11 Plus Creative Writing Course in Kingston upon Thames
Creative Writing Course
Next Session:
Sunday 28th April
(Unfortunately, the 1pm to 2pm class and the 2pm to 3pm class are both FULLY BOOKED)
Please call us on 07922197154 or email us at crystal.tuition.team@gmail.com to place your child on our waiting list
The Creative Writing Course has been designed to provide all the necessary literary devices and writing techniques for students to succeed in the Eleven Plus (11+) Creative Writing section. Students will attend one session a week at Kingston (Sundays).
The maximum number of students in this class will be 10 (our teacher to student ratio is always 1:5 or fewer).
Creative Writing Course - Kingston - Sundays
Time: 01:00pm to 02:00pm (Class A)
Time: 02:00pm to 03:00pm (Class B)
Duration: 1 hour
Cost: £29.90 per session
Less than £30/h
Creative Writing
What is Creative Writing?
Creative writing requires students to write either a short story or complete a continuous prose exercise such as writing a letter, report or newspaper article.
Creative writing demands planning, creativity and executing a well written piece in a structured manner, all within a tight time frame.
Students may be given a title or a few opening lines to continue. Alternatively, there may be a small variety of writing topics which the student must chose from.
Why is Creative Writing important?
Creative writing is a major component in the 11+ and its importance is weighted differently depending on the school setting the exam.
Creative writing gives the opportunity for students to demonstrate to the examiner that they are competent in SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) as well as showcasing their ability to articulate their imagination into words.
Examiners are looking for specific content which we ensure our students include in their writing. Examiners also seek an effective "beginning, middle and ending" so Crystal Tuition gears our writing exercises to focus on this.
How do we teach and improve Creative Writing?
Firstly, we ensure our students are confident with including similes, metaphors and onomatopoeia in their creative writing. We also provide training on how to implement other key literary techniques.
Secondly, we encourage students to utilise all five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch).We also assist our students with time management and planning/drafting techniques.
Finally, we regularly review our students' writing so that we can monitor progress and provide feedback on what aspects of creative writing that they can improve.
Creative Writing Themes
Here are some typical themes which regularly come up:
- Animals
- Natural Environment
- Urban Environment
- Holiday Destination
- Feelings/Emotions
- Holiday/Day Out/Travel
- Hobbies/Activities/Sports
- Diary/Journal
- Family/Friends
- Home
Creative Writing Titles
Here are some creative writing example titles:
- My Day Out
- A Haunted House
- Alone
- Stranded on a Desert Island
- Sleeping
- My Family
- An Alien Visitor
- My Hero is...
- A Day at the Beach
Creative Writing Tips - Why We Are The Best
Richard Gray is a creative writing specialist and has a 100% success rate in getting students into Tiffin School, one of the reasons why is that his students are specially trained in scoring highly in Creative Writing.
Creative Writing is often considered difficult for schools to teach but when students are taught in a proper manner by a Creative Writing specialist, their written work shows vast improvements within even one lesson.
Show! Don't Tell....
We teach students to not directly express their feelings in their narrative but rather imply them instead. Here's an example of the standard that we tutor our students to.
For example, our students do not use:
"I walked away feeling sad and alone."
Rather, they are taught:
"Trundling away in despair with tears streaming down my cheek like a waterfall, I departed dejectedly. A wave of sadness washed over me; sadness filled my heart and misery plagued my mind."
Similes & Metaphors
Most students will understand what the difference is between a simile and a metaphor, however, we train our students to such an extent that they are able to churn out examples like this without hesitation:
"The fierce, ferocious tiger growled menacingly and bared its teeth which were as sharp as a pick-axe; its claws were razor blades and its eyes glowed like headlights on a cold, dark winter's night."
Personification
Personification is attributing human characteristics or qualities to a non-human. Students often forget to include this in their Creative Writing but at Crystal Tuition we utilise a plethora of examples so our students always have a phrase or sentence that they can easily pull out in the exam.
The sentence below demonstrates the standard of Creative Writing that our students strive towards:
"The chestnut brown leaves danced gracefully in the gentle breeze. The soft wind caressed my hair and kissed my cheek as I strolled leisurely in the sparse forest."
Competitive Advantage
The 11 Plus has become increasingly competitive over the years which is why we want to ensure our students have the best chance of exam success. By equipping our students with the exact literary techniques that examiners are looking for, our students have a massive advantage over rival students.