Paper 1 Question 3 asks students to comment on the structure of the text featured in the exam. In order to prepare for this, they must learn quite a lot of vocabulary centred around structure. This can be used when planning their own creative writing response later on in the exam. Sometimes joining the dots between the two questions can take a little time.
As such, why not take a look at the video below which has just been uploaded to YouTube. It’s the first time we have partnered with “Teaching and Learning Resources for Me” to create the content that we need on the VLE.
The video
covers a response from one student to an exam-style question. It breaks down each paragraph by the
structural features that the student has planned in order to fully organise
their writing and to help maximise the marks that they will receive for the piece.
Teachers
have a Hobson’s choice really – teach creative writing or teach creative
writing for a GCSE English exam. It must be noted that most short story writers
would be hard pressed to produce anything nearing their usual quality in 45
minutes – which is the time allowed for our students to flex their creative
muscles.
As such
this video is an attempt to give students a certain method with which to
approach their GCSE English creative writing – so that when they go in to the
exam they know how to begin, develop and end a short story (or a piece of
descriptive writing) in terms of structure. In that way they can focus on the
language that they use – after they have planned the structure of the piece.
I’m going
to include the video below, too. It shows
what I think are the top ten tips for Paper 1 Question 5 – and a number of them
are rooted in structure. One of the
issues I get as a teacher all the time is that students will insist on producing
plot-heavy stories – so much so that their pieces become a list of what happens
and then what happens next… and so on! The tips included here will help to
ensure that students narrow their focus and don’t try to world-build in 45
minutes – and that means they will be able to focus on descriptive language
rather than plot.
I have a prop
that I use in class. I have a little
glass snail and I place it on a table. Then I move it diagonally to the opposite
side of the table. That, I tell them, is
all the plot that you need to create an interesting and engaging story. Another thing I do is leave the class and
tell them to watch me as I re-enter. I
move (in a very sombre manner) to sit at my desk and place my head in my hands.
I then pull myself together and take a deep breath, stand, and announce to the class
what they will be studying in that lesson.
That, I tell them, is all the plot that you need to create an
interesting and engaging story - #2.
Perhaps I’m
running away with myself here. I hope you enjoy the videos!
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