11+ Creative Writing: How to Write a Story That Scores Highly

Not every 11+ includes a piece of writing. Redbridge Council, for instance, describes its test as English with verbal reasoning and maths with non-verbal reasoning, with no mention of a writing task. But where writing is tested, it counts. In the Essex (CSSE) test, the writing tasks in the most recent published English paper were worth 20 marks, and some schools, such as The Latymer School in Edmonton, set their own written English papers.

11 plus creative writing is not about producing the longest or most dramatic story. In the CSSE paper, children had roughly ten minutes per task. The aim is something controlled, vivid and accurate in that time, which is a very particular skill, and a learnable one.

11 plus writing marks: what markers look for

Mark schemes differ, but good writing is judged on similar broad qualities. CSSE's 2023-entry writing tasks were marked out of 20: 15 marks for content and 5 for spelling, punctuation and grammar. In general, strong content shows:

• Ideas: an original, engaging response to the task.

• Structure: a clear beginning, middle and end, with paragraphs.

• Vocabulary: precise, well-chosen words rather than long ones for their own sake.

• Sentence variety: short and long sentences used for effect.

• Accuracy: correct spelling, punctuation and grammar throughout.

The time limits are tight. In CSSE's 2023-entry paper, children had two writing tasks, a description and a story from a picture, with about 20 minutes suggested for both. You can see the tasks in CSSE's published continuous writing paper.

11+ story writing tips, step by step

The six steps below, with short creative writing examples, take your child from a blank page to a controlled, well-shaped story.

Step 1: plan for two minutes

Children often skip planning because time feels short, then run out of story before the ending. A two-minute plan prevents that. It only needs four notes:

1. Who is the main character, and what do they want?

2. Where does the story happen? Note two sensory details.

3. What goes wrong or changes?

4. How does it end?

Decide the ending before writing the first word. It is one of the most useful planning habits.

Step 2: use a simple story shape

A short exam story does not need a complicated plot. This five-part shape fits comfortably into 10 to 20 minutes:

Step 3: open with a hook

Strong openings drop the reader straight into the moment. Compare these:

Weaker: "One day, a girl called Priya went to the beach with her family. It was a sunny day."

Stronger: "The tide had already swallowed the sandcastle by the time Priya noticed her brother was missing."

Three reliable ways to hook a reader:

• Action: start in the middle of something happening.

• Dialogue: "Don't open that box," Gran whispered.

• A striking detail: "Every clock in the house had stopped at seven minutes past three."

Step 4: show, don't tell

Telling the reader how a character feels is quick but flat. Showing it through actions and details is more powerful.

Telling: "Sam was nervous."

Showing: "Sam's fingers drummed on the desk. He read the first line of the question three times without taking in a single word."

Step 5: choose vocabulary with precision

Ambitious vocabulary earns marks only when it is used accurately. Aim for precise verbs and nouns rather than piling on adjectives.

Our 200-word 11+ vocabulary list is a good place to collect new words, but encourage your child to use only words they truly understand.

Step 6: vary sentences for effect

Short sentences create tension. Longer ones, joined with commas and conjunctions, build atmosphere. A mix of the two makes writing feel controlled.

"The corridor stretched ahead, silent apart from the hum of the strip lights and the faint drip of a tap somewhere in the dark. Then a door slammed."

Useful structures to practise:

• starting with a fronted adverbial: "Without a word, she turned away."

• starting with an -ing word: "Clutching the map, Leo climbed the final ridge."

• a short sentence after a long one, for impact.

Descriptive writing in Year 5 and the 11+

Descriptive tasks, such as "describe your favourite place to relax", need a different approach from a story. There is no plot, so the structure has to come from somewhere else: a fixed viewpoint, a movement through the place (near to far, or one sense at a time) and a closing feeling that explains why the place matters.

Here is a short model, written for this article, for the prompt "describe a place where you feel calm":

From the bottom step of Gran's garden, I can see everything that matters. Bees drift between the lavender pots, so slow they seem to be thinking. Somewhere behind the fence a radio murmurs the cricket score, and the air smells of cut grass and warm stone. The old deckchair creaks as I lean back. Nobody needs me here. That is exactly why I come.

Notice what it does: one viewpoint, three senses (sight, sound and smell), a precise verb ("murmurs") and two short closing sentences that give the feeling. It is six sentences long, which is plenty for a ten-minute task.

The five most common mistakes

1. No ending. The story stops mid-action when time runs out.

2. Too much plot. Several events, none described properly.

3. Speech without punctuation. Dialogue that is hard to follow and loses marks.

4. Over-ambitious vocabulary used wrongly.

5. No paragraphs. One long block of text is harder to mark well.

A self-check list for practice pieces

After each timed piece, ask your child to check:

• Did I plan, and did I reach my planned ending?

• Does my opening hook the reader?

• Have I shown at least one feeling through actions?

• Have I used at least two senses?

• Have I varied sentence lengths?

• Are capital letters, full stops and speech marks correct?

How to practise

Short, frequent pieces beat one long story at the weekend. Two or three 10- to 15-minute pieces a week in Year 5 builds speed, and mixing descriptions with stories (including stories from a picture) means neither format comes as a surprise.

Two habits are especially worth building. The first is reading like a writer: when a book uses a striking opening or a vivid detail, copy it into a notebook and talk about why it works. The second is editing. Improving one draft a week, rather than always starting afresh, teaches your child what "better" actually looks like.

Learning a few strong openings and techniques is sensible, but memorising a whole story to adapt on the day rarely works, because it seldom fits the task. Practising quick planning for any prompt is more reliable.

Creative writing improves fastest with specific feedback. Merit Tutors' KS2 English tuition covers writing and creative writing, with written feedback on students' work, and writing is part of the English content in its 11+ preparation classes.