Writing task
Composition (50 marks) Write on one of the following in prose in either fiction or non-fictional form. Credit will be given for quality, not quantity. You should aim to display imagination in your ideas as well as your use of English expression / imagery / style / variety. Descriptive power and/or characterisation is rewarded more than complexity of plot.
4. Fog everywhere.
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
Fog Everywhere is a atmospheric writing task that tests atmosphere, sensory detail, pace. Create strong spatial uncertainty; let sounds and touch do the work of lost sight.
- atmosphere
- sensory detail
- pace
- structure
Requirements to keep in mind
Recommended writing time: approximately 60 minutes (as indicated in the paper/section); Writing marks: 50 (subject to separately awarded SPaG marks); Published task/option: 4 (where the source offers alternatives, pupils answer the paper's specified number, not all)
Plan your response
- Create strong spatial uncertainty; let sounds and touch do the work of lost sight.
- Plan a clear beginning, development and ending within the time available.
- Use precise vocabulary and vary sentence lengths where appropriate.
- Proofread spelling, punctuation and paragraphing before finishing.
Check your response against the task requirements. Leave time to review sentence clarity, punctuation and spelling.
Short atoply teaching example
Written by atoply, not an official school answer or mark scheme. This short illustration shows selected techniques. It does not set a target length or expected mark for the timed task.
Reveal example and teaching notes
By noon, the fog had swallowed the opposite side of the street. The bakery sign hung in a pale emptiness, and passing bicycles appeared without warning, their bells ringing like small warnings. Elsie kept one hand on the garden wall as she walked. The stones were wet beneath her fingers. She knew every crack and gate along the road, yet today each familiar object seemed newly mysterious. Somewhere ahead a dog barked twice. Then came the delicate clink of her father's keys, although he had left for the station at dawn.
Learn from the example
- Concrete details build an impression of the subject. Notice how those choices work together rather than reading as a list of general adjectives.
- The viewpoint controls what the reader notices. Choose details and an order that sustain the task's requested perspective and atmosphere.