Creative writing tasks that appear in 11+ papers can be weird, wonderful and deeply challenging. Accolade’s new, highly targeted guide is here to walk you through them.

Be it reimagining an extract from a famous novel from a different character’s point of view, or writing an autobiographical piece, the tasks set at 11+ are unlike those seen in any other examinations. By going through the various challenges students might encounter at the 11+, and offering not only tailored guidance, but also detailed exemplars accompanied by in-depth commentary, Accolade’s new guide sets out to demystify creative writing at 11+.

Tasks covered include:

• Stories responding to verbal prompts

• Stories inspired by images

• Continuing or adapting extracts from other novels and stories

• Descriptions responding to verbal prompts

• Descriptions responding to images

• Meditations based on personal events

• Argumentative writing

Hugh Foley is a widely published poet, who has taught at institutions including Oxford University, Queen Mary University and Liverpool University. He has a stellar track record in aiding students to gain entry to the country's most competitive private and grammar schools. Whereas other guides focus exclusively on the nuts and bolts of creative writing, he has set out to write a book that seeks to go a step further, and instructs students on the art of bringing everything together.

You can purchase a copy from any of these booksellers:

Alternatively, you can purchase and download an electronically delivered PDF directly from us here.

Reviews from experienced 11+ educators

There are so many 11+ creative writing guides available that it is hard to distinguish what is worth buying vs what is a waste of money (or even worse, a waste of time!). This guide certainly falls into the former category.

As usual, Accolade Press has produced a guide that is fairly priced and delivers exceptional content. Hugh Foley is a talented writer and a wonderful educator. The guide is incredibly easy to understand and it is written in a manner that is both educational and enjoyable to read.

The 11+ Creative Writing A Technique Guide covers a multitude of scenarios ranging from ‘stories in response to images’ to ‘autobiographical writing’. As an 11+ creative writing tutor, I’ve not been impressed with certain creative writing books on the market; however, I am confident that readers of this guide will be delighted with this product!

This is another excellent textbook from Accolade press aimed at ambitious 11+ candidates wanting to impress with creative writing. The book is written in an accessible and engaging style and the writer manages to put themselves into the mind of the exam candidate and engage them very successfully. The book looks at each style of creative writing question that can come up in these exams and then offers an exemplar piece, based on each of the tasks. The attempt shown is explained in full and the choices made by the writer justified and analysed. This book is also very useful in terms of introducing students to literary techniques which are then demonstrated and discussed. An invaluable addition to my library as a tutor - highly recommended.

SAMPLE from the guide

Editor’s Foreword

Now, many creative writing guides out there treat it as a skill that should be taught from the ground up. By that I mean their tactic is to diligently walk students through the nuts and bolts of writing – similes, metaphors, sensory language, plotting, and so forth. However, while there is value in this approach, the problem with this tactic is that students end up with a collection of skills, but are unsure how to weave them all together. People seem to think of this weaving process – not just the putting together of a plot, but the combining of sentences, paragraphs and, above all, ideas in a way that powerfully elicits an emotional response – as something that people simply can or can’t do: either you’ve got the ‘gift’, or you don’t.

This guide, however, seeks to demonstrate that this is not the case. By showcasing exemplar material for each type of creative writing task a student might come across in an 11+ paper, and pairing it with in-depth commentary that discusses not only the nuts and bolts that make it tick, but also, more importantly, the art of weaving it all together, this book hopes to demystify 11+ creative writing.   

Crucially, by placing emphasis on the nuts and bolts, other guides fail to capture what is at the heart of creative writing – namely, those all-important ‘big picture’ questions writers ask themselves while composing: ‘If I was reading this, would I be genuinely excited? Genuinely moved? Genuinely entertained?’ These are the questions that ought to be going through any candidate’s mind. By demonstrating how to entertain, excite, and move, and then working backwards, this guide hopes to keep the focus on how to make a piece of creative writing truly unique. 

That is not to say that the nuts and bolts will be neglected: in fact, they are covered in great detail. Rather, this guide seeks to demonstrate how to bring them to life.

A quick note about the author. I met Hugh Foley while doing a degree in English Literature at UCL, after which Hugh went on to complete a DPhil at Oxford University. In recent years, however, he has taught English formally at Oxford University, Liverpool University and Queen Mary University, and has a reputation as a respected poet. On top of all this, he also has a stellar track record with supporting youngsters in gaining access to the country’s very top schools via the 11+ examinations. 

When commissioning this book, I could think of nobody better to help students navigate the unique challenges of the 11+ creative writing exams. 

* * *

As mentioned, 11+ papers are incredibly varied. However, if you spend enough time and energy looking through past papers, you start to see what makes them tick, and notice certain patterns that emerge time and again. This book is broken into seven parts that cover the seven types of creative writing tasks you might be confronted with

1. Stories in response to verbal prompts.  

2. Stories in response to images.  

3. Stories based on comprehension extracts.

4. Descriptions in response to verbal prompts. 

5. Descriptions in response to images. 

6. Autobiographical writing.

7. Argumentative writing. 

The labels we’ve given to each style of question should give you some indication of what the question entails. At any rate, I can assert with confidence that, if you are well versed in all seven styles, you will have your bases covered, and be prepared for most anything. 

* * *

How to use this guide

It is important to note that there is no ‘correct’ way of using this guide. However, whereas students working through our 11+ comprehension guides will notice that there are some tricky sections that might require parental help, this Creative Writing guide has been designed in such a way that independent learning should be more possible. 

That said, there are still certainly some more challenging elements, so we’d recommend that students definitely not shy away from seeking help if they are finding a certain section difficult. 

At any rate, as ever, this book was written to emulate the experience of having a top-flight 11+ tutor at your side, and dedicated to helping you achieve your potential!

Introduction

When sitting 11+ entrance exams at top schools (be they independent power-houses, or high-flying grammars), you will notice that, while one of the most common fixtures is a creative writing task, the types of creative writing task schools assign can vary greatly. The reason for this is simple enough: a considerable number of these schools write their papers in-house, and that means you find quirks in some papers that you don’t in others. And yet, for all these quirks, there is still a huge degree of overlap between these various papers, because ultimately these schools are all looking for a similar set of skills.

As a result, preparing for these exams is eminently possible. 

However, ‘creative writing’ is an endeavour too often shrouded in mystery. If I were to assert that we simply need to identify the various types of creative writing questions that appear (including those quirky ones!), then hone the skills required to answer them, many would say it’s not that simple! There’s something more to creative writing – a secret ingredient – that you are surely overlooking…When you take an 11+ entrance exam, one thing that is almost certain to be tested is creative writing. However, since every school is different, the sort of task you might be given varies greatly from school to school.

It could be that you are asked to continue a story after reading an extract. It could be that you are asked to simply make one up. 

They might give you a picture to turn into a story. You might be asked to make an argument for why your favourite cereal is better than others; or what would make Britain a better place; or you might have to describe a building in detail. 

You might be worried about how to prepare for this. What do these tasks have in common? Well, they all test your ability to write. But what does that mean?

In this guide, I will show you how to answer each of the different types of questions you will find in exams. More importantly, I will show you the kinds of things that the examiner is looking for: the things that make for ‘good’ writing. 

Clarity, Complexity & Imagination.

The qualities you want to demonstrate in your writing can be broken down into three categories:

Clarity—How easy it is to understand what you are trying to say or to describe? 

Complexity—Can you use different kinds of words, and different kinds of sentences?

Imagination—Can you surprise the reader with a way of putting an experience into words that they wouldn’t expect, but will still recognise? 

Each of these qualities – clarity, complexity, imagination – can be seen in different things you do when you write. 

For example, clarity requires that you think about how one sentence fits with the one that came before it. If you write ‘The sun was setting. The spaceship is about to explode’, you have started a story that could be exciting, but it is also a bit confusing. Why is one action happening in the past and one in the present? What does the sun have to with the spaceship?

If you write instead: ‘The sun was setting. That meant there was only one hour before the spaceship would explode’, you have made the connection clearer. 

Another kind of clarity is within the sentence. Look at this sentence: ‘He was a man whom many people would often call grumpy’. This makes sense – just about; but why not just say ‘he was a grumpy man’?

You might then think that clarity is opposed to complexity, but this is not true. Some ideas require more complicated sentences or more complicated words. Take this sentence:

Her voluminous dress dragged across the carpet, forcing her to grasp it and hold it above the floor in order to move more smoothly.  

Voluminous means large, but in this case it seems to fit better, because it is itself a big word. It slows down our understanding slightly, just as the lady is moving slowly because her dress is too big. The sentence fits what is happening better. 

Good writing is the writing that best expresses the thing you want to say, or the thing you are trying to describe. It is the choice of words that capture the picture in your head. 

You need to understand how to write complicated sentences because the things you want to say might be complicated, but the aim, above all, is to make other people see what you see, hear what you hear. 

The ultimate tool for that is imagination. Choose a detail that surprises, but which fits. The setting sun might look like an orange, but maybe it looks more like a melting sweet. Maybe calling it a melting sweet fits with the idea that the setting sun is disappearing beyond the horizon, and could capture something of the almost liquid appearance of the sun at its edges as it sets.

* * *

Right, let’s now look at a paragraph that brings together clarity, complexity and imagination: 

The building was enormous. It stood over the town like the mast of a ship, where you could see everything happening below on deck. From up there, the ordinary goings on of the town seemed like the scuttling of ants. 

These sentences follow on from one another. The reader sees the connection between them. We are hitting clarity. The sentences make good use of similes, and they use surprising words – not just for the sake of it, but in order to describe the experience contained in them more accurately and vividly. This satisfies both complexity and imagination.  

These sentences are also correctly spelled and punctuated. This is also important.

These are the common skills required to show that you know what you are doing when you write. You are finding the words that fit what you want to say. 

* * *

However – and this is of course crucial – you are also trying to do something that fits the question you have been asked. 

In this book, we will go over each type of creative writing question that can be found in 11+ entrance exams. 

I will explain how you might want to plan an answer to each type of  question. I will then offer a sample story or answer. After each sample answer, I will explain how they demonstrate the skills you need to succeed. 

Remember: if you like something I’ve done, feel free to imitate it in your own writing. I know it sounds strange, but when it comes to creative writing, you can still be original while imitating others. The key thing is to combine the things you’re stealing in a way that’s new and exciting.

Don’t believe me?  Look up Arthur Brooke’s Romeus and Juliet. It’s the story Shakespeare adapted when he wrote Romeo and Juliet about thirty years later. Shakespeare’s originality lay in how he adapted the story, and the way he put it into his own words.    

This might all sound a little like hard work. It doesn’t have to be. The key to creative writing is to have fun with it.

Sometimes people are very excited by the story in their head, but struggle to get the words down. 

At other times, people write everything clearly, but they might not have put enough time into contemplating what would be interesting and exciting to write about.  

The challenge is to do both: to imagine a story that you would personally find truly exciting, and then to ensure you get what you were trying to say across. 

In this guide I’ll show you what you need to do to accomplish this. I promise: the satisfaction of really articulating what you want to say, of really getting it right, is one of the best feelings in the world.

We want to make sure that this is the most fun part of your 11+ exam and, if you approach it in the right way, it will be!

Chapter One: A story responding to a verbal prompt

Write a story entitled ‘In the Attic’

The task ahead…

When you see a question like this, you might feel a little annoyed. What do they want? At least if they ask you to write a story about a journey, you can easily envisage a beginning, middle and end.  

Instead, here you just have a seemingly bland title. What should you do?

Imagine there’s a box. This box is called ‘In the Attic’. The story you write has to fit into this box. That means when you read it, or when someone else reads it, they need to think, ‘Yes, it makes sense that this story is called “In the Attic”’. 

This is a test of the clarity of your writing. But remember: the task is testing other things. It’s testing your imagination, too. 

What is the biggest, most exciting thing you can fit in the box called ‘In the Attic’? 

How can you surprise the reader, so that at the end they say, ‘Ah yes, it makes sense that this story is called in the attic, but I was not expecting that’? 

What would you like to put in the box? What would you like to put in this imaginary attic?

In every story we write, we want to make sure we have clarity, complexity and imagination, but we also want to do more.

We want to make sure that the whole thing fits together well, because writing is not just about knowing words, but about finding the right words for the feeling you want to tell other people about. 

It is important not to just rush ahead. Take some time. Close your eyes. Think about the attic. What do you see inside? 

Do you want your story to actually go into the attic? Or do you think there might be more mystery in never seeing what’s inside the attic? These questions are what we mean when we talk about the plot.

Do you want it to be scary? Do you want it to be sad? Do you want it to be funny? These questions are what we mean when we talk about the genre.

Plot and genre are two things that you want to decide on before you start writing. 

That means you want to know what happens in the beginning, middle, and end of your story before you write it. It also means you want to decide whether it is science fiction or fantasy, or funny, or sad, too.

The reason to decide these things in advance is that, if you start writing without knowing where you’re going or what you want your story to be like, it is more likely that you and your story will become confused. Then, even if you write well and use your imagination, you won’t be clear. 

You don’t have to know everything that will happen. A better idea may come to you while you are writing, but you need to have a shape in your head: something you are trying to capture in words. A plot helps with that.

I would recommend first choosing the genre, then planning your plot. 

Doing it this way round helps because certain plots fit better with certain genres. If you know you want your story to be scary, then you know you need to be thinking of some scary things.

Choosing the genre first makes it easier, because it is like choosing what game you are playing. First you decide you are playing tennis, and then you decide how you are going to score a point.

But how do you plot your story?

Every story has a beginning a middle and an end. We know that. But there are some tricks that we can use for each of these. 

The beginning should have a hook. This is the thing that makes you want to keep reading when you start a new book or story. 

This could be an exciting simile or metaphor. It could be a mysterious tone. It could be an exciting event, a mystery, or an explosion. Make sure you begin in a way that lets people know what genre it is. If you want your story to be scary, then make the beginning scary.

The middle should have a development. By this I mean that something should change from your initial set up. 

Let’s say you want to tell a horror story about something in an attic. You want something to change. Perhaps your character has never visited the attic, but now, suddenly, she has a reason to go into the attic.

The end should be a reward for the reader. That doesn’t mean it has to end happily or in a way that the reader most expects. 

In the time you have, you will probably not be able to create an adventure that ends with a satisfying conclusion – one, for example, in which two people fall in love. 

You can even leave your story on a cliff-hanger, but make sure it keeps them interested in the world of your story. People want to feel that what they just read mattered.

So, for example, endings where it turns out to be a dream are often unsatisfying, because they mean that nothing that happened before mattered. You want to find an ending that surprises, but which fits the story. People should feel that the effort they spent reading the story was rewarded.

Let’s try and write a story that does these things, and which fits the title ‘In the Attic’…

* * *

My father always told me the noise was nothing to worry about. At about six o clock every evening it would start. It was a kind of thumping at first, followed by a long, low moan, and then the thumping would speed up and then, all of a sudden, it would stop. 

It sounded as if it came from above the house, in the attic, but I was not allowed to go in there. 

The noise had been with my family for as long as I could remember. It was as expected as the sunset. It was our most accurate clock.

Then, one day, the clock stopped. 

I came home from school and ate my usual snack of celery with a small spoonful of peanut butter. I sat down to read, and waited for the sounds from the attic. They did not come. 

I felt as if someone had taken the moon away. The sounds from the attic had always been strange, and perhaps someone who did not know them would find them unsettling. For me, however, it was their absence that disturbed me. What did it mean? What had happened in the attic? 

I asked my father, when he came home. He said that there was nothing to worry about.

“But there was a noise, and now it’s gone.”

“Children who worry too much about noises develop nervous conditions”.

“But Dad…”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore”.

Through our window, I watched the sun sink below the horizon, like a memory falling away from someone’s mind as they forgot it. My father and I did not speak any more that evening. The silence between us was heavy. 

Later that night, when I was sure my father was asleep, I decided that the silence had to be investigated. 

I snuck out of my room. It was so quiet I could hear my own heart beating and it seemed louder than the thumping in the attic had ever been. I managed to reach the cord and to bring down the ladder. It clunked as it hit the floor, but softly, muffled by the carpet.

I climbed it with a palpitating heart. I opened the door of the attic and peered inside. 

“Hello”, I heard a voice say.

“Who’s there?”, I replied. 

“I’ve been waiting for you,” the voice went on. “For years I thought that if I made the noise you would come find me. But then, after it had been so long and you did not come, I almost gave up hope.”

“Who are you?” The voice ignored me, and carried on.

“That’s when I decided to try silence. And it worked. Now I won’t have to be alone. Welcome to the attic”. 

Immediately, I knew I could not leave. At that moment, I understood what the noise had been, but I cannot tell you, unless you come into the attic. 

* * *

Absence – When something is missing you feel its absence. It is the quality of not being there.

Palpitating – Beating.

Guidance…

That’s not a reward! you might say after you read the end of this story. However, the reward could be to be surprised, or scared. Feel free to leave things mysterious. In an extremely short story such as this, mystery often works better than resolution. 

But crucially: what have I done here to ensure that I get good marks?

First I decided that what I wanted was for the story to be scary. Not scary like a zombie apocalypse might be, but gently and subtly scary. Then I decided that it would end with the narrator trapped in the attic. From there, I decided to build my story using the structure above: hook, development, reward. 

Along the way, I tried to demonstrate a variety of techniques that show clarity, complexity and imagination.

I have begun with a hook. I have created a tone of mystery by beginning with the statement ‘my father always told me the noise was nothing to worry about’. The reader is driven to ask, what noise? Why should I not worry about it? I am beginning to make it clear that I am writing something scary.

I have used lots of adjectives, including occasional pairs, such as ‘long, low moan’. This makes the noise more vivid.

I have used dialogue. Using dialogue shows that you know some of the rules of writing. This helps to get extra points for complexity.

I have used paragraphs. The trick with using paragraphs is to use them to divide units of thought or point out separate events. Think of them as like different pictures in a story. Each paragraph is a change of tone. Using paragraphs right will help you demonstrate complexity.

I have also used both similes and metaphors. Let’s just look at one. I have described the noise in the attic as ‘our most accurate clock’. This is a metaphor, but not a simile, because it does not use ‘like’ or ‘as’. A metaphor is a comparison that does not include comparison words.

I have then begun a new paragraph, but I have continued the metaphor: ‘Then, one day, the clock stopped’. 

This kind of extended metaphor will score you points for complexity, and it helps to create the mood you want. A stopped clock is slightly worrying, and even unnerving. This shows imagination.

This is also the development of my story. I have given my character a reason to go into the attic.

I have used the word palpitating, which means beating. This shows that I have a good vocabulary, which is another aspect of complexity.

It is worth trying to find any words you know that might be impressive to use in the story, but only so long as they fit! Don’t just force them in. You don’t want to detract from the clarity. There is also no reason not to use short sentences when the occasion calls for them – that is why I am happy to write a sentence such as: ‘I opened the door of the attic and peered inside’. 

In general, I have varied the lengths of my sentences. Some of them are very simple and direct. Others are more complicated. This is one of the ways you can give your story a rhythm.

Think of it like a drumbeat underneath your story. Sometimes you want a slow beat, and that could be a long sentence. Sometimes you might want a fast beat, and that could be a short sentence.

Finally, I have tried to offer a reward. I have finished the story with a final moment of fright, where I suggest that the story might repeat itself: that more people will become trapped in the attic.

Image one and two: Designed by stories / Freepik

You can purchase a copy of 11+ Creative Writing from our friends at any of these booksellers:

Alternatively, you can purchase and download an electronically delivered PDF directly from us here.

Customer Reviews

This is an excellent book with great ideas for 11+ creative writing. My son is preparing for 11+ this September and he loves using the book as a benchmark for his writing. Highly recommended.

This is a fantastic book which explains clearly all of the techniques and strategies for 11+ creative writing. As a parent, teacher, tutor...I have found this resource invaluable.

A very useful guide! I liked the way the book was divided into different sections for each 'type' of creative writing question. It makes it very easy for a parent / pupil / tutor to either practise each or focus on the question-type they know they will be facing in their chosen exams.

The model answers are also brilliant - they help to give students a great idea of what is expected at 11+ in terms of length, language and creativity.

Very helpful. This is a fantastic guide in helping students to be stretched and challenged with their creative writing skills. The guide really helps them to understand what an excellent piece of writing consists of - highly recommended!

On a fundamental level, it is useful to have examples of excellent essays in all the 11 plus genres. Hugh Foley does not rehash the contents of most creative writing guides; his is approach is new. “Clarity, complexity, imagination.” I suggest one would read this book deeply to understand it. It is not easy to do, though if one spends time thinking deeply about what Hugh suggests they could develop into a masterful author. The example essays provide an easy reference, to take in the guidance, take time and read deeply. There are certainly pearls here.

Step by step guidance. I particularly like the way this guides the 11+ writer through different strategies that may be asked for in their 11+ test. It gives a variety of suggested questions students may come across and give a selection of activities they could use in their answers. Very helpful!

This is an excellent guide which gives an example, explanation and guidance of the different 11+ writing tasks. Great strategies for approaching each and covers how to use different literary devices for effective writing. Highly recommended!

Great work. It covers all the genres you may have in the exams. The book show you what is expected, techniques and sample essays. The sample part is quite unique in this book as it's not just technique illustration. It's a complete essay that students are expected to produce.

I’d like to give this book 5 stars. It is very well detailed and designed and has a lot of helpful tips on every page. I do like how they show some pictures on most pages. Their titles are very gripping and summarises quite well.

This guide is perfect material for all types of writing. Very well presented book and explains how to present artistically. I highly recommend it.

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