1. Paper 1: Section B
In this section, you will be asked to do two pieces of writing:
Descriptive
Narrative

2. Check the instructions!
You will be given guidance on:
How much to write
Audience
Purpose
G A P !
Spellings, punctuation and grammar matter!

3. Descriptive Writing Do not tell a story! Capture the moment
Focus on what you feel, touch, taste, smell, hear as well as on what you see
Avoid ‘you’…(Be the camera)
Try and write in the present tense
Try to avoid long conversations – snippets of direct speech are fine, if appropriate
Vary sentence structure
Avoid cliché

4. Change the perspective
Next to
Across
Above
Below
From a distance
Close up
Later on
Before…after…

5. Add an adjective Why use one, use two! Eg. Don’t settle for ‘house’…
Instead, try ‘the sprawling, white bungalow’
Don’t cop out with ‘the brightly coloured flowers’…
Instead, try ‘the profusion of purple irises and nodding, blushing tulips…’

6. Use a moody adverb! ‘He walked home from school’ Okay…ish
‘He walked home from school reluctantly’ Sooo much better!
‘They ate dinner…’
‘Silently, they ate dinner…’
‘She opened the envelope…’
‘She tore open the envelope viciously…’

7. Colours Show off your vocabulary, and at the same time, be precise…
Don’t say ‘red’…
Say: ‘vermillion’, ‘crimson’, ‘scarlet’, ‘ruby’, ‘ garnet’, ‘blood’, ‘poppy’, ‘cherry’….

8. Check List S enses O nomatopoeia A lliteration P ersonification
A djectives and adverbs
I magery
M etaphor
S imile

9. Narrative Writing You will be offered a choice of six titles:
Only choose one!

10. Planning is key!
Try to plan two or three stories in advance and adapt one to fit one of the titles you are offered
Limit your scope: you cannot write about events spanning 20 years effectively in half an hour!
Limit your cast: too many characters spoil the broth… (Okay, but you know what I mean!)

11. To be avoided! Do NOT write about Blood Guts Aliens
Winning the lottery
And do NOT end with
‘Then I woke up and realised it was all a dream…’

12. Dialogue Some conversation is fine, BUT
DON’T tell the whole story through dialogue
And find the best word you can – not ‘said’
Remember tone of voice indicators
Try indirect speech for a change
PUNCTUATE IT CORRECTLY!

13. Tense For narrative writing, stay in the PAST tense!
And keep checking you haven’t changed to present tense…
And check again!

14. To be encouraged! Try to create suspense or interest
Describe body language
Show thoughts and feelings
Describe characters and settings
Aim for the most powerful opening and ending possible

15. If in doubt, stick to the six part story.
Introduce setting and characters
Introduce a problem
The problem gets significantly worse
Crisis point (can’t possibly get any worse)
Adjustment (moving towards the ending)
Will your ending be a cliff hanger or an anti-climax?

16. And finally…
Try to allow five minutes at the end to check spellings, punctuation and grammar
And it’s not too late to add that adjective or adverb!