Source passage
July had been blown out like a candle by the biting wind that ushered in a leaden August sky. A sharp, stinging drizzle fell, billowing into opaque grey sheets when the wind caught it. Along the Bournemouth sea-front the beach-huts turned bland wooden faces towards a greeny-grey, froth-chained sea that leapt eagerly at the cement bulwark of the shore. The gulls had been tumbled inland over the town, and they now drifted above the housetops on taut wings, whining peevishly. It was the sort of weather calculated to try anyone's endurance.
Writing task
The extract comes from the beginning of a novel. Continue the story. Write one or two paragraphs. You do not need to finish the story.
Remember to:
- use a range of interesting language and imagery.
- check your writing when you have finished.
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
Continue the oppressive seaside storm’s mood rather than suddenly changing location or genre. Select one incident and use precise imagery in a controlled continuation.
- style continuity
- atmosphere
- vivid vocabulary
- concise development
Requirements to keep in mind
Write one or two paragraphs; story need not finish.
Plan your response
- Write only one or two paragraphs.
- Continue naturally from the hostile weather in the extract.
- Use fresh images rather than copying its comparisons.
- Introduce one person or event to begin a story.
- Leave the plot open; a full ending is not required.
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 wind drove an abandoned newspaper along the promenade until it wrapped itself around a lamppost and shivered there. Beyond the sea wall, waves rose in crooked ranks, their white crests torn apart by the rain. Most of the beach huts were locked, but one blue door banged against its frame with an angry, hollow thud.
Ella hurried along the deserted pavement, holding her coat closed with one hand and shielding her eyes with the other. She had promised to meet her brother beside the pier, yet the familiar wooden structure was almost hidden behind a curtain of spray. Then she saw a small yellow umbrella caught between the railings. It struggled in the wind like a trapped bird. Underneath it lay a schoolbag, already soaked through. Ella stopped. Her brother's name was printed on the luggage tag, and there was no sign of him anywhere.
Learn from the example
- The response reconnects with the source characters and situation instead of retelling the extract. This helps the new writing feel like part of the same scene.
- Compare the narrator, tense and first action with the passage's final moment. Keep any compulsory opening and paragraph limit when writing your own continuation.