Do you think this story is true? For the Cambridge First Certificate in English [FCE] writing exam, you need to write a story in 120-180 words. Here’s an example.
The question for an FCE story can be worded in a few different ways. For example, you may have to answer something like this:
FCE Writing: part 2 – example
LearnEnglishMagazine.com is asking readers to write a story beginning or ending with the words: “she smiled and walked away.”
The winning entry will be published in our Christmas issue.
Although I wasn’t feeling well, somehow I managed to get onto the tram to work. Rather foolishly, I’d cooked some food the previous night with an old sauce which had gone off. Now I was paying the price. I’d seen there was a little mold on top of the carrots I was eating yet this Australian attitude came across me:
“She’ll be right.”
So I kept on eating. I should have known that something was up when I felt a little dizzy. On the tram I felt faint. Things got worse when the tram was re-routed about 5 minutes’ walk from the school. Damn.
As I was getting off, a girl came up to me.
“Do you remember me?”
I thought it was Pavla joking about her absence the week before.
“Sorry, not feeling well. I may have to cancel today’s lesson.”
“But..you taught me 5 or so years ago. Don’t you remember?” Now I was delirious. But I did remember, slowly. It wasn’t Pavla.
Looking a little perplexed, Aneta pointed in the direction of the school. Then she smiled and walked away.
———–
Words: 185 + 5 for the title “She smiled and walked away”
What did you think? You definitely won’t get a topic like “the day I got food poisoning.” However, you will get asked to write a story based on a general theme or common experience. The exam question may give you the opening or closing sentence or ask you to write about a true event. Likewise, the question may ask you to be creative.
In any case the most important thing is to answer the question!
Top DOs for writing your story
- PLAN your answer. Spend a few minutes and write down what you’re going to say in each paragraph.
- Write the story ONCE in the exam. Please DON’T do what many Czech students do and write a rough copy before writing ‘the nice copy.’ First, there have been a few horror stories of the examiner taking a student’s exam booklet before they’ve finished! Second, if you plan it you won’t need to worry about ‘the nice version.’
- Check the question and make sure you know what the question is asking you to do. In the example of a story, is it giving you the first sentence or the last? Should it be a true story from your childhood or fiction?
- As part of making sure you understand the question, underline the key words.
- Go over your story and check for any common mistakes you might be aware of (eg missing articles, spelling, missing prepositions, punctuation).
- Use paragraphs. Planning will help you decide what should be in each paragraph. AVOID writing a messy story with arrows all over the place – I’ve seen some students do this and it makes the story harder to follow!
- Use some direct speech. Eg “Do you remember me?”
- Write a story which sounds INTERESTING. It can be something funny or where you learnt an important lesson. It should have some kind of point to it.
- You’ll be marked on your range of grammatical and vocabulary/lexical structures, so be sure to practise these in any FCE preparation course you are doing.
- Use some linking words and time phrases to ‘signpost’ where your story is going. ie to show you are writing an organised story use expressions such as: as soon as; after that; that’s when I…; not long afterwards; some time later.
- Stay within the word limit or as close as you can. Please note that Cambridge ESOL say “don’t worry if you run slightly over the word limit.” I understand that it’s after 200 words that you may be penalised.
- Include a title for your story.
Finally don’t be afraid to show some of your personality! I’ve met many Czechs who don’t wish to write much about themselves or who don’t wish to give any ‘personal information.’ First, you can make things up! Second, try to show a little of who you are – isn’t that why you’re learning a language?
What next? Now it’s your turn!
There’s definitely a lot to mention about writing a story so I’ll follow this up soon with more! In the meantime especially for my own students and clients, here is a topic you can write at home. Feel free to post it in the comments below:
Get Into English webzine is asking students to write a story about a time they travelled to another country. It must begin with this sentence:
“Although it was so beautiful, I knew I couldn’t stay much longer.”
David Sweetnam
English Teacher and Trainer
Engage s.r.o.
david [at] GetIntoEnglish [dot] com
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello, David, very nice post!
Here is my main problem: ■Go over your story and check for any common mistakes you might be aware of (eg missing articles, spelling, missing prepositions, punctuation).
I’m improving little by little, but I still have problems with prepositions, punctuation and word/verb order.
Have a nice day.
Hi Marcelo!
I saw you wrote on your blog about ‘reading to be a good writer.’ It’s hard to measure but can you see how reading has improved the way you write your own stories?
Re: going over common mistakes, do you keep a notebook of the things to look out for? I have one student who is really good at remember which mistakes he makes, and he goes over the feedback I give him at home. It does require some discipline but I am impressed by how much this student picks up and how he can correct himself.
David