Story – Useful language
– We had been (talking about John) just before (he phoned).
– It wasn’t until (I read the letter) that (I realised how dangerous the situation was).
– While (I was waiting for my friends, I saw someone go into the house opposite).
– As soon as (my friends arrived, we went to have a look).
– I was just about to (open the door), when (I heard a noise downstairs).
– By the time (I got back to the house, there was no one to be seen).
– After waiting (for a few minutes, I decided to climb in trough the window).
– A few seconds later, (the lights went out).
– Eventually/After a while, (my friends arrived).
– At last (I knew what I had to do).
Story – Rules
DO use phrases to show when things happpened in your story.
– e.g. It was the last football game of the season. When the second half started…
DON’T make mistakes with narrative tenses.
– e.g. The crowd was cheering… It wasn’t going to be…
DON’T write about a topic if you don’t know some specific vocabulary related to it.
– e.g. score, goalkeeper, goal, pitch.
DO use interesting vocabulary.
– e.g. raced, roared.
DO use direct speech because it makes the story more interesting to read.
– e.g. ‘Good try!’ We played hard…
DO add extra detail to add to the atmosphere of the story.
– e.g. When… it was raining heavily.
DO try to create some suspense.
– e.g. Our chance of winning the championship was slipping away…
DO try to have a dramatic end.
– e.g. We were the champions!