Narrative Writing: How to Get Full Marks (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Language)

Narrative Writing: How to Get Full Marks

Section B requires you to write for a specific purpose and in a specific form. It is important that you write in the correct format and use the conventions of this form, as to get the highest mark you will need to adapt your tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. 

This means: 

• The tone (the sound of the narrator’s “voice”) is appropriate and convincing 

• The register (your vocabulary and phrasing) is suitable for the purpose

• The style of the writing (the sentence structure and the overall structure of your writing) is dynamic and engaging

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. As with any extended piece of writing, planning is vital. You should spend 10 minutes mind-mapping your ideas before you start writing. Here, we will consider how you can produce an effective piece of narrative writing.

How to structure your narrative writing

Narrative story writing develops an idea to a conclusion. The way to achieve this in an exam is 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 or that 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

  • Ensure your plot is simple enough to be coherent and cohesive

• 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 character archetypes, such as “villain”, “victim”, “hero”, etc.

  • Decide on how your characters fit these descriptions 

• When describing people, focus on relevant details only:

  • For example, black and grey or green and blue

  • You could focus on their body language or movements

  • If using dialogue, the verbs you use to describe 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:

Narrative writing responses should be structured into five or six paragraphs. You should plan your response carefully as you have limited time to create a cohesive plot. Writing a response which has not been planned is likely to have an abrupt ending, or no ending at all, which will not get you high marks.

There are lots of different narrative structures or arcs that you could use to plan your story. Bearing in mind you only have 15 minutes to plan, your story needs to be controlled and concise. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to consider a five-part narrative structure, such as 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 to avoid repeating the same descriptions throughout your response.  

Narrative writing techniques

Once you have planned out the structure of your narrative, it’s a good idea to consider how to incorporate methods and techniques into your response. Below we have included some guides to help you when thinking about setting, characterisation and other linguistic techniques to make your narrative as engrossing as possible.

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 to 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 build a clear setting before introducing other information, such as introducing character:

  • Describing setting is best done with sensory language as we experience places with all of 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

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 hope or strength or abandonment, or you could include 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: a character should undergo 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:

Here, we will consider how to plan your character(s) effectively to engage your reader. This is what the examiner is looking for in your answer:

Linguistic devices

When considering your choice of language and the techniques you wish to employ, you must always remember that you are making deliberate choices for effect. It is important to consider the connotations of words and phrases, and how these may add depth to your writing. For example, do your word choices evoke certain emotions or feelings in the reader, or do they reveal aspects of a character’s personality, background or emotions? You should employ the principle of “show, not tell” in order to bring your writing to life in the reader’s mind.

Below you will find a brief explanation of some of the key techniques you could employ in your narrative (or descriptive) writing:

Steps to success

1. Read the two task options carefully:

   • Highlight which one you have a strong idea for

2. 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

3. Write down some reminders of figurative language or literary techniques to include to add interest and detail to your writing

4. Write your story, sticking to your plan

5. Try to leave five minutes at the end to re-read your writing carefully, correcting any obvious mistakes you have made