This Year 6 writing unit from our Real Writing collection shows pupils how to write clear, confident and convincing job application letters. Published children’s author Anita Loughrey provides the engaging model text: a pair of contrasting job application letters written in formal and informal registers.
All units in the Real Writing collection follow a carefully mapped framework and include two to three weeks of detailed lesson planning to support consistent, high-quality teaching.
In this unit, pupils explore job adverts, identify essential qualifications and personal attributes and examine how writers present themselves professionally. They'll compare the language choices in both sample letters and decide which one would best suit a real application.
They'll then apply their understanding to write their own formal letter of application for a dream job, using the provided templates, teaching slides and planning tools.
Curriculum links
You'll be teaching key Year 6 English objectives throughout this sequence. Pupils will identify differences between formal and informal vocabulary, organise synonyms by register and craft sentences that demonstrate precise language choices. They'll also use colons to introduce lists and semi-colons within lists and produce accurately punctuated paragraphs.
You'll also revisit skills from earlier years, including modal verbs and parenthesis, and introduce additional Year 6 expectations, such as using the passive voice to increase formality.
This unit also supports cross-curricular links to science and geography when pupils explore roles such as zookeepers and conservation workers.
Resources
- Three versions of the model text (plain, illustrated and annotated)
- Annotated and non-annotated PowerPoint presentations
- Job adverts and interview question prompts
- Vocabulary cards and match-up activities
- Formal letter poster
- Planning grids, margin planners and letter templates
- Teaching notes, activity sheets and slides
Vocabulary used in the unit
Year 5/6 statutory spelling words: sincerely, correspond, environmental, suggest
Tier 2 words: qualification, unorthodox, enrichment, punctual, enclose, application
Key activities
Launch the unit by showing pupils a job advert from the resource pack and prompting them to discuss required qualifications, skills and personal qualities. Pupils will write a job description before reading the two model letters. They'll evaluate each letter, justify their preferred choice and write feedback for the fictional applicant.
You'll then introduce Tier 2 vocabulary, statutory spelling words and interview-style role play. Pupils will rehearse formal spoken responses, explore the features of a formal letter, sort examples of formal and informal writing and annotate the model text.
They'll plan their own application using the provided grids, rehearse sentences aloud and draft a full formal letter over several sessions with opportunities for editing and improving grammar, punctuation and vocabulary.
Outcomes
By the end of the unit, pupils will:
- write a coherent, formally structured job application letter
- demonstrate accurate use of formal register, precise vocabulary, modal verbs, parenthesis and correctly punctuated list
- understand the purpose and features of formal correspondence
- present themselves professionally and explain clearly why they suit the role they have chosen