Excellent News!

Creative Writing has been added to the 11+

(I know that this has worried some parents, but it’s actually an extremely positive development.)

Here’s the good news: the skills to create 11+ examination creative writing, which impresses the secondary school English teachers tasked with marking it, can be taught. I’m not referring to the mere ability to produce a reasonable piece of creative writing.As a secondary school teacher with over forty year’s of English teaching experience, I know exactly how to make the most of the fact that your child has been given the chance to ‘show off ’. I have read thousands of pieces of creative writing produced by young people. I know the quality of creative writing that most candidates are likely to produce without clever tuition.

It is important to note that the skills I will teach your child will help improve their future English Language GCSE grades too.

Will this tuition give your child an advantage in the 11+ creative writing examination? Yes, it will.

• They will learn how to make original use of a title.

• They will learn how to construct a plot

• They will learn how not to start a story.

• They will learn a number of narrative openings which will definitely hook the examination marker into their stories.

• They will be taught the best ways to open paragraphs.

• They will learn the best ways to end a paragraph.

• They will be taught how to vary sentence content.

• They will be taught how to vary sentence types.

• They will learn how to create realistic dialogue.

• They will learn how to use advanced speech punctuation.

• They will be taught how to use advanced punctuation to good effect.

• They will learn how to use numerous linguistic devices which will impress an examiner.

• They will learn how to avoid the technical errors which many of their cohort will make.

• They will be encouraged to use ambitious vocabulary.

• They will be taught how to structure descriptive writing.

• They will be taught how to get the best writing from a picture prompt.

• They will be taught how to write persuasively.

• They will be taught how to write for different audiences.

• All of these skills will contribute to GCSE success which can only be a very good thing.

• If you would like your child to take advantage of my 11+ creative writing lessons, please get in touch. You’ll be very glad that you did!

It’s been said that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. I’ve certainly put those hours into developing my English teaching ability - and I’m still learning.