Year 9 Writing Task – Horror Story

Genre: A short story (Narrative) written to SCARE the reader. The writer uses descriptive language and imagery and techniques (such as building suspense or tension or leaving details to the reader’s imagination) to stimulate the reader’s imagination. Making them believe what they fear could be real…

Your Task: You are to write a short horror story that includes many of the traditional elements that you would expect to find in a scary story, such as:

-The language of horror (example: eerie, blood-curdling and terrifying)

-The building of suspense to create suspense and reader engagement

-Carefully detailed archetypes (example: Dracula, serial killer or ghost type), or

-Unique and unusual characters

-Shocking events or unexpected twists that the reader could not possibly predict

-Descriptive words that create a sensory experience

-An ending that may leave the reader feeling uncomfortable, that the story could be true…

Story length: 600 - 800 words

Task Criteria:

-Appropriate story structure (introduction, conflict and resolution)

-Sentences and paragraphing

-Punctuation and spelling

-Consistency of tense

-Genre representation (language use and vocabulary)

-Characterisation

-Audience awareness – positioning the reader (scare factor!!)

-Creativity – quality of writing

Real photo taken – The brown lady (1936)

Preparation

1)Decide on the plot of the story (based on – own ideas, movie, real story, nightmare etc).

2)Decide on location for setting and create the ‘context’ of the story – Is it set in the past? In a particular country? Is the story a consequence of past events? What social, cultural and environmental factors will be included to make your story authentic?

3)Decide of the number and ‘types’ of characters.

Develop your plot

1)Decide the ‘main action’ for the story – (Examples: accident, murder, an escape, a meeting etc)

2)Create the ‘scene’ – the environmental or atmospheric elements that make the story scary (example: an abandonedfarm house in the middle of a cold, snowy night)

3)A strong ending for resolution – needs to be satisfying for the reader, so they are not left asking questions

Important things to consider

-Plan it out – in point form, in the order they should go

-Take care of details – your reader needs to see, hear and experience what you intended them to!

-Write, write, write your draft – get into the flow of writing to capture your ideas

-Keep track of your characters – there needs to be resolution for all characters

-Edit – proof read your own work for errors and improvements

-Get someone else to read your story – have you succeeded in scaring the reader?

-Redraft – for an improved results and final piece of writing

A few useful Websites:

Year 9 English Writing

Creative Writing – Horror Story

SKILLS / 4.75 /
5.0
/ 5.25 /
5.5
control of writing texts in various forms, including narratives, reports, explanations, procedures and persuasive texts / produce, in print and electronic forms, texts for a variety of purposes, including speculating, hypothesising, persuading and reflecting / composition of sustained narratives with some control of main plot and sub-plots and consistent character development / expression of thoughts, feelings, opinions and ideas
composition of imaginative and informative texts presenting challenging ideas and issues / write extended narratives or scripts / use of writing to explore complex issues and POV / use of writing to explore complex issues and to argue for a particular point of view
appropriate use of figurative language to achieve particular effects / write arguments, reports, personal reflections on, or evaluations of, texts / use of a variety of language techniques to present an argument and influence audiences to share a POV / integration of complex ideas and multiple perspectives
strategic use of headings, subheadings, graphics, photographs and art work to support the text / improve the accuracy and readability of their writing / effective use of vocabulary and sentence structures appropriate to the intended purpose of the text / the written conventions, structures and features appropriate for a range of different text types
use of a variety of software packages to plan, organise, revise and present electronic texts / use a range of punctuation to support meaning / effective use of strategies for redrafting, editing for audience appropriateness, prioritising and sequencing ideas / proofreading and redrafting for accuracy, clarity, coherence and consistency of style
control tenses and accurately identify and use speech
edit their writing for clarity, coherence and consistency of style, and proofread and correct spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors.
Task Criteria / VL / L / M / H / VH
Appropriate structure – Intro, conflict & Resolution / VL / L / M / H / VH
Sentences and paragraphing / VL / L / M / H / VH
Punctuation and spelling / VL / L / M / H / VH
Consistency of tense / VL / L / M / H / VH
Genre Representation (Language use and vocabulary) / VL / L / M / H / VH
Characterisation / VL / L / M / H / VH
Audience awareness – positioning the reader / VL / L / M / H / VH
Creativity – quality of writing / VL / L / M / H / VH

Name: ______

Overall result:_____

Comments: ______