Writing part 2: Strategy (story)
Read the question below.
What must you write?
What is the title?
Where must you write your answer?
Sample question 1:
Your English teacher has asked you to write a story.
Your story must have this title: The wrong address
Write your story on your answer sheet.
How will you set the story?
What will happen after that?
How will your story end?
Sample question 2:
Your English teacher has asked you to write a story.
Your story must begin with this sentence:
One day last week I was sitting in a café in the market square.
Write your story in about 100 words.
What tense is used in the first sentence of the story?
Writing your story
All good stories start with a good plan!
Planning your answer
Before starting your story, it is important to make a plan.
Your story must be simple enough to finish in about 100 words.
Getting ideas
Write down five or six useful words and phrases that you can use in your story.
For sample question 1 think about these questions.
Whose address is it?
Why is it the wrong address?
How will your story begin?
How will it end?
Write down some words/ideas
Examples:-
Mistake,
key
flat
different
door
For Sample question 2 you could ask these questions
Who are the people in your story?
What were they doing in the market square?
What happened?
How does your story end?
Which tenses will you use?
Starting and finishing
Make sure it has a proper beginning and ending.
Remember it is meant to be a short story not part of a story.
Structure
Aim to write (3-4) paragraphs, not just one long paragraph.
Starting your story
Make sure that you have at least one more sentence in the first paragraph after the sentence you are given.
This should include any background information you need to give, for example, about the people or the place, and the first part of the story.
Examples:
At the beginning, I was a little skeptical so…
I will never forget the day/time when …
It all began when I met this boy called James who…
It was a hot/cold summer/winter day and…
From the very start, I knew ...
One day, I was walking along the street, when…
When I first spoke to him I was shocked because…
Continuing your story
The middle section should contain the main part of the story and may be split into two paragraphs if necessary.
Remember to add details to your story.
This should mean that each paragraph is several sentences, not just one.
Ending your story
Remember! Make sure the story has a point
The final part of the story should include a sentence at the end that finishes the story in an entertaining way.
Examples:
Finally, I managed to get home and..
After everything that had happened, I...
Eventually, he came around and…
It had been the most amazing day.
Luckily, I had my camera so…
When it was all over we cried with joy.
In the end, everything/everybody was ...
After everything that happened …
TIP! Make Your Story more interesting
Use a variety of Time expressions, adjectives, adverbs and linking words to make your writing interesting.
Time Expressions
We can use time expressions to help readers understand the order of events.
first
As soon as
(Just) then
when
Meanwhile, As
later/after that
finally/in the end
Adverbs
Adverbs can be used to create suspense, convey emotions and attitudes, i.e. surprise, shock etc.
suddenly
unexpectedly
fortunately
obviously
surprisingly
actually
naturally
of course
luckily
to my surprise
eventually
Linking words
Linking words are used to link ideas and create more complex sentences
but
when
although
so
because
as
despite
Checking and correcting your work
When you finish writing a short message, use this checklist
Spelling and Grammar
Content
Does your story have a beginning, a middle and an end?
Have you added details and language to make the story more interesting to read?
Communicative achievement
The story is for people who are reading for pleasure, so have you used a suitable entertaining style?
Organisation
Have you divided your writing into paragraphs?
Have you included suitable linking words and phrases to join the parts of your story together?
Sample Answer with examiner's comments
Anna had just got out of bed when the phone suddenly started ringing. She saw it was from her friend Helen. She answered and Helen imediately started telling Anna to come over at her house because she had something to show her.
Anna quickly got dressed, told her parents where she was going and walked to Helen’s house. When she got there, Helen took Anna up to her bedroom and they sat to Helen’s computer.
‘Look!’ she said. ‘You know the video we recorded for that song we wrote together? I put it online yesterday and over ten thousand people have watched it allready!’ Maybe they were going to be famous after all!
Examiner's comments
Band 5
This script is a very good attempt.
The use of language is confident and ambitious: ‘Anna quickly got dressed, told her parents where she was going and walked to Helen’s house.’
There are occasional errors, which do not make it difficult for the reader to understand, for example ‘they sat to Helen’s computer.’
Paragraphs are used to support the clear organisation of the story.
Linking language helps to show this order. Overall, the reader doesn’t have to make any effort to follow the story.
GRAMMAR POINTS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Main Grammar Points to revise:
Comments