Narrative Writing: Crafting a Short Story

On Paper 1, Section B, Question 5 offers a choice, and one option is to write a narrative (the other is a description). The sample paper asks you to "write the opening of a story about a human meeting an animal." You choose one option and write for around 45 minutes.

The question is worth 40 marks, split like this:

Objective	What it rewards	Marks
AO5	Content and organisation: character, plot, setting, structure	24
AO6	Technical accuracy: spelling, punctuation, sentence variety	16

AO6 (technical accuracy) is 16 of the 40 marks, and AQA requires it to be 20% of the whole paper — so accurate, varied sentences matter as much as an exciting idea. Notice too that the sample task asks for the opening of a story. You are not being asked for a full plot with a twist; you are being asked to start one brilliantly.

A short exam narrative is not a novel. It is a single, controlled scene with a character the reader believes in and a hint of something at stake.

The biggest trap is an over-ambitious plot: a bank heist, a war, a whole life story, all in 45 minutes. It almost always ends up rushed and thin. The mark scheme rewards a "convincing setting," "convincing character/s" and a "convincing sequence of events" — and you can only make those convincing if you give them room.

Aim for a plot you could summarise in one sentence:

• One character the reader gets to know
• One problem or moment of change
• A short span of time — minutes or hours, not years

The sample "human meeting an animal" task is deliberately small: a single encounter. Build that encounter fully — who the person is, where they are, what the meeting feels like — rather than racing to an ending. Depth of one moment beats a rushed tour of many.

Because the exam often asks for an opening, your first lines carry huge weight. The mark scheme's top band calls for a "distinctive and original narrative perspective" from the start.

Open in medias res — Latin for "into the middle of things." Drop the reader straight into a moment instead of explaining background.

Weak opening	Stronger opening
One sunny morning, Sarah woke up and got dressed.	The branch cracked, and the thing in the reeds went still.
It was a normal day at the wildlife park.	Ten feet away, close enough to smell, the wolf lowered its head and looked at me.

Ways to hook a reader:

• Action — start mid-event, then fill in who and where.
• A striking image — a single vivid detail that sets mood.
• A line of dialogue — a spoken line that raises a question.
• A question in the reader's mind — begin with a mystery the reader wants solved.

Avoid the two most overused openings: waking up ("I opened my eyes") and "One day…". Both signal an unplanned start. Begin at the most interesting moment you have.

Narrative perspective is the point of view the story is told from. Pick one before you start and keep it consistent.

Perspective	Signature	Effect
First person	"I crept toward the reeds."	Intimate; the reader is locked inside one character's head, ideal for fear and tension.
Third person	"She crept toward the reeds."	Flexible; can move between what characters see and feel, giving a wider view.

Choose your tense too and hold it. Past tense ("the wolf lowered its head") is the natural default; present tense ("the wolf lowers its head") feels immediate but is harder to sustain without slips.

The mark scheme rewards "subtle and skilful shifts in mood/atmosphere" and controlled "temporal and spatial shifts" — a flashback, or a cut to a new place. The word that matters is controlled. A deliberate shift, signposted so the reader follows, shows craft. An accidental slip from "I" to "she," or from past to present tense, reads as an error and costs AO6 marks.

Tension is the suspense that pulls a reader forward. It is what turns a sequence of events into a gripping one, and the highest band rewards "highly successful control of mood/atmosphere."

Techniques that build it:

• Slow time down. At the key moment, stretch seconds across several sentences. Describe tiny details — a held breath, a bead of sweat — so the reader feels the wait.
• Vary sentence length. Long sentences build the approach; a short one snaps the moment shut.
• Withhold information. Do not name the threat at once. "Something moved in the reeds" is tenser than "a wolf appeared."
• Foreshadow. Plant an early detail — an open gate, an uneasy silence — that pays off later.

The reeds parted, slowly, one stem at a time, and the afternoon
seemed to hold its breath around me.

Then it stepped out.

The short sentence after the long build lands the shock. Pace is a craft skill the mark scheme explicitly credits, so control it on purpose.

Dialogue — the words characters speak — can bring a scene alive, but it is a tool, not filler. Use it to reveal character or raise tension, rather than to pad the plot with small talk. Each new speaker starts a new line, and punctuation sits inside the speech marks:

"Don't move," she whispered. "It hasn't seen us yet."

Two lines of sharp dialogue often do more than a paragraph of description. Keep it short in an exam.

Endings matter because they are the last thing the examiner reads. If the question asks for an opening, you do not need to resolve the plot — end on a moment of tension or a striking final image that leaves the reader wanting more. If you are writing a complete short piece, aim for a deliberate final image that echoes the opening or lands the mood. Avoid the two worst endings: "and then I woke up — it was all a dream," and a rushed "and they lived happily ever after."

A planned ending, even an unresolved one, reads as crafted. A story that simply stops because time ran out does not.

1. An over-ambitious plot

Wars, heists and whole life stories cannot be told well in 45 minutes. Shrink the plot to one character, one moment, a short span of time, and write it in depth.

2. Ignoring what the question asks for

If AQA asks for the opening of a story, write a gripping beginning, not a full plot with a twist. Answering the wrong task wastes your strongest material.

3. Slipping perspective or tense

Drifting from "I" to "she," or from past tense to present, breaks the spell and costs AO6 marks. Choose one of each and check you have held it.

4. "It was all a dream"

A dream ending undoes everything the reader has invested in. So does waking up as an opening. Both signal an unplanned story; avoid them.

5. Telling the plot instead of showing the scene

"He was terrified and ran away" summarises; it does not immerse. Show the fear through detail and action, and let the reader live the moment.

6. Neglecting AO6 accuracy

Sixteen marks ride on spelling, punctuation and sentence variety. Set out dialogue correctly, vary your sentences deliberately, and leave a few minutes to proofread.