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 2)Writing task
Spend 20 minutes on this test Read the task and plan your response for 5 minutes Spend 15 minutes writing Remember to check your work carefully.
Look at the picture below, then write a detailed descriptive response paying attention to description and accuracy of spelling and grammar.
Marks will be awarded for:
- originality and imagination
- appropriate voice and style
- use of imagery (metaphor and simile)
- ambitious and accurate vocabulary, punctuation and sentence structures
Remember to check your work carefully.
Use the accompanying image stimulus for this task.
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
This image-led descriptive writing prompt chiefly tests originality, appropriate structure and precise vocabulary. Choose details that create a coherent atmosphere; do not invent a plot that distracts from the image.
- originality
- appropriate structure
- precise vocabulary
- spelling and punctuation
Requirements to keep in mind
Allow 20 minutes in total: 5 minutes to read and plan, followed by 15 minutes to write. Use the original photograph linked beside the question and check your spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Plan your response
- Choose details that create a coherent atmosphere; do not invent a plot that distracts from the image.
- Plan the response around the task’s specific instructions.
- Use deliberate paragraphing, sentence variety and concrete detail.
- Reserve time for spelling and punctuation checks.
- Compare with the official paper for any accompanying text or picture.
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
The lake was perfectly smooth, as though the sky had turned into water. My paddle dipped beneath its surface with barely a splash. Ahead, dark pine trees stood on a small island, their reflections reaching down into the pale gold mist.
No engines disturbed the morning. A bird called once from somewhere in the trees and then fell silent. The canoe moved forward so quietly that I could hear drops slipping from the blade after each stroke. A thin band of sunlight widened along the horizon. I slowed, wanting to keep that first unbroken moment of day for as long as possible.
Learn from the example
- The comparison between the smooth lake and the sky establishes stillness, while small sounds keep the scene grounded in observation.
- The final wish to prolong the moment links the narrator's feelings to the setting. It sustains the descriptive focus without introducing an unrelated adventure.