon, a recipe says "Then the brave egg cried and ran away from the pan." What has gone wrong?

  • 1. It turned instructions into a story — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. It has too many bossy verbs — no support
  • 3. It is a perfect recipe for eggs — no support
  • 4. It is written in the present tense — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if instructions for building a model were in the wrong order?

  • 1. Nothing, because order never matters in instructions — no support
  • 2. The model would build itself correctly anyway — ← Mova's choice · score 10
  • 3. The reader would enjoy it more as a mystery — no support
  • 4. The reader could get stuck or build it wrong — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 10, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 43, line 1: «A first draft is like the first go at building a Lego model from your head: it stands up, but some bricks are in odd places, and editing is the second look tha…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «build» (+5); the same thing acted on «lego model» (+5). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A grandad in Glasgow, dry: "Yer letter to the council says 'ye numpties'. That'll work a treat." ("Numpties" means silly people.) What is he really saying?

  • 1. The council loves being called numpties — no support
  • 2. Insults will not persuade the council — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. The letter is perfect and very polite — no support
  • 4. He wants more Scottish words in it — ← Mova's choice · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 5: «People learn and speak differently and are still right. Mum in London and Mom in Texas spell that word their own country's way; a girl who speaks Arabic at hom…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «whole words» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Which sentence uses evidence, not just opinion, to persuade?

  • 1. The park is the best place in the whole world, honestly. — no support
  • 2. Closing the park would be a really, really bad idea. — ← Mova's choice · score 2
  • 3. Last year 300 people signed a petition to keep the park. — ✓ the right answer · score 1
  • 4. Everybody knows that parks are better than car parks. — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 44, line 4: «Persuasion uses reasons, evidence and feelings, with a polite voice: "Dear Council, the park is boss, don't close it or else!" sounds like a threat from a Live…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «close» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓

A Gen Alpha kid writes a report: "Penguins are lowkey goated." ("Goated" means the greatest.) In a report, which sentence works better?

  • 1. Emperor penguins can dive deeper than 500 metres. — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Penguins are goated, no cap, they slay. — no support
  • 3. Penguins are the best, I think so anyway. — no support
  • 4. Penguins are lowkey goated in a big way. — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ "First, we lined up. Then the alarm rang. Finally, Mr Ali counted us." What kind of writing is this most likely?

  • 1. A balanced argument — no support
  • 2. Instructions — no support
  • 3. A persuasive letter — ← Mova's choice · score 6
  • 4. A recount — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 17, line 14: «Vague words like «and stuff» or «things» do not count as an answer; give the exact details.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «vague words» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · right ✓

A cousin in Texas says "Y'all should write the rules for the game real clear." What kind of text are rules for a game?

  • 1. A recount — no support
  • 2. Instructions — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
  • 3. A poem — no support
  • 4. A diary — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 44, line 2: «Instructions are like a recipe card on the fridge: a title saying what you will make, a list of what you need, then numbered steps that start with bossy verbs…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «instructions» (+3). Against it: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Your sister, sarky: "Your 'balanced' argument has six reasons for and zero against. Very fair." What is wrong?

  • 1. It has too many paragraphs — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. It has a headline — no support
  • 3. It uses the past tense — no support
  • 4. It gives only one side — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓

Which is the best headline for the fire drill report?

  • 1. Pupils Out in Two Minutes as Alarm Sounds — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. My Diary: Tuesday — no support
  • 3. How to Make a Fire Alarm — no support
  • 4. It Was a Day at School and Things Happened — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the principal feature of instructional writing.

  • 1. A narrative recounted from a single viewpoint — no support
  • 2. A sequence of numbered steps employing imperative verbs — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
  • 3. A collection of rhyming couplets — no support
  • 4. A balanced discussion of opposing views — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 44, line 9: «A recount retells events in time order, usually in the past tense, using time words like first, then, after that and finally.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «use» (+5); the same thing acted on «time words» (+5). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following most accurately characterises a non-chronological report?

  • 1. Information organised by topic, customarily in the present tense — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
  • 2. A letter addressed to a person in authority — no support
  • 3. Events recounted strictly in order of time, in the past tense — no support
  • 4. A narrative featuring a protagonist and an antagonist — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 44, line 8: «A non-chronological report organises facts by topic, not by time, usually in the present tense with headings.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); the same action «organise» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with established conventions of persuasive correspondence.

  • 1. Reasons and evidence presented in a courteous register — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Slang presented in an informal register — no support
  • 3. Rhymes presented in a lyrical register — no support
  • 4. Threats presented in an emphatic register — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the five interrogatives customarily addressed in a newspaper report.

  • 1. If, but, and, or and so — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. How, how much, how many, how far and how long — no support
  • 3. Who, what, where, when and why — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Which, whose, whom, whither and whence — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/44-writing-to-inform-instruct-and-persuade/