Writing task
Continue the passage from “Formica”, keeping the characters, dialogue and atmosphere consistent.
Source passage
The table had a formica top to it – a dubious mottled pink punctuated with cigarette burns. A green aluminium ashtray, quietly choking on cigarette ends, an untouched bar of chocolate, a battered copy of Gone With the Wind and a tube of antiseptic cream – half-used – distinguished the table from the ten or so others in the antiseptic room. And the three pairs of elbows. The three pairs of eyes belonging to the three pairs of elbows bored a hole in the expiring ashtray.
‘You are still taking your pills though, dear?’
‘Yes, Mother.’
‘Because you must take them you know.’
‘I know, Mother.’
‘Your pills.’
‘Mother, I am still taking my pills. I am taking my pills with a vengeance. I am putting all the energy, all the youthful vigour of my twenty-one years into taking my pills, Mother.’
‘There’s no need to talk to your mother like that, Neil,’ said his father, evenly.
‘There’s no need to talk to me like that, Neil,’ said his mother.
Silence reasserted itself again, pressing the elbows into the table, the eyes into the ashtray.
Time: 30 minutes (as indicated for this published task).
Marks: 20.
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
Continue Jonathan Steffen’s Formica scene about Neil and his parents, maintaining the uneasy family atmosphere.
- source fidelity
- pacing
- narrative continuity
Requirements to keep in mind
Choose ONE option in the writing section; option a; 20 marks; 30 minutes advised.
Plan your response
- Follow the exact instruction, form and viewpoint in the source PDF.
- Plan a clear beginning and a focused development.
- Use distinctive details rather than general adjectives.
- Allow a few minutes to check accuracy before finishing.
Check your response against the task requirements. Leave time to review sentence clarity, punctuation and spelling.
Original atoply example opening
Written by atoply, not an official school answer or mark scheme. This is an opening only; develop the rest of the response to meet the task requirements.
Reveal example and teaching notes
Neil stared at the ashtray until his mother's voice became a distant buzzing. He had come to tell them something, but now the words seemed too heavy to lift. His father folded the newspaper neatly. 'Well?' he asked. Neil pushed the pills aside and, for the first time that afternoon, looked them both in the eye.
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.