Experiment at home, use ‘tried-and-tested’ in your exam

For many it’s tempting to use other structures but we recommend that you avoid writing any other structure, other than what is stipulated for your exam.

Sometimes, students are requested to write a ‘creative’ piece which is a bit more open (and can include a narrative). You should avoid writing:

• Poetry – it is actually very difficult and is not a narrative.
• Informative piece
• Persuasive piece

A narrative is characterised by a storyline and writing another structure would not meet the requirements of the question.

In addition, if writing a narrative piece, avoid structures that are:

• Too complicated – time limit constraints
• Use non-standard formats – too risky
• A lot of dialogue – can lead to lack of storyline

While it’s great to experiment, and that’s part of the creative writing process, remember, it’s an exam. There’s a time limit and there’s someone assessing, so your goal is to present the best possible writing given the situation.

Experimental structures are risky and may not be perceived well by the assessor.

Practice time!

Now, it's your turn to practice.

The questions in this checkpoint are provided to help you develop your writing skills.

To do your practice questions, click on the below to download your question paper. You can print it out or work from the electronic version. We do recommend that you write your answers by hand in a notebook or on paper.

NW-CP4-Questions.pdf

Once you have completed your questions, review the suggested solutions. You can download (and print if you wish) the PDF suggested solutions and/or watch the suggested solutions video (all below).

Once you're done with reviewing the practice question suggested solutions, move on to the next checkpoint.

NW-CP4-Answers.pdf

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