Writing a letter from the British home front: tone, audience and purpose | English

Starter quiz

Before writing any text, it can be useful to consider its tone, audience and purpose. Match these key words to their definitions.
- tone
  
  ⇔
  
  the attitude and emotion of your voice - written or verbal ✓
- audience
  
  ⇔
  
  the person or people you intend your text to be read or seen by ✓
- purpose
  
  ⇔
  
  the reason something is done; the motivation behind doing it ✓
Vera Brittain wrote 'Testament of Youth' in 1933. Match 'Testament of Youth' to its tone, audience and purpose.
- tone
  
  ⇔
  
  angry, anxious, despairing, formal, reflective ✓
- audience
  
  ⇔
  
  the wider public ✓
- purpose
  
  ⇔
  
  to present the experiences of those on the home front ✓
Letters were an important method of communication during World War One. Letters start with a greeting. Which greeting is correctly punctuated?
- my darling sid
- my darling sid,
- My darling sid,
- My darling Sid, ✓
- My darling, Sid,
During WW1, soldiers fought on the front line. However, civilians experienced war on what is called the home front. Match the aspect of the home front to its impact.
- dread
  
  ⇔
  
  fear their loved ones would never return to them ✓
- impotence
  
  ⇔
  
  feeing powerless to help the war effort ✓
- hunger
  
  ⇔
  
  there were food shortages and rationing was introduced in 1917 ✓
- employment
  
  ⇔
  
  many women were employed in industries traditionally worked by men ✓
- fear
  
  ⇔
  
  of bombs and invasion ✓
Vera Brittain wrote 'Testament of Youth' in 1933. In Chapter 4, why does she express anger at her mother's friends?
- She says they aren't taking the war seriously.
- She feels they patronise her when talking about the sacrifices she has made. ✓
- They refuse to buy the flowers she is trying to sell.
- They don't support the war.
- They encourage her to give up her studies and become a nurse.
Starting with the first, order these events from an extract of Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth' in chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  Brittain recalls the anger she felt at young people being killed.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Brittain reflects on how slowly the time passed during the war.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  Brittain remembers always feeling a sense of dread during the war.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  Brittain remembers imagining what it would be like if she heard Roland was dead.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  Brittain knew that if Roland died, university wouldn't help her get over him.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  Brittain remembers worrying war would change Roland as a person.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  Brittain remembers rereading Roland's letters and crying.

Exit quiz

Letters were an important method of communication during World War One. Letters end with a sign off. Which sign off is correctly punctuated?
- with Love always, george
- with love always george
- with love always george.
- with love always, George ✓
- with love always George
Wilfred Owen was a British poet and soldier, most famous for his poems about World War One. How might you characterise the overall tone of his poems?
- patriotic
- optimistic
- despairing ✓
- impotent
- metaphorical
Match each quotation from Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth' to its tone.
- frustration
  
  ⇔
  
  I had little patience [...] for my mother's middle-aged acquaintances ✓
- despair
  
  ⇔
  
  life would seem so utterly empty and purposeless without him ✓
- anxiety
  
  ⇔
  
  fear that the War would come between us ✓
- frantic
  
  ⇔
  
  I began to look carefully through his letters ✓
In Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', Brittain recalls how "______ telephone call" filled her with worry, in case it should bring bad news.
- 'every' ✓
In Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', Brittain recalls how the household clock marked off each "hour of ______" during World War One.
- 'dread' ✓
In 'Testament of Youth', Brittain recalls her anger at older people who she felt were not affected by war in the same way as the young. She says they "______" her.
- 'patronised' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

To write convincingly, you must have a secure understanding of tone, audience and purpose.
Tone is created through carefully crafted methods.

Common misconception

Working out the tone, audience and purpose is an unnecessary step in planning. These things are always really obvious.

The foundations of convincing writing comes in the planning stage. This includes thinking carefully about tone, audience and purpose. Having a deep, rather than superficial, understanding of each will allow for a compelling piece of writing.

Keywords

Establish - begin, create, set up
Tone - the attitude and emotion of your voice - written or verbal
Purpose - the reason something is done; the motivation behind doing it
Memoir - a nonfiction account of something written from a person's memories
Methods - the tools a writer uses to create their work- structure and language choices are the most obvious examples