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Paper 1 Question 5: Creative Writing Model Answer ( AQA GCSE English Language )

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Paper 1 Question 5: Creative Writing Model Answer

In Paper 1 Question 5 you will be presented with a choice of two writing tasks and a stimulus image. One task will ask you to write descriptively, most likely based on the image, and the other question will ask you to write a story, based on a statement or title. 

The task requires you to write for a specific purpose and in a specific form. It is important you write in the correct format and use the conventions of this form, as the mark scheme mentions adapting your tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. 

This means: 

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

Below you will find a detailed creative writing model in response to an example of Paper 1 Question 5, under the following sub-headings (click to go straight to that sub-heading):

Writing a GCSE English Language story

Structuring your story, ao5: content and organisation, ao6: technical accuracy, question 5 level 4 model story, why would this story achieve top marks.

Remember, Paper 1 Question 5 is worth 40 marks, broken down into two Assessment Objectives:

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. Here, we will consider how you can produce an effective story with these devices in mind:

Story writing should develop a sense of character as well as mood. This means you should consider how your narrator or characters would behave and sound.  

In order to craft a tone which builds characterisation and mood, consider: 

• The perspective from which your story will be told: 
• First-person characterisation can include monologues which express the narrator’s thoughts and feelings 
• Third-person characterisation will generally include a description of the character’s appearance and movements
• Choose verbs and adverbs carefully to ‘show’ the character’s reactions
• If you use a third-person omniscient narrator , you can advise the reader of the character’s thoughts and feelings
• Consider how you can use sentence lengths and types in monologue and dialogue, as well as description of setting:
• Short sentences reflect tension and unease, e.g. ‘No sound could be heard’
• Longer sentences and listing can create a sense of being overwhelmed, or of abundance, e.g. ‘The table was laden with apples, grapes, oranges, loaves of bread, chunks of cheese and an array of colourful vegetables’
• Rhetorical questions can suggest confusion, e.g. ‘Would I ever get it right?’

Style and register

The style of your story writing is closely related to the language you use. For example, in a creative writing response, the best answers show evidence of careful word choice and linguistic techniques.

Creative writing helps the reader to visualise the person, place, or situation being described with word choice and linguistic techniques, as well as being taken on a journey.

The best way to do this is to: 

• Use vocabulary which is useful to the reader:
• For example, describing something as ‘great’ or ‘amazing’ is telling rather than showing 
• Use sensory language to bring the scene to life:
• For example, a deserted park at night requires a completely different description from a busy park during the daytime
• Emphasise key ideas or impressions using language techniques and imagery:
• For example, you could use a simile to create associations about size or colour
• Personification is a useful technique when describing weather or objects 
• Ensure you describe the important details:
• For example, you do not need to describe every inch of a person or scene bit by bit, but instead focus on key, interesting features that develops the story or the sense of character

Creative story writing develops an idea to a conclusion. This means your story should have cohesion 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 and 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:
• The best way to do this is to plan one main event
• Consider employing structural techniques such as a flashback:
• This can give background information to the reader and provide context
• Ensure you use past-tense verbs for this
• Develop your characters:
• Consider essential narrative characterisations, such as villain, victim, hero etc.
• Decide on how your characters fit this description 
• When describing people, focus on relevant details only:
• You could focus on their body language or movements
• If using dialogue, how your characters speak can reveal more about them than what they say, e.g. “shrieked”, “mumbled”, “whispered”
• It is effective to repeat ideas related to colour
• You can repeat ideas for emphasis, for example, black and grey or green and blue

Below is an example of the type of creative writing you may be asked to write in Question 5. This is taken from Language Paper 1 June 2019:

This task asks you to write a story with the title ‘Abandoned’. This means you are required to construct a story based around this idea. The mark scheme rewards original ideas, but the most successful answers are those which develop an idea effectively and engage the reader in a compelling story. 

Crafting a story plot which conveys a complex and original idea does not need to include multiple characters or take place over a long period of time. Consider the short story as a ‘scene’ in a film. It is not necessary to know everything about your characters, but better to immerse the reader with vivid ‘showing’ techniques, such as sensory imagery, movements and dialogue.

As this is a longer writing question, you can spend about 5 minutes planning your answer. 

Once you are sure of the form you will write in and you have considered how best to convey the mood and character development to your reader, you can begin to think about how you will order your ideas. 

Creative writing responses should be structured in five or six paragraphs. We have suggested basing your narrative structure on Freytag’s Pyramid:

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 avoid repeating the same descriptions throughout your response.

Keep using sensory language throughout, but adjust the focus and perspective as your paragraphs develop. Make sure you include description of movement and description of sound to effectively craft a mood.

Below is an example of a full-mark Level 4 model story:

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Author: Sam Evans

Sam is a graduate in English Language and Literature, specialising in journalism and the history and varieties of English. Before teaching, Sam had a career in tourism in South Africa and Europe. After training to become a teacher, Sam taught English Language and Literature and Communication and Culture in three outstanding secondary schools across England. Her teaching experience began in nursery schools, where she achieved a qualification in Early Years Foundation education. Sam went on to train in the SEN department of a secondary school, working closely with visually impaired students. From there, she went on to manage KS3 and GCSE English language and literature, as well as leading the Sixth Form curriculum. During this time, Sam trained as an examiner in AQA and iGCSE and has marked GCSE English examinations across a range of specifications. She went on to tutor Business English, English as a Second Language and international GCSE English to students around the world, as well as tutoring A level, GCSE and KS3 students for educational provisions in England. Sam freelances as a ghostwriter on novels, business articles and reports, academic resources and non-fiction books.

Gcse textiles coursework ppt

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AQA PE GCSE coursework

GCSE PE/Games

Health-related Exercise/ Training Programme  

Candidate name: Stellson Pedro

Sport/Activity:  Football

(Games candidates must do a game activity).

Training method:  Circuit Training

Leading a warm up/warm down

Teacher:  Ms.Constable          Group:   11B

  _          

For Teacher use only

Training Programme Marks

            Planning          (Max 20)

            Performing          (Max 20)

            Monitoring          (Max 10)

            Evaluating          (Max 20)

Blank   page   for   your   use

Purpose aim   of   the   Programme

Personal   fitness   profile .         5   marks

Outline   how   much   physical   activity   you   get   in   a   typical   week.

I am generally fit to cope with the following demands of everyday life in a week:

• I do 2 hours of GCSE practical PE lessons and 2 hours of core PE lessons.
• Once a week I have school Football matches for 1 hour to 2 hours.
• Once a week I have Football practice for 1 hour.
• I walk home each night which is about 1km.
• On Thursdays & Tuesdays I have football practice for my team. This involves both some stamina work, fitness, movement and some shooting practice. This usually is like 1 and 30 minutes.
• I also help with household duties as well as Hoover my room and iron my clothes. This takes about an hour.
• In total I am very active for 10 hours a week which is a high proportion of my available leisure time. This is the time left over after I have been to school 8.30-3pm including, and do my homework as well as household duties like washing up which takes at least 20 minutes an hour every day

Explain   how   fit   you   think   you   are,   and   if   you   have   any   injuries   or   health   problems.

My current level of health: I do not suffer from any persistent illnesses and at the moment I have no injuries that will affect me when doing the circuit training. This means I will be able to get an accurate set of results.

My current level of fitness: I already exercise and have a fairly high level of general fitness. General fitness concerns the day-to-day working of the body. This is sometimes called health related fitness because it helps to keep you healthy. It helps to prevent against accidents, heart disease, stress, muscle injury and other health problems.

State   what   targets   you   expect   to   achieve   by   the   end   of   the   5   sessions   in   terms   of   aspects   of   fitness/skills   you   want   to   improve.

This also shows that I am also specifically fit to cope with the demands of football as I play and train regularly as well. The training will help to develop this further, as it is specific to the sport of football and I will take into account my current fitness after I have done the Multi Stage fitness and know my level - I can then set my starting times for the circuit. I will have a trial session to check that the times will push me and therefore not be too easy. It is also important that they are manageable because I could cause muscle injury if I try to do too much too soon or put myself off and I will not push myself.

Awareness   of   safety   aspects

5   marks

Outline   any   potential   risks   with   any   apparatus/equipment.

Before the session would begin I would need to check the environment that I working in which includes making sure that the floor is in good condition, that all obstacles are out of the way to prevent injuries and damages, to ensure that there isn’t any water spillages, glass on the floor. For example:

• In addition, I’d need to check all equipment like safety mats, checking there are no rips or tears.
• Another thing I’d have to check is benches, I would check if there are any damages like cracks and splinters.
• I would check if the skipping rope handles aren’t broken.
• I would check the weights making sure they are at the right weight for someone.

  Before we would take part we’d check in the session if we are dressed properly and appropriately. This would include things like:

• Trainers: the correct type of trainers.

This is a preview of the whole essay

• Jewelry would have to be removed.

What   factors   will   you   need   to   consider   when   planning   the   order/types   of   exercises?

When planning for circuit training I need to consider the order of exercises.

Each station should focus on a different part of the body which is done to avoid the muscles being over worked. If two or more station works on the same specific mode muscle group then this could cause a serious injury.

Also when I’m planning the circuit I must consider the type of exercise that will be included to ensure that I achieve the fitness goals that I have set myself. For example, when using some weights in a circuit I have to check if the weights are the current weight for me to develop my muscular endurance than my muscular strength.

Explain   how   and   why   you   will   prepare   your   body   for   exercise/and   help   it   to   recover   afterwards.

Before begin, I must warm up properly. Warming up is important because it helps get the body ready for what type of exercise is ahead of you. Warming up also reduces the chance of any Injury while I’m exercising. Types of warms up would be:

• Stretching your muscles (bicep, triceps, quadriceps, hamstring)

After the session I must perform a cool down which helps get rid of lactic acid and helps bring my heart beat to normal. This involves 5 – 10 minutes of not exercising making sure my heart beat steadily decrease back to its normal rate.

Appropriateness   of   chosen   exercises

  Explain  why you have chosen at least two of the exercises/ activities   and   how   they   will   help   you   achieve   your   targets.           5   marks

Reason   for   choosing   Exercise   1 : Shuttle Runs

Shuttle runs is a type of exercise that I have included in my circuit programme due to the reasons that this particular exercise will help me to develop my cardiovascular endurance as well as my muscular endurance. Shuttle runs is a very good type of exercise for games players as it specific to the nature of the sport.

Shuttles are related to games activity as you need to stop and go continuously in most types of physical activities. For example in football, when you’re a Midfielder you’d have to sprint with the ball, up and down and when you have to be static when receiving a pass from your teammate.

Reason for choosing Exercise 2:   Press ups

I included press ups as one of my stations in circuit training due to the reasons that this types of exercise helps develop your upper body strength as performing every day movements e.g. carrying shopping bags. These can be done with ease and therefore reducing the risk of injury.

Press ups are related to my games activity as you need to use upper body strength for most types of physical training. For example, in football when you have the ball and you’re running with the ball and a defender is trying to tackle you from the side using their own body strength, you must use your upper body strength to hold off the defender from tackling you and winning possession of the ball.

Appropriate   application .         5   marks

Explain   how   your   training   will   progress   each   time   and   how   you   will   be   working   harder.

To make sure I improve my fitness levels, I must use and apply the principles of training to my training programme and to the sessions that I complete.

The principles of training are:

S – Specifity: is when you do specific exercises, on specific parts of the body in specific ways. E.g. a footballer would do a lot of exercise to develop their fitness/stamina/health.

P – progression: starting slowly and gradually increasing the amount that you do - applied to circuit training.

O – Overload: working with enough intensity to improve your performance

R – Reversibility: just as progression leads to improvement, if you stop or decrease the training you go into reverse and lose the effect.

In my training programme I applied the principle of overload, through the theme of intensity. I was increasing the intensity I was working.

This included completing each exercise during the circuit and recording the number of repetitions I completed at the station. Session 1 was used as a baseline session, to find out the number of repetitions I was capable of achieving for each station.

Through applying progression and overload through intensity, I looked at the number of repetitions I achieved from each exercise and then gave myself a target to achieve for the next session. This was applied throughout the whole programme. When I set myself a target I didn’t increase it by a lot I only increased it a bit so I could work in the same amount of time.

Performing   (Teacher’s   Marks)

Implementation   with   control consistency ease          /5

Completion   safely   and   efficiently          / 5

Attitude motivation   towards   improving          / 5

Effectiveness lap appropriateness   of   warm   up & cool   down         / 5

Maximum   20   marks

Record   your   results   after   each   exercise.          2   marks

Concluding   Statement summary   of   results          2   marks

My recovery rate got quicker as the sessions progressed, and so therefore my level was increasing as I recovered at a faster rate and exercise had been a higher intensity each time. My heart was beating at the same rate at the end of session was as it was the much more intense exercise after session five. I felt more able to cope with each session and I was able to get my breath back quicker.

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Document Details

• Word Count 3250
• Page Count 12
• Subject Physical Education (Sport & Coaching)

Related Essays

AQA GCSE PE Training Programme

AQA GCSE PE/Games.

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PE GCSE COURSEWORK SECTION 1

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GCSE Physical Education

• Specification
• Planning resources
• Teaching resources
• Assessment resources
• Introduction
• Specification at a glance
• 3.1 The human body and movement in physical activity and sport
• 3.2 Socio-cultural influences and wellbeing in physical activity and sport
• Scheme of assessment
• Non-exam assessment administration
• General administration

Analysis – strengths and weaknesses (15 marks)

Students are required to analyse performances in one activity from the specification in order to identify and justify suitable strengths and weaknesses in the performances.

With reference to recent competitive performances in the chosen activity, students should identify two strengths.

One strength should be a fitness component (relevant to their chosen activity). Reference should be made to an appropriately relevant and developed fitness component, justifying how it has benefited performance.

One strength should be a specific skill/technique (from those listed in the activity criteria) or tactic/strategy/aspect of choreography (as appropriate), which has been used when performing their chosen activity. If a skill is chosen, reference should be made to the technique used and how that technique benefited performance. If a tactic/strategy is chosen, reference can be made to a description of the student’s role within that tactic/strategy and how it benefited performance. If an aspect of choreography is chosen, reference can be made to how choreographed movement benefited performance.

In choosing these strengths, students must fully justify their choices, making reference to the impact and benefit they provided in recent, fully competitive performances.

With reference to recent competitive performances in the chosen activity, students should identify two weaknesses.

One weakness should be a fitness component (relevant to their chosen activity) where improvement is needed. Reference should be made to an appropriately relevant and developed fitness component, justifying how it has negatively affected performance.

One weakness should be a specific skill (from those listed in the activity criteria) or tactic/strategy/aspect of choreography (as appropriate) where improvement is needed. If a skill is chosen, reference should be made to the technique used and how that technique hindered performance. If a tactic/strategy is chosen, reference can be made to a description of the student’s role within that tactic/strategy and how it hindered performance. If an aspect of choreography is chosen, reference can be made to how choreographed movement negatively affected performance.

In choosing these weaknesses, students must justify their choices, making reference to how competitive performances have been negatively affected.

Students should be marked on their analysis of performance using the following descriptors.

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AQA Exemplar D&T Folder for the new GCSE [Updated November 2020]

Subject: Design, engineering and technology

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

5 December 2022

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UPDATE: April 2021 additional pages added to support the use of the Braille Box to teach about branding, IP, patents, crowdfunding, ecological footprint and more. Specification updated to match the new theory presentations that will soon be available. This is my own take on what I believe a level 9 folder could look like for the new AQA GCSE in Design and Technology and was produced when no examplar material was avalable from examination boards. It is appropriate for the ‘children’s learning and play’ sample context and covers exploring a context, iterative design, prototyping and client led brief along with investigations, analysis and evaluations. Supplied as both self-running Powerpoint Show and printable PDF file, there are 40 slides in the folder as per the AQA suggested limit, each with a commentary and a summary at the end of each A0 as well as extra slides at the end to support the process. In total there are now 68 slides here but the extra slides are for the benefit of the teacher, or to explain and justify the marks awarded.**

There is evidence in the folder of SketchUp, Solidworks, Photoshop and the use of CNC equipment and 3D printing. It is not endorsed by any examination board but can inspire you in your approach to teaching the new NEA in your school to a very high standard.

I worked as an examiner and moderator for the AQA for 20 years with 27 years D&T teaching and leadership experience where many students achieved 100% for their coursework. This is based on that experience and a culmination of assessing thousands of folders coupled with industry design experience. Additionally, I have consulted for DATA, TES, V&A, Routledge, PGOnline, Doddle and the BBC.

Recent additions (July 2018) include 16 extra slides to show a summary of modelling, drawing, CAD etc. and further development of the product beyond the GCSE prototype into AS/A Level territory with the outcome being a completely 3D printed prototype. August 2018 update simply adds some extra info.

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AQA D&T GCSE teacher toolkit (textiles)

This is a collection of all the current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content but with the 3.2 specialist material focus on textiles, as well as extensive support for the NEA. It represents a saving of over 30% if buying all the resources separately.

Ultimate D&T GCSE Teacher Toolkit

This is a collection of all current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content with compulsory units 3.1 and 3.3 and the 3.2 specialist materials covering timbers and woods, paper and boards, metals and alloys, polymers and textiles. There is also extensive support for the NEA through an exemplar folder (and 3D printing files), students guides and much more. The full set of of digital/printable workbooks have recently been added to the bundle at no extra cost. It represents a saving of almost 40% if buying all the resources separately.

AQA D&T GCSE teacher toolkit (metals and alloys)

This is a collection of all the current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content but with the 3.2 specialist material focus on metals and alloys, as well as extensive support for the NEA. It represents a saving of over 30% if buying all the resources separately.

AQA D&T GCSE teacher toolkit (paper and boards)

This is a collection of all the current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content but with the 3.2 specialist material focus on paper and boards, as well as extensive support for the NEA. It represents a saving of over 30% if buying all the resource separately.

AQA D&T GCSE teacher toolkit (polymers)

This is a collection of all the current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content but with the 3.2 specialist material focus on polymers, as well as extensive support for the NEA. It represents a saving of over 30% if buying all the resources separately.

AQA D&T GCSE teacher toolkit (timbers and wood)

This is a collection of all the current AQA GCSE Design and Technology resources. It provides everything you need to teach, assess and track the theory content but with the 3.2 specialist material focus on timber and wood, as well as extensive support for the NEA. It represents a saving of over 30% if buying all the resources separately.

GCSE D&T Exemplar Complete Toolkit

Updated (November 2020): A 105 slide presentation has been added to the bundle. This Powerpoint Show presentation is self running but can be edited in Powerpoint. It provides support and visual feedback on the various stages of the NEA and will be a valuable classroom resource. This bundle includes all you need to inspire students and to help them aspire to achieving the highest possible marks in the D&T GCSE NEA. Also suitable for AS and A Level. It has tracking, checklists, student guides, an exemplar folder and even a 3D printable outcome to support it.

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Excellent starting point for the NEA with clear clarifications for assessment and clearly shows the differences between old and new spec -with thanks

Thank you, I have taught and moderated the old spec for 25 years and I am excited about the new GCSE and hope this will help others start their NEA and aim for a high level outcome. The 3D files should be available in the next week.

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An excellent resource, but I ended up buying both this and the bundle by mistake!

Thanks, please also check you have the latest version uploaded this week

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