Most families don’t know how to help their children with creative writing. Especially for the 11 Plus exams.
Some parents start by getting their children to write story after story, but that does not help much because children need accurate guidance on their creative writing to improve. Apart from that, not every writing task in the 11 Plus exam is a creative story. There are bout 12 different writing tasks that your child can be presented with in the exam: from newspaper articles to emails, to recount writing, to descriptive essays and more!
Geek School Tutoring’s range of creative writing courses (on out www.11PlusEssay.co.uk website) and materials will help your child learn everything they need to do their very best in independent school entrance exams or grammar school selection tests.
Our Creative Writing Crash Course has been put together by our managing director, Joycellyn Akuffo, to help children develop the necessary skills to attain the highest marks in their 11 Plus writing tasks.
It first launched in 2016 due to demand from parents who could not bring their children along to our Greater London centres but still wanted to tap into the success of Geek School Tutoring.
With more than a decade’s experience supporting children in 11 Plus preparation – and even longer as a journalist, Joycellyn has put together a range of courses and publications to help children excel in their creative writing.
Geek School Tutoring’s Creative Writing Crash Course helps children to learn:
- The elements of their work attract the most marks – and it isn’t the plot!
- How to avoid needlessly losing marks in creative writing tasks.
- How to craft simple stories that contain excellent description;
- How to use broad vocabulary; and effective literary techniques. This is where the focus should be in the 11 Plus creative writing tasks.
- How to develop descriptive writing without memorising descriptions and writing like a robot!
- How to plan stories and write them clearly and effectively.
- Where to find story ideas.
Geek School Tutoring’s Creative Writing Crash Course helps children improve their writing more effectively than any book could hope to. The course has proven to be very useful in assisting children in improving their writing.
After the first and second marking, most children find their stories have gone through a significant improvement, and their understanding of what is required of them is significantly improved by the end of the Creative Writing Crash Course.
When should children start the Creative Writing Crash Course?
- If a child is in year 5 and is preparing for a grammar school 11 Plus selection test, starting as soon as possible – September is an excellent time to start so your child has enough time to complete the course stress-free.
- If your child is preparing for an independent school exam, many start during the summer of year 5 or September (when they started year 6). This gives them enough time to complete the Creative Writing Crash Course before the entrance exams in January. Some entrance exams begin as early as October, so starting in the summer would be better.
- If your child is preparing for a SATs KS2 Test, they can start the Creative Writing Crash Course any time from the summer of year 5. Beginning the course at this time of year would give your child enough time to complete the course before the exam the following May.
- The course is usually too advanced and fast-paced for children in year 4 unless they are working at a high level of writing.
- Children who use this course fully will see a significant improvement in their creative writing ability.