EnglishatKnutsford

• Make up similes, metaphors, alliteration, personification that you could use in the exam.

• Write a series of openings to a story attempting to hook the reader. You could begin in the middle of the action or conversation, reflecting back on past events, etc. Tease the reader by dropping hints and suggestions.

• Write an opening or closing paragraph to a story and try to vary the length of the sentences. Balance the rhythm of short/long sentences. Use simple sentences for clarity and impact. Use compound for flow. Use complex to add extra layers of meaning. Do you want to use questions to draw the reader into the narrative?  Exclamations command attention! Remember to avoid clumsy, lengthy sentences.

• Learn descriptive words to add power to your writing.  Look at these words and look up your own in a thesaurus or using an online thesaurus, such as: http://thesaurus.reference.com

Use varied sentence structures:

• Long sentences can be used to slow a description down to create a sense of relaxation or time dragging.

• Short sentences are more punchy, quick and dynamic, and are good for describing dramatic events or action.

• By varying the length of your sentences you will be able to show the examiner that you are thinking carefully about your writing, and that you are consciously creating effects for the reader

• For example: "The English lesson seemed, to Kevin, to be dragging on forever, as Mr Drake's voice droned on and on, in its weary, low monotone, about the apparently fascinating poetry of some long-dead writer, who seemed to Kevin at least, to be unhealthily and unnaturally interested in scenes of empty countryside.”

• For Example "The waves crashed. The moon shone brightly. All else was silent on the deserted beach. From the distance came the sound of thunder."

As well as varying the length of your sentences you should try to vary their construction.  If you look back to your work in Year 7, you will probably find that in your stories you had sections like the following:

"He walked carefully into the narrow room. Then he saw a picture above the fireplace. He wondered who was in the picture. He walked over to it. He was sure he had seen that face before. Then he looked at the grey hair and the cruel eyes. He didn't know where he had seen them. Then he remembered that he had once met a friend of his father's..."

Q - How would you re-write it, to make it more fluent and less repetitive?
A - The important thing is to create variety.
Getting rid of 'he did this and did this and he did that' can erase purposeless repetition, and turning a sentence around can create variation. So 'he saw a picture above the fireplace' becomes 'above the fireplace hung a picture.'

Try beginning your sentences in other ways.  Such as:

• With a place – ‘Under the bed, the girl hid nervously.’

• With a verb – ‘Running through the trees, James found an escape.’

• With an adverb – ‘Quietly whispering, Steven was able to warn his friend.’