In creative writing, there isn't one correct answer to every question. But this is what makes creative writing challenging too: it can be hard to know what to write, how, and what will make your writing 'good'. That's why we'll do a lot of:

• Practice, and
• Modelling after 'best practice' essays

There are methods and skills that you can develop and use when you write creatively, and these will help you write effectively and engage the reader. This chapter/section will help you learn how to do this.

Consider the following two short paragraphs:

1. Fatima went to school and saw her friends, and after this she went to play football with her friends and then went home and had dinner and went to bed.

2. This morning, Fatima went to school, as she does every weekday. This particular morning, Fatima was in a good mood, and she whistled one of her favourite tunes on the way. After a full and rather tiring day at school, she met her friends at their usual meeting spot at the edge of the school grounds, and they went off to play football at the local football pitch – a large, overgrown pitch at the edge of their suburb. Exhausted but pleased, and having scored a particularly impressive goal, Fatima went home, where dinner was waiting for her, and, before long, she was off to bed.

As you can see, paragraph 1 has one sentence only, and it is dry, clumsy and does not engage you when you read it. On the other hand, paragraph 2 gives you a full story and engages you with it: at the end of the paragraph, you have a picture in your mind about Fatima, and you can imagine her day.

There are 3 rules by which examiners will judge your writing, they are:

1. Does it have a sense of order?
2. Can you describe your story in one adjective?
3. The relationship of your story to the exam requirements

In the exam, it is vital that you remember to go through these tests during your reviewing process. A good way to remember the Three Tests is by using the acronym OAR:

• O = order (does your story have a sense of order?)

• A = adjective (can you describe your story in one adjective?)

• R = relationship (the relationship of your story to the exam requirements)

Think of yourself as a boat adrift in the sea of writing and reviewing, the OAR is what will help steer you in the right direction! Note that to meet each test, a combination of elements that together make up the entire story is what will meet the test – not just a mere addition here or there.

You often know instinctively, when you read a story, whether it is a well-written or poorly-written one. Good stories make you want to continue reading. They don't let you get lost along the way, and they succeed in giving you a "feel" for the atmosphere and setting. On the other hand, some stories are plodding, dry and confusing.

With the competitive entrance exams, it is assumed that your creative writing would be a 'step above the rest' in that your story is more demanding of you intellectually.

Through your story, you should be able to demonstrate a higher order of thought through the use of symbolism and meaning in interpreting and writing rather than just a literal interpretation. This guide will show you in each of the sample exam questions how this has been achieved.

The goal in writing a creative piece in an exam is about getting a well-written piece that meets OAR out due to the time constraints. Your goal isn't to write a masterpiece, or even your best work if it means you don't complete it in time. Your goal is just to simply:

• Write what the exam has requested you,
• To a high standard,
• In complete form,
• Within the time frame provided.

Key Rules to remember:

• The three tests by which your writing is evaluated on its level – O = order, A = adjectives, R = relationship to the question.
• To improve you must practice and model after well-written work.
• The goal is to get a complete piece of writing at a high standard within the time frame provided, not to write a fantastic paragraph but incomplete piece.

Now it's time to do your assignment.

1. Download the assignment question here.
2. Print it out or if you want to do it electronically, save it.
3. Complete the questions to it.
4. Then check the solutions on the video below.
5. To get the worded solutions/sample essays, download them here.