Writing question
Look at this painting, and write a short story based on it.
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
Turn details in the supplied painting into a plausible narrative with a central character and moment of change. The image must influence events, not merely decorate the opening.
- visual stimulus interpretation
- plotting
- imagery
- atmosphere
Requirements to keep in mind
Write a short story linked to the provided painting.
Plan your response
- Use the two figures and their surroundings as story clues.
- Give the characters a reason to be together.
- Build tension through small actions or dialogue.
- Avoid claiming details the painting does not show.
- End with a discovery or turning point.
Check your response against the task requirements. Leave time to review sentence clarity, punctuation and spelling.
Original atoply example response
Written by atoply, not an official school answer or mark scheme. Other successful responses are possible.
Reveal example and teaching notes
The Girl in the White Dress
The girl sat perfectly still, her white dress bright against the dark room. Beside her, a young man watched the door with such concentration that I began to wonder whether he was expecting somebody.
“Don't move,” he whispered.
“I haven't,” she replied. “I've been sitting here for nearly an hour.”
The house around them seemed to listen. Outside, a cart rattled over the stones; inside, only the clock dared make a sound.
On the table lay a folded letter, sealed with red wax. It had arrived that morning without a name, carrying just five words: Wait where the light falls.
The girl glanced at the pale patch of daylight beside her shoes. “Perhaps it means this.”
Her brother shook his head, but she had already crouched to examine the floor. Between two loose boards she spotted the edge of a narrow brass plate.
Together they lifted it. Underneath was a tiny compartment containing a miniature portrait of a smiling woman and a note written in careful handwriting.
For the children who will one day call this house home.
The girl held the portrait close. She recognised the woman's kind eyes from a painting hanging upstairs.
“It's Grandmother,” she breathed.
The boy took the note, and for the first time all afternoon his worried expression softened. Whatever mystery their house held, they were beginning to solve it together.
Learn from the example
- The example focuses on one situation, keeping the action easy to follow. Notice how a detail, action or decision moves that situation forward.
- Use the task's requirements to plan the development and ending of your own response; an opening alone does not demonstrate a complete story arc.