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• Creative Writing Prompts Activities And Resources For Ks1 And Ks2 English

Creative writing prompts – Best activities and resources for KS1 and KS2 English

Fed up of reading 'and then…', 'and then…' in your children's writing? Try these story starters, structures, worksheets and other fun writing prompt resources for primary pupils…

What is creative writing?

How to develop opportunities for writing with choice and freedom, jump to section:.

• Writing with choice and freedom

Creative writing resources for the classroom

Creative writing prompts.

• Improving creative writing
• Overcoming the fear of creative writing

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, ‘creative’ is ‘producing or using original and unusual ideas’, yet I would argue that in writing there’s no such thing as an original idea – all stories are reincarnations of ones that have gone before.

As writers we learn to be expert magpies – selecting the shiny words, phrases and ideas from other stories and taking them for our own.  

Interestingly, the primary national curriculum does not mention creative writing or writing for pleasure at all and is focused on the skill of writing.

Therefore, if writing creatively and for pleasure is important in your school, it must be woven into your vision for English.

“Interestingly, the Primary National Curriculum does not mention creative writing or writing for pleasure at all”

Creative writing in primary schools can be broken into two parts:

• writing with choice and freedom
• developing story writing

Writing with choice and freedom allows children to write about what interests and inspires them.  

Developing story writing provides children with the skills they need to write creatively. In primary schools this is often taught in a very structured way and, particularly in the formative years, can lack opportunities for children to be creative.

Children are often told to retell a story in their own words or tweak a detail such as the setting or the main character.  

Below you’ll find plenty of creative writing prompts, suggestions and resources to help develop both writing for choice and freedom and developing story writing in your classroom. 

Here’s an interesting question to consider: if the curriculum disappeared but children still had the skills to write, would they?

I believe so – they’d still have ideas they wanted to convey and stories they wanted to share.

One of my children enjoys writing and the other is more reluctant to mark make when asked to, but both choose to write. They write notes for friends, song lyrics, stories and even business plans.

So how can we develop opportunities to write with choice and freedom in our classrooms?

Early Years classrooms are full of opportunities for children to write about what interests them, but it’s a rarer sight in KS1 and 2.  

Ask children what they want to write about

Reading for pleasure has quite rightly been prioritised in schools and the impact is clear. Many of the wonderful ideas from The Open University’s Reading For Pleasure site can be used and adapted for writing too.

For example, ask children to create a ‘writing river’ where they record the writing they choose to do across a week.

If pupils like writing about a specific thing, consider creating a short burst writing activity linked to this. The below Harry Potter creative writing activity , where children create a new character and write a paragraph about them, is an example of this approach.

If you have a spare 20 minutes, listen to the below conversation with Lucy and Jonathan from HeadteacherChat and Alex from LinkyThinks . They discuss the importance of knowing about children’s interests but also about being a writer yourself.

'The confidence Crisis in Creative Writing.' Lucy and Jonathan chat with Alex from @LinkyThinks https://t.co/VClYxiQhcf — HeadteacherChat (@Headteacherchat) August 9, 2022

Plan in time to pursue personal writing projects 

There are lots of fantastic ideas for developing writing for pleasure in your classrooms on The Writing For Pleasure Centre’s website .

One suggestion is assigning time to pursue personal writing projects. The Meadows Primary School in Madeley Heath, Staffordshire, does this termly and provides scaffolds for children who may find the choice daunting.

Give children a choice about writing implements and paper 

Sometimes the fun is in the novelty. Are there opportunities within your week to give pupils some choices about the materials they use? Ideas could include:

• little notebooks
• a roll of paper
• felt tip pens
• gel pens  

Write for real audiences 

This is a great way to develop children’s motivation to write and is easy to do.

It could be a blog, a class newsletter or pen pals. Look around in your community for opportunities to write – the local supermarket, a nearby nursing home or the library are often all good starting points.

Have a go yourself

The most successful teachers of story writing write fiction themselves.

Many adults do not write creatively and trying to teach something you have not done yourself in a long time can be difficult. By having a go you can identify the areas of difficulty alongside the thought processes required.  

Treat every child as an author

Time is always a premium in the classroom but equally, we’re all fully aware of the impact of verbal feedback.

One-to-one writing conferences have gained in popularity in primary classrooms and it’s well-worth giving these a go if you haven’t already.

Set aside time to speak to each child about the writing they’re currently constructing. Discuss what’s going well and what they could develop.

If possible, timetable these one-to-one discussions with the whole class throughout the year (ideally more often, if possible).  

Free KS2 virtual visit and resources

Bring best-selling children’s authors directly into your classroom with Author In Your Classroom. It’s a brilliant free podcast series made especially for schools, and there’s loads of free resources to download too.

More than 20 authors have recorded episodes so far, including:

• Sir Michael Morpurgo
• Dame Jacqueline Wilson
• Michael Rosen
• Joseph Coelho
• Lauren Child
• Frank Cottrell-Boyce
• Benjamin Zephaniah
• Cressida Cowell
• Robin Stevens

Creative writing exercises

Use these inspiring writing templates from Rachel Clarke to inspire pupils who find it difficult to get their thoughts down on the page. The structured creative writing prompts and activities, which range from writing a ‘ through the portal story ‘ to a character creation activity that involves making your own Top Trumps style cards, will help inexperienced writers to get started.

Storyboard templates and story structures

Whether it’s short stories, comic strips or filmmaking, every tale needs the right structure to be told well. This storyboard template resource will help your children develop the skills required to add that foundation to their creative writing.

Ten-minute activities 

The idea of fitting another thing into the school day can feel overwhelming, so start with small creative writing activities once a fortnight. Below are a few ideas that have endless possibilities.

Character capers

You need a 1-6 dice for this activity. Roll it three to find out who your character is, what their personality is and what job they do, then think about the following:

• Can you draw them?
• What questions would you ask them if you met them?
• What might their answers be?
• If they were the main character in a story, what might happen?

Download our character capers worksheet .

Setting soup

In this activity pupils Look at the four photos and fill in a mind map for one of the settings, focusing on what they’d see, hear, feel, smell and feel in that location. They then write an ingredients list for their setting, such as:

• A dollop of calmness 
• A drizzle of a beautiful sunset 
• A generous helping of a still ocean 
• Copious amounts of smooth sand 
• A spattering of lush, green palm trees 

Download our setting soup worksheet .

Use consequences to generate story ideas

Start with a game of drawing consequences – this is a great way of building a new character.

Next, play a similar game but write a story. Here’s an example . Download our free writing consequences template to get started.

Roll and write a story

For this quick activity, children roll a dice three times to choose a setting and two characters – for example, a theme park, an explorer and a mythical creature. They then use the results to create an outline for a story.

Got more than ten minutes? Use the outline to write a complete story. Alternatively, use the results to create a book cover and blurb or, with a younger group of children, do the activity as a class then draw or write about the outcome.

Download our roll and write a story worksheet .

Scavenger hunt

Give children something to hide and tell them they have to write five clues in pairs, taking another pair from one clue to the next until the 5th clue leads them to the hidden item.

For a challenge, the clues could be riddles.  

Set up pen pals. This might be with children in another country or school, or it could simply be with another class.

What do pupils want to say or share? It might be a letter, but it could be a comic strip, poem or pop-up book.  

You need a log-in to access Authorfy’s content but it’s free. The website is crammed with every children’s author imaginable, talking about their books and inspirations and setting writing challenges. It’s a great tool to inspire and enthuse.  

There are lots of great resources and videos on Oxford Owl which are free to access and will provide children with quick bursts of creativity.  

Creative writing ideas for KS2

This free Pie Corbett Ultimate KS2 fiction collection is packed with original short stories from the man himself, and a selection of teaching resources he’s created to accompany each one.

Each creative writing activity will help every young writer get their creative juices flowing and overcome writer’s block.

WAGOLL text types

​Support pupils when writing across a whole range of text types and genres with these engaging writing packs from Plazoom , differentiated for KS1, LKS2 and UKS2.

They feature:

• model texts (demonstrating WAGOLL for learners)
• planning guides
• writing templates
• themed paper

Each one focuses on a particular kind of text, encouraging children to make appropriate vocabulary, register and layout choices, and produce the very best writing of which they are capable, which can be used for evidence of progress.

If you teach KS2, start off by exploring fairy tales with a twist , or choose from 50+ other options .

Scaffolds and plot types

A great way to support children with planning stories with structures, this creative writing scaffolds and plot types resource pack contains five story summaries, each covering a different plot type, which they can use as a story idea.

It has often been suggested that there are only seven basic plots a story can use, and here you’ll find text summaries for five of these:

• Overcoming the monster
• Rags to riches
• Voyage and return

After familiarising themselves with these texts, children can adapt and change these stories to create tales of their own.

Use story starters

If some children still need a bit of a push in the right direction, check out our 6 superb story starters to develop creative writing skills . This list features a range of free story starter resources, including animations (like the one above) and even the odd iguana…

Use word mats to inspire

Help pupils to write independently by providing them with helpful vocabulary sheets that they can pick and choose from when doing their own creative writing.

Download our free creative writing word mats here , including:

• Create a spooky atmosphere
• Write an adventure story
• Describe a character’s appearance
• Describe a character’s personality
• Describe how a character moves
• Describe how a character speaks
• Describe a mythical beast

Creative writing pictures

Using images as writing prompts is nothing new, but it’s fun and effective.

Pobble 365 has an inspiring photo for every day of the year. These are great inspiration for ten-minute free writing activities. You need to log in to Pobble but access to Pobble 365 (the pictures) is free.  

Choose two pictures as prompts (you can access every picture for the year in the calendar) or provide children with a range of starter prompts.

For example, with the photo above you might ask children to complete one of the following activities: 

• Continue the story using the story starters on Pobble. 
• Write down what your dream day would include. 
• Create a superhero called Dolphin Dude.  
• If you didn’t need to breath when swimming underwater, what would you do? Write about your dream day. It might include rivers, lakes, swimming pools, the seas or oceans.  
• If you had a super power, what would it be and why?  

The Literacy Shed

Website The Literacy Shed has a page dedicated to interesting pictures for creative writing . There are winter scenes, abandoned places, landscapes, woodlands, pathways, statues and even flying houses.

The Literacy Shed also hosts video clips for inspiring writing and is choc-full of ways to use them. The Night Zookeeper Shed is well worth a visit. There are short videos, activities and resources to inspire creative writing.

Once Upon a Picture

Once Upon a Picture is another site packed with creative writing picture prompts , but its focus is more on illustrations than photography, so its offering is great for letting little imaginations soar.

Each one comes with questions for kids to consider, or activities to carry out.

How to improve creative writing

Developing story writing .

If you decided to climb a mountain, in order to be successful you’d need to be well-equipped and you’d need to have practised with smaller climbs first.

The same is true of creative writing: to be successful you need to be well-equipped with the skills of writing and have had plenty of opportunities to practise.  

As a teachers you need to plan with this in mind – develop a writing journey which allows children to learn the art of story writing by studying stories of a similar style, focusing on how effects are created and scaffolding children’s writing activities so they achieve success.  

• Choose a focus When planning, consider what skill you want to embed for children and have that as your focus throughout the sequence of learning. For example, if you teach Y4 you might decide to focus on integrating speech into stories. When your class looks at a similar story, draw their attention to how the author uses speech and discuss how it advances the action and shows you more about the characters. During the sequence, your class can practise the technical side of writing speech (new line/new speaker, end punctuation, etc). When they come to write their own story, your success criteria will be focused on using speech effectively. By doing this, the skill of using speech is embedded. If you chose to focus on ALL the elements of story writing that a Y4 child should be using (fronted adverbials, conjunctions, expanded noun phrases, etc), this might lead to cognitive overload.
• Plan in chances to be creative Often teachers plan three writing opportunities: one where children retell the story, one with a slight difference (eg a different main character) and a final one where children invent their own story. However, in my experience, the third piece of writing often never happens because children have lost interest or time has run out. If we equip children with the skills, we must allow them time to use them.
• Utilise paired writing Children love to collaborate and by working in pairs it actually helps develop independence. Give it a go!  
• Find opportunities for real audiences Nothing is more motivating than knowing you will get to share your story with another class, a parent or the local nursing home.
• Use high-quality stimuli If your focus is speech, find a great novel for kids that uses speech effectively. There are so many excellent children’s stories available that there’s no need to write your own.
• Use magpie books This is somewhere where children can note down any great words or phrases they find from their reading. It will get them reading as a writer. 

Below is a rough outline of a planning format that leads to successful writing opportunities.

This sequence of learning takes around three weeks but may be longer or shorter, depending on the writing type.  

Before planning out the learning, decide on up to three key focuses for the sequence. Think about the potential learning opportunities that the stimuli supports (eg don’t focus on direct speech if you’re writing non-chronological reports ).  

Ways to overcome fear of creative writing

Many children are inhibited in their writing for a variety of reasons. These include the all-too-familiar ‘fear of the blank page’ (“I can’t think of anything to write about!” is a common lament), trying to get all the technical aspects right as they compose their work (a sense of being ‘overwhelmed’), and the fact that much of children’s success in school is underpinned by an ethos of competitiveness and comparison, which can lead to a fear of failure and a lack of desire to try.

Any steps we can take to diminish these anxieties means that children will feel increasingly motivated to write, and so enjoy their writing more. This in turn will lead to the development of skills in all areas of writing, with the broader benefits this brings more generally in children’s education.

Here are some easily applied and simple ideas from author and school workshop provider Steve Bowkett for boosting self-confidence in writing.

• Keep it creative Make creative writing a regular activity. High priority is given to spelling, punctuation and grammar, but these need a context to be properly understood. Teaching the technicalities of language without giving children meaningful opportunities to apply them is like telling people the names of a car engine’s parts without helping them learn to drive.
• Model the behaviour In other words, when you want your class to write a story or poem, have a go yourself and be upfront about the difficulties you encounter in trying to translate your thoughts into words.
• Go easy on the grammar Encourage children to write without them necessarily trying to remember and apply a raft of grammatical rules. An old saying has it that we should ‘learn the rules well and then forget them’. Learning how to use punctuation, for instance, is necessary and valuable, but when children try and apply the rules consciously and laboriously as they go along, the creative flow can be stifled. Consideration of rules should, however, be an important element of the editing process.
• Keep assessment focused Where you do require children to focus on rules during composition, pick just one or two they can bear in mind as they write. Explain that you will mark for these without necessarily correcting other areas of GaPS. Not only will this save you time, but also children will be spared the demotivating sight of their writing covered in corrections (which many are unlikely to read).
• Value effort If a child tries hard but produces work that is technically poor, celebrate his achievement in making an effort and apply the old ‘three stars and a wish’ technique to the work by finding three points you can praise followed by noting one area where improvements can be made.
• Leave room for improvement Make clear that it’s fine for children to change their minds, and that there is no expectation for them to ‘get it all right’ first time. Show the class before and after drafts from the work of well-known poets and extracts from stories. Where these have been hand written, they are often untidy and peppered with crossings out and other annotations as the writers tried to clarify their thoughts. If you have the facilities, invite children to word process their stories using the ‘track changes’ facility. Encourage children to show their workings out, as you would do in maths.
• Don’t strive for perfection Slay the ‘practice makes perfect’ dragon. It’s a glib phrase and also an inaccurate one. Telling children that practice makes better is a sound piece of advice. But how could we ever say that a story or poem is perfect? Even highly experienced authors strive to improve.
• Come back later Leave some time – a couple of days will do – between children writing a piece and editing or redrafting it. This is often known as the ‘cooling off’ period. Many children will find that they come back to their work with fresh eyes that enable them to pick out more errors, and with new ideas for improving the piece structurally.
• Try diamond 9 Use the diamond ranking tool to help children assess their own work. Give each child some scraps of paper or card and have them write on each an aspect of their writing, such as creating strong characters, controlling pace and tension, describing places and things, using ‘punchy’ verbs etc. Supply these elements as necessary, but allow children some leeway to think of examples of their own. Now ask each child to physically arrange these scraps according to how effectively they were used in the latest piece of work. So two writing elements that a child thinks are equally strong will be placed side by side, while an aspect of the work a child is pleased with will be placed above one that he / she is not so happy with.
• Keep it varied Vary the writing tasks. By this I mean it’s not necessary to ask children always to write a complete story. Get them to create just an opening scene for example, or a vivid character description, or an exciting story climax. If more-reluctant writers think they haven’t got to write much they might be more motivated to have a go. Varying the tasks also helps to keep the process of writing fresh, while the results can form resource banks (of characters, scenes, etc) for future use.
• Help each other Highlight the idea that everyone in the class, including yourself, forms a community of writers. Here, difficulties can be aired, advice can be shared and successes can be celebrated as we all strive to ‘dare to do it and do our best’.

Browse more ideas for National Writing Day .

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• 11 Plus Creative Writing – Example Topics and Tasks

11 Plus Creative Writing – Example Topics and Tasks

Schools can of course ask anything so these example tasks shouldn’t be used as stock answers.

Pupils will however find that developing a full description bank of characters, emotions, action, the natural world and the built environment etc will help them to deliver effective and creative descriptions on the day.

Using those description banks within these sample stories will help them to develop their work further and enable them to embed their thoughts so they can deliver properly on the day.

Remember if you are going to tackle any of these sample writing topics and tasks you should always plan to revisit your work a few days after you have done it. As part of the process children who often re-write their work to improve it find they make better progress.

Good resources to help with creative writing are rare. If you need help then we do recommend this creative writing preparation course . Since we started recommending it we have had very good feedback from our users, whether they have used it to prepare for an 11 Plus exam or an Independent entry test.

11 Plus creative writing example topics list

The following topics and tasks have come up in either in grammar school or independent school 11 plus writing tests:

Core themes for creative writing topics and tasks:

Many stories have core themes or emotions or feelings within them. When developing your descriptions banks these are useful areas to think about:

Animals – Typically describe your pet or your favourite animal or an animal you are frightened of. Be prepared to be use literary devices like personification or exaggeration or even simple similes to bring your description to life.

Emotions and feelings – Stories often include a requirement to describe emotion like fear, or joy or what it feels like to be lost or alone. They could easily ask you to describe enjoyment through a title like My brilliant day. Sometimes the titles may overtly lead you in a very clear direction. Lost ! and Alone! Are two previous examples that have come up.

Activities you enjoy doing – This is chance to describe the activity itself ( whatever you like from mountaineering to gardening and everything in between) plus how it makes you feel. Again your development of description banks should have helped you.

The natural world – Could be hills or mountains, rivers or streams or lightning or the rain or the feeling of sunshine or how a meadow looks or a field of wheat. Children who cover the natural world in their descriptions development work always find it useful.

The built environment – Think houses or offices blocks or cottages or castles.  Roads and bridges, churches and sheds.  Developing some thoughts about how to describe the built environment is always useful.

Story Titles:

Story titles can be long or short.  Here are some examples of story titles which have come up in both Grammar School and Independent School tests.

• The Day Trip
• The Broken Window
• The Abandoned House
• The Voice in the Darkness
• Write a story with Alone as the title, where you suddenly realise that you are on your own.  It may be a true or entirely made up, but it should include your thoughts and feelings as well as what happened.
• Write a story (true or made up) about a visit you make to some relations of your own.
• Write a letter to a cousin inviting him to stay with you. You should try and interest him in some of the varied and unusual activities he can take part in.
• Describe a situation which you have experienced which might also be called A Magical Moment, showing what your thoughts and feelings are.
• Write a clear description of an animal you know well.  Make sure you describe what it does and how it behaves as well as what it looks like.
• I prefer Winter to Spring.
• The door and what was behind it.
• The Prince of Darkness is a Gentleman.
• Ash on an old man’s sleeve.
• Write a story that begins with the words – I had been waiting for such a long time for this to happen.
• Write a description of someone you admire.  (You may choose someone you actually know, or someone you have never met.  Describe them and explain why you admire them).

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• Writing Activities

105 Creative Writing Exercises To Get You Writing Again

You know that feeling when you just don’t feel like writing? Sometimes you can’t even get a word down on paper. It’s the most frustrating thing ever to a writer, especially when you’re working towards a deadline. The good news is that we have a list of 105 creative writing exercises to help you get motivated and start writing again!

What are creative writing exercises?

Creative writing exercises are short writing activities (normally around 10 minutes) designed to get you writing. The goal of these exercises is to give you the motivation to put words onto a blank paper. These words don’t need to be logical or meaningful, neither do they need to be grammatically correct or spelt correctly. The whole idea is to just get you writing something, anything. The end result of these quick creative writing exercises is normally a series of notes, bullet points or ramblings that you can, later on, use as inspiration for a bigger piece of writing such as a story or a poem. 

Good creative writing exercises are short, quick and easy to complete. You shouldn’t need to think too much about your style of writing or how imaginative your notes are. Just write anything that comes to mind, and you’ll be on the road to improving your creative writing skills and beating writer’s block . 

Use the generator below to get a random creative writing exercise idea:

List of 105+ Creative Writing Exercises

Here are over 105 creative writing exercises to give your brain a workout and help those creative juices flow again:

• Set a timer for 60 seconds. Now write down as many words or phrases that come to mind at that moment.
• Pick any colour you like. Now start your sentence with this colour. For example, Orange, the colour of my favourite top. 
• Open a book or dictionary on a random page. Pick a random word. You can close your eyes and slowly move your finger across the page. Now, write a paragraph with this random word in it. You can even use an online dictionary to get random words:

• Create your own alphabet picture book or list. It can be A to Z of animals, food, monsters or anything else you like!
• Using only the sense of smell, describe where you are right now.
• Take a snack break. While eating your snack write down the exact taste of that food. The goal of this creative writing exercise is to make your readers savour this food as well.
• Pick a random object in your room and write a short paragraph from its point of view. For example, how does your pencil feel? What if your lamp had feelings?
• Describe your dream house. Where would you live one day? Is it huge or tiny? 
• Pick two different TV shows, movies or books that you like. Now swap the main character. What if Supergirl was in Twilight? What if SpongeBob SquarePants was in The Flash? Write a short scene using this character swap as inspiration.
• What’s your favourite video game? Write at least 10 tips for playing this game.
• Pick your favourite hobby or sport. Now pretend an alien has just landed on Earth and you need to teach it this hobby or sport. Write at least ten tips on how you would teach this alien.
• Use a random image generator and write a paragraph about the first picture you see.

• Write a letter to your favourite celebrity or character. What inspires you most about them? Can you think of a memorable moment where this person’s life affected yours? We have this helpful guide on writing a letter to your best friend for extra inspiration.
• Write down at least 10 benefits of writing. This can help motivate you and beat writer’s block.
• Complete this sentence in 10 different ways: Patrick waited for the school bus and…
• Pick up a random book from your bookshelf and go to page 9. Find the ninth sentence on that page. Use this sentence as a story starter.
• Create a character profile based on all the traits that you hate. It might help to list down all the traits first and then work on describing the character.
• What is the scariest or most dangerous situation you have ever been in? Why was this situation scary? How did you cope at that moment?
• Pretend that you’re a chat show host and you’re interviewing your favourite celebrity. Write down the script for this conversation.
• Using extreme detail, write down what you have been doing for the past one hour today. Think about your thoughts, feelings and actions during this time.
• Make a list of potential character names for your next story. You can use a fantasy name generator to help you.
• Describe a futuristic setting. What do you think the world would look like in 100 years time?
• Think about a recent argument you had with someone. Would you change anything about it? How would you resolve an argument in the future?
• Describe a fantasy world. What kind of creatures live in this world? What is the climate like? What everyday challenges would a typical citizen of this world face? You can use this fantasy world name generator for inspiration.
• At the flip of a switch, you turn into a dragon. What kind of dragon would you be? Describe your appearance, special abilities, likes and dislikes. You can use a dragon name generator to give yourself a cool dragon name.
• Pick your favourite book or a famous story. Now change the point of view. For example, you could rewrite the fairytale , Cinderella. This time around, Prince Charming could be the main character. What do you think Prince Charming was doing, while Cinderella was cleaning the floors and getting ready for the ball?
• Pick a random writing prompt and use it to write a short story. Check out this collection of over 300 writing prompts for kids to inspire you. 
• Write a shopping list for a famous character in history. Imagine if you were Albert Einstein’s assistant, what kind of things would he shop for on a weekly basis?
• Create a fake advertisement poster for a random object that is near you right now. Your goal is to convince the reader to buy this object from you.
• What is the worst (or most annoying) sound that you can imagine? Describe this sound in great detail, so your reader can understand the pain you feel when hearing this sound.
• What is your favourite song at the moment? Pick one line from this song and describe a moment in your life that relates to this line.
•  You’re hosting an imaginary dinner party at your house. Create a list of people you would invite, and some party invites. Think about the theme of the dinner party, the food you will serve and entertainment for the evening. 
• You are waiting to see your dentist in the waiting room. Write down every thought you are having at this moment in time. 
• Make a list of your greatest fears. Try to think of at least three fears. Now write a short story about a character who is forced to confront one of these fears. 
• Create a ‘Wanted’ poster for a famous villain of your choice. Think about the crimes they have committed, and the reward you will give for having them caught. 
• Imagine you are a journalist for the ‘Imagine Forest Times’ newspaper. Your task is to get an exclusive interview with the most famous villain of all time. Pick a villain of your choice and interview them for your newspaper article. What questions would you ask them, and what would their responses be?
•  In a school playground, you see the school bully hurting a new kid. Write three short stories, one from each perspective in this scenario (The bully, the witness and the kid getting bullied).
• You just won $10 million dollars. What would you spend this money on?
• Pick a random animal, and research at least five interesting facts about this animal. Write a short story centred around one of these interesting facts. 
• Pick a global issue that you are passionate about. This could be climate change, black lives matters, women’s rights etc. Now create a campaign poster for this global issue. 
• Write an acrostic poem about an object near you right now (or even your own name). You could use a poetry idea generator to inspire you.
• Imagine you are the head chef of a 5-star restaurant. Recently the business has slowed down. Your task is to come up with a brand-new menu to excite customers. Watch this video prompt on YouTube to inspire you.
• What is your favourite food of all time? Imagine if this piece of food was alive, what would it say to you?
• If life was one big musical, what would you be singing about right now? Write the lyrics of your song. 
• Create and describe the most ultimate villain of all time. What would their traits be? What would their past look like? Will they have any positive traits?
• Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: Every time I look out of the window, I…
• You have just made it into the local newspaper, but what for? Write down at least five potential newspaper headlines . Here’s an example, Local Boy Survives a Deadly Illness.
• If you were a witch or a wizard, what would your specialist area be and why? You might want to use a Harry Potter name generator or a witch name generator for inspiration.
• What is your favourite thing to do on a Saturday night? Write a short story centred around this activity. 
• Your main character has just received the following items: A highlighter, a red cap, a teddy bear and a fork. What would your character do with these items? Can you write a story using these items? 
• Create a timeline of your own life, from birth to this current moment. Think about the key events in your life, such as birthdays, graduations, weddings and so on. After you have done this, you can pick one key event from your life to write a story about. 
• Think of a famous book or movie you like. Rewrite a scene from this book or movie, where the main character is an outsider. They watch the key events play out, but have no role in the story. What would their actions be? How would they react?
• Three very different characters have just won the lottery. Write a script for each character, as they reveal the big news to their best friend.  
• Write a day in the life story of three different characters. How does each character start their day? What do they do throughout the day? And how does their day end?
•  Write about the worst experience in your life so far. Think about a time when you were most upset or angry and describe it. 
• Imagine you’ve found a time machine in your house. What year would you travel to and why?
• Describe your own superhero. Think about their appearance, special abilities and their superhero name. Will they have a secret identity? Who is their number one enemy?
• What is your favourite country in the world? Research five fun facts about this country and use one to write a short story. 
• Set yourself at least three writing goals. This could be a good way to motivate yourself to write every day. For example, one goal might be to write at least 150 words a day. 
• Create a character description based on the one fact, three fiction rule. Think about one fact or truth about yourself. And then add in three fictional or fantasy elements. For example, your character could be the same age as you in real life, this is your one fact. And the three fictional elements could be they have the ability to fly, talk in over 100 different languages and have green skin. 
• Describe the perfect person. What traits would they have? Think about their appearance, their interests and their dislikes. 
• Keep a daily journal or diary. This is a great way to keep writing every day. There are lots of things you can write about in your journal, such as you can write about the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ of your day. Think about anything that inspired you or anything that upset you, or just write anything that comes to mind at the moment. 
• Write a book review or a movie review. If you’re lost for inspiration, just watch a random movie or read any book that you can find. Then write a critical review on it. Think about the best parts of the book/movie and the worst parts. How would you improve the book or movie?
• Write down a conversation between yourself. You can imagine talking to your younger self or future self (i.e. in 10 years’ time). What would you tell them? Are there any lessons you learned or warnings you need to give? Maybe you could talk about what your life is like now and compare it to their life?
• Try writing some quick flash fiction stories . Flash fiction is normally around 500 words long, so try to stay within this limit.
• Write a six-word story about something that happened to you today or yesterday. A six-word story is basically an entire story told in just six words. Take for example: “Another football game ruined by me.” or “A dog’s painting sold for millions.” – Six-word stories are similar to writing newspaper headlines. The goal is to summarise your story in just six words. 
• The most common monsters or creatures used in stories include vampires, werewolves , dragons, the bigfoot, sirens and the loch-ness monster. In a battle of intelligence, who do you think will win and why?
• Think about an important event in your life that has happened so far, such as a birthday or the birth of a new sibling. Now using the 5 W’s and 1 H technique describe this event in great detail. The 5 W’s include: What, Who, Where, Why, When and the 1 H is: How. Ask yourself questions about the event, such as what exactly happened on that day? Who was there? Why was this event important? When and where did it happen? And finally, how did it make you feel?
• Pretend to be someone else. Think about someone important in your life. Now put yourself into their shoes, and write a day in the life story about being them. What do you think they do on a daily basis? What situations would they encounter? How would they feel?
• Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: I remember…
• Write about your dream holiday. Where would you go? Who would you go with? And what kind of activities would you do?
• Which one item in your house do you use the most? Is it the television, computer, mobile phone, the sofa or the microwave? Now write a story of how this item was invented. You might want to do some research online and use these ideas to build up your story. 
• In exactly 100 words, describe your bedroom. Try not to go over or under this word limit.
• Make a top ten list of your favourite animals. Based on this list create your own animal fact file, where you provide fun facts about each animal in your list.
• What is your favourite scene from a book or a movie? Write down this scene. Now rewrite the scene in a different genre, such as horror, comedy, drama etc.
•  Change the main character of a story you recently read into a villain. For example, you could take a popular fairytale such as Jack and the Beanstalk, but this time re-write the story to make Jack the villain of the tale.
• Complete the following sentence in at least 10 different ways: Do you ever wonder…
• What does your name mean? Research the meaning of your own name, or a name that interests you. Then use this as inspiration for your next story. For example, the name ‘Marty’ means “Servant Of Mars, God Of War”. This could make a good concept for a sci-fi story.
• Make a list of three different types of heroes (or main characters) for potential future stories.
• If someone gave you $10 dollars, what would you spend it on and why?
• Describe the world’s most boring character in at least 100 words. 
• What is the biggest problem in the world today, and how can you help fix this issue?
• Create your own travel brochure for your hometown. Think about why tourists might want to visit your hometown. What is your town’s history? What kind of activities can you do? You could even research some interesting facts. 
• Make a list of all your favourite moments or memories in your life. Now pick one to write a short story about.
• Describe the scariest and ugliest monster you can imagine. You could even draw a picture of this monster with your description.
• Write seven haikus, one for each colour of the rainbow. That’s red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. 
• Imagine you are at the supermarket. Write down at least three funny scenarios that could happen to you at the supermarket. Use one for your next short story. 
• Imagine your main character is at home staring at a photograph. Write the saddest scene possible. Your goal is to make your reader cry when reading this scene. 
• What is happiness? In at least 150 words describe the feeling of happiness. You could use examples from your own life of when you felt happy.
• Think of a recent nightmare you had and write down everything you can remember. Use this nightmare as inspiration for your next story.
• Keep a dream journal. Every time you wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning you can quickly jot down things that you remember from your dreams. These notes can then be used as inspiration for a short story. 
• Your main character is having a really bad day. Describe this bad day and the series of events they experience. What’s the worst thing that could happen to your character?
• You find a box on your doorstep. You open this box and see the most amazing thing ever. Describe this amazing thing to your readers.
• Make a list of at least five possible settings or locations for future stories. Remember to describe each setting in detail.
• Think of something new you recently learned. Write this down. Now write a short story where your main character also learns the same thing.
• Describe the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your whole life. Your goal is to amaze your readers with its beauty. 
• Make a list of things that make you happy or cheer you up. Try to think of at least five ideas. Now imagine living in a world where all these things were banned or against the law. Use this as inspiration for your next story.
• Would you rather be rich and alone or poor and very popular? Write a story based on the lives of these two characters. 
• Imagine your main character is a Librarian. Write down at least three dark secrets they might have. Remember, the best secrets are always unexpected.
• There’s a history behind everything. Describe the history of your house. How and when was your house built? Think about the land it was built on and the people that may have lived here long before you.
• Imagine that you are the king or queen of a beautiful kingdom. Describe your kingdom in great detail. What kind of rules would you have? Would you be a kind ruler or an evil ruler of the kingdom?
• Make a wish list of at least three objects you wish you owned right now. Now use these three items in your next story. At least one of them must be the main prop in the story.
• Using nothing but the sense of taste, describe a nice Sunday afternoon at your house. Remember you can’t use your other senses (i.e see, hear, smell or touch) in this description. 
• What’s the worst pain you felt in your life? Describe this pain in great detail, so your readers can also feel it.
• If you were lost on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, what three must-have things would you pack and why?
• Particpate in online writing challenges or contests. Here at Imagine Forest, we offer daily writing challenges with a new prompt added every day to inspire you. Check out our challenges section in the menu.

Do you have any more fun creative writing exercises to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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11+ creative writing guide with 50 example topics and prompts

by Hayley | Nov 17, 2022 | Exams , Writing | 0 comments

The 11+ exam is a school entrance exam taken in the academic year that a child in the UK turns eleven.

These exams are highly competitive, with multiple students battling for each school place awarded.

The 11 plus exam isn’t ‘one thing’, it varies in its structure and composition across the country. A creative writing task is included in nearly all of the 11 plus exams, and parents are often confused about what’s being tested.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the plot of your child’s writing task is important. It is not.

The real aim of the 11+ creative writing task is to showcase your child’s writing skills and techniques.

And that’s why preparation is so important.

This guide begins by answering all the FAQs that parents have about the 11+ creative writing task.

At the end of the article I give my best tips & strategies for preparing your child for the 11+ creative writing task , along with 50 fiction and non-fiction creative writing prompts from past papers you can use to help your child prepare. You’ll also want to check out my 11+ reading list , because great readers turn into great writers.

Do all 11+ exams include a writing task?

Not every 11+ exam includes a short story component, but many do. Usually 3 to 5 different prompts are given for the child to choose between and they are not always ‘creative’ (fiction) pieces. One or more non-fiction options might be given for children who prefer writing non-fiction to fiction.

Timings and marking vary from test to test. For example, the Kent 11+ Test gives students 10 minutes for planning followed by 30 minutes for writing. The Medway 11+ Test gives 60 minutes for writing with ‘space allowed’ on the answer booklet for planning.

Tasks vary too. In the Kent Test a handful of stimuli are given, whereas 11+ students in Essex are asked to produce two individually set paragraphs. The Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CCSE) includes 2 creative writing paragraphs inside a 60-minute English exam.

Throughout the UK each 11+ exam has a different set of timings and papers based around the same themes. Before launching into any exam preparation it is essential to know the content and timing of your child’s particular writing task.

However varied and different these writing tasks might seem, there is one key element that binds them.

The mark scheme.

Although we can lean on previous examples to assess how likely a short story or a non-fiction tasks will be set, it would be naïve to rely completely on the content of past papers. Contemporary 11+ exams are designed to be ‘tutor-proof’ – meaning that the exam boards like to be unpredictable.

In my online writing club for kids , we teach a different task each week (following a spiral learning structure based on 10 set tasks). One task per week is perfected as the student moves through the programme of content, and one-to-one expert feedback ensures progression. This equips our writing club members to ‘write effectively for a range of purposes’ as stated in the English schools’ teacher assessment framework.

This approach ensures that students approaching a highly competitive entrance exam will be confident of the mark scheme (and able to meet its demands) for any task set.

Will my child have a choice of prompts to write from or do they have to respond to a single prompt, without a choice?

This varies. In the Kent Test there are usually 5 options given. The purpose is to gather a writing sample from each child in case of a headteacher appeal. A range of options should allow every child to showcase what they can do.

In Essex, two prescriptive paragraphs are set as part of an hour-long English paper that includes comprehension and vocabulary work. In Essex, there is no option to choose the subject matter.

The Medway Test just offers a single prompt for a whole hour of writing. Sometimes it is a creative piece. Recently it was a marketing leaflet.

The framework for teaching writing in English schools demands that in order to ‘exceed expectations’ or better, achieve ‘greater depth’, students need to be confident writing for a multitude of different purposes.

In what circumstances is a child’s creative writing task assessed?

In Essex (east of the UK) the two prescriptive writing tasks are found inside the English exam paper. They are integral to the exam and are assessed as part of this.

In Medway (east Kent in the South East) the writing task is marked and given a raw score. This is then adjusted for age and double counted. Thus, the paper is crucial to a pass.

In the west of the county of Kent there is a different system. The Kent Test has a writing task that is only marked in appeal cases. If a child dips below the passmark their school is allowed to put together a ‘headteacher’s appeal’. At this point – before the score is communicated to the parent (and probably under cover of darkness) the writing sample is pulled out of a drawer and assessed.

I’ve been running 11+ tutor clubs for years. Usually about 1% of my students passed at headteacher’s appeal.

Since starting the writing club, however, the number of students passing at appeal has gone up considerably. In recent years it’s been more like 5% of students passing on the strength of their writing sample.

What are the examiners looking for when they’re marking a student’s creative writing?

In England, the government has set out a framework for marking creative writing. There are specific ‘pupil can’ statements to assess whether a student is ‘working towards the expected standard,’ ‘working at the expected standard’ or ‘working at greater depth’.

Members of the headteacher panel assessing the writing task are given a considerable number of samples to assess at one time. These expert teachers have a clear understanding of the framework for marking, but will not be considering or discussing every detail of the writing sample as you might expect.

Schools are provided with a report after the samples have been assessed. This is very brief indeed. Often it will simply say ‘lack of precise vocabulary’ or ‘confused paragraphing.’

So there is no mark scheme as such. They won’t be totting up your child’s score to see if they have reached a given target. They are on the panel because of their experience, and they have a short time to make an instant judgement.

Does handwriting matter?

Handwriting is assessed in primary schools. Thus it is an element of the assessment framework the panel uses as a basis for their decision.

If the exam is very soon, then don’t worry if your child is not producing immaculate, cursive handwriting. The focus should simply be on making it well-formed and legible. Every element of the assessment framework does not need to be met and legible writing will allow the panel to read the content with ease.

Improve presentation quickly by offering a smooth rollerball pen instead of a pencil. Focus on fixing individual letters and praising your child for any hint of effort. The two samples below are from the same boy a few months apart. Small changes have transformed the look and feel:

Sample 1: First piece of work when joining the writing club

Sample 2: This is the same boy’s improved presentation and content

How long should the short story be.

First, it is not a short story as such—it is a writing sample. Your child needs to showcase their skills but there are no extra marks for finishing (or marks deducted for a half-finished piece).

For a half hour task, you should prepare your child to produce up to 4 paragraphs of beautifully crafted work. Correct spelling and proper English grammar is just the beginning. Each paragraph should have a different purpose to showcase the breadth and depth of their ability. A longer – 60 minute – task might have 5 paragraphs but rushing is to be discouraged. Considered and interesting paragraphs are so valuable, a shorter piece would be scored more highly than a rushed and dull longer piece.

I speak from experience. A while ago now I was a marker for Key Stage 2 English SATs Papers (taken in Year 6 at 11 years old). Hundreds of scripts were deposited on my doorstep each morning by DHL. There was so much work for me to get through that I came to dread long, rambling creative pieces. Some children can write pages and pages of repetitive nothingness. Ever since then, I have looked for crafted quality and am wary of children judging their own success by the number of lines competed.

Take a look at the piece of writing below. It’s an excellent example of a well-crafted piece.

Each paragraph is short, but the writer is skilful.

He used rich and precisely chosen vocabulary, he’s broken the text into natural paragraphs, and in the second paragraph he is beginning to vary his sentence openings. There is a sense of control to the sentences – the sentence structure varies with shorter and longer examples to manage tension. It is exciting to read, with a clear awareness of his audience. Punctuation is accurate and appropriate.

11+ creative writing example story

How important is it to revise for a creative writing task.

It is important.

Every student should go into their 11+ writing task with a clear paragraph plan secured. As each paragraph has a separate purpose – to showcase a specific skill – the plan should reflect this. Built into the plan is a means of flexing it, to alter the order of the paragraphs if the task demands it. There’s no point having a Beginning – Middle – End approach, as there’s nothing useful there to guide the student to the mark scheme.

Beyond this, my own students have created 3 – 5 stories that fit the same tight plan. However, the setting, mood and action are all completely different. This way a bank of rich vocabulary has already been explored and a technique or two of their own that fits the piece beautifully. These can be drawn upon on the day to boost confidence and give a greater sense of depth and consideration to their timed sample.

Preparation, rather than revision in its classic form, is the best approach. Over time, even weeks or months before the exam itself, contrasting stories are written, improved upon, typed up and then tweaked further as better ideas come to mind. Each of these meets the demands of the mark scheme (paragraphing, varied sentence openings, rich vocabulary choices, considered imagery, punctuation to enhance meaning, development of mood etc).

To ensure your child can write confidently at and above the level expected of them, drop them into my weekly weekly online writing club for the 11+ age group . The club marking will transform their writing, and quickly.

What is the relationship between the English paper and the creative writing task?

Writing is usually marked separately from any comprehension or grammar exercises in your child’s particular 11+ exam. Each exam board (by area/school) adapts the arrangement to suit their needs. Some have a separate writing test, others build it in as an element of their English paper (usually alongside a comprehension, punctuation and spelling exercise).

Although there is no creative writing task in the ISEB Common Pre-test, those who are not offered an immediate place at their chosen English public school are often invited back to complete a writing task at a later date. Our ISEB Common Pre-test students join the writing club in the months before the exam, first to tidy up the detail and second to extend the content.

What if my child has a specific learning difficulty (dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, ASD)?

Most exam boards pride themselves on their inclusivity. They will expect you to have a formal report from a qualified professional at the point of registration for the test. This needs to be in place and the recommendations will be considered by a panel. If your child needs extra arrangements on the day they may be offered (it isn’t always the case). More importantly, if they drop below a pass on one or more papers you will have a strong case for appeal.

Children with a specific learning difficulty often struggle with low confidence in their work and low self-esteem. The preparations set out above, and a kids writing club membership will allow them to go into the exam feeling positive and empowered. If they don’t achieve a pass at first, the writing sample will add weight to their appeal.

Tips and strategies for writing a high-scoring creative writing paper

• Read widely for pleasure. Read aloud to your child if they are reluctant.
• Create a strong paragraph plan where each paragraph has a distinct purpose.
• Using the list of example questions below, discuss how each could be written in the form of your paragraph plan.
• Write 3-5 stories with contrasting settings and action – each one must follow your paragraph plan. Try to include examples of literary devices and figurative language (metaphor, simile) but avoid clichés.
• Tidy up your presentation. Write with a good rollerball pen on A4 lined paper with a printed margin. Cross out with a single horizontal line and banish doodling or scribbles.
• Join the writing club for a 20-minute Zoom task per week with no finishing off or homework. An expert English teacher will mark the work personally on video every Friday and your child’s writing will be quickly transformed.

Pressed for time? Here’s a paragraph plan to follow.

At Griffin Teaching we have an online writing club for students preparing for the 11 plus creative writing task . We’ve seen first-hand what a difference just one or two months of weekly practice can make.

That said, we know that a lot of people reading this page are up against a hard deadline with an 11+ exam date fast approaching.

If that’s you (or your child), what you need is a paragraph plan.

Here’s one tried-and-true paragraph plan that we teach in our clubs. Use this as you work your way through some of the example prompts below.

11+ creative writing paragraph plan

Paragraph 1—description.

Imagine standing in the location and describe what is above the main character, what is below their feet, what is to their left and right, and what is in the distance. Try to integrate frontend adverbials into this paragraph (frontend adverbials are words or phrases used at the beginning of a sentence to describe what follows—e.g. When the fog lifted, he saw… )

Paragraph 2—Conversation

Create two characters who have different roles (e.g. site manager and student, dog walker and lost man) and write a short dialogue between them. Use what we call the “sandwich layout,” where the first person says something and you describe what they are doing while they are saying it. Add in further descriptions (perhaps of the person’s clothing or expression) before starting a new line where the second character gives a simple answer and you provide details about what the second character is doing as they speak.

Paragraph 3—Change the mood

Write three to four sentences that change the mood of the writing sample from light to gloomy or foreboding. You could write about a change in the weather or a change in the lighting of the scene. Another approach is to mention how a character reacts to the change in mood, for example by pulling their coat collar up to their ears.

Paragraph 4—Shock your reader

A classic approach is to have your character die unexpectedly in the final sentence. Or maybe the ceiling falls?

11+ creative writing questions from real papers—fictional prompts

• The day the storm came
• The day the weather changed
• The snowstorm
• The rainy day
• A sunny day out
• A foggy (or misty) day
• A day trip to remember
• The first day
• The day everything changed
• The mountain
• The hillside
• The old house
• The balloon
• The old man
• The accident
• The unfamiliar sound
• A weekend away
• Moving house
• A family celebration
• An event you remember from when you were young
• An animal attack
• The school playground at night
• The lift pinged and the door opened. I could not believe what was inside…
• “Run!” he shouted as he thundered across the sand…
• It was getting late as I dug in my pocket for the key to the door. “Hurry up!” she shouted from inside.
• I know our back garden very well, but I was surprised how different it looked at midnight…
• The red button on the wall has a sign on it saying, ‘DO NOT TOUCH.’ My little sister leant forward and hit it hard with her hand. What happened next?
• Digging down into the soft earth, the spade hit something metal…
• Write a story which features the stopping of time.
• Write a story which features an unusual method of transport.
• The cry in the woods
• Write a story which features an escape

11+ creative writing questions from real papers—non-fiction prompts

• Write a thank you letter for a present you didn’t want.
• You are about to interview someone for a job. Write a list of questions you would like to ask the applicant.
• Write a letter to complain about the uniform at your school.
• Write a leaflet to advertise your home town.
• Write a thank you letter for a holiday you didn’t enjoy.
• Write a letter of complaint to the vet after an unfortunate incident in the waiting room.
• Write a set of instructions explaining how to make toast.
• Describe the room you are in.
• Describe a person who is important to you.
• Describe your pet or an animal you know well.

Scoring Top Marks: 11 Plus Creative Writing Checklist

• Introduction

Creative writing can crop up on 11 plus exams often. But sometimes students can get confused about what the 11 plus exam is expecting of them. They have tons of questions. How do you start a creative writing piece? How do I get the marks? How long does this have to be?

Luckily, we have a guide here to something that can solve all this confusion and get students full marks on their 11 plus creative writing exam – checklists.  

Table of Contents

Why checklists?

The piacademy checklist system, students enjoy getting technical, it helps reluctant writers, here are the main issues:.

Checklists are used for many academic tasks, and creative writing is a common one. Are they really effective? Absolutely! 

This article from PiAcademy will explore why checklists are used and how to use writing checklists to improve student writing in the classroom and in the 11 plus creative writing exam .

Check this Out: Top 5 Creative Writing Tips to Score Full Marks

When children have the opportunity to address their own mistakes within the writing process, it makes their learning more meaningful. They can fix mistakes as they go and develop their writing skills that much faster. Think of famous authors like Roald Dahl or Judy Blume. 

Good writers use checklists, revise, and edit over and over again to get it just right.

A creative writing checklist is an effective tool to use because…

• It guides students to develop the skills needed when writing.
• It shows reluctant writers a simple way to include the necessary elements.
• It provides a reference to use throughout the writing process.
• It helps students stay focused on each step of the process.
• It gives students tools for review and peer-editing.
• It ensures students include key elements of that particular type of writing.
• It encourages students to establish organization throughout their paper.
• It reminds students to “check over” their paper for effective revising strategies and proper editing rules.
• It holds students accountable by providing expectations.
• It keeps students on task.
• It ultimately helps significantly improve students’ writing.
• It can help communicate the criteria of an effective paper to parents.

Don’t just take our word for it! Research from prominent universities backs it up:

“Kathleen Dudden Rowlands recommends using checklists to support student learning and performance. Well-designed checklists identify steps students can take to complete complex tasks which scaffold students’ metacognitive development and fosters the confidence and independence needed for internalising these steps for future tasks.”

When it comes to these ‘tasks’, creative writing for the 11 plus exam is no different. It might seem intimidating because of the number of marks. But the people marking the exams are using checklists too! They have their own criteria they have to follow to give out the marks.  All of PiAcademy’s 11 plus creative writing resources are built around this system, and here’s how it helps you get the marks.

So how does the system actually work? How does it help your child get higher marks on the 11 plus exam?

It Helps with Planning 

The starting point for our checklist system is based on a topic students overlook – planning. 

It’s a major reason why children take the 11 plus exam drop marks for no reason. No one wants to read a story that doesn’t make sense. So why would the examiner? They are going to read hundreds of these exams, remember. If they’re reading something that’s nonsense, it won’t go well for the student. 

Planning is an important part of the fiction writing process. Many professional writers use a plan as the basis for a first draft, which they will later edit several times before the work is complete.

Planning and proofreading should bookend your creative writing process. In the planning phase you prepare your ideas and narrative structure. As you proofread you check how well your writing is working. During each phase you might focus on vocabulary and effective forms of expression. The PiAcademy checklist is all about the student knowing exactly what is going to happen in the beginning, middle and end of the story. It even explains what your story should be doing at each stage in clear terms, so your child will never be missing a story structure ever again.

Ever enjoyed reading a grammar textbook cover to cover? Me neither. And with the checklist system, your child will never have to overthink how they build their sentences ever again. 

Something all 11 plus examiners are looking for is the technical ability, and creative writing is no different. But it can get overwhelming. Just showing students examples isn’t enough. They need to know they can use it in their own writing. 

For example, using a variety of sentences can help you to create pace and tension in your writing. Students must experiment with different sentence lengths and types to build atmosphere, mood and suspense. 

However, getting over this hurdle is easy when they prioritise different parts of the PiAcademy checklist. 

The checklist has a clear breakdown of all the different sentence types, with examples, so students aren’t left trying to do too much at once. Plus, the language used is simple enough for students to understand. 

Too many mark schemes use terms that confuse students rather than help them. A creative writing checklist on the other hand is designed for students to constantly reference.

Teaching creative writing for the 11+ creative writing exams can be incredibly difficult. I’ve discussed some of the issues previously, but the most frustrating thing I think is when students suggest they aren’t creative and so justify themselves not doing any writing. 

The inevitable disruptive behaviours then can become a nightmare to manage. Checklists introduce a pragmatic approach, with success, in getting students to produce quality responses in specific time frames.

• Students who withdraw from the writing process undoubtedly lack the confidence to write, which is because they lack the tools to do so. 
• There are numerous commentators who implore parents to provide consistent opportunities for students to write, thereby building their confidence in the process and concurrently developing a love of writing. 
• Chris Curtis‘ notable 200-word challenge is a prime example, where students are encouraged to write from a prompt but crucially without the fear of it being marked within an inch of its life, avoiding any self-consciousness and allowing a freedom of thinking. 

With a checklist like the one from PiAcademy , you don’t need to worry about reluctant writing, it's designed to get students into the task as soon as possible.

For example, if you have a child who is more geared towards mathematics or science than English, checklists can be a real help. They link to the mechanical part of the brain that likes to do things by steps or in a process.  

When each aspect of the mark scheme is broken down into plain language, many 11+ tutors have found that this helps with confidence over time. When a reluctant writer can focus on one section at a time, it cuts down on confusion and leads to higher marks. 

It helps great students, too. 

When we see students needing more than one experience of the modelling process, it reminds us that it’s not easy to write a successful story, and it takes lots of practice, even for the very best students. 

An inexperienced tutor would be guilty of rushing the process and have students writing independently too quickly, especially when 11 plus exams loom.

It’s easy for many parents to say, ‘just try your best, and get full marks’. But even the very best students need that help and support to get them over the line. Maybe there’s just one element of the mark scheme, like higher-level vocabulary , they need to meet. 

Having the checklist in front of them provides a scaffold to embed the final few parts of the mark scheme they need to get the very highest marks. 

Having examples of things like figurative language there to spur them on, can lead to increased creativity.

In some ways, this can be one of the trickiest parts of the exam to prepare for. There are not a great deal of high-quality resources available for parents, and the time pressures can really get to some students. 

Pupils will however find that developing a full description bank of characters, emotions, action, the natural world and the built environment etc will help them to deliver effective and creative descriptions on the day.

That’s why PiAcademy’s creative writing courses are so valuable – they have hints, plans, checklists, and structures in place to help students build up their confidence: 

• Specifically designed to prepare for independent and grammar school exams
• Great practice to improve your child’s imagination, writing skills, and performance in the exam 
• 23 Creative Writings - Designed by oxford graduate tutors

No matter which of these topics you want to make a start on, take a look at what PiAcademy has to offer.

The checklist ensures you cover essential elements for scoring full marks in 11+ Creative Writing.

It provides a structured approach to crafting compelling narratives.

Yes, it's designed to enhance Creative Writing for various 11+ exams.

Yes, you can conveniently access it online.

While it's a valuable tool, performance depends on overall writing skills.

Utilize the checklist as a guide to ensure you include critical elements in your Creative Writing, increasing your chances of success.

• Using PiAcademy for 8 months, Simply Amazing website. I have a lot of experience with other 11 + resources and found it hard to find any more difficult Math papers appropriate for the more independent academic schools. These exam papers are amazing, and very easy to follow with the thorough solutions. highly recommended for every parent. Sharon King , 11+ Parent Great, My daughter is taking her 11+ next month so we are using these papers to revise over the summer holidays. These topicwise questions are well set out and is a great practice for my daughter. These papers are a perfect way to help your kid to be as prepared as they possibly can for the 11+ exam. Amber , 11+ Parent
• Excellent, This website is perfect, initially i wasted three months just thinking whether to subscribe or not, After subscribing i found out that it was worth it. I recommended to almost all my friends and their kids are also busy now in practicing for 11+ El Loro , 11+ Parent Practice makes perfect!, PiAcademy have come out with a super range of new 11+ practice papers, designed to stretch, challenge and test your child for forthcoming entry examinations. The topicwise questions include numbers problems, algebra, geometry, probability, permutation and combinations, measurement...etc lana green , 11+ Parent
• Great exam papers. These test papers are amazing, they are a lot more up-to date than some of the 11+ stuff I have bought earlier for my daughter. gerry , 11+ Parent Using PiAcademy for 8 months, Simply Amazing website. I have a lot of experience with other 11 + resources and found it hard to find any more difficult Math papers appropriate for the more independent academic schools. These exam papers are amazing, and very easy to follow with the thorough solutions. highly recommended for every parent. Sharon King , 11+ Parent
• Using PiAcademy for 8 months, Simply Amazing website. I have a lot of experience with other 11 + resources and found it hard to find any more difficult Math papers appropriate for the more independent academic schools. These exam papers are amazing, and very easy to follow with the thorough solutions. highly recommended for every parent. Sharon King , 11+ Parent
• Great, My daughter is taking her 11+ next month so we are using these papers to revise over the summer holidays. These topicwise questions are well set out and is a great practice for my daughter. These papers are a perfect way to help your kid to be as prepared as they possibly can for the 11+ exam. Amber , 11+ Parent
• Excellent, This website is perfect, initially i wasted three months just thinking whether to subscribe or not, After subscribing i found out that it was worth it. I recommended to almost all my friends and their kids are also busy now in practicing for 11+ El Loro , 11+ Parent
• Practice makes perfect!, PiAcademy have come out with a super range of new 11+ practice papers, designed to stretch, challenge and test your child for forthcoming entry examinations. The topicwise questions include numbers problems, algebra, geometry, probability, permutation and combinations, measurement...etc lana green , 11+ Parent
• Great exam papers. These test papers are amazing, they are a lot more up-to date than some of the 11+ stuff I have bought earlier for my daughter. gerry , 11+ Parent

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AQA Step Up to English: Creative Writing tasks

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

30 December 2023

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AQA Step Up to English: Creative Writing Tasks This resource consists of a series of titles linked to pictures in the style of AQA’s Step Up to English Paper 2 Section B Creative Writing questions. The images are my own and you are very welcome to use them as practice questions.

More Step Up to English Resources Complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes and can be found at: RoseandMay’s TES English Classroom Resources New individual units: AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit New Complete Course AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units) You may also like: AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit

Creative Commons "Sharealike"

Get this resource as part of a bundle and save up to 46%

A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Hobbies, Music, Myths and Legends Units)

**AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course** This bundle includes everything you need to teach the full AQA Step Up to English course. It contains two practice units (The Next Step and Exploring) plus two component 1 units (Hobbies and Music) plus one component 2 unit (Myths and Legends). Each of the three units contains a teaching PPT, all resources in word and pdf formats and a set of detailed teacher’s notes. The bundle also includes four self-study CPD units on how to teach entry level English. Questions welcome: [email protected] **More Step Up to English Resources** More complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher's notes and can be found at: [RoseandMay's TES English Classroom Resources](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/RoseandMay101/) **New individual units:** [AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12584104) [AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12545869) **New Complete Course** [AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units)](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12591097) **You may also like:** [AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12410781) [AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit ](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12493048)

AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Music and Heroism Units)

**AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course** This bundle includes all you need to teach the full AQA Step Up to English course. It contains two practice units (The Next Step and Exploring) plus two component 1 units (Leisure and Music) plus one component 2 unit (Heroism). Each unit contains a teaching PPT, all resources in word and pdf formats and a set of detailed teacher’s notes. The bundle also includes four self-study CPD units on how best to teach entry level English. Questions welcome: [email protected] **More Step Up to English Resources** More complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher's notes and can be found at: [RoseandMay's TES English Classroom Resources](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/RoseandMay101/) **New individual units:** [AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12584104) [AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12545869) **New Complete Course** [AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units)](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12591097) **You may also like:** [AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12410781) [AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit ](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12493048)

AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Music, Leisure and Gothic Horror Units)

**AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course** This bundle includes all you need to teach the full AQA Step Up to English course. It contains two practice units (The Next Step and Exploring) plus two component 1 units (Music and Leisure) plus one component 2 topic (Gothic Horror). Each unit contains a teaching PPT, all resources in word and pdf formats and a set of detailed teacher’s notes. The bundle also includes four self-study CPD units on how to teach entry level English. Questions welcome: [email protected] **More Step Up to English Resources** More complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher's notes and can be found at: [RoseandMay's TES English Classroom Resources](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/RoseandMay101/) **New individual units:** [AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12584104) [AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12545869) **New Complete Course** [AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units)](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12591097) **You may also like:** [AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12410781) [AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit ](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12493048)

AQA Step Up to English Creative Writing Bundle *NEW*

This is a collection of resources for colleagues teaching the AQA Step Up to English course. Both teaching units come with well-presented teaching PPTs and all student resources. **Creative Writing Unit** This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help Step Up to English students prepare for the AQA Component 2 writing section with a particular focus on narrative writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying narrative extracts, looking at models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses in the style of the writing assessment. **Grammar and Punctuation Starters** This resource was designed as a series of starters for my Step Up to English group. It focuses on sentences structure and punctuation and provides opportunities for students to apply new skills. It takes a visual approach to teaching simple, compound and complex sentences and provides texts and writing activities which help provide a context rather than the more traditional method of writing out individual sentences. As well as sentence structure, it covers punctuation including use of commas and punctuating direct speech. I have also added a set of Step Up creative writing tasks and a CPD unit on how to teach creative writing for Entry Level English. **More Step Up to English Resources** Complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher's notes and can be found at: [RoseandMay's TES English Classroom Resources](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/RoseandMay101/) **New individual units:** [AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12584104) [AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12545869) **New Complete Course** [AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units)](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12591097)

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Lovely resource for my Step Up class. Thank you

RoseandMay101

Thank you again, Sam

Empty reply does not make any sense for the end user

This is really great. Thank you so much. I was wondering whether you sold your CPD for step up separately - the guides for how to teach it. Thanks.

Hi there, Many thanks for your review - I'm very pleased they are useful. In my shop, I have separate teaching units for all the Step Up topics as well as bundles of complete courses which contain three full units as well as practice units. All include a teaching PPT, all student resources and a set of notes on how I delivered the units. They can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/RoseandMay101 There is a unit on teaching creative writing to Step Up groups which may also be helpful to you: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/aqa-step-up-to-english-component-2-creative-writing-unit-new-12493048 I have written a set of generic CPD units on teaching entry level which can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/teaching-entry-level-english-complete-set-of-cpd-units-12399884 - they are also available in my shop as separate guides. Please note that they are generic to entry level teaching rather than specifically for the Step Up course. Very best wishes and I hope your group enjoy the course, Sam

Great creative writing starters, useful for 11+ students who need some ideas.

Thank you so much for the review - delighted they are helpful. Take care.

littlemissteacheruk

Fab resource, thank you

Thank you for your review. I'm pleased the resource is helpful. Take care.

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