Writing task
Continue the story from the supplied passage about a boy approaching an unfamiliar grey island. Keep the character’s viewpoint and the atmosphere consistent.
Source passage
Extract: The appearance of the island when they came on deck next morning was altogether changed. Grey-coloured woods covered a large part of the surface. The even tint was broken up by streaks of yellow sand-break in the lower lands, and by many tall trees of the pine family – some singly, some in clumps – but the general colouring was uniform and sad. The ship rolled in the ocean swell, and the boy had to cling tight to the backstay while the world turned giddily before his eyes.
Time: 45 minutes (as indicated for this published task).
Marks: 30.
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
This source-passage story continuation prompt chiefly tests source fidelity, character continuity and plot pacing. Continue from the extract rather than writing a generic island adventure; focus on the boy’s emotional response.
- source fidelity
- character continuity
- plot pacing
- narrative accuracy
Requirements to keep in mind
Writing time: 45 minutes; Marks available: 30; Candidates answer one of two alternatives; Approximately 5 minutes planning, 35 writing, 5 checking
Plan your response
- Continue from the extract rather than writing a generic island adventure; focus on the boy’s emotional response.
- 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 boy steadied himself against the rail and watched the grey island rise from the sea. Each wave revealed another narrow strip of beach, but beyond the sand the pine trees stood so close together that they seemed to conceal the land itself.
He had imagined bright flowers and friendly birds. Instead a thin wind carried the smell of wet bark across the water. The sailors said little as they prepared the boat. He wondered whether anyone had ever lived there, and why no smoke rose from the forest.
When the anchor dropped, a sharp metallic sound rang over the water. From somewhere among the trees came an answer: three slow knocks, perfectly spaced.
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.