English Language GCSE

Paper 1 Section B

Creative Writing Key Writing Techniques

Adjectives - describing words that describe a noun. Used to help create a more vivid picture in our minds about the

named object.

Adverbs - words used to describe verbs. They help to create a more vivid picture in our minds about how something

is being done.

Alliteration - repetition of connected words beginning with the same letter. Used to highlight the feeling of sound

and movement, or to intensify feeling or to bind words together.

Connotations - an idea or feeling that a word invokes for a person as well as its literal meaning. Connotations evoke

reactions in the reader based on their experience of certain words. For example, words like ghost and death can

evoke strong negative connotations.

Pathetic fallacy - where the weather in the story mirrors the emotion of the scene or the people in it. For example,

when it is very hot the characters are agitated or when it is foggy, mystery is evoked. This adds atmosphere to the

writing and gives clues to the reader as to what is to come, especially if the weather is described before the event.

Personification - the technique of presenting things which are not human as if they were. This can make inaminate

things seem as if they are alive and able to do the things that a person can.

Repetition - the action of repeating something. This will either add emphasis to the words being repeated or create

a rhythm within the writing.

Onomatopoeia - use of words which echo their meaning in sound. For example, 'whoosh' or 'bang'. This techniques

can give the reader a real sense of the noise that is happening within the writing.

Simile - a comparison based on a similarity between two things, which suggests one object shares features with

another but is not identical. This technique helps to create an image in the mind of the reader so that the reader can

identify with how things appear or may be happening. Hint - 'like' or 'as' are key words to spot.

Symbolism - when a word, phrase or image stands for or evokes a complex set of ideas. For example, a red rose can

symbolise romantic love. Writers will sometimes use symbols in their writing so that they can suggest things without

actually explaining them.

Appealing to the senses

Writers often use descriptive language that appeals to the five senses when they describe a setting.

The five senses:

1. what a reader might see

2. what a reader might hear

3. what a reader might smell

4. what a reader might feel

5. what a reader might taste

Gothic Horror Conventions

1. Setting in a castle. The action takes place in and around an old castle, sometimes seemingly abandoned,

sometimes occupied. The castle often contains secret passages, trap doors, secret rooms, dark or hidden staircases,

and possibly ruined sections.

2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense. The story contains a threatening feeling, a fear enhanced by the

unknown. This atmosphere is often developed when characters see only a glimpse of something--was that a person

rushing out the window or only the wind blowing a curtain? Is that creaking sound coming from someone's step on

the squeaky floor, or only the normal sounds of the night?

3. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events. Dramatic, amazing events occur, such as ghosts or giants walking,

or inanimate objects (such as a suit of armor or painting) coming to life.

4. High emotion. The characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror.

Descriptions to include:

wind, especially howling

rain, especially blowing

doors grating on rusty hinges sighs,

moans, howls, eerie sounds

footsteps approaching

clanking chains

lights in abandoned rooms

gusts of wind blowing out lights

characters trapped in a room

doors suddenly slamming shut

ruins of buildings

baying of distant dogs (or wolves?)

thunder and lightning

crazed laughter

Gothic Word Bank:

Mystery: Diabolical, enchantment, ghost, goblins, haunted, infernal, magic, magician, miracle, necromancer, omens,

ominous, portent, preternatural, prodigy, prophecy, secret, sorcerer, spectre, spirits, strangeness, talisman, vision

Fear, Terror, or Sorrow: Afflicted, affliction, agony, anguish, apprehensions, apprehensive, commiseration, concern,

despair, dismal, dismay, dread, dreaded, dreading, fearing, frantic, fright, frightened, grief, hopeless, horrid, horror,

lamentable, melancholy, miserable, mournfully, panic, sadly, scared, shrieks, sorrow, sympathy, tears, terrible,

terrified, terror, unhappy, wretched

Surprise: Alarm, amazement, astonished, astonishment, shocking, staring, surprise, surprised, thunderstruck,

wonder

Haste: Anxious, breathless, flight, frantic, hastened, hastily, impatience, impatient, impatiently, impetuosity,

precipitately, running, sudden, suddenly

Anger: Anger, angrily, choler, enraged, furious, fury, incense, incensed, provoked, rage, raving, resentment, temper,

wrath, wrathful, wrathfully

Largeness: Enormous, gigantic, giant, large, tremendous, vast

Darkness: dark, darkness, dismal, shaded, black, night We cannot be too rigid in our suggestions about the length of

answers, but responses which are very short will be self-penalising. Be prepared for the unexpected approach.

The total mark for Section B (/40) will be given by awarding two marks:

communication and organisation (24 marks);

vocabulary, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation (16 marks)

It is presumed that candidates attaining Band 2 and above will have achieved the criteria listed in the previous

band(s). Fine tuning of the mark within a band will be made on the basis of a 'best fit' procedure, weaknesses in

some areas being compensated for by strengths in others.

AO5 (60% of the marks available):

Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different

forms, purposes and audiences

Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of

texts

AO6 (40% of the marks available):

Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and

punctuation. This requirement must constitute 20% of the marks for each specification as a whole.

Paper 1 SECTION B: 40 marks

In this section you will be assessed for the quality of your creative prose writing skills.

24 marks are awarded for communication and organisation; 16 marks are awarded for vocabulary, sentence

structure, spelling and punctuation.

You should aim to write about 450-600 words.

Choose one of the following titles for your writing: [40 marks]

Either, (a) Making a Difference.

Or, (b) The Choice.

Or, (c) Write about a time when you were at a children’s party.

Or, (d) Write a story which begins:

I didn’t know if I had the courage to do this …

The space below can be used to plan your work.

Making a Difference

When the wind caused the skeletal branches to tap on the windows; when the lights caused black shadows

to appear on white walls; when things went bump in the night…there I was.

I believe I made a difference to those children’s lives. I know I made a difference.

Before I came along, their lives were filled with sunshine and happiness. They knew the safety of their back

gardens, the warmth of their kitchens, the security of their beds at night…before I came along.

Birthday cake, sugary sweets, blue blankets and the knowledge their mother and father could protect them

kept the children joyful. They could run and play all day long and sleep, safe and sound, in their beds at

night. But all that changed when I arrived.

I remember one child (there have been so many) whose life was forever different after me. He was a boy

who loved football, spaghetti and his grandparents. Each night he would read under the bed covers after

he was supposed to be asleep. He smiled and laughed until I slithered under his bed and waited.

I began with little things. I would move things about in his room; perhaps hide his favourite toy or open

drawers and cupboards. He was so confused. Then I got bored of these so I began to tug at his bedclothes

just as he was about to fall asleep. I didn’t pull them hard enough so they landed on the floor…just hard

enough so he would wake and sit up. I could see his terrified eyes glowing in the darkness.

One night he got out of bed. It was pitch black and not even the moon was brave enough to shine that

night. He put his bare feet onto the carpet so I slowly, slowly reached out my cold and clawed hand…and

grabbed his ankle. His screech howled around the house like an echo in a cave. His parents came rushing in

and frantically searched his bedroom but of course they found nothing.

He didn’t smile and laugh after that.

I also remember a girl who was braver than the others. I played the same tricks on her. I waited until the

night was dark and terrifying before I curled my claws around her ankle. She screeched as I knew she

would but then she didn’t cry or try to run, she reached under the bed and grabbed MY hand. She pulled

and pulled and I struggled and struggled. I scratched and bit and scraped but she wouldn’t let go. In the

end I had to disappear into the Otherworld because if she had seen me I would have died.

I looked in on this brave girl not long ago and I wasn’t surprised to find that, as an adult, she was now a

powerful and brave leader. I like to think I made a difference to her as well.

So reader…if you hear things that go bump in the night, if you feel the bed covers slowly being pulled away

from you or if you get a chill across the back of your neck on a hot summer’s day, know that it is me making

a difference in the world.

(534 words)

The Choice

The sky was black with clouds as I drove down the lonely country lane, suffocated by the high hedges on

either side. My car had been making a clanking sound for the last 10 miles and I knew it wouldn’t last much

longer.

The rain began to hammer down when my car finally died and the sky was cut by lightning. My heart sank

when I checked my phone and saw that I had no signal. Sighing, I dragged my rain coat off the back seat

and stepped out into the raging storm. Shielding my eyes from the stinging rain, I searched the area for

another car, a phone box, a house lit by friendly lights but could see nothing. The only thing I could do was

walk through the ferocious weather to try and find some shelter…I had no other choice.

The lane was like a river and the water was already up to my ankles, I began to get very frightened. There

was nothing and no-one I could see that would help me. As I turned a corner I was faced with just another

empty road in the middle of nowhere. The rain was still lashing down and my ears were deafened by great

rolls of thunder. I desperately looked left and right and shouted with joy at the sight of a driveway covered

by an arch of stones with stone dragons on either side. This was my only choice.

Walking down the stony and overgrown drive, I was sheltered by the roof of thick, dark trees that lined the

way. Peering through the gloom, I saw a huge, dark house shadowed against the darkening sky; it didn’t

look very inviting but I knew I didn’t have a choice. I was soaked to the skin and shivering by the time I

arrived at the massive, wooden door and only just had the strength to lift the gigantic, iron door knocker in

the shape of a grinning demon. The boom echoed through the house like an exploding bomb but no-one

came to answer. I was so exhausted I fell against the door…it opened with a screaming screech and I

tumbled into the empty and shadowed hallway.

Immediately, the hairs went up on the back of my neck. The only light came from the flashes of lightning

slicing through the gigantic window at the top of the stairs; all the furniture was covered in white dust

sheets and the walls were draped with cobwebs. The only clean things in this frightful place were a white

door on my left and a black door on my right.

My skin prickled as I heard a rattle like chains being dragged over gravestones coming from deep within

the house. I needed to find a working phone very quickly. I had to make a choice – the white door or the

black door? My heart was nearly beating out of my chest as I was sure the metallic dragging sound was

getting louder and louder.

Another stab of lightning lit the room and suddenly the dust sheets seemed to take on a life of their own;

the wind gusted through like a devil’s breath.

The white door or the black door?

I frantically turned left and right, sure that my life was in danger if I made the wrong choice.

The white door or the black door.

The wind cried again. The terrible sound was so loud.

I finally made my choice and reached out my hand… (582 words)

Top Tip:

NO MATTER WHAT THE TITLE CHOICES ARE, YOU WILL WRITE A STORY IN THE GOTHIC GENRE.

Planning the story

Making a Difference (story 1)

Story Sections What happens?

Section1: When the wind caused the skeletal branches to tap on the windows; when the lights caused black shadows to appear on white walls; when things went bump in the night…there I was. I believe I made a difference to those children’s lives. I know I made a difference. Before I came along, their lives were filled with sunshine and happiness. They knew the safety of their back gardens, the warmth of their kitchens, the security of their beds at night…before I came along. Birthday cake, sugary sweets, blue blankets and the knowledge their mother and father could protect them kept the children joyful. They could run and play all day long and sleep, safe and sound, in their beds at night. But all that changed when I arrived.

Paragraph 1 – Describe a creepy setting. Use pathetic fallacy, contrast, use first person throughout. Paragraph 2 – Link your story back to the title really obviously. Use short sentences. Paragraph 3 – Describe a happier and safer time. Use lists, adjectives and ellipsis. Paragraph 4 – Continue to describe a happier time. Change the tone in the last sentence.

Section 2: I remember one child (there have been so many) whose life was forever different after me. He was a boy who loved football, spaghetti and his grandparents. Each night he would read under the bed covers after he was supposed to be asleep. He smiled and laughed until I slithered under his bed and waited. I began with little things. I would move things about in his room; perhaps hide his favourite toy or open drawers and cupboards. He was so confused. Then I got bored of these so I began to tug at his bedclothes just as he was about to fall asleep. I didn’t pull them hard enough so they landed on the floor…just hard enough so he would wake and sit up. I could see his terrified eyes glowing in the darkness. One night he got out of bed. It was pitch black and not even the moon was brave enough to shine that night. He put his bare feet onto the carpet so I slowly, slowly reached out my cold and clawed hand…and grabbed his ankle. His screech howled around the house like an echo in a cave. His parents came rushing in and frantically searched his bedroom but of course they found nothing. He didn’t smile and laugh after that.

Paragraph 5 – Describe what one child was like before he was terrorised by the monster. Use brackets, lists and onomatopoeia. Paragraph 6 – Describe what the monster did when it was frightening the child. Describe how the child showed they are frightened. Paragraph 7 – Continue to describe what the monster did when it was frightening the child. Describe how the child showed they are frightened. Use pathetic fallacy, personification, repetition, simile and ellipsis. Paragraph 8 – One word sentence for a powerful impact.

Section 3: I also remember a girl who was braver than the others. I played the same tricks on her. I waited until the night was dark and terrifying before I curled my claws around her ankle. She screeched as I knew she would but then she didn’t cry or try to run, she reached under the bed and grabbed MY hand. She pulled and pulled and I struggled and struggled. I scratched and bit and scraped but she wouldn’t let go. In the end I had to disappear into the Otherworld because if she had seen me I would have died. I looked in on this brave girl not long ago and I wasn’t surprised to find that, as an adult, she was now a powerful and brave leader. I like to think I made a difference to her as well.

Paragraph 9 – Describe a different child who had a different reaction to the monster. Use alliteration, repetition, powerful verbs and capital letters for emphasis. Paragraph 10 – Describe how the different child is as an adult. Use present tense and link back to the story title.

Section 4: So reader…if you hear things that go bump in the night, if you feel the bed covers slowly being pulled away from you or if you get a chill across the back of your neck on a hot summer’s day, know that it is me making a difference in the world.

Paragraph 11 – Directly address the reader. Use triples, ellipsis, repetition from the opening paragraph and link back to the story title.

Task: Now write your own gothic story with the title Making a Difference – use the paragraph guide to help you.

Use the space below to help you plan.

The Choice (Story 2)

Story Sections What happens?

Section 1: The sky was black with clouds as I drove down the lonely country lane, suffocated by the high hedges on either side. My car had been making a clanking sound for the last 10 miles and I knew it wouldn’t last much longer. The rain began to hammer down when my car finally died and the sky was cut by lightning. My heart sank when I checked my phone and saw that I had no signal. Sighing, I dragged my rain coat off the back seat and stepped out into the raging storm. Shielding my eyes from the stinging rain, I searched the area for another car, a phone box, a house lit by friendly lights but could see nothing. The only thing I could do was walk through the ferocious weather to try and find some shelter…I had no other choice. The lane was like a river and the water was already up to my ankles, I began to get very frightened. There was nothing and no-one I could see that would help me. As I turned a corner I was faced with just another empty road in the middle of nowhere. The rain was still lashing down and my ears were deafened by great rolls of thunder. I desperately looked left and right and shouted with joy at the sight of a driveway covered by an arch of stones with stone dragons on either side. This was my only choice.

Paragraph 1 – Describe the setting. Use pathetic fallacy, add a problem, use first person throughout. Paragraph 2 – Continue to describe the setting. Use pathetic fallacy, describe your feelings, develop setting description, lists, emotive language and link back to the story title really obviously. Paragraph 3 – Continue to describe the setting. Use pathetic fallacy, describe your feelings, emotive language, introduce the gothic house and link back to story title.

Section 2: Walking down the stony and overgrown drive, I was sheltered by the roof of thick, dark trees that lined the way. Peering through the gloom, I saw a huge, dark house shadowed against the darkening sky; it didn’t look very inviting but I knew I didn’t have a choice. I was soaked to the skin and shivering by the time I arrived at the massive, wooden door and only just had the strength to lift the gigantic, iron door knocker in the shape of a grinning demon. The boom echoed through the house like an exploding bomb but no-one came to answer. I was so exhausted I fell against the door…it opened with a screaming screech and I tumbled into the empty and shadowed hallway. Immediately, the hairs went up on the back of my neck. The only light came from the flashes of lightning slicing through the gigantic window at the top of the stairs; all the furniture was covered in white dust sheets and the walls were draped with cobwebs. The only clean things in this frightful place were a white door on my left and a black door on my right.

Paragraph 4 – Paragraph 5 -

Section 3: My skin prickled as I heard a rattle like chains being dragged over gravestones coming from deep within the house. I needed to find a working phone very quickly. I had to make a choice – the white door or the black door? My heart was nearly beating out of my chest as I was sure the metallic dragging sound was getting louder and louder.

Paragraph 6 –

Another stab of lightning lit the room and suddenly the dust sheets seemed to take on a life of their own; the wind gusted through like a devil’s breath. The white door or the black door? I frantically turned left and right, sure that my life was in danger if I made the wrong choice. The white door or the black door. The wind cried again. The terrible sound was so loud.

Paragraph 7 – Paragraph 8 – Paragraph 9 – Paragraph 10 – Paragraph 11 –

Section 4: I finally made my choice and reached out my hand…

Paragraph 12 –

Task: Now write your own gothic story with the title The Choice – use the paragraph guide to help you.

Use the space below to help you plan.

How to change the previous stories to fit new titles

Write about a time when you were at a children’s party.

When the wind caused the skeletal branches to tap on the windows; when the lights caused black shadows

to appear on white walls; when things went bump in the night…there I was.

I went everywhere the children did but none of the adults could see me…only the helpless children. I

particularly liked attacking them during their parties.

Before I came along, their lives were filled with sunshine and happiness. They knew the safety of their back

gardens, the warmth of their kitchens, the security of their beds at night…before I came along.

Birthday cake, sugary sweets, presents wrapped in shiny, bright paper, games of pass the parcel and pin

the tail on the donkey made the children feel joyful and safe. They could run and play all day long and

sleep, safe and sound, in their beds at night. But all that changed when I arrived.

I remember one child (there have been so many) who had his entire life changed during his birthday party.

He smiled and laughed until I slithered under a bed and waited.

I began with little things. I ripped up all his beautiful birthday cards and tore down the decorations his

parents had carefully put up; I hid his presents where no one could find them and I made sure his dad

burnt the carefully made cake in the shape of a rocket. He was so confused. Then I got bored of these so,

the night before his birthday party, I began to tug at his bedclothes just as he was about to fall asleep. I

didn’t pull them hard enough so they landed on the floor…just hard enough so he would wake and sit up. I

could see his terrified eyes glowing in the darkness.

During his party they all played a game of hide and seek, he decided to hide in the attic room. It was pitch

black and not even the sun was brave enough to shine in that room. He put his bare feet onto the carpet so

I slowly, slowly reached out my cold and clawed hand…and grabbed his ankle. His screech howled around

the house like an echo in a cave. His parents came rushing in and frantically searched the room but of

course they found nothing.

He didn’t smile and laugh after that.

I also remember a girl who was braver than the others. I played the same tricks on her just before her

birthday party. I waited until the game of hide and seek was taking place before I curled my claws around

her ankle. She screeched as I knew she would but then she didn’t cry or try to run, she reached under the

bed and grabbed MY hand. She pulled and pulled and I struggled and struggled. I scratched and bit and

scraped but she wouldn’t let go. In the end I had to disappear into the Otherworld because if she had seen

me I would have died.

I looked in on this brave girl not long ago and I wasn’t surprised to find that, as an adult, she was now a

powerful and fearless leader. She learned some difficult lessons during her birthday party.

So reader…if you hear things that go bump in the night, if you feel the bed covers slowly being pulled away

from you or if you get a chill across the back of your neck on a hot summer’s day, stay in the light and keep

away from the shadows. (580 words)

Write a story which begins: I didn’t know if I had the courage to do this …

Now…I didn’t know if I had the courage to do this…to choose the door that would lead to me to safety

rather than death.

The past…The sky was black with clouds as I drove down the lonely country lane, suffocated by the high

hedges on either side. My car had been making a clanking sound for the last 10 miles and I knew it

wouldn’t last much longer.

The rain began to hammer down when my car finally died and the sky was cut by lightning. My heart sank

when I checked my phone and saw that I had no signal. Sighing, I dragged my rain coat off the back seat

and stepped out into the raging storm. Shielding my eyes from the stinging rain, I searched the area for

another car, a phone box, a house lit by friendly lights but could see nothing. The only thing I could do was

walk through the ferocious weather to try and find some shelter…I had no other choice.

The lane was like a river and the water was already up to my ankles, I began to get very frightened. There

was nothing and no-one I could see that would help me. As I turned a corner I was faced with just another

empty road in the middle of nowhere. The rain was still lashing down and my ears were deafened by great

rolls of thunder. I desperately looked left and right and shouted with joy at the sight of a driveway covered

by an arch of stones with stone dragons on either side. This was my only choice.

Walking down the stony and overgrown drive, I was sheltered by the roof of thick, dark trees that lined the

way. Peering through the gloom, I saw a huge, dark house shadowed against the darkening sky; it didn’t

look very inviting but I knew I didn’t have a choice. I was soaked to the skin and shivering by the time I

arrived at the massive, wooden door and only just had the strength to lift the gigantic, iron door knocker in

the shape of a grinning demon. The boom echoed through the house like an exploding bomb but no-one

came to answer. I was so exhausted I fell against the door…it opened with a screaming screech and I

tumbled into the empty and shadowed hallway.

Immediately, the hairs went up on the back of my neck. The only light came from the flashes of lightning

slicing through the gigantic window at the top of the stairs; all the furniture was covered in white dust

sheets and the walls were draped with cobwebs. The only clean things in this frightful place were a white

door on my left and a black door on my right.

My skin prickled as I heard a rattle like chains being dragged over gravestones coming from deep within

the house. I needed to find a working phone very quickly. I had to make a choice – the white door or the

black door? My heart was nearly beating out of my chest as I was sure the metallic dragging sound was

getting louder and louder.

Another stab of lightning lit the room and suddenly the dust sheets seemed to take on a life of their own;

the wind gusted through like a devil’s breath.

The white door or the black door?

I frantically turned left and right, sure that my life was in danger if I made the wrong choice.

The white door or the black door.

The wind cried again. The terrible sound was so loud.

I finally made my choice and reached out my hand… (599 words)

Task:

Paper 1 SECTION B: 40 marks

In this section you will be assessed for the quality of your creative prose writing skills.

24 marks are awarded for communication and organisation; 16 marks are awarded for vocabulary,

sentence structure, spelling and punctuation.

You should aim to write about 450-600 words.

Choose one of the following titles for your writing: [40 marks]

Either, (a) Doing the right thing.

Or, (b) The Window.

Or, (c) Write about a time when you were on holiday.

Or, (d) Write a story which ends:

…and that was when I knew I had lost.

The space below can be used to plan your work.

Chosen story title 1:

Story Sections What happens?

Section1:

Paragraph 1 – Describe a creepy setting. Use pathetic fallacy, contrast, use first person throughout.

Paragraph 2 – Link your story back to the title really obviously. Use short sentences.

Paragraph 3 – Describe a happier and safer time. Use lists, adjectives and ellipsis.

Paragraph 4 – Continue to describe a happier time. Change the tone in the last sentence.

Section 2:

Paragraph 5 – Describe what one child was like before he was terrorised by the monster. Use brackets, lists and onomatopoeia.

Paragraph 6 – Describe what the monster did when it was frightening the child. Describe how the child showed they are frightened.

Paragraph 7 – Continue to describe what the monster did when it was frightening the child. Describe how the child showed they are frightened. Use pathetic fallacy, personification, repetition, simile and ellipsis.

Paragraph 8 – One word sentence for a powerful impact.

Section 3:

Paragraph 9 – Describe a different child who had a different reaction to the monster. Use alliteration, repetition, powerful verbs and capital letters for emphasis.

Paragraph 10 – Describe how the different child is as an adult. Use present tense and link back to the story title.

Section 4:

Paragraph 11 – Directly address the reader. Use triples, ellipsis, repetition from the opening paragraph and link back to the story title.

Chosen story title 2:

Story Sections What happens?

Section 1:

Paragraph 1 – Describe the setting. Use pathetic fallacy, add a problem, use first person throughout.

Paragraph 2 – Continue to describe the setting. Use pathetic fallacy, describe your feelings, develop setting description, lists, emotive language and link back to the story title really obviously.

Paragraph 3 – Continue to describe the setting. Use pathetic fallacy, describe your feelings, emotive language, introduce the gothic house and link back to story title.

Section 2:

Paragraph 4 –

Paragraph 5 –

Section 3:

Paragraph 6 –

Paragraph 7 –

Paragraph 8 –

Paragraph 9 –

Paragraph 10 –

Paragraph 11 –

Section 4:

Paragraph 12 –

Chosen story title 3: (use the space below for your own planning)