 Revise:
Start with Verb+ing
Compare:
Liam realised he had finally been picked for the team when he
looked down the list for his name.
With:
Looking down the list for his name, Liam realised he had finally
been picked for the team.
 Consolidate:
Ahhh, writer’s tactics!
By using verb + ing our writer makes the reader feel more
__________ _______ with Liam’s feelings. The reader can
easily _________ Liam’s _____________ as he looks down
the list. The _____ of words in the sentence is effective
because the writer ________ the good news until the end!
anticipation
withholds
imagine
emotionally involved
order
Secure:
Write your own withholding information sentences on your
whiteboards using the starter words ‘gripping’, ‘clutching’,
‘holding’. Check to ensure you have a main clause and a
subordinate clause and that you have used the punctuation
correctly.

Revise:
Start with Verb+ed!
Compare:
Kylie decided to relax in the jacuzzi because she was tired
from the snowboarding.
With:
Tired from all the snowboarding, Kylie decided to relax in the
jacuzzi.

Consolidate
Ahhh, writer’s tactics!
Perhaps this writer thinks the most _________ information
should come first – the fact that it’s snowboarding that has
made Kylie tired. The writer is putting the order of events in
the ________ in the same order that they happened in ____
____ – snowboarding first followed by relaxing.
____________ tactics – we like it!
sentence
Chronological

important
real time
Secure:
Try your own chronological sentences beginning with
Shocked by…, Angered by… and Delighted by…
Revise:
Start with a Place!
Compare:
A faint low moaning came from beyond the grey misty clifftop
path.
With:
Beyond the grey misty clifftop path, there came a faint low
moaning.
Consolidate:
Ahhh, writer’s tactics!
This writer wants us to imagine the _______ before s/he
builds up more _______ with the description of moaning so
s/he puts the place ‘beyond’ first in the sentence. Putting the
place first can create the right kind of __________ before
introducing any ______ in writing. It’s a good tactic to get
your reader into the story and not give away too much too soon!
setting
tension
atmosphere
action
hooked
Secure:
Try these place starters:
On
Inside
Near
Beyond
Towards
Within
Among
From
Outside
Below
Into
Throughout
Beneath
Out of
To
Off
Revise:
Start with a time!
Compare:
The players were gathered around the team list already.
With:
Already, the players were gathered around the team list.
Consolidate:
Ahhh, writer’s tactics!
This is a great writer’s tactic because by putting the word
‘Already’ at the start of the sentence, the writer is making the
players’ ___________ seem very _______ by using this
particular ‘time’ word. The ‘time’ word goes first in the
sentence to make the reader feel like the ______ is going on
right here right ___so the reader feels even more _______.
urgent
anticipation
now
involved
action
Secure:
Try these place time at the beginnings of your sentences:
Before
Meanwhile
Already
During
Whenever
Till
Until
Earlier
Later
At + o’clock
Now
Since
In + _ hours
By + the time…
Revise:
Start with a reason/reservation!
Compare:
Steve really liked hanggliding although he didn’t often get the
chance to fly.
With:
Although he didn’t often get the chance to fly, Steve really
liked hanggliding.
Consolidate:
Ahhh, writer’s tactics!
Bring on pure sophistication tactics! This writer has ordered
this sentence so that the _______ idea comes first - Steve
doesn’t get to fly often. Then s/he adds the _______ idea that Steve likes hanggliding. These positive and negative ideas
about the same subject give the impression that Steve would
like to go flying more often. This writing is _____ and subtle
because it leaves the reader to realise Steve’s disappointment
at not being able to fly more often without having to _____
that fact in an _______ (and probably boring) way!
state clever
obvious
positive
negative
Secure:
Try to use some more words to express reservations:
Although
Though
If
Even if
Whereas
Despite