R.A.F.T.
Which of the following describes
R.A.F.T.?
A. A device that floats in the water
B. An acronym for the parts of speech
C. A useful tool that will allow you to
get better grades
D. A strategy for writing
R.A.F.T.
R.A.F.T. stands for:
• Role
• Audience
• Format
• Topic
So how can that help you?
R.A.F.T.
The RAFT strategy forces you to
process information, rather than
merely write out answers to
questions.
So…..What exactly is it anyway?
R.A.F.T.
R=role
The role is who you are writing as.
Is your role reporter? Observer?
Eyewitness? Object? Etc.?
Want an example?
R.A.F.T.
Look at the following writing prompt.
What would your role be as the writer?
Write a letter to the editor of your
local paper voicing your concern over
the lack of after school activities for
teenagers.
Role=
R.A.F.T.
If you said teenager, you were right..
That one was easy, let’s try a harder
one.
A famous athlete writes an
autobiography. What is your role?
Role=
R.A.F.T.
Who is doing the writing?
The famous athlete.
Think you got it? Maybe one more?
The local theater group puts on a play
about a dragon with no wings.
Role=
R.A.F.T.
Your role in that example was the….
Local theater group
Let’s move on to the next part which is
audience. If you’re still unsure about
the role, don’t worry. It will get easier
with practice.
R.A.F.T.
A=audience
The audience is whoever will be doing
the reading. Teacher, other students,
parent,, editor, people in the
community, etc.
Want an example?
R.A.F.T.
Your girlfriend’s father lectures her
after coming home late about why she
shouldn’t be dating you.
Role?
Audience?
You’d be better off staying out of it
altogether.
R.A.F.T.
The audience is very important in
writing. Let’s try another one.
Joseph Stalin writes a letter to George
Orwell about his reaction to Animal
Farm.
Audience=
R.A.F.T.
F=format
Format is how the writing is being
presented. What FORM is it taking? A
letter? Memo? Essay? Article? Report?
Poem?
Let’s look at the previous examples.
R.A.F.T.
What is the format in the following
prompt?
Joseph Stalin writes a letter to George
Orwell about his reaction to Animal
Farm.
Format=
R.A.F.T.
Let’s try one more:
Your girlfriend’s father lectures her
after coming home late about why she
shouldn’t be dating you.
Format=
R.A.F.T.
How is the message being delivered?
Did you say a lecture? You’re right!
The last strategy is T=topic
The topic is the who or what (subject).
R.A.F.T.
Again, let’s look at previous examples.
Write a letter to the editor of your
local paper voicing your concern over
the lack of after school activities for
teenagers.
What is the topic?
R.A.F.T.
The topic is what is being written
about. In the previous example it was
your concern over the lack of after
school activities for
teenagers.
R.A.F.T.
Let’s try one more:
Your girlfriend’s father lectures her
after coming home late about why she
shouldn’t be dating you.
The topic is….
R.A.F.T.
What was the dad lecturing about?
Why she shouldn’t be dating you….
R.A.F.T.
Now we’re going to take a little test.
I’m going to show you a writing prompt
and you need to identify the R.A.F.T.
for each one. Ready?
Let’s get started……..
R.A.F.T.
The President of the United States will
deliver a speech trying to convince the
United Kingdom to join forces in the
war against terrorism.
R=
A=
F=
T=
R.A.F.T.
Your grandmother tells a story to the
children at the local community center
about when she was a little girl growing
up during the great depression.
R=
A=
F=
T=
R.A.F.T.
The citizens of China give a speech to
the Emperor about allowing everyone to
have a passport.
R=
A=
F=
T=
R.A.F.T.
Chuck Norris gives a speech to the “bad
guys” letting them know what will
happen if they mess with him.
R=
A=
F=
T=
R.A.F.T.
A caterpillar writes a biography
describing his life to the world.
R=
A=
F=
T=