Paper 1 Question 5: Creative Writing (AQA GCSE English Language)
Revision Note
Paper 1 Question 5: Creative Writing
In Question 5, you will be set a question that asks you to write either a piece of creative writing or a piece of descriptive writing. Here, we will focus on the creative writing task, which is often structured like a short story.
Overview of Paper 1 Question 5
Paper 1 Question 5 is the writing question. It asks you to apply what you know about imaginative and creative fiction writing, such as in the text you read in Section A, and use these same techniques in your own writing. AO5 rewards you for your ideas, as well as the style and the fluency of your writing. As this task is worth 50% of the paper, it is worth making sure you set aside enough time to answer it well. You should allow 45 minutes for this task.
The Assessment Objectives for Question 5 are AO5 and AO6:
AO5 (24 marks) Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts |
AO6 (16 marks) Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation |
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How to approach Paper 1 Question 5
It is important to remember that writers plan their texts deliberately to make the reader respond in certain ways, and think and feel certain things. This task in Question 5 asks you to think about how you can effectively engage your reader and produce a cohesive piece of creative writing.
When you reach Question 5, you will already have read an example of creative writing. You can use the ideas and structure to inform your answer. You should spend some time thinking about the question: not only the content, but also the order of your ideas. An effective piece of creative writing considers plot, setting and characterisation.
In your answer you must:
Plan your writing and order the information into roughly five to seven paragraphs
Consider the relevant information you need to give in order to create engaging characters
Plan your setting to create an effective mood
Use language techniques relevant to the style of writing
Question 5 tests your ability to create a text which is constructed in an appropriate manner.
The creative writing question assesses your skill in crafting a convincing piece of creative writing or short story. The question will be worded according to a specific task, for example:
Or:
It is worth remembering that you will be given a choice of two tasks in the exam: one will be a creative writing task, and the other will be a descriptive writing task. One will also give you a picture as a prompt for your piece of writing, but this could be to write a story or a description, so it is important that you read both options carefully.
Below are some points on how you might approach the task “Write a story with the title ‘Abandoned’”. It is divided into plot, setting and characterisation.
Plot
This task asks you to write a short story. This means you are required to plan your response carefully as you have limited time to create a cohesive plot. It is best to plan how your story will end before you begin writing so that you are in control of your story. Writing a response which has not been planned is likely to have an abrupt ending, or no ending at all, which does not satisfy readers or get you high marks. Your character development will lead the plot; you should decide if your story ends with a clear resolution or with a cliffhanger. Your resolution could be happy, or you can create a tragic ending.
There are lots of different narrative structures or arcs you could use to plan your story. Bearing in mind you only have 45 minutes, including planning time, your story needs to be controlled and concise. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to consider Freytag’s Pyramid:
5-part narrative structure | |
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Exposition (setting the scene) | Stick to one main setting and start at the location:
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Hook your reader:
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Decide which narrative perspective and tense you are going to write your story in:
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Employ the five senses to create an atmosphere:
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This paragraph could end with an “inciting incident”, which prompts the rising action and moves the story forward | |
Rising Action | This paragraph should build tension, drama or interest:
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This paragraph should also develop your character(s):
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Climax | This is the turning point of your story:
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Your protagonist could face an external problem, or an internal choice or dilemma:
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You should vary your sentence structure, length and language here for dramatic effect | |
Falling action | What happens in this paragraph should be as a direct result of the climax paragraph:
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It also should focus on your characters’ thoughts and feelings as a result of the climax of the story:
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| You can choose to resolve your story, or end on a cliff-hanger:
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Your setting and atmosphere could reflect a change from the setting or atmosphere you established in your opening paragraph:
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Setting
As this task assesses the ability to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, it is important to consider how to use language constructively in a short story to convey an atmosphere or mood. Building an effective setting is key as it contributes to atmosphere and mood.
Your setting should reflect your main character’s mood:
You may know this as pathetic fallacy, which reflects the character’s mood in the environment, e.g., “the lonely road”
As your setting reflects your character’s mood, your setting may change as the story progresses:
Contrasting scenes is an effective way to convey ideas and engage your reader
For example, your story may have started on a sunny afternoon, but may end as the sun sets or as a storm approaches
Whatever way you decide to contrast the scenes, ensure it reflects your character’s mood
The best answers have built a clear setting before introducing other information, such as introducing character:
Describing setting is best done with sensory language as we experience places with our five senses
This means you could describe the dark, light, colours, sounds, smells and weather
The best way to clearly create setting is to allow an entire paragraph to describe the scene without confusing readers with other information like who is there
Ensure all of your descriptive language builds the same mood and avoid mixing ideas. For example: “The graveyard was dark, cold and smelled like fragrant flowers” is confusing for your reader
However, do not give too much away all at once!
Keep your reader guessing and asking questions, such as “What is going on?”, “Why is this like this?” and “Who is this?”
Think of establishing a setting a bit like the game “Taboo”, in which you have to describe something without stating explicitly what it is
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember, Question 5 requires an extended written response. Therefore, the most effective stories will demonstrate a well-planned response which has considered what information is relevant to the reader and the most effective way to order and structure the narrative.
Characterisation
This question asks you to create a short story and therefore you will need to build some elements of detailed characterisation. This means you need to consider what your character(s) represent. They may represent an idea, such as being the victim of abandonment, or as a villain to represent injustice or evil. It is best to limit yourself to two characters in the time you have.
Well-rounded characters are taken on a journey in which a character undergoes some form of development or change. The mark scheme rewards answers which clearly and effectively convey ideas, meaning that you need to consider the most effective ways of building a character in a short piece of writing. Ideally, you should focus more on indirect characterisation than direct characterisation:
Direct characterisation | Indirect characterisation |
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Here, we will consider how to effectively plan your character(s) to engage your reader. This is what the examiner is looking for in your answer:
Characterisation | |
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Appearance (direct characterisation) | Your character’s appearance may not always be relevant:
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Movements and body language (indirect characterisation) | One of the most effective ways to describe a character is through their movements:
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Monologue (indirect characterisation) | If you use the first-person perspective, a monologue helps readers engage with the character:
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Dialogue (direct and indirect characterisation) | Dialogue can convey the relationships between your characters and provide insights into what other characters think about each other:
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Steps to success for Question 5
Read the two task options carefully:
Highlight whether you are writing a story or a descriptive piece
Spend five minutes planning your writing:
Use a mind-map or a representation of Freytag’s Pyramid to plot out your story
Plan your characters - who they are, what they represent and how you will convey this
Decide on your narrative perspective - first or third person
Write down some reminders of figurative language or literary techniques to include to add interest and detail to your writing
Write your story, sticking to your plan
Try to leave five minutes at the end to re-read your writing carefully, correcting any obvious mistakes you have made
Exam tips for Question 5
Avoid confusing ideas in a paragraph:
Each paragraph should focus on one idea
Ensure all words are chosen to contribute to the effect you want to create
Do not confuse the tenses in a paragraph:
If you use a flashback, ensure it is in the past tense
If you use present-tense verbs for effect, ensure they are all consistently in present tense
Do not over-use dialogue:
Only use dialogue if it drives forward the plot and you are able to punctuate it correctly
The highest marks are awarded for students who use complex and sophisticated vocabulary
Recap
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