Mrs Mj
Paper 1 Section B1 – descriptive writing • This should avoid narrative – that will be tested in B2. • It is likely you will be asked to describe a person or place, atmosphere or situation. • Plan and write three paragraphs – fill one side of A4 The air of the place had something Mediterranean or maybe Caribbean about it. It was the kind of place where people came out late at night to eat and drink, to dance and enjoy music. Except that there was no-one here, and the silence was immense. On the first corner there stood a café, with little green tables on the pavement and a zinc-topped bar and an espresso machine. On some of the tables glasses stood half empty; in an ashtray a cigarette had burned down to the butt; a plate of risotto stood next to a basket of stale rolls as hard as cardboard… • Focus on atmosphere, eg • Imply mystery, eg • Use precise detail, eg
• Use the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell), eg
The house is very old and smells of mould. The faded brown wall-paper looks a century old and the walls are cold to the touch. In the whitewashed kitchen, the food served by Aunt Grace always seems to have a hint of peppermint. “Have some more,” she urges, her voice creaking like a gate in a windy yard. • use similes, metaphors and personification, eg
Aunty’s guest room is as cold as a cave and filled with ghosts of the past. If you lie there at night, as still as a tombstone, you can hear the wind sighing through the trees. • use speech only to illustrate a point, eg
My aunt is like a living part of the cottage. “I feel as if I’ve been here since time began,” she cackles in her cracked voice, rocking in her chair, and you believe her. • use brief anecdotes to add further life, eg
Once a gasman who called ran from the cellar, screaming. He said there were strange noises down there and fled, leaving the meter unread. Aunt Grace said it had just been her stomach rumbling,
• Use the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell), eg
The house is very old and smells of mould. The faded brown wall-paper looks a century old and the walls are cold to the touch. In the whitewashed kitchen, the food served by Aunt Grace always seems to have a hint of peppermint. “Have some more,” she urges, her voice creaking like a gate in a windy yard. • use similes, metaphors and personification, eg
Aunty’s guest room is as cold as a cave and filled with ghosts of the past. If you lie there at night, as still as a tombstone, you can hear the wind sighing through the trees. • use speech only to illustrate a point, eg
My aunt is like a living part of the cottage. “I feel as if I’ve been here since time began,” she cackles in her cracked voice, rocking in her chair, and you believe her. • use brief anecdotes to add further life, eg
Once a gasman who called ran from the cellar, screaming. He said there were strange noises down there and fled, leaving the meter unread. Aunt Grace said it had just been her stomach rumbling,