creative writing

11-Plus Creative Writing Example

We receive dozens of emails from parents (and sometimes students) who are desperate for creative writing examples.

We’re huge believers in the power of using examples and templates for improving creative writing and its in fact one of our favourite methods for helping students to quickly improve their writing skills.

However, when it comes to creative writing examples, it’s important to use them properly.

Here are some top tips to help your child to get the most out of them.

creative writing examples 11 plus - the tutoress

Read through the examples as many times as possible.

The more you do this, the more you’ll pick up amazing new words (such as high-level vocabulary).

Don’t rush through the examples.

Quite often, we come across students and parents that love to hoard creative writing examples as though they are a special kind of prize. However, we’ve noticed that most of these students don’t actually read the examples properly (and neither do their parents). In contrast, students that read through creative writing examples slowly and soak up the story tend to be the ones who score higher marks. We therefore recommend that you take your time to not just read the examples we provide but study them.

That leads us to the third tip.

Study the creative writing examples given like there’s no tomorrow.

Read them again and again until you feel like you’ve read them a thousand times.

Don’t just copy examples.

Examiners and teachers know when student’s work has been copied from other sources and it doesn’t take much for them to check online. Don’t risk your chances of getting into a top school or passing an exam by copying examples word for word. Instead, use the examples as inspiration for your own writing and change some words around. For example, take out certain phrases, swap specific words for synonyms or even, change the plot a little. Make your work your own whilst taking inspiration from others.

Practise makes perfect.

The more you practise writing, the better you’ll become so make it a habit to practise story writing for at least 30 minutes every day. We usually recommend that our students write a story once a day after school. Spend 5 minutes planning, 5 minutes proofreading and 20 minutes writing. This will help you to improve your speed and accuracy in preparation for exams. Once you’ve done this, go back and read your story a few times to see how it could be improved. You could even write the same story everyday until it’s perfect.

Remember that you don’t need to have tons of exciting events to write a great story that scores top marks.

In fact, teachers and examiners often prefer stories that are somewhat simple in terms of their plot but contain lots of descriptive words and excellent vocabulary. Bear that in mind as you write your stories.

We hope these tips have helped.

If you’d like your child to transform their creative writing, download our Creative Writing Booster Kit today.


Free Creative Writing Tutorial: 3 Powerful Ways to Start a Story That WOW Teachers and Examiners

3 POWERFUL ways to start a story.png

As it’s an incredibly difficult time for most families, I wanted to give back by holding a free weekly tutorial class for children ages 9-13.

Each week, I’ll be teaching live on Facebook, covering a specific topic within English. This might range from creative writing to comprehension.

This week’s topic was on 3 powerful ways to start a story that WOWs teachers and examiners.

Not only can you watch the replay of the tutorial, comment underneath on either Youtube or our Facebook page, but you can also download our free Creative Writing Booster Kit which is ideal for 11+ students.

You can also download the accompanying worksheet that goes with the tutorial. Remember that it’s key to watch the tutorial first so that the worksheet makes sense. Details on how to access the worksheet are under the video.

Click the PLAY button above to watch the Facebook Live Tutorial video I did on how to start a creative writing story in a way that WOWs examiners and teachers. This tutorial is ideal for students who are in Key Stages 2 and 3 and are preparing for exams including the 10+, 11+ and even 13+ exams.

How to make the most of this free tutorial

  1. Treat it like a real lesson. With a real lesson, your child would have a pen and paper and would have the mindset that they’re about to learn something new. Encourage them to be focused and make the most of the lesson.

  2. Encourage your child to take notes or write down any words or phrases that stand out to them.

  3. Have fun! For the students that attended this live tutorial, they were able to comment as I was teaching. If you’re watching the replay on Youtube, your child can instead, comment under the video and I’ll be able to read their messages and reply or give any additional guidance.

Click here to download the worksheet that accompanies the tutorial.

creative writing 11 plus facebook live tutorial

Like I said above, make sure you watch the tutorial first.

To take part in the next free English tutorial, head over to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button. Then, login every Wednesday at 7pm.

I look forward to teaching your child then.

Kind regards,

The Tutoress.