Does Creative Writing Class Teach the Students How to Gain Marks?

Why is creative writing a daunting task for many students? Apart from the fact that there are several writing elements involved in crafting a coherent narrative, there is also the time limit within which students are expected to accomplish the whole task. It is no wonder that students are apprehensive about producing a writing piece that meets the expectation of the examiners in an examination. 

In an examination for P5/P6 students, the cumulative total of 40 marks allotted to a narrative is uniformly divided between content (20 marks) and language (20 marks). Fortunately, it is possible for students to minimize errors and maximise marks during this intense writing process with the following tips:

1. CONTENT (20 marks)

a)See the story’s world in the mind’s eye:

Nothing can undermine the importance of planning the writing process and structuring the content. By visualizing the story in the mind’s eye, students identify the main ideas and themes they want to convey and plan how they will develop these ideas throughout their writing. Since all creative writing pieces demand specific themes, such a visualization enables students to adhere to these topics. Consequently, any logical gaps, irrelevant or off-topic content that does not offer a realistic link to the topic and picture can be rectified. If the writing piece has a clear, arresting plot or concept, students can connect with their readers. Engaging realistic plots translate to more marks! 

b)One story with one main simple plot :

Often, students attempt to map a plot with lots of dramatic events, thinking it would help to keep their readers on edge. How wrong they are! In the bargain, many students struggle to write about all of the events properly. By failing to expand moments or events, the creative writing pieces end up being more like an action-packed program of events rather than a descriptive journey of a character. The stories “tell” what happens to the character one after the other.  Expansion of moments or events translate to more marks!  

c)Bring a believable central character to life with meaningful dialogues: 

A story without the presence of a strong main character with real personality is like an empty lifeless shell. Just as it’s best to focus your writing around one main event, it makes sense to have one core character who will get the readers to travel the story from his or her perspective. Make the main character as believable and appealing as possible with suitable meaningful dialogues and refer to others in passing. If not, the main characters are at risk of disintegrating. Strong well-developed characters with clear motivations and personality traits translate to more marks!

2. Language: 20 marks

a)Describe stimulating senses:

Descriptive writing that is deep and meaningful will always win hearts. Even though very little may actually happen, the level of descriptive writing and attention to emotion results in a piece of writing that is far more impressive, mature, and sophisticated. Students achieve this in 2 ways- 5-Senses and Show-Not-Tell. 5-Senses transport the readers to the story’s events without them being physically there. Sharpen the senses by asking- what does it feel, smell, taste, and sound like? By having a combination of senses to describe moments, they become more convincing to the readers. Similarly, how the characters feel or appear is best ‘shown’ than ‘told’ through Show-Not-Tell expressions. Painting a compelling image in the readers’ minds wins marks. 

b)Power up with contextual vocabulary:

 Language proficiency is evaluated by the use of vocabulary because it elevates the quality of writing and creates the atmosphere. Age-appropriate vocabulary that includes figurative language -similes, metaphors, hyperboles, alliteration, foreshadowing- and powerful verbs relevant to the context must clearly express the ideas. Not only that, students should avoid using slang, jargon, and offensive language that may distract or offend the reader. Overused phrases, a narrow range of repetitive vocabulary, and insipid cliches that make writing seem unoriginal and uninspiring are bound to reduce marks. 

c)Sequence ideas for a seamless transition:

A story is made of several actions and events. Unless these events are sequenced and presented in an orderly way, they lose their impact on the readers. Paragraphing at the right junctures creates a seamless flow of thoughts. A disarray of ideas that creates confusion in the minds of the readers only serves to lose marks.

d)Proofreading is a foolproof method to spot the errors:

Grammar, punctuation, and spelling (GPS) are the bedrock of any language because they constitute the essential ingredients to pen accurate or varied sentence structures. When students make numerous careless mistakes in GPS, the end result is faulty sentence structures that make even reading and comprehending the conveyed ideas difficult. The sure proof way to gain marks is to edit and revise the creative writing for GPS errors from time to time. 

At Write Edge, the lessons are designed to help students to learn various techniques and strategies in a structured way from the perspective of Content and Language. Starting with plot plans, students are guided to apply what they have learned in crafting compelling narratives with contextual vocabulary, believable characters with actions and speeches as well as vivid settings. Students are constantly urged to revise and edit their work to improve its clarity and impact. Instructors focus on specific areas of improvement for each student and work with him or her on those areas accordingly to ensure that marks are not lost unnecessarily. 

Apart from the short-term benefit of earning a good grade, the feedback and suggestions offered by the instructors at Write Edge are intended to achieve a long-term impact- to equip the students with the necessary skills to improve the overall quality of creative writing. To learn, apply and grow as confident writers is what students at Write Edge are encouraged to do in every English class for Primary school. Once this cycle of growth enables the students to churn out engaging and well-written creative writing narratives, good grades automatically come their way. 

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