Every card in Writing composition, Year 8: stories, information and poems
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- The moment of greatest tension in a story, where the main problem comes to a head
The climax
HintOn a story mountain, it is the peak.
WhyEverything before it builds towards this point and everything after it deals with the result. It usually comes late in the story.
- The part of a story after the climax, where the loose ends are tied up
The resolution
HintThe same word is used for a promise made at New Year.
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.
- A story spends one line on the build-up and then jumps straight to the big showdown. What has gone wrong with the pacing?
The climax arrives too soon
HintThe reader has had no time to start caring.
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.
- A story plan reads: 'Ali trains for the race. Ali discovers that his rival has cheated. Ali must decide whether to tell.' Which event is the turning point?
Discovering that his rival has cheated
HintFind the event after which Ali's situation can never be as it was.
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.
- You are writing to inform. Should you include your own opinions?
No — keep to the facts
HintThe reader came to learn, not to be persuaded.
WhyInformative writing is judged by how clearly and accurately it passes on knowledge. Opinions belong in writing that argues or persuades.
- An explanation of how to mend a puncture uses the word 'valve'. What should the writer do for a reader who has never fixed a bike?
Define the term
HintNever assume the reader shares your vocabulary.
WhyA short definition the first time a technical word appears keeps the beginner with you. After that the word can be used freely.
- What is the best order for a text that explains how to do something?
Step by step, in the order you do them
HintThink of a recipe.
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.
- You are writing a diary entry in role as a soldier in 1916. Which pronoun should you use for yourself?
'I' — the first person
HintA diary is written by whoever it is about.
WhyWriting in role means becoming the character, so their experiences are reported from the inside: 'I heard the guns', not 'he heard the guns'.
- You are writing in role as a Roman soldier. Why can he not compare a fast horse to a racing car?
He could not know about cars
HintCheck the date he lived in.
WhyA voice in role is limited to what that person could have seen, known and believed. One modern detail breaks the illusion.
- You are writing in role as a five-year-old. Should you use long, complex sentences and adult vocabulary?
No — the voice must fit the character
HintListen to how a child of that age really talks.
WhyVocabulary and sentence rhythm are part of a persona. A five-year-old narrator notices different things and says them in simpler ways.
- What is the difference between proof-reading and redrafting?
Proof-reading fixes errors; redrafting improves the writing
HintOne is about being correct, the other about being better.
WhyA draft with perfect spelling can still be dull or muddled. Redrafting changes content, order and word choice to make the piece stronger.
- In a redraft, 'The dog went across the garden' becomes 'The dog bolted across the garden'. What has been strengthened?
The verb
HintLook at the one word that changed, and at its word class.
Why'Went' says only that the dog moved. 'Bolted' gives the speed and the panic in one word, with no adverb needed.
- A paragraph in your story repeats what the reader already knows. What should a redraft do with it?
Cut it
HintEvery sentence has to earn its place.
WhyTaking out what is not needed is one of the most effective changes in a redraft. What remains has more force.
- The place where a poet chooses to end one line and begin the next
A line break
HintIn prose, the edge of the page decides; in a poem, the writer does.
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.
- A poet ends a line on the word 'alone', leaving white space after it. What effect does the line break have?
It emphasises 'alone'
HintA pause follows the last word of any line.
WhyThe word sits by itself at the edge of the line, with space after it, so the layout acts out the meaning.
- A picture created in the reader's mind by a poet's words
An image
HintThe word 'imagination' grows out of it.
WhyMany strong poems are built around one clear picture and not around a list of feelings. Many such pictures together are called imagery.
1★ KS3-ENLA-WRI-0054
2★ KS3-ENLA-WRI-0055
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6★ KS3-ENLA-WRI-0059
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10★ KS3-ENLA-WRI-0063
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