How to prepare yourself for a Descriptive Writing Exam

Descriptive writing is often tested in English Language exams; a descriptive piece (sometimes called a descriptive essay) is a piece of writing that aims to transport readers to a specific time and place, bringing a scene or character to life so that it seems almost real. Below you’ll find a list of things to remember […]

How to Improve your Creative Writing in 6 easy steps

Creative writing refers to fictional writing or storytelling; with creative writing, you can use your imagination to make stuff up, while with newspaper, for example, you must include facts about a situation. So, generally, the purpose of creative writing is to produce something which is entertaining, engaging and even personal. Thanks for reading! If you’re […]

Descriptive Writing – Structuring and Planning Exercise

Lots of students struggle with descriptive writing, especially when it comes to making their descriptive pieces different from a story or narrative. Below, you’ll find a step-by-step process that breaks down how to plan descriptive pieces. Feel free to plan and write your own response to the writing prompt too! Thanks for reading! If you’re […]

Advanced Writing Techniques – Narrative Devices

Below, you’ll find a brief explanation of Narrative Devices – one of the most important devices when we’re talking about advanced descriptive writing techniques. Thanks for reading! If you’re interested in our other English Language and Literature courses, you can find them on the links below: All English Language and Literature courses Basic Descriptive Writing […]

Writing Techniques – Poetic and Rhetorical Devices

Below, you can find a couple of Advanced Writing Techniques, Poetic and Rhetorical Devices to be exact. This post contains some examples and a brief explanation, however, you can check the videos for a more detailed analysis. Thanks for reading! If you’re interested in our other English Language and Literature courses, you can find them […]

Descriptive Writing: Student Examples + Teacher Feedback

Recently, I’ve been teaching a lot of descriptive and creative writing classes – particularly for GCSE and IGCSE students who are taking English Language exams. I’ve been very impressed by everyone’s first attempts at creating descriptive scenes and scenarios, so below you’ll find two examples of high-quality descriptive work – each paragraph took the student […]

Descriptive Writing Piece: Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong + Teacher Feedback

Below, you’ll find a descriptive writing piece, plus my feedback about it. Many of the creative writing and descriptive writing questions in exams require you to focus on an object, person, place or thing. In this mini-lesson, I’ll go through the basics of how to describe a place in detail – and not just in […]

Decaying House: Student’s Descriptive Writing Piece + Teacher Feedback

Below, you’ll find a descriptive writing piece, plus my feedback about it which was written by a GCSE student. Many of the creative writing and descriptive writing questions in exams require you to focus on an object, person, place or thing. In this mini-lesson, I’ll go through the basics of how to describe a place […]

How to make your Descriptive Writing instantly better – tips from a professional examiner!

Below, you can find some tips on how to make your descriptive writing instantly better! Ok, so descriptive writing is something that people think they’re either good at, or aren’t. Actually, this is a myth! It’s a skill, so like anything, it can be learned, honed and perfected. Writing well goes hand in hand with […]

Descriptive Writing: Covent Garden

Many of the creative writing and descriptive writing questions in exams require you to focus on an object, person, place or thing. In this mini-lesson, I’ll go through the basics of how to describe a place in detail – and not just in a boring way! Lots of my students get stuck on descriptions; they […]