Creative Writing · 10 guides
11+ writing tasks: a guide to each one
Ten guides to the writing tasks set in 11+ and independent school exams, from continuing a story to writing a speech. Each has a plan, a model answer and a checklist.
What to expect in the 11+
Many 11+ and independent school exams include one writing task, usually 25 to 40 minutes long. You might be asked to continue a story, write a story from a title or picture, write a diary entry or letter, or argue your point of view in a speech or article. Some grammar school tests don't set any writing, so check what your schools ask for.
Every task is marked on the same big things: ideas that suit the task, a clear structure, interesting and precise vocabulary, varied sentences, and accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. What changes from task to task is the shape of the writing and who it's for.
Each guide shows what examiners look for in that task, gives you a plan template to print, a short model answer with notes, a checklist and the mistakes to avoid. For the skills inside a good piece of writing, see the descriptive writing guides and the free creative writing techniques, word banks and example stories.
The guides
- Guide 1
Continue the opening
How to continue a story opening in the 11+: use its clues, keep the same voice, plan to an ending, with a model answer and a checklist.
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- Guide 2
Story from a title
Turn a title like The Key into an original 11+ story: brainstorm, plan a story mountain and keep the title central, with a model answer.
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- Guide 3
Story with a given ending
Plan backwards from a given last line, plant clues early and make the ending feel earned, with a printable plan and an original model answer.
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- Guide 4
Picture prompt
Turn a picture into a story or description: use its details, add senses it can't show and give it a shape, with a model answer and checklist.
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- Guide 5
Diary entry
Write an 11+ diary entry in the first person with the date, events in order and plenty of feelings, with a plan, model answer and checklist.
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- Guide 6
Letter to a friend or family member
Write a warm, well-laid-out letter to a friend or relative: address, greeting, news in paragraphs and a friendly sign-off, with a model answer.
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- Guide 7
Writing a poem
Write an 11+ poem with vivid imagery, strong verbs, sound and a clear shape, rhyming or free verse, with an original model poem and checklist.
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- Guide 8
Report or newspaper article
Write an 11+ news article: a catchy headline, the five Ws up front, quotes and a factual tone, with a plan, model answer and checklist.
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- Guide 9
Formal or persuasive letter
Write a polite, persuasive formal letter: correct layout and sign-off, reasons with evidence, an answer to objections and a clear request.
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- Guide 10
Speech or argument
Write an 11+ speech or argument: a clear view, three reasons with examples, an answer to the other side and a call to action, with a model.
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Tips for creative writing
- Read the task twice and underline who you're writing for and why.
- Always plan, even for five minutes: a plan stops you running out of ideas or time.
- Spend most of your time on the middle, and save time for a proper ending.
- Leave five minutes to read your work back and fix spelling and punctuation.
- Use paragraphs: start a new one for a new time, place, speaker or idea.
- Practise little and often: one timed piece a week, checked against a checklist.