Overview
Question 5 is worth 40 marks (24 for content, 16 for technical accuracy) and asks you to produce either a description or a narrative based on a picture or prompt.
The Golden Rule
Plan for 5 minutes. Write for 40 minutes. Check for 5 minutes.
Planning Your Response
Descriptive Writing
Focus on:
- Sensory details (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
- Atmosphere and mood
- Varied sentence structures
- Ambitious vocabulary
- Metaphors and similes
Narrative Writing
Focus on:
- Clear story arc (beginning, development, climax, resolution)
- Character development
- Dialogue (if appropriate)
- Show, don't tell
- Varied pace
Structure Template
5-Paragraph Structure
- Opening - Establish setting/atmosphere (3-4 sentences)
- Development 1 - Zoom in on specific detail (4-5 sentences)
- Development 2 - Shift focus or introduce contrast (4-5 sentences)
- Development 3 - Build to emotional/descriptive peak (4-5 sentences)
- Conclusion - Return to wider view or leave reader with lasting image (2-3 sentences)
Vocabulary Enhancement
Instead of "said"...
- whispered, muttered, declared, proclaimed, announced, insisted, pleaded
Instead of "walked"...
- strode, ambled, meandered, shuffled, trudged, sauntered, prowled
Instead of "looked"...
- gazed, peered, glared, scrutinized, observed, surveyed, glimpsed
Advanced Techniques
- Pathetic fallacy - Weather/environment reflects mood
- Cyclical structure - End where you began
- Motif - Repeat an image or symbol
- Contrast - Juxtapose light/dark, past/present, hope/despair
- Varied sentence lengths - Mix short, punchy sentences with longer, flowing ones
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Writing too much plot in a description task
- Using clichés ("it was a dark and stormy night")
- Forgetting to paragraph
- Poor time management
- Not leaving time to proofread
Example Opening (Descriptive)
Prompt: Describe a place at dawn
"Silence. That was the first thing I noticed as the world held its breath, waiting. The sky blushed pink and gold, reluctant to fully wake, while below, the city remained wrapped in shadow like a sleeping child refusing to stir. Between these two realms—light and dark, wakefulness and dreams—I stood, suspended in the threshold of morning."
Checklist
- [ ] I've planned my response (characters/setting/mood)
- [ ] I've used ambitious vocabulary throughout
- [ ] I've varied my sentence structures
- [ ] I've included sensory details
- [ ] I've checked for spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors
- [ ] I've used paragraphs effectively
Want to take your creative writing to the next level? Check out the Creative Writing Master Guide with 10 annotated model answers.