Creative Writing | GCSE Revision Guide | AQA

Summary

This video script offers a comprehensive guide to creative writing, focusing on crafting descriptions or stories for AQA's Language Paper 1 Question 5. It emphasizes the importance of using language devices, a variety of sophisticated punctuation, and structuring paragraphs for effect to achieve high marks. The instructor provides tips on using dialogue sparingly and maintaining technical accuracy, particularly in tense usage. Additionally, the script introduces techniques for creating cyclical structures and using punctuation like semicolons, dashes, and ellipses to enhance writing.

Takeaways

• 🍰 **Creative Writing as a Cake**: The instructor likens creative writing to baking a cake, emphasizing that every ingredient (literary device) is crucial for a well-rounded piece.
• ✍️ **Language Devices**: Every sentence should include a language device such as similes, metaphors, or alliteration to enhance the writing.
• 📐 **Range of Punctuation**: At least five different types of punctuation should be used, including higher-level marks like semicolons, dashes, and ellipses.
• 📄 **Paragraphing**: Utilize a mix of long and short paragraphs, including one-line paragraphs, to mirror the narrative's flow and impact.
• 🔑 **Sentence Starters**: Employ a variety of sentence starters to avoid monotony and enhance the structure of the writing.
• 📘 **Sophisticated Vocabulary**: Incorporate advanced vocabulary to elevate the writing and avoid basic, overused words.
• 🗣️ **Dialogue**: Include a line of dialogue to demonstrate the ability to write conversation, but avoid excessive dialogue that detracts from the narrative.
• 🔍 **Technical Accuracy**: Maintain correct spelling, grammar, and consistent tenses, with a recommendation to use past tense to avoid confusion.
• 🔁 **Structuring for Effect**: Use cyclical structures or mirror the story's events through the length and arrangement of paragraphs.
• 📚 **Punctuation Usage**: Learn to use semicolons, dashes, and ellipses correctly to add sophistication and depth to the writing.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to guide students on how to improve their creative writing skills, specifically for AQA's Language Paper 1 Question 5, which is a 40-marker creative writing task.

What is the metaphor used in the script to describe the ingredients of creative writing?

The metaphor used in the script to describe the ingredients of creative writing is a cake, where each ingredient represents an element that the examiner looks for in a high-scoring piece.

What are the two types of content that students can write about in the AQA Language Paper 1 Question 5?

Students can either write a description of a wintry night suggested by a picture or write a story that begins with the sentence 'This was going to be a terrible day.'

How much time do students typically have to complete the creative writing task?

Students typically have about 45 minutes to write their creative writing piece for AQA Language Paper 1 Question 5.

What are the two main categories of marks in the creative writing task?

The two main categories of marks in the creative writing task are content and organization (24 marks), and technical accuracy (16 marks).

What is the first ingredient that students should include in their creative writing according to the script?

The first ingredient that students should include in their creative writing is the use of language devices in every sentence, such as similes, metaphors, and alliteration.

How many different types of punctuation should students include in their writing?

Students should include at least five different types of punctuation in their writing.

What is the significance of including long and short paragraphs in creative writing?

Including long and short paragraphs helps to mirror the events or emotions in the story and can contribute to a higher grade by demonstrating effective structuring for effect.

What is the advice given for using dialogue in creative writing?

The advice is to include one line of dialogue to demonstrate the ability to use it effectively, but not to overuse it as it can detract from the overall mark.

Why is it recommended to stick to past tense when writing the creative piece?

It is recommended to stick to past tense to maintain technical accuracy and avoid tense errors, as many students tend to slip into past tense even when attempting to write in present tense.

What is the cyclical structure technique mentioned in the script and how can it be used?

The cyclical structure technique involves linking the beginning and end of a piece of writing, often by repeating certain words or phrases. This can be done by starting with three one-word sentences and ending with similar structures, creating a sense of unity in the writing.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Creative Writing: Ingredients for Success

This paragraph introduces the topic of creative writing, specifically focusing on the requirements for an AQA language paper 1 question 5, which is a 40-mark creative writing task. The speaker likens creative writing to baking a cake, emphasizing that while the basics can yield a result, adding certain 'ingredients' can make the writing more appealing. These ingredients include the use of language devices in every sentence, a range of sophisticated punctuation, a mix of long and short paragraphs and sentences, varied sentence starters, and the inclusion of sophisticated vocabulary and dialogue. The speaker also stresses the importance of technical accuracy, particularly in spelling and tense consistency, and advises sticking to the past tense to avoid errors.

05:02

📚 Structuring Paragraphs for Impact

The second paragraph delves into the technique of structuring paragraphs to reflect the narrative's mood and progression. The speaker provides examples of how paragraph length can mirror the story's events, such as an old man's life getting shorter or a girl's loneliness being emphasized by a solitary paragraph. The main focus is on achieving a grade seven to nine through effective structuring for effect. The speaker introduces the concept of a cyclical structure, suggesting strategies like starting and ending with one-word sentences or short sentences that link back to each other, creating a thematic circle that can impress examiners.

10:03

🖋 Mastering Punctuation for Creative Writing

In this paragraph, the focus shifts to the correct use of punctuation in creative writing. The speaker outlines the necessity of incorporating at least five different types of punctuation, including full stops, commas, question marks, semicolons, dashes, and ellipses. The speaker provides personal preferences and detailed explanations on how to use semicolons and dashes effectively, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the same topic on either side of a semicolon and offering tips on how to use dashes for added emphasis or to insert additional information. The paragraph also touches on the use of rhetorical questions and the avoidance of multiple exclamation marks for a more sophisticated tone.

15:03

✍️ Putting It All Together: Crafting a Grade-Nine Piece

The final paragraph wraps up the discussion by summarizing the key points covered in the video and encouraging practice. The speaker suggests that viewers should now try writing a descriptive piece incorporating all the learned techniques. The speaker also previews the next lesson, which will cover the remaining elements from the Mark scheme to help achieve a grade-nine creative writing piece. The paragraph ends with a call to action for viewers to like the video and explore more content in the series, emphasizing the practical application of the discussed techniques.

Keywords

💡Creative Writing

Creative writing refers to any writing that goes beyond conventional forms of objective reporting and embraces imagination, originality, and personal voice. In the context of the video, creative writing is the focus, with an emphasis on crafting descriptions or stories that engage the reader. The video aims to guide viewers on how to excel in creative writing tasks, particularly for AQA's Language Paper 1 Question 5, which involves either describing a scene or starting a story with a specific sentence.

💡Language Devices

Language devices are stylistic techniques used to add depth, clarity, or interest to language. The video stresses the importance of incorporating language devices into every sentence of creative writing to enhance its quality. Examples include similes, metaphors, and alliteration. The video uses alliteration in the phrase 'destruction, devastation, death' to illustrate how language devices can be effectively used.

💡Punctuation

Punctuation refers to the use of symbols like commas, periods, and semicolons to separate and clarify the structure of written language. The video discusses the necessity of a range of sophisticated punctuation to elevate the writing's technical accuracy. It advises including at least five different types of punctuation and higher-level punctuation marks like semicolons, dashes, and ellipses.

💡Paragraphing

Paragraphing is the practice of dividing text into paragraphs, which are blocks of text separated by blank lines. The video emphasizes structuring paragraphs for effect, suggesting the use of both short and long paragraphs to mirror the narrative's flow or to create a specific impact, such as using progressively shorter paragraphs to reflect the decline of a character's health.

💡Sentence Structure

Sentence structure pertains to the arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses to create well-formed sentences. The video mentions the importance of varying sentence starters and lengths to create dynamic and engaging writing. It contrasts basic sentence structures with more sophisticated ones to avoid monotony.

💡Sophisticated Vocabulary

Sophisticated vocabulary consists of advanced or complex words that can enrich the texture and expressiveness of writing. The video advises against using 'boring, basic words' and encourages the use of more nuanced language to enhance the quality of creative writing.

💡Dialogue

Dialogue is the written representation of speech between characters in a narrative. The video suggests including a line of dialogue to demonstrate the ability to write conversationally, but cautions against overusing it, as it can detract from the narrative's focus. It advises using dialogue sparingly to show character interaction.

💡Technical Accuracy

Technical accuracy in writing refers to correct spelling, grammar, and tense usage. The video stresses the importance of technical accuracy for achieving high marks, with a tip to stick to past tense to maintain consistency and avoid errors.

💡Cyclical Structure

A cyclical structure in writing is a technique where the beginning and end of a piece are thematically linked, creating a sense of completeness. The video provides examples of starting with one-word sentences that are echoed at the end of the piece, such as starting with 'destruction, devastation, death' and ending with a related one-liner, to create a cyclical narrative structure.

💡Mark Scheme

A mark scheme is a guide that outlines the criteria and standards for assessing work, often used in educational settings. In the video, the presenter encourages viewers to create a 'creative writing Mark scheme' to list and track the elements that need to be included for high-scoring creative writing, such as language devices, punctuation, and paragraphing.

💡Rhetorical Question

A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked to make a point rather than to elicit an answer. The video includes the use of rhetorical questions as part of the punctuation and language devices that can be used to enhance creative writing, adding depth and engaging the reader intellectually.

Highlights

Introduction to creative writing for AQA language paper 1 question 5

Explaining the importance of content and organization for a 40-marker creative writing task

The analogy of creative writing as a cake with necessary ingredients

The necessity of including language devices in every sentence

The requirement of a range of sophisticated punctuation

The importance of varying paragraph length for effect

The significance of including different sentence starters

The need for sophisticated vocabulary to avoid a basic writing style

The advice to include one line of dialogue without overusing it

The importance of technical accuracy, including correct spelling and tenses

The tip to stick to past tense to maintain technical accuracy

The concept of structuring paragraphs to mirror the story's events

The use of cyclical structure to link the beginning and end of a piece

The technique of starting with three one-word sentences for a dramatic effect

The suggestion to use colors or simple sentences to start and end a piece cyclically

The instruction on using at least five different types of punctuation

The correct usage of semicolons with examples

The effective use of dashes for adding afterthoughts or replacing brackets

The simple use of ellipses for dramatic pauses in sentences

The encouragement to practice writing a descriptive piece incorporating the learned techniques

The promise of further lessons to cover the rest of the Mark scheme

Transcripts

today we're going to be looking at

creative writing specifically writing a

description or a story

if your AQA this would be your language

paper 1 question 5 and the question

would look something like this a

magazine has asked for contributions for

their creative writing page either write

a description of a wintry night as

suggested by this picture or write a

story that begins with the sentence this

was going to be a terrible day one of

those days when it's best to stay in bed

because everything is going to turn out

bad it's 24 marks for content and

organization and 16 marks for technical

accuracy which means in total this is a

40 marker that is huge but we've got

about 45 minutes to write it I want you

to think of your creative writing as a

cake I can tell you all the ingredients

you need to make the best cake possible

and you can decide not to add the sugar

you'll still get a cake right but will

the cake be as yummy no I'm going to

give you in this lesson all the

ingredients you need to put into your

creative writing all the things the

examiner looks for and all you have to

do is not leave the sugar out make sure

you put it all in but don't worry after

I've given you the list I'm going to go

through and teach you how to do each one

one by one whether it's describe a

picture or write a story the ingredients

that you need to include are the same

the things that the examiner looks for

are the same get your pen and paper

ready start a brand new page called

creative writing Mark scheme and start

copying this down now the first thing

I'm going to tell you to include is your

language devices you need to make sure

every every single sentence you write

has some sort of language device in it

can I make this a simile oh I haven't

used a metaphor yet let me Chuck in some

alliteration unless it's a short

sentence for effect the next thing is a

range of sophisticated punctuation

that's basically split into two parts

firstly you need to make sure you have a

range of punctuation which means I want

you to count that you have included at

least five different types of

punctuation and the second part of that

is some of those punctuation marks need

to be higher level punctuation marks you

then need to make sure you include long

and short paragraphs including a

one-line paragraph

in the same way you need to include long

and short sentences including a one word

sentence now speaking of sentences you

also need to make sure you have

different sentence starters

and these two things different sentence

starters and long and short sentences

are what people mean when they talk

about sentence structure you might have

heard your teacher talk about sentence

structure these are the two things that

she's referring to now obviously we are

not basic so we don't want to use boring

basic words so we need to make sure we

include sophisticated vocabulary you

should try to include one line of

dialogue don't get carried away and do

like big paragraph great chunks of

dialogue lots of kids do this they start

thinking they're writing a play or like

a big Hollywood film and they're like

and then I said please don't eat me Mr

Dinosaur and he said raw I'm gonna eat

you and I said please all of that is not

going to get you marked just prove that

you can use dialogue just include it

once and then move on and lastly you are

not going to get a grade nine if your

writing has loads of spelling mistakes

eggs and the tenses are all over the

place so your work needs to be

technically accurate my top tip here is

stick to past tense a lot of students

think they can write in present tense

but I guarantee you will end up slipping

into past tense so it's safer just to

stick to past we've got our list down

but now I need to make sure you know how

to do these things so we're going to go

through them one by one and make sure

you know how to do them let's begin by

talking about paragraphing obviously you

need to have paragraphs in your writing

but to get a grade seven to nine you

need to do something called structuring

for effects that means you need to have

a mixture of short and long paragraphs

to kind of match what's happening in the

story so I had a student once who wrote

about an old man who was dying and the

first paragraph when he was like healthy

and young was the longest

and as he got older and as he got weaker

the paragraph got shorter and shorter

and shorter until the piece ended on a

one-line paragraph when he dies

why is that clever well the man's life

is getting shorter and that is mirrored

through the structure of the work

very grade nine I had another girl once

if I give you another example and she

wrote about someone who's run away from

home and it's the middle of the night

she's running down this Alleyway it's

night time she's scared and she hears

footsteps behind her she turns around

and then the next paragraph says she was

alone

and that's clever because the girls

alone and that paragraph is alone so

again the paragraphing the structuring

of the work is mirroring what's

happening in the story this might seem

difficult for you to do in an exam like

how you're going to think of that on the

spot but that's okay because the easiest

way for you to get your marks for

structuring for effect is to use

something called a cyclical structure so

let's just make the beginning of your

work link to the ending of your work I'm

going to give you some options on how to

do this write this down number one you

could start with three one word

sentences as a one-line paragraph

something like destruction

Devastation death

it's dramatic and think about it right

at the beginning of my work I have got a

mark for a one-line paragraph

one word sentences a rule of three and

in this specific example alliteration

I've got four marks and I haven't even

started my piece yet that is amazing and

at the end of that piece once I've done

a long paragraph describing the

battlefield and a long paragraph

describing the soldier who's hiding at

the end I will end with a one-line

paragraph again and I will say something

linking back to those three words

something like destruction was

everywhere Devastation surrounded me and

death was inevitable

do you see I took those three words from

the beginning I put them into phrases I

gave it a cyclical structure and the

examiner is like whoa

that was so clever how did she think of

that on the spot I didn't I knew I was

going to do it before I went in there

number two is similar you can start with

three one word sentences so something

like Crimson indigo violet

and then I'll do a long paragraph

describing how beautiful the island is a

long paragraph describing how a storm

came and destroyed everything

and then I'll end with black do you see

even though I'm not saying the exact

same words from the beginning it's still

cyclical because they're both colors

true story I did that in my real GCSE

that's why I really like it and number

three is you can if you don't want to do

the whole three one word thing that's

fine you can start with a short simple

sentence so start with a one-line

paragraph that says it was beautiful

that's it that's your whole opening

sentence and then we'll do a long

paragraph saying the island is really

beautiful oh look the Midas kiss sun no

look beautiful blue sky and then in the

middle of your piece you'll do a

one-line paragraph and you'll say it was

beautiful Dash until the storm came so I

repeat that one line from the beginning

in the middle and I add a little bit of

information and then I do a long

paragraph about how the storm has ruined

everything the wind that was once

melodious is now hounding

and then I end with a one liner so this

is my third one liner and it refers back

to those same one-liners and I say

something like it used to be beautiful

Dash but now it was ruined so that's

another nice structure for you to use in

your exam let's talk about punctuation

next now we need at least five different

types of punctuation right so you are

definitely going to use a full stop

I hope you are you're going to use a

comma

we're going to use a question mark

because we're going to have a rhetorical

question

I personally don't love exclamation

marks I feel like they're a little bit

childish and immature like crash

exclamation mark sometimes people do

more than one exclamation mark and

that's a No-No I just think it's more

sophisticated to say crash full stop

personally is a preference so I'm gonna

go with the ones I definitely want you

to use a full stop a comma a question

mark and then we need to Chuck in some

sophisticated ones and those are going

to be

semicolon

Dash and an ellipsis

again a personal preference I don't love

brackets I do like brackets in a

persuasive letter like if you're adding

a little humorous note like some people

may think brackets but I hope you don't

but in descriptive writing if I'm like

the obsidian sky was engulfed in

darkness brackets because the sun had

gone I just think it kills the mood a

little bit but again that's a personal

preference

if you don't know how to use a semicolon

correctly there are two rules

the first rule of using a semicolon

correctly is that both sentences on

either side of the semicolon need to be

about the same topic so you can't say

the Sun was shining semicolon Pizza is

yummy because it's not the same topic

you can say the Sun was shining

semicolon it was very bright

the second rule is the harder one is the

one that catches people out and that is

that both sentences on either side of

the semicolon need to be full and

complete sentences that make sense on

their own so let me test you would this

be correct or incorrect as I stepped

forward semicolon I was blown away by

the beauty of the landscape it's

incorrect because if I cover either side

of the semicolon they aren't full

sentences I can't come to you and say

hey as I stepped forward

it's not a full sentence

let's try another one the ocean was

stunning under the Moonlight semicolon

moving waving crashing

it's incorrect I can't come to you and

say hey moving waving crashing it's not

full sentence

sentence last one give this a go

Bob was revising really hard semicolon

because he had exams coming up

it's incorrect if we delete the because

it would become a correct use of a

semicolon because it would be full

sentences on either side that's a good

trick for you if you get to the end of

your exam and you're like oh my God I

forgot to use semicolon that's okay just

go back and replace one of your

becausees with a semicolon now with Dash

a dash is a bit easier to use because it

doesn't have to have full sentences on

either side I'm going to give you some

rules about using a dash the first is

the easiest way to use a dash is with

repetition at the end of a sentence for

example he was alone dad all alone

it was beautiful Dash extremely

beautiful I just repeat at the end I get

a mark for a petition and I get a mark

for using a dash Happy Days

you could literally just use it like

that and I'm happy with that however if

you want to challenge yourself a little

bit use rule number two you can use a

dash before a conjunction so before the

words and but or so a bit like just

adding a little afterthought onto a

sentence so something like this

I knew I shouldn't go into the house

Dash but I did it anyway

yeah so I just added a little bit of

afterthought at the end of the sentence

number three if you are feeling really

confident

you can use dashes to replace brackets

or commas and you can use them for

parentheses so basically adding some

extra information in the middle of a

sentence for example

I knew Dash or I hoped Dash that I would

pass my exams do you see that bit in the

middle it could have been two commas it

could have been brackets but I chose two

dashes yeah and if I delete that middle

bit out of the sentence I knew that I

would pass my exams would still make

sense by itself

I'll give you another example the boy

Dash who seemed lost and frightened Dash

coward in the corner of the room if rule

number three confuses you ignore it

forget that I said anything because just

use rule number one and it gets the job

done it will give you the mark now

ellipses is the easiest punctuation mark

to use because there aren't really any

rules as such it's just wherever you

believe there should be a Dun Dun Dun in

my head that's what an ellipsis is every

dot is a done it's just a Dun Dun

you don't want to end your whole piece

with an ellipses because I think that's

a bit primary school try to put it in

the middle of a sentence

for example I stepped forward and that's

when I saw him

you could put it at the end that's okay

but actually can I Chuck that ellipsis

in the middle of the sentence maybe

something like I stepped forward

that's when I saw him

you could even put it a bit later on and

say

I stepped forward and that's when I saw

Marie so it's wherever you want that

really dramatic pause so if we go back

to that creative writing Mark scheme the

list of ingredients I gave you at the

beginning we can tick some of these

things off we have learned how to

paragraph for effect

we have learned how to use a range five

different types of sophisticated

punctuation if I were you at this stage

I would go away and try and write a

descriptive piece using all of the

things that you've learned in today's

lesson and the next lesson I will take

you through the rest of the things that

you need to know from that Mark scheme

until your creative writing is a grade

nine I hope you found this video helpful

if you did give it a like and don't

forget to check out the rest of the

videos in this series

foreign