Part 1: Reading Extract
Read the following passage carefully before completing the writing task.
In an armchair, with an elbow resting on the table and her head leaning on that hand, sat the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see.
She was dressed in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silks – all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil hanging from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, some other jewels lay sparkling on the table.
Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and half-packed trunks, were scattered about. She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on – the other was on the table near her hand – her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some lace for her shoulders lay with those trinkets, and with her handkerchief, and gloves and some flowers, and a Prayer-book, all confusedly heaped about the looking glass.
It was not in the first few moments that I saw all these things but I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white, had been white long ago, and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow.
I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes. I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young woman, and that the figure upon which it now hung loose, had shrunk to skin and bone.
Once, I had been taken to see some ghastly waxworks at the Fair. Once, I had been taken to one of our marsh churches to see a skeleton in the ashes of a rich dress, that had been dug from under the church pavement. Now, waxwork and skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me.
— Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
Part 2: Creative Writing Task
Continue the story in whatever way you would like, following the passage from Great Expectations. (Total Marks: 20)
Practise this exact question with personalised feedback on your writing.
Understand the task
Continue the scene from Great Expectations describing the strange, faded bride, Miss Havisham, maintaining the eerie atmosphere.
- accurate expression
- imaginative control
- structure
- audience awareness
Requirements to keep in mind
Choose ONE option in the writing section; option 1; 20 marks; no independent writing time specified.
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
The woman lifted her hand slowly towards the stopped clock. Dust stirred on the table, and somewhere behind the curtains a mouse scratched. 'You are late,' she whispered. I could not tell whether she spoke to me or to someone who had failed to arrive years ago. Her eyes followed me towards the locked door.
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.