Picture stimulus
Open the original picture in the source paper before planning your response. It opens in a separate tab so you can keep this task alongside it.
View the original picture (PDF page 10)Writing task
Section C: Creative Writing (30 marks)
- You have 25 minutes to write your story.
- Please read all the instructions carefully before starting to write.
- Write on the lined paper provided.
Write a story inspired by this image:
[Visual stimulus: a tiger in a lifeboat on the water.]
You may want to use this opening sentence:
Although it did not seem it at first, the tiger was not alone in the lifeboat.
Make sure you include description in your story.
Marks will be awarded for:
- Establishing a storyline
- Original ideas
- Vivid description
- Vocabulary
- Paragraphing, sentence variety, punctuation and spelling
This is the full task in Section C (the selected writing task); no reading passage is supplied or needed.
Use the accompanying image stimulus for this task.
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
The Tiger in the Lifeboat is a image-stimulus story task that tests originality, clear structure, accurate writing. Use the tiger’s presence to establish a surprising but coherent situation and a clear story arc.
- originality
- clear structure
- accurate writing
- audience awareness
Requirements to keep in mind
Recommended writing time: approximately 25 minutes (as indicated in the paper/section); Writing marks: 30 (subject to separately awarded SPaG marks); Published task/option: C (where the source offers alternatives, pupils answer the paper's specified number, not all)
Plan your response
- Use the tiger’s presence to establish a surprising but coherent situation and a clear story arc.
- 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
At sunrise the little lifeboat rocked gently on the golden sea. The tiger raised its enormous head and sniffed the air. Beneath the wooden seat, Sami tried not to breathe. She had climbed aboard during the night, hoping to escape the sinking ship, and had discovered the animal only when the moon rose. A faint rumble came from its stomach. Sami reached into her pocket and found the last of her biscuits. She placed one on the floorboards. The tiger watched her. Then, very slowly, it lowered its head and nudged the biscuit back towards her.
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.