IGCSE First Language

Narrative Writing
Section B requires you to write for a specific purpose and in a specific form. It is
important that you write in the correct format and use the conventions of this form, you
will need to adapt your tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and
audiences.

This means:

 The tone (the sound of the narrator’s “voice”) is appropriate and convincing
 The register (your vocabulary and phrasing) is suitable for the purpose
 The style of the writing (the sentence structure and the overall structure of your
writing) is dynamic and engaging

When planning your response, it is a good idea to keep the tone, style and register in
mind, as well as the conventions of the form. As with any extended piece of writing,
planning is vital. You should spend 10 minutes mind-mapping your ideas before you
start writing. Here, we will consider how you can produce an effective piece of narrative
writing in the following sections:

How to structure your narrative writing

Narrative story writing develops an idea to a conclusion. The way to achieve this in an
exam is by planning an ending with a resolution (you should plan whether your story will
end happily or not). In the exam, it is best not to plan a complex story which takes place
over a long period of time, employs multiple characters or that has more than one
setting or plot twist.

In order to adhere to the conventions of story writing, it is best to:

 Plan your writing in an order which takes your character (and reader) on a clear
journey:
o The best way to do this is to plan one main event
o Ensure your plot is simple enough to be coherent and cohesive
 Consider employing structural techniques, such as a flashback:
o This can give background information to the reader and provide context
o Ensure you use past-tense verbs for this
 Develop your characters:
o Consider essential narrative character archetypes, such as “villain”,
“victim”, “hero”, etc.
o Decide on how your characters fit these descriptions
 When describing people, focus on relevant details only:
o For example, black and grey or green and blue
o You could focus on their body language or movements
o If using dialogue, the verbs you use to describe how your characters
speak can reveal more about them than what they say, e.g. “shrieked”,
“mumbled”, “whispered”
o It is effective to repeat ideas related to colour
o You can repeat ideas for emphasis:

Narrative writing responses should be structured into five or six paragraphs. You should
plan your response carefully as you have limited time to create a cohesive plot. Writing
a response which has not been planned is likely to have an abrupt ending, or no ending
at all, which will not get you high marks.

There are lots of different narrative structures or arcs that you could use to plan your
story. Bearing in mind you only have 15 minutes to plan, your story needs to be
controlled and concise. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to consider a five-part
narrative structure, such as Freytag’s Pyramid:

Stage Description of narrative structure

Step 1 Exposition (setting Stick to one main setting and start at the location:
the scene)
 Do not include a lengthy 'journey' before the main
action of your story starts

Hook your reader:

 Give them clues as to what will happen later, but

do not give everything away all at once

Decide which narrative perspective and tense you are

going to write your story in:

 First person 'I' and the past tense are easier to

control
 Stick to no more than two characters and introduce
them

Employ the five senses to create an atmosphere:

 The scene's mood should reflect your main

character's mood

This paragraph could end with an 'inciting incident', which

prompts the rising action and moves the story forward
This paragraph should build tension, drama or interest:

 It should directly lead to the turning point of the

story (the 'climax')

Step 2 Rising action This paragraph should also develop your character(s):

 You could use dialogue, monologue, direct or

indirect characterisation to create well-rounded,
3D characters

This is the turning point of your story:

 It is the moment everything changes and your

character(s) cannot go back

Your protagonist could face an external problem, or an

Step 3 Climax
internal choice or dilemma:

 Their choice is made in this paragraph

You should vary your sentence structure, length and

language here for dramatic effect
What happens in this paragraph should be as a direct result
of the climax paragraph:

 It shows the consequences

Step 4 Falling action
 It should also focus on your characters' thoughts
and feelings as a result of the climax of the story
 This further develops a sense of characterisation
You can choose to resolve your story, or end on a cliff-
hanger:

 However, a cliff-hanger is not a sudden ending; it

is a suspenseful ending
 It is also important to avoid cliches, such as 'I
woke up and it was all a dream.'
Resolution or
Step 5
denouement
Your setting and atmosphere could reflect a change from
the setting or atmosphere you established in your opening
paragraph:

 Or it could refer back to imagery you used in your

opening paragraph to create a cyclical structure

Remember, each paragraph does not have to be the same length. In fact, better
answers vary the lengths of their paragraphs for effect. What is important is to develop
separate ideas or points in each paragraph, and to avoid repeating the same
descriptions throughout your response.

Narrative writing techniques

Once you have planned out the structure of your narrative, it’s a good idea to consider
how to incorporate methods and techniques into your response. Below we have
included some guides to help you when thinking about setting, characterisation and
other linguistic techniques to make your narrative as engrossing as possible.

Setting

As this task assesses the ability to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, it
is important to consider how to use language constructively in a short story to convey an
atmosphere or mood. Building an effective setting is key as it contributes to atmosphere
and mood.

 Your setting should reflect your main character’s mood:

o You may know this as pathetic fallacy, which reflects the character’s
mood in the environment, e.g., “the lonely road”
 As your setting reflects your character’s mood, your setting may change as the
story progresses:
o Contrasting scenes is an effective way to convey ideas and to engage
your reader:
 For example, your story may have started on a sunny afternoon,
but may end as the sun sets or as a storm approaches
o Whatever way you decide to contrast the scenes, ensure it reflects your
character’s mood
 The best answers build a clear setting before introducing other information, such
as introducing character:
o Describing setting is best done with sensory language as we experience
places with all of our five senses
o This means you could describe the dark, light, colours, sounds, smells and
weather
o The best way to clearly create setting is to allow an entire paragraph to
describe the scene without confusing readers with other information like
who is there
o Ensure all of your descriptive language builds the same mood and avoid
mixing ideas. For example: “The graveyard was dark, cold and smelled
like fragrant flowers” is confusing for your reader
 However, do not give too much away all at once!
o Keep your reader guessing and asking questions, such as “What is going
on?”, “Why is this like this?” and “Who is this?”
o Think of establishing a setting a bit like the game “Taboo”, in which you
have to describe something without stating explicitly what it is

Characterisation

This question asks you to create a short story and therefore you will need to build some
elements of detailed characterisation. This means you need to consider what your
character(s) represent. They may represent an idea, such as hope or strength or
abandonment, or you could include a villain to represent injustice or evil. It is best to
limit yourself to two characters in the time you have.

Well-rounded characters are taken on a journey: a character should undergo some form
of development or change. The mark scheme rewards answers which clearly and
effectively convey ideas, meaning that you need to consider the most effective ways of
building a character in a short piece of writing. Ideally, you should focus more on
indirect characterisation than direct characterisation:

Direct characterisation Indirect characterization

 The writer describes the character through  The writer hints to the reader what the
narration character is like
 The writer describes the character’s  An impression is formed of the character
physical appearance, personality and the through their speech, thoughts and feelings,
things that motivate them interactions with other characters and what
 It is useful for giving broad details in a other characters say or think about them
sentence or two, but if used too much direct  It is useful for developing more complex,
characterisation will result in superficial well-rounded characters that engage the
characters that a reader is not able to relate reader
to or engage with  This is “showing”
 This is “telling”

Here, we will consider how to plan your character(s) effectively to engage your reader.
This is what the examiner is looking for in your answer:

Characterisation

Your character’s appearance may not always be relevant:

 It is worth considering if it is necessary to describe the

colour of your characters’ hair, for example
 Usually appearance is important if your character
represents something, for example, a king, a soldier or
someone in trouble
Appearance (direct
 Facial expressions or descriptions can convey character
characterisation)
effectively. For example, “her tear-stained face” or “he
frowned”
 If you choose to write in first-person, remember that it
is rare that we describe our own appearance
 Third-person perspective can describe appearance
more effectively

One of the most effective ways to describe a character is

through their movements:

 This is the way we judge people most accurately

 Consider how you can describe your characters’
Movements and body
emotions or circumstances using movements, e.g., “His
language (indirect
head dropped”
characterisation)
 Verbs and adverbs can be used to effectively
build characterisation
 If you are including dialogue, think about alternative
verbs to “said”, such as “whispered” or “bellowed”

Monologue (indirect If you use the first-person perspective, a monologue helps

characterisation) readers engage with the character:

 This creates a personal tone and engagement with the

character
 You can create a character’s “voice” using punctuation,
such as short sentences or questions:
o A short sentence indicates your character may be
nervous, for example
 Using emotive language will help your reader
understand your character better

Dialogue can convey the relationships between your characters

and provide insights into what other characters think about each
other:

 It is best to limit dialogue in your story, especially if

Dialogue (direct and indirect you are not absolutely certain how to punctuate it
characterisation) correctly
 Use speech marks and punctuation accurately
 Carefully consider how the dialogue conveys an idea:
o Do not include dialogue which does not progress
the characterisation or plot

Linguistic devices

When considering your choice of language and the techniques you wish to employ, you
must always remember that you are making deliberate choices for effect. It is important
to consider the connotations of words and phrases, and how these may add depth to
your writing. For example, do your word choices evoke certain emotions or feelings in
the reader, or do they reveal aspects of a character’s personality, background or
emotions? You should employ the principle of “show, not tell” in order to bring your
writing to life in the reader’s mind.

Below you will find a brief explanation of some of the key techniques you could employ
in your narrative (or descriptive) writing:

Device or
Explanation Example
technique
Repeating a word, phrase, image or idea. Throughout life, I have learnt never to
This is much more effective if you think give up: never give up on my dreams;
Repetition
of repetition as a motif that you use never give up on my hopes and never
throughout your piece of writing give up on myself.
Remember, the words starting with the
same consonant sound do not have to be
The swirling mist silently settled on the
Alliteration consecutive. Consider the effect you are
sleeping town.
trying to achieve through the use of
alliteration
Metaphors can be as simple as figures of She was the chief lioness among us,
Metaphor speech, but are especially effective where fierce, determined and strong. It was she
they are extended and developed who brought us all together.
Personification A great way to create atmosphere at the The weary old tree, its gnarled branches
start of your writing is by personifying the outstretched like weathered arms,
setting to your story or description whispered ancient wisdom to the breeze.
The representation of sound on paper
should be more sophisticated than comic-
The crackling fire whispered its secrets
book terms such as “boom”. It is also not
along with the gentle pop and sizzle of
Onomatopoeia helpful to put onomatopoeic words all in
the logs as they surrendered to the
capital letters. Consider sound as a way of
flames.
evoking the senses in order to create
atmosphere
A simple comparison using “like” or “as”
Her smile was as radiant as the early
Simile should be used sparingly, as this creates
morning sun on a summer’s day.
more impact
Engages the reader’s senses by using vivid The sun-kissed waves crashed against
Imagery and detailed language to create an image the golden shore, their frothy white caps
in the reader’s mind glistening in the morning light.
The еlеgant ballroom was adorned with
Places two contrasting ideas, images or
exquisite chandeliers and fine artwork,
Juxtaposition concepts side by side to highlight their
whilе thе servants' quartеrs bеlow hеld
differences or to create a striking effect
nothing but barе walls.
Words or phrases that are intentionally
The devastating aftermath left a trail of
Emotive language used to evoke a strong emotional response
destruction, sorrow and misery.
in the reader
Verbs are doing, action or being words.
Power verbs are the deliberate, interesting
The man stooped, bumbling slowly
Power verbs choice of verb to help the reader picture
towards the entrance.
what you are writing. They can be
especially useful for characterisation
The ability to evoke a specific mood or
The lonely road beckoned him onwards
Pathetic fallacy feeling that reflects a character’s internal
with no end in sight.
or emotional state
Steps to success
1. Read the two task options carefully:
o Highlight which one you have a strong idea for
2. Spend five minutes planning your writing:
o Use a mind-map or a representation of Freytag’s Pyramid to plot out your
story
o Plan your characters - who they are, what they represent and how you will
convey this
o Decide on your narrative perspective - first or third person
3. Write down some reminders of figurative language or literary techniques to
include to add interest and detail to your writing
4. Write your story, sticking to your plan
5. Try to leave five minutes at the end to re-read your writing carefully, correcting
any obvious mistakes you have made
Narrative writing model answer
The following model answer demonstrates a top-mark response to the above task: