Planning, Drafting & Proofreading (Years 6–11) — English

Follow the full writing process, from planning and drafting to editing and proofreading, to produce polished, accurate work.

Good writing is rarely written once. Skilled writers plan before they start, draft to get ideas down, then edit and proofread to make the work clear and correct. The process is what turns a first attempt into a strong piece.

Why this matters In Cambridge IGCSE, accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar carries its own marks, and a few minutes of planning and checking can lift a grade. Examiners can always tell a piece that has been shaped from one that was rushed.

Plan before you write

A short plan orders your ideas and stops you drifting. Even five minutes spent noting your main points and their order saves time and repetition later.

Note your purpose and audience first.
List three or four key points in order.
Jot down strong words or images to use.

Draft with momentum

When drafting, keep writing and get your ideas down; do not stop to perfect every word. You can improve wording later. A messy first draft is normal and useful.

Edit for meaning, then proofread for accuracy

Editing and proofreading are different. Editing improves content: clearer wording, better order, stronger detail. Proofreading catches surface errors: spelling, punctuation, grammar and repeated words.

Edit for what you say; proofread for how you spelt it.

Read your work aloud to catch clumsy sentences.
Check its, it's; there, their, they're.
Look for missing full stops and capital letters.

Manage exam time

Split your time: plan, write, then check. Always leave a few minutes at the end to proofread. Marks lost to careless slips are the easiest marks in the whole exam to keep.

Common exam mistake: Treating editing and proofreading as the same step. Editing improves content — clearer wording, better order, stronger detail — while proofreading only catches surface slips like spelling and missing full stops. Skipping straight to proofreading without editing first misses the bigger improvements.

Exam technique: Read your finished draft slowly in your head during the final check. Clumsy sentences and missing words are far easier to hear than to see, and reading line by line catches errors that skimming misses.

Put the stages of the writing process in order:

Plan: note purpose, audience and key points
Draft: get your ideas down with momentum
Edit: improve wording, order and detail
Proofread: check spelling, punctuation and grammar