Writing composition, Year 8: stories, information and poems

The climax

HintOn a story mountain, it is the peak.

The whyEverything before it builds towards this point and everything after it deals with the result. It usually comes late in the story.

The resolution

HintThe same word is used for a promise made at New Year.

The whyIt shows the consequences of the climax and where the characters are left. It can be very short, but without it a story feels cut off.

The climax arrives too soon

HintThe reader has had no time to start caring.

The whyTension has to be built. If the reader does not yet know the characters or what is at stake, the big moment has nothing to release.

Discovering that his rival has cheated

HintFind the event after which Ali's situation can never be as it was.

The whyBefore the discovery the story is about training; after it, the story is about a choice. A turning point changes the direction of the story and sets up the climax.

No — keep to the facts

HintThe reader came to learn, not to be persuaded.

The whyInformative writing is judged by how clearly and accurately it passes on knowledge. Opinions belong in writing that argues or persuades.

Define the term

HintNever assume the reader shares your vocabulary.

The whyA short definition the first time a technical word appears keeps the beginner with you. After that the word can be used freely.

Step by step, in the order you do them

HintThink of a recipe.

The whyThe reader will carry out the actions in sequence, so the writing should follow that sequence. Words such as 'first', 'next' and 'finally' mark the way.

'I' — the first person

HintA diary is written by whoever it is about.

The whyWriting in role means becoming the character, so their experiences are reported from the inside: 'I heard the guns', not 'he heard the guns'.

He could not know about cars

HintCheck the date he lived in.

The whyA voice in role is limited to what that person could have seen, known and believed. One modern detail breaks the illusion.

No — the voice must fit the character

HintListen to how a child of that age really talks.

The whyVocabulary and sentence rhythm are part of a persona. A five-year-old narrator notices different things and says them in simpler ways.

Proof-reading fixes errors; redrafting improves the writing

HintOne is about being correct, the other about being better.

The whyA draft with perfect spelling can still be dull or muddled. Redrafting changes content, order and word choice to make the piece stronger.

The verb

HintLook at the one word that changed, and at its word class.

The why'Went' says only that the dog moved. 'Bolted' gives the speed and the panic in one word, with no adverb needed.

Cut it

HintEvery sentence has to earn its place.

The whyTaking out what is not needed is one of the most effective changes in a redraft. What remains has more force.

A line break

HintIn prose, the edge of the page decides; in a poem, the writer does.

The whyA poet can break a line to create a pause, to make a word stand out or to surprise the reader with what comes next.

It emphasises 'alone'

HintA pause follows the last word of any line.

The whyThe word sits by itself at the edge of the line, with space after it, so the layout acts out the meaning.

An image

HintThe word 'imagination' grows out of it.

The whyMany strong poems are built around one clear picture and not around a list of feelings. Many such pictures together are called imagery.