What is personal writing?
GCSE personal writing is a hybrid form of writing which mixes elements of autobiographical with creative and imaginative writing. It is based on real experiences, using the factual and informative elements of autobiographical writing with the imagery, imagination, and conversational and lively style of creative writing to set the scene and tell a great story.
Students engage well with personal writing at GCSE because they can, and should, base their response on their own lived experiences. They often write pieces which tell their teacher so much about their hobbies, skills, holidays, achievements, etc.
Check out this example of personal writing, complete with some annotations. It is designed to give students a model of what their writing could look like. Check it out here.
What GCSE exam boards in the UK require students to do personal writing?
Personal writing is an option in the following specifications:
- CCEA GCSE English Language Unit 4 Section B (specifically called ‘personal writing’ and is an option alongside creative writing). Check out some of the past paper questions here, and the full CCEA English Language specification here.
- WJEC GCSE English Language Unit 2 Section B (this is referred to as ‘description, narration or exposition’ but covers all of the same skills as personal writing). You can find some past papers here, and get the full WJEC English Language specification here.
While Pearson Edexcel, OCR and AQA do not specifically assess personal writing as examination component, it is nonetheless a great writing form to practice developing structure, style and practical skills.
What topics does GCSE Personal Writing cover?
Personal writing is often about a person, a place, a thing or an experience. You might ask your students to write about an experience in which they overcame an obstacle, or the best Christmas gift they have ever received, or a person who has inspired them, or a place that holds fond memories for them. My advice is to always pick topics that focus on the positive experiences of children. Avoid asking children to relive and describe difficult experiences.
It is worth noting that these piece of writing can also elicit some disclosures, and you should always respond to these pieces of writing with sensitivity, and follow safeguarding guidelines within your organisation.
What do students find difficult about personal writing?
1. Picking a topic to write about
The topics for personal writing are often very broad and open-ended, and as a result some students can feel lost. Not knowing what to write about or feeling that they don’t have anything big enough to write about can be a stumbling block for students. I like to show my students a model response which talks about small experiences, for example, looking out the window to a snowy morning, or learning to tie your shoe laces. Experiences like these are small, but they can be described in great detail and reflected upon. I have a blog post with a full example which you can use as a model for your students: check it out here.
2. Being too truthful
Some students get stuck because they sticking rigidly to the truth which can lead to a limited story. “But miss, after getting that great Christmas present of swimming lessons, I just kind of learned to swim and that was it!” Yes, that may be true, but it doesn’t make for a good story. How about adding on a paragraph exploring how this experience helped you feel more confident with other sports. Or adding a paragraph about helping your little sister to swim on holiday.
3. Being too creative
While an element of exaggeration is needed, being too ‘creative’ with the experience they recount can make it seem unrealistic. For example ‘the time I was President of the United States of America’ or ‘the time I travelled to the moon’ put the examiner and the reader off as we simply know this to be impossible … it can’t possibly be your story! While lively and creative, these are not believable or based on real, lived experiences. Exaggeration is fine, but there are limits!
4. Creating a lively stucture
Taking a straightforward approach of recounting events in sequence, can feel boring, creating a lack of lively features (imagery, language devices, range of sentence structure). ‘First, we went to the exam hall. Then, I wrote my answers. Next, I collected my coat. Lastly, I went home. The end.’ Responses like these need support to develop a structure which pulls the reader in and makes the piece feel lively and engaging.
5. Developing length and detail
Lack of development is one of the most common issues for students on the C/D borderline. These short responses are over too quickly and rarely show the development required for the higher mark bands. They are one paragraph wonders! These students need support to plan each paragraph – a writing frame is appropriate to help them to build their skills.
6. The beginning and the end
Knowing how to start a piece of writing can be daunting for students. Once they get started, ideas can flow more quickly, but staring at an empty page is intimidating. And then finishing the task well is also tricky unless you have a clear understanding of the reflection needed to link back to the task. Organising a response to create structure and pull the reader through the experience is not difficult, but it doesn’t come naturally to young people, so giving them a model task and a writing frame or writing guide can dramatically improve their work.
What should they put into an introduction? What should a conclusion include? I’m so glad you asked! Download my free Personal Writing Guide here.
I print these double sided and laminate them so I can give them out when we practice this style of writing. I have tried to make this suitable for both KS3 and GCSE students.
I would love to know if you have used my Personal Writing Guide, and how your students got on with it. Comment below, or use the contact form to get in touch.
