Paper 1 Question 5: Creative Writing Model Answer (AQA GCSE English Language)
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Paper 1 Question 5: Creative Writing Model Answer
In Paper 1 Question 5 you will be presented with a choice of two writing tasks and a stimulus image. One task will ask you to write descriptively, most likely based on the image, and the other question will ask you to write a story, based on a statement or title.
The task requires you to write for a specific purpose and in a specific form. It is important you write in the correct format and use the conventions of this form, as the mark scheme mentions adapting your tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences.
This means:
The tone (sound of the narrator’s ‘voice’) is appropriate and convincing
The register (vocabulary and phrasing) is suitable for the purpose
The style of the writing (sentence structure and overall structure) is dynamic and engaging
Below you will find a detailed creative writing model in response to an example of Paper 1 Question 5.
Writing a GCSE English Language story
Remember, Paper 1 Question 5 is worth 40 marks, broken down into two Assessment Objectives:
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 |
When planning your response, it is a good idea to keep the tone, style and register in mind, as well as the conventions of the form. Here, we will consider how you can produce an effective story with these devices in mind:
Tone
Story writing should develop a sense of character as well as mood. This means you should consider how your narrator or characters would behave and sound.
In order to craft a tone which builds characterisation and mood, consider:
The perspective from which your story will be told:
First-person characterisation can include monologues which express the narrator’s thoughts and feelings
Third-person characterisation will generally include a description of the character’s appearance and movements
Choose verbs and adverbs carefully to ‘show’ the character’s reactions
If you use a third-person omniscient narrator, you can advise the reader of the character’s thoughts and feelings
Consider how you can use sentence lengths and types in monologue and dialogue, as well as description of setting:
Short sentences reflect tension and unease, e.g. ‘No sound could be heard’
Longer sentences and listing can create a sense of being overwhelmed, or of abundance, e.g. ‘The table was laden with apples, grapes, oranges, loaves of bread, chunks of cheese and an array of colourful vegetables’
Rhetorical questions can suggest confusion, e.g. ‘Would I ever get it right?’
Style and register
The style of your story writing is closely related to the language you use. For example, in a creative writing response, the best answers show evidence of careful word choice and linguistic techniques.
Creative writing helps the reader to visualise the person, place, or situation being described with word choice and linguistic techniques, as well as being taken on a journey.
The best way to do this is to:
Use vocabulary which is useful to the reader:
For example, describing something as ‘great’ or ‘amazing’ is telling rather than showing
Use sensory language to bring the scene to life:
For example, a deserted park at night requires a completely different description from a busy park during the daytime
Emphasise key ideas or impressions using language techniques and imagery:
For example, you could use a simile to create associations about size or colour
Personification is a useful technique when describing weather or objects
Ensure you describe the important details:
For example, you do not need to describe every inch of a person or scene bit by bit, but instead focus on key, interesting features that develops the story or the sense of character
Form
Creative story writing develops an idea to a conclusion. This means your story should have cohesion by planning an ending with a resolution (you should plan whether your story will end happily or not). In the exam, it is best not to plan a complex story which takes place over a long period of time, employs multiple characters and has more than one setting or plot twist.
In order to adhere to the conventions of story writing, it is best to:
Plan your writing in an order which takes your character (and reader) on a clear journey:
The best way to do this is to plan one main event
Consider employing structural techniques such as a flashback:
This can give background information to the reader and provide context
Ensure you use past-tense verbs for this
Develop your characters:
Consider essential narrative characterisations, such as villain, victim, hero etc.
Decide on how your characters fit this description
When describing people, focus on relevant details only:
You could focus on their body language or movements
If using dialogue, how your characters speak can reveal more about them than what they say, e.g. “shrieked”, “mumbled”, “whispered”
It is effective to repeat ideas related to colour
You can repeat ideas for emphasis, for example, black and grey or green and blue
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Structuring your story
Below is an example of the type of creative writing you may be asked to write in Question 5. This is taken from Language Paper 1 June 2019:
This task asks you to write a story with the title ‘Abandoned’. This means you are required to construct a story based around this idea. The mark scheme rewards original ideas, but the most successful answers are those which develop an idea effectively and engage the reader in a compelling story.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Crafting a story plot which conveys a complex and original idea does not need to include multiple characters or take place over a long period of time. Consider the short story as a ‘scene’ in a film. It is not necessary to know everything about your characters, but better to immerse the reader with vivid ‘showing’ techniques, such as sensory imagery, movements and dialogue.
As this is a longer writing question, you can spend about 5 minutes planning your answer.
Once you are sure of the form you will write in and you have considered how best to convey the mood and character development to your reader, you can begin to think about how you will order your ideas.
Creative writing responses should be structured in five or six paragraphs. We have suggested basing your narrative structure on Freytag’s Pyramid:
Remember, each paragraph does not have to be the same length. In fact, better answers vary the lengths of their paragraphs for effect. What is important is to develop separate ideas or points in each paragraph, and avoid repeating the same descriptions throughout your response.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Keep using sensory language throughout, but adjust the focus and perspective as your paragraphs develop. Make sure you include description of movement and description of sound to effectively craft a mood.
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AO5: Content and organisation
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 |
Level 4 Response (19-24 marks) |
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The house was not always dead. I can forlornly recall all of my visits to this once beautiful place. Every summer holiday, my parents brought me to this house, where my grandparents lived, and their parents before them. |
Key point | AO5: Convincing and compelling communication, incorporating a range of complex ideas that are assuredly matched to purpose and audience | |
Language features and techniques | Complex ideas | Introducing a memory creates a personal and emotive tone |
Introduces complex ideas regarding family history | ||
Matched to purpose | The story builds characterisation with a first-person monologue | |
Level 4 Response (19-24 marks) |
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The house had been the epitome of life and joy, and yet it was now dead. It was merely a shadow of its former glory, for the house was no longer alive, and never would be again. |
Key point | AO5: sustained crafting and ambitious vocabulary | |
Language features and techniques | Ambitious vocabulary | The use of “epitome” is a sophisticated without being overly complicated |
The phrase “a shadow if its former glory” uses vocabulary successfully to develop the description | ||
Sustained crafting | The image of the lively house is contrasted with the word ‘dead’ to add emphasis | |
The focus on time adverbials emphasise the change e.g. “now”, “no longer” and “once” | ||
AO6: Technical accuracy
AO6 (16 marks) Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation |
Level 4 Response (13-16 marks) |
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Sunlight no longer danced through the windows and sounds of laughter were no longer heard; all that was left were the remains of a long since dead house. |
Key point | AO6: Full range of appropriate sentence forms with demarcation consistently secure and consistently accurate. | |
Structural features and techniques | Semi-colon | The separation of the clauses using a semi-colon in this long sentence is effective as the second phrase directly builds on the first |
Question 5 Level 4 model story
Below is an example of a full-mark Level 4 model story:
Level 4 Response (AO5 - 22-24 marks/AO6 - 13-16 marks) |
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Abandoned The house had been the epitome of life and joy, and yet it was now dead. It was merely a shadow of its former glory, for the house was no longer alive, and never would be again. Sunlight no longer danced through the windows and sounds of laughter were no longer heard; all that was left were the remains of a long since dead house. Cobwebs littered the wooden slats and broken walls. Dusty light-fittings stared down miserably at a table that would never again be laden with food and fun, with chairs that had not been warm for years. As I stood in the hallway, the silence crept through the empty rooms towards me, mocking me with its quiet. The house was not always dead. I can forlornly recall all of my visits to this once beautiful place. Every summer holiday, my parents brought me to this house, where my grandparents lived, and their parents before them. Living in the city, my summers spent in nature were filled with joy and laughter. The bright sunshine, the gentle winds and the solitude that had been introduced to me in this wonderful place had all come to be things I loved. My sister and I would spend hours climbing the trees surrounding the house, building dens and having endless adventures, before returning, wild and weary, for our family meal and the analysis of the day. But on the day of the accident, everything changed. And nothing changed. The sun was still bright; the wind still gently grazed the trees and the silence felt just as comforting as before. Except it was different. We were different. There was one less chair occupied at the table. There was no one to climb trees with or build dens. In fact, one tree in particular would never be scaled again. In his grief, my grandfather cut it down, hacking it with all of his strength as though he could cut out the event itself. I remember watching from the front window, as he chopped, chopped, chopped until finally, with an almighty shove, the guilty tree creaked and fell. My parents could not watch, locked as they were in their sorrow. We returned to the city, leaving my grandparents and the blame which they bestowed upon them for not making everything safer. I had tried to help them keep up with the chores; handing my grandfather the right bolts and nails for fixing the fence, or helping to paint the house. But the treehouse had seemed so sturdy - so reliable. It seemed impossible that anything bad could happen there. It was twenty years before I returned. At first, I thought I had arrived at the wrong house. I could not match the ruin standing before me with the bright, happy place I had known. Flowers of all colours had filled the elegant front garden, but now there were just weeds. In that one simple house, birthdays had been celebrated, laughs were shared and fireworks were watched. Now, it was a mere shadow. It was no longer alive, and never would be again. |
Why would this story achieve top marks?
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