Paper 1 Question 5: Descriptive Writing (AQA GCSE English Language) : Revision Note

Paper 1, Section B: Question 5 has two options: narrative writing or descriptive writing. This is an overview of the descriptive writing question.

How to answer Paper 1 Question 5: descriptive writing 

Let’s look at Question 5 from the June 2019 exam:

The wording for the exam question from 2026 onwards has slightly changed. The question now asks you to write a description “from your imagination”. Even if you are provided a picture prompt, you do not need to use it. This is to encourage students to be more free and creative with their writing, and not feel like they have to describe only what is in the image.

Let’s look at an example of the new wording for this question:

Step-by-step guide to Question 5

In order to achieve 40 marks for this question, you should:

1. Read the two task options carefully:

   • Highlight whether you are writing a story or a descriptive piece

2. If you are describing from the picture prompt, then annotate the image

   • Do not just limit yourself to the obvious details

3. Spend 10 minutes planning your writing:

   • Use a mind-map or a simple table to do this

   • Circle on the image what you are going to zoom in on

4. Write down some reminders of figurative language or literary techniques to include to add interest and detail to your writing:

   • It might be helpful to jot down, for example, “sound and silence”, “movement and stillness” and “light and dark” to prompt you

5. Write your description, sticking to your plan

6. Try to leave 5 minutes at the end to re-read your writing carefully, correcting any obvious mistakes you have made

How to get full marks on Paper 1 Question 5

• Avoid confusing ideas in a paragraph:

  • Each paragraph should focus on one idea

  • Ensure all words are chosen to contribute to the effect you want to create

• Do not confuse the tenses in a paragraph:

  • If you use a flashback, ensure it is in the past tense

  • If you use present-tense verbs for effect, ensure they are all consistently in present tense 

• Do not just describe everything you can see without any structure:

  • Do not start your description with “In the image I can see…”

• Do not use dialogue in a description

• The highest marks are awarded for students who use complex and sophisticated vocabulary

How to plan your descriptive writing

It is important to remember that writers plan their texts deliberately to make the reader respond in certain ways, and think and feel certain things. 

You should spend some time thinking about the question: not only the content, but also the order of your ideas.

In your answer you must:

• Plan the structure of your piece of writing:

  • Order the information into roughly five to six paragraphs

• Plan your setting:

  • This should create an effective mood

• Consider the relevant information you need to give in order to create an engaging description:

  • Do you need to reveal everything at once, or can you withhold some information?

• Use language techniques relevant to the style of writing:

  • You can plan what language features you will use

  • But these must reflect the overall mood or tone of your writing

Below are some points on how you might approach the following task:

It is divided into form and detail.

Descriptive writing form

You do not need a plot for a piece of descriptive writing; this is primarily where description differs from creative writing. However, it is important not to stray into uncontrolled narrative.

One way to start planning is to use the picture prompt. If you are given an image:

• Use it as a springboard into your imagination:

  • But don’t limit yourself to just what you see

• Draw upon the senses to describe elements of the image

• Pick out any people from the image

If you are not given an image:

• You are free from restrictions

• Consider what appropriate image you could draw upon for inspiration:

  • A memory of a real place works well

• Try to keep your mental image something that could be imagined by all

Descriptive writing structure

As with any extended piece of writing, planning is vital. You should spend 10 minutes annotating the image, or mind-mapping your ideas before you start writing.

Below is a suggestion of form for a piece of descriptive writing:

Remember, you can include action or movement in your description, but this should not involve any story progression or interaction. Any action should only cover a short period of “real time”, such as the wind blowing a basket over.

Descriptive writing detail

When considering the detail you should include in your description, it is useful to consider the types of things that bring a scene to life. These things are normally rooted in contrast. For example:

Learn more and test yourself

For more great tips and tricks, check out our fully annotated descriptive writing model answer.

You can also test yourself on Paper 1 Question 5 by building your writing skills with our Paper 1 Question 5 multiple-choice questions and by writing your own descriptive writing and getting it marked by Smart Mark, our AI model created by English Language experts.