How to Structure Creative Writing at GCSE (AQA GCSE English Language): Revision Note

Use the five senses to bring your setting to life:

• The faint scent of worn upholstery mingled with the earthy smell of damp coats

Create strong visuals through similes and metaphors:

• ...as if the streets themselves were alive, pulsing like the heartbeats of an unsleeping metropolis

Make the setting appear active and alive:

• The brakes squealed in protest

Focus on a small detail:

• Her raised hand could not mask the redness around her eyes…

Introduce a change in focus or tone:

• Another young woman shifted in her seat… as though this was a journey she had taken many times before

Link to deeper meanings:

• Signs and shopfronts were reflected… casting shifting patterns of light and shadow…

Introduce the setting and atmosphere to immerse the reader immediately:

• The city bus rattles along the evening streets…

Use descriptive imagery and sensory language to describe the city outside the bus

Contrast the exterior with the interior of the bus

Build atmosphere through sensory detail:

• The salty, savoury aroma of…

Show the world continuing beyond the window:

• Beyond the window, the world moved on in a ceaseless, chaotic swirl

Shift focus to a character to add depth to the description:

• A young woman… her expression stoic

Describe city life and reflect on themes of routine and anonymity:

• Silhouettes of figures… marched like worker ants…

End with a contrast to create a poignant shift