SIX AMAZING SHORT STORIES – For anyone who wants to improve their reading and thinking skills

Here are Six Amazing Short Stories to help you improve your writing, reading and thinking skills. To write well, you have to be a good reader. Read that again. It’s something that’s so often overlooked by many of my creative writing students – it’s hard to juggle the balance of reading and writing for sure. […]

Descriptive/Narrative or Creative Writing: The Pyramids

This is a sample exam answer for the GCSE / IGCSE Descriptive Writing question on the English Language exam. It will be useful for any student studying Descriptive, Narrative or Creative writing. It’s an answer to the following question: “Describe a time and place, real or imaginary when you felt trapped. Concentrate on your surroundings […]

Descriptive Writing Task: How To Describe an Object

In this mini-lesson, I’ll go through the basics of how to describe an object in detail – and not just in a boring way! Many of the creative writing and descriptive writing questions in exams require you to focus on an object, person, place or thing. Thanks for reading! If you find this useful, take […]

Descriptive Writing: What it is and How to do it

Almost all English exams require students to do ‘Descriptive Writing’ at some point, and on most exams that I teach this is the highest marked question on the paper – worth up to 50% of the paper as a whole. But what exactly is it? And can it really be taught? There’s a common belief […]

Breathtaking Short Story: The Monkey’s Paw

The Monkey’s Paw is a great short story. Just the title alone gives me the shivers, so be warned – it’s a bit creepy and strange! An old Sergeant who was in the British Army in India comes to dinner at the home of Mr and Mrs White and shows them a magical monkey’s paw […]

How to Understand the Basics of Poetry

This page takes you through everything you need to know when starting out with understanding the basics of poetry. It’s great for complete beginners, or experienced writers wanting to refresh their knowledge. It’s equally useful for literature students, such as those taking GCSEs, IGCSEs, and A-Levels. If you’re totally stuck on poetry and how to […]

Characterisation: How to create characters in stories and plays!

How to create characters? Characterisation is the term we give to the technique of constructing a character in a story – it is used in novels, plays, and even narrative poems. Great writers can become known for their skillful characterisation – Charles Dickens, for example, is famous for his lively, complex characters such as Oliver […]

How to get top marks in English Language Paper 1: Section A

AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 Section A

Below, you’ll find an approach for each question in Section A of the English Language Paper 1, including tips that help you to get full marks. The name of this paper is ‘Explorations In Creative Reading + Writing’. This exam is focused on ‘fiction’ – this means story writing. You will have to analyse a […]

How To Improve Your Writing Quickly!

Here are some quick tips and tricks to help you improve your writing! No matter what starting level you’re at or whether you need to make your writing better for the exam, personal or professional purposes, these points below will help you achieve clear, concise, and sophisticated writing with just a few small tweaks and […]

How to Understand and Create ‘Style’

A lot of my students get really stuck when it comes to talking about writing ‘style’. They also have no idea how to create it in their own writing. At first, it’s a tricky word to understand. But it is also crucial for anyone aiming for a high grade in English Language exams, as well […]