FCE: Writing a story

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

This one will make you think! Who can be first person to guess what it is?

It's a tea bag in a cup of tea. 

Writing Exam:  FCE

FCE Writing (1 hour 20 minutes) Wednesday the 17th of May (Mock exam  for Writing - Part 1 and 2 on Wednesday the 12th of April)

The writing paper is divided into two parts, you have to complete one task from each part. Each part carries equal points SO...... You should not spend longer on one than another. 

PART 1  Is compulsory and there is not choice of questions - You have to write an essay. You have to write 140- 190 words

Writing - Part 2

Part 2 has three tasks to choose from which may include:

• an informal letter or email
• a semi-formal letter or email
• an article
• a review
• a story

Always make a STORY OUTLINE: a helpful way to do this is by underlining the most important aspects of the question. 

Now - Using your worksheet, underline the things you must consider

when you write your story. 

Students should underline

We are looking for stories in our new English-language magazine for young people. 

Your story must begin with this sentence:

Tom got off the train and as the train left, he realized he was holding the wrong suitcase.

Your story must include:

• an address

• a surprise

Answer all points in the text:

• First sentence has to be: Tom got off the train and as the train left, he realized he was holding the wrong suitcase.. 
  
• Story must contain an address
• Story must contain a suprise

Your story is being written for a magazine for young people so the tone should be informal and friendly.

The incident in the photo took place after Tom left the station. What do think happened before and after the scene.

Work in pairs - discuss

Put the steps for telling a good story in the correct order. 

a. Bring events to a conclusion

b. Relate/Describe the climax - the most exciting, dramatic part of the story.

c. Set the scene: introduce the character(s) and the background situation

d. Start building the tension

e. events leading to the end of the story

Layout: Use three paragraphs

Title

Who, what, where, when

Story

Ending

Always, always make a plan.....

Leave a blank line between each of your paragraphs

Keep to the word count of 140-190 words

Title

Who is Tom? 

What happened?

Why does he know he has the wrong suitcase? 

What was in it?

What address was on the suitcase?

What was the surprise

It is a good idea to think of the end of the story as you make your plan so that the story is logical. 

Make notes of your ideas and how the story will develop

A good story should include the following: 

A good story should include the following: 

• a paragraph that is interesting so that  you want to read on.
• sentences that are varied in length for interest.
• short sentences for dramatic events
• a wide range of vocabulary, including vivid adjectives and adverbs.
• a wide range of past tenses.
• correct use of paragraphs
• a range of connectors 

Tips:

• Use the past tense.
• Be creative - Use your imagination
• Be descriptive - make good use of adjectives and adverbs......

He walked into the forest carrying the suitcase

He walked slowly into the cold, dark forest and realised that the old, leather suitcase was remarkably heavy

Use direct speech

"Oh no! he screamed".  

"Don't move", he whispered

delicious

disastrous

exhausted

heartbroken

marvellous

sad

bad

nice

good

tired

Adverbs/Adverbial phrases of place and time go at the beginning or the end of a sentence. 

I ran over a cat yesterday

Last year I saved three dogs from a bear.

Adverbs of manner usually go after the verb

The tortoise moved slowly down the beach 

She stroked the tiger carefully

How to write a better story for FCE

1. Read all the information in the question carefully, underlining key word and begin asking questions (who,where,  what, etc)
2. Create a plan by answering your questions and using key words as bullet points > beginning- development-ending write one main idea for each
3. Estimate the word count for each part (this will take practice) You can divide 180 by 3 so your average paragraph length is 60 words. 
4. Write and adjust check you don't go much over 60 words per paragraph.
5. Check for sense and flow once you have finished your draft, read it and of course check you have included the correct things. 

You probably won't have time to write a draft: 

You may find that, even more than in other tasks, that you have to cross out not just words but whole sentences. This is not necessarily a problem, as long as it is readable – if it becomes difficult to follow, re-write the paragraph (corrector is not permitted, nor pencil – just dark blue or black pen).

If you find that you struggle for time, consider writing directly on the answer sheet as the examiners will not look at the rough paper at all and you will lose many marks if you leave a whole writing question unanswered.

What are Cambridge looking for?

The Cambridge First for Schools Trainer give a checklist to follow after you have finished writing your story. It asks you if you have:

used a range of past tenses?

used descriptive adjectives and adverbs?

used a range to time words and expressions?

divided your story into paragraphs?

written 140-190 words?

Remember,

You have 1 hour 20 minutes, so I recommend spending a max of 35 minutes on each task, which gives you 5 minutes to (re-)check through both tasks at the end. Some people think that the essay is more important and to allow more time for that. Everyone is different but because it is obligatory, the essay is usually where you get most practice, so it shouldn’t be necessary. As far as checking is concerned, this five minutes is really important to go back to the essay question, as it has been proven that if you leave a task and come back to it, you are more likely to find mistakes. So DON'T be tempted to use this time to transcribe your story (or other task) to the answer sheet.

Extra help

Story writing: page 100 in Gold Experience and the Writing File on page 170

As always: go through the task step by step and ask yourself a few specific questions to get the information you need. 

What is the topic of my story?

What exactly do I need to include in my story?

Who is going to read my story? 

What is the topic of my story? 

This is pretty straight forward, but make sure that you underline it on the exam paper!

You must start your story with this sentence. Do not change it in any way.

There are alway two more ideas that MUST be included. Make sure these things play a crucial role to the plot

Third and final question is WHO is the reader.

Since the beginning of time, stories have had the same layout. 

Beginning 

Main part 

Ending

Give your story a good title. 

Use a mix of verb forms to show main events, background actions and things that happened before the story.

Use adjectives and adverbs to make your story come to life.

If we are short on time..... Just make the plan and think about how you would make the layout for your story. 

Now try and write a good story: 

What is the topic of my story?

What exactly do I need to include in my story?

Who is going to read my story? 

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