In Year 6 children learn to:

• identify the audience for, and purpose of, the writing;
• select the appropriate form and uses other similar writing as models for their own;
• proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors;
• ensure the consistent and correct use of tense throughout a piece of writing;
• use further organisational and presentational devices to structure text and to guide the reader (eg headings, bullet points, underlining);
• describe settings, characters and atmosphere;
• use dictionaries to check the spelling and meaning of words;
• understand and apply the difference between vocabulary typical of informal speech and vocabulary appropriate for formal speech and writing (eg find out - discover; ask for - request; go in - enter);
• use the passive voice to affect the presentation of information in a sentence (eg 'I broke the window in the greenhouse' versus 'The window in the greenhouse was broken (by me)';
• use layout devices, such as headings, sub-headings, columns, bullets, or tables, to structure text;
• use the colon to introduce a list;
• punctuate bullet points to list information.