Writing Exam

A Guide

Steps to Success• Choosing the correct question• Time management• Planning• Engaging the reader• Technical accuracy

Types of questions• Personal experience (thoughts and

feelings)• Short story• Discursive• Functional

Time Management• Seventy five minutes to choose, plan,

write and check an essay.• Five minutes- choosing a question• Five/ ten minutes – writing a plan• 50/55 minutes- writing your essay• Five / ten minutes- checking and

correcting

Activity A• Choose an appropriate question• Create a plan for your essay• Ensure that it includes thoughts

and feelings, as well as at least one setting

Describing Setting• Use the senses- touch, taste,

sound, sight, smell• Use imagery- simile, metaphor,

personification.• Use sound techniques-

onomatopoeia, alliteration.

Activity• Highlight/ underline all references

to the senses in the extract you have been given.

• Find one example of each of the following: simile, personification, alliteration.

Activity• Complete a senses chart for a

setting which features in your personal writing.

• Use this to write one or two paragraphs describing your setting.

• Include imagery and sound techniques

Success Criteria• You have used at least three of the

senses• You have included at least one

example of imagery and one sound technique.

Describe Thoughts and Feelings Fully• Describe your thoughts and

feelings in more detail • Explain why you were experiencing

these feelings

• I felt sad.• I felt distraught.• I felt distraught because I would never see my

uncle again.• The realisation that I would never see my uncle

again made me feel distraught.• The sudden, sharp realisation that I would

never see my uncle again welled up inside me. I attempted not to cry, but this was as futile as a few sandbags guarding against a tsunami. Wave after wave of fear, upset, shock and confusion devastated me, leaving me completely distraught.

• I was worried.• All the potential embarrassments,

awkward situations and outright terrors stomped relentlessly through my mind: what if I was late; what if I made mistakes; what if the office was populated by Rangers supporters; what if it even more tedious than a double period of Close Reading?

Improve the following• I felt happy• I was excited• I was nervous• I was angry• I was upset• I was worried

Activity• Take the most emotional part of

your experience• Write a paragraph explaining how

you felt and why• Use imagery to describe your

feelings

A good introduction should . . .• Write down two things a good

introduction should do

Introduction• Engage the reader• Give a clear idea of what your

essay will be about• Set the tone for your essay

Paired Activity• Read the two introductions• Highlight anything which makes

them an effective introduction

Solo Activity• Write your own introduction• Try to use language in a way which

will engage the reader

Peer Assessment• Two positives• One area for improvement

Vocabulary• Highlight all uses of the following

‘got’ ‘said’ ‘went’.• Rewrite any sentences which

include these words, using more descriptive verbs instead.

Sentence Structure• Varied• Use punctuation for effect• Avoid starting all your sentences

with ‘I’

• Use colons to introduce examples• My workplace resembled the aftermath of

a hurricane more than an office: papers were scattered everywhere; almost no floor-space was uncovered; there was even a couple of broken windows.

• Use question marks to indicate uncertainty / confusion.

• How would I be able to find a suitable question in my Writing exam? How would I read the Close Reading passage without falling asleep? How do I answer link questions again?

• Use long sentences to indicate a large amount / duration or length.

• The rest of the week seemed to drag on like an eternity. My days consisted of tedious and largely futile tasks: filling out forms; counting envelopes; struggling with the photocopier; filling out more forms; staring at the clock willing it to leap forward; taking calls about forms; filling out even more forms.

• Use short sentences for emphasis / to suggest brevity /climax. Make sure that these still contain a verb and a subject.

• Here I was.

• Rewrite the sentences below. Use more varied sentence structure.

• I was very worried when I arrived at my new school. I nervously tapped on the door. At first no-one replied and I was worried that I had arrived at the wrong place.

Flows Through Good Linkage /Topic Sentences• Use these to connect the ideas in

your different paragraphs.• Use linking phrases: however,

although, as well as, also• Refer back to previous paragraph

and introduce idea of new.

• Topic of previous paragraph: how I first became interested in being a lawyer .

• New paragraph: when I found out about the qualifications required.

• After that first interest in a legal career was ignited inside me, the next step was to discover what qualifications were required.

• Topic of previous paragraph: Worries before first day of new school

• New paragraph: first day and how it was much better than expected

Conclusion• Rounds off what you have been

saying• Contains reflection• Not simply a description of the last

part of what happened• Try to return to a phrase or image

from earlier in your essay

• Look back on this experience- with all the added maturity and insight that a whole 24 more on this on this planet brings- I now understand why I was so frightened.