Plan for your reader before you write
For this ESOL Entry 3 writing practice, write a short article for a community newsletter. Explain what changed in a fictional shared garden, how people helped and what they might do next. Plan the main points before reading the model, then check whether your writing gives the reader all the information requested.
These are original learning activities, not official assessment questions or a test of your level. Our ESOL Entry 3 guide introduces the wider set of skills.
Your article task
The fictional Willow Room community newsletter is read by local adults. Some readers know the community room but have not seen its new garden.
Write an article for these readers. Include three things:
- Explain what the corner beside the community room was like before and how it changed.
- Describe what residents did and explain one way the project helped people.
- Explain a possible next step, making clear what has not yet been decided.
Use the facts below. You may choose your own wording, but do not present extra invented facts as if they were part of the information.
Information for your article
| Part of the story | Facts you can use |
|---|---|
| Before | The corner beside the community room was unused. People usually walked past without stopping. |
| What happened | In April, residents cleared litter and put herbs and flowers in containers. They made paper labels for the plants. |
| Looking after it | Neighbours took turns watering the containers. People began stopping to talk while they watered them. |
| Possible next step | The group is considering a noticeboard to explain the project. It has not chosen a design or agreed to put one up. Residents can share ideas with the community room team. |
The names and events are invented for this exercise. The task does not describe a real project or invite readers to visit a real venue.
Turn the task into a paragraph plan
A plan helps you decide what each part of the article needs to do. You can use short notes rather than complete sentences.
| Part | Job for the reader | Possible notes |
|---|---|---|
| Opening paragraph | Introduce the place and the change | unused corner beside Willow Room → herbs and flowers |
| Middle paragraph | Explain actions and a benefit | residents cleared litter; planted containers; labels; watering turns; conversations |
| Ending paragraph | Explain the possibility and invite ideas | noticeboard being considered; no design or agreement yet; share suggestions |
Check the connections. The fact that people now stop to talk helps explain the benefit. The fact that no design has been chosen limits what you can say about the noticeboard.
You do not need a paragraph for every fact in the table. Group related information so that a reader can follow the story.
Write your first version
Keep the newsletter audience in mind. They need enough background to understand the change, but they do not need an invented history of the building or names for every volunteer.
Try to connect an action to its result. For example, explain what people now do differently. Use the past when describing April's work and choose language that accurately describes the possible next step.
There is no set word count for this activity. Write enough to cover the three required points clearly. A longer response is not automatically a more useful one.
One possible article
A new garden beside Willow Room
The corner beside Willow Room used to be an unused space. Most people walked past it without stopping. In April, residents changed it by planting herbs and flowers in containers. The corner now gives neighbours something to look after together.
Residents first cleared the litter and planted the containers. They also made paper labels for the plants. Neighbours took turns watering them. The project helped people talk to each other because they began stopping for a conversation while they watered the plants, instead of simply walking past.
The group is now considering a noticeboard to explain the project. A design has not been chosen, and the group has not agreed to put one up. Local residents can share suggestions with the community room team. This would give the group more ideas before it decides what to do next.
Match the article to the task
The first paragraph introduces the place and contrasts the unused corner with the planted containers. It gives readers who have not visited enough background.
The second paragraph explains what residents did. It also connects the watering activity to a benefit: people began talking together. It does not claim an improvement that the task information never supplied.
The last paragraph separates a possibility from a confirmed plan. It says the group is considering a noticeboard, rather than announcing that one will definitely be installed.
Your article can use different sentences or organise some details differently. Check whether it still covers all three points and keeps the facts accurate.
Repair a draft that misses important information
Read this shorter draft:
The corner beside Willow Room was unused, and people usually walked past without stopping. Residents planted a garden there in April. They cleared the litter and put herbs and flowers in containers. They made labels and took turns watering the plants. The corner looks different now.
It includes actions, but it does not explain how the project helped people or tell readers about the possible next step.
Add two sentences:
- One that explains the benefit using the supplied facts.
- One that describes the noticeboard idea without making it sound confirmed.
Try your own sentences before reading the example.
A possible repair
People began stopping to talk while they watered the plants, so the project helped neighbours spend time together. The group is considering a noticeboard, but it has not chosen a design or agreed to put one up.
The first sentence explains the benefit with evidence. The second keeps the uncertainty clear. A sentence such as “The noticeboard will open next month” would add a decision and a date that the information does not give.
In a complete revised article, you could develop the ending by telling readers where to share ideas. Do not add an email address or meeting date that has not been supplied.
Choose language that keeps the meaning accurate
| If you want to… | Check this in your draft |
|---|---|
| Describe an earlier situation | Is it clear what the corner was like before the project? |
| Explain a sequence | Can the reader follow what residents did? |
| Give a reason or result | Does the connection come from the information, rather than a guess? |
| Describe a possible plan | Have you avoided presenting it as an agreed event? |
| Refer to people again | Is it clear who “they” means? |
Read for meaning before checking individual spellings. A grammatically tidy article can still miss a required point or give the reader the wrong information.
Write a different article independently
Now write for a fictional newsletter read by people who have just moved into the area. This time, explain a shared puzzle shelf at a community room.
Use these facts:
- Three households donated puzzles that they no longer used.
- Volunteers placed them on a shelf and added labels showing the number of pieces.
- Visitors now choose a puzzle to use at a table in the room. People sometimes join someone who has already started one.
- The team is considering a puzzle-swap event. No date has been agreed.
Your article should explain what the project is, describe what people did and one benefit, and explain the possible next step accurately. Plan for readers who do not already know the room.
A useful plan could group the donation and shelf information first, explain how visitors use the puzzles next, and finish with the unconfirmed event idea. Write the article in your own words instead of replacing “garden” with “puzzles” in the first model.
Check your article against its purpose
Before you finish, ask:
- Have I written an article for the stated readers, rather than an email to the organiser?
- Can a new reader understand the place and the project?
- Have I included every required point?
- Have I explained a benefit using the information given?
- Have I separated past events from an unconfirmed future idea?
- Do my paragraphs group related ideas?
- Have I checked sentence endings, capitals, verb forms and spelling?
For shorter messages, use our writing practice with messages, emails and corrections. To practise finding evidence in a text before writing about it, try the Entry 3 reading activities with explained answers.
The official ESOL English app page describes general supplementary learning activities. Use suitable material to build language, then write and revise your own article; a matching writing course or personal marking service is not promised.
Official writing resources
The Pearson ESOL resources hub includes Entry 3 article tasks and planning material. ESB's Entry 3 resources include writing support and samples. These are useful places to find material for your actual course. Follow your own awarding organisation's current instructions for any assessment; the garden and puzzle-shelf tasks here are original practice.
