gothic creative writing gcse

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100 gothic fiction writing prompts

November 28, 2023 by Richard Leave a Comment

Here are 100 gothic fiction writing prompts that go bump in the night. Shadowy figures are lurking in crumbling mansions. Ominous family curses and disturbing secrets. Welcome to the macabre world of gothic fiction. With its atmospheric tales of horror and suspense, this haunting genre never seems to die.

And now, you can let your dark imagination run wild thanks to these 100 spine-tingling gothic fiction writing prompts. Inside, you’ll find story ideas involving haunted sanitariums, possessed dolls, vengeful spirits, bizarre experiments gone wrong, unsettling wax museums, and so much more.

Creative inspiration awaits on every chilling line, from creepy portraits and abandoned opera houses to agents of the occult and sinister doppelgangers. Not for the faint of heart, these prompts pull back the veil into spaces where the darkest dreams and nightmares dwell just out of sight.

Venture forth, if you dare. Let the ghosts and shadows guide your pen to weave deliciously dramatic tales to make readers shiver. Just be warned—once you immerse yourself in these macabre realms, you might never wish to return to the comforting glow of the light again. The spirits will eagerly await your next visit to their darkened domains.

• An old mansion hides disturbing secrets and supernatural forces in the attic that slowly take control of a new homeowner.
• A family curse causes a daughter to transform into a ghostly spirit every night, haunting the ancestral castle.
• Gargoyles and stone figures seem to move when no one is watching in an ancient monastery turned hotel.
• Mysterious scratching and cries can be heard within the walls of a creaky old plantation house at night.
• An innocent mother is accused of witchcraft in 1600s Salem and condemned to death for her occult “crimes.”
• A widow uncovers her dead husband’s strange double life after finding his hidden portrait stashed away in a forgotten attic.
• A mental patient believes a possessed doll talks to her at night, urging her to commit violent acts.
• Strange marks and blood keep appearing on a daughter after she becomes obsessed with communicating with spirits using an antique Ouija board.
• A decaying sanitarium still bears unsettling traces of its horrific and bizarre medical practices on abandoned patients.
• Villagers suffer violent sleepwalking fits that coincide with rumors of a vampire stalking the night.
• A daughter tries to figure out if she’s going insane or truly haunted by the vengeful ghost of her dead mother.
• A perilous staircase within an abbey spirals into unknown realms below.
• A pallid masked ball conjures macabre visions of the past that hint at an unsolved murder.
• A family becomes increasingly corrupted and haunted after moving into an ancestral home their new baby inherited.
• Dogs around a village go mad after a meteor crash, savaging their masters at night.
• Mysterious medicinal tinctures at an asylum seem to only make patients exhibit worsening fits of insanity.
• A gravedigger realizes the corpse he just buried seems oddly still sentient and desperate to escape.
• Villagers are plagued by a daemonic specter leaving behind inexplicable nocturnal phenomena like imprints of cloven hooves.
• An innocent girl is abducted into a convent as punishment for her mother’s sins but discovers the nuns secretly practice witchcraft at night.
• An accursed cask of Amontillado wine drives its victims murderously insane.
• A troubled widow uncovers her home’s accursed foundations are strangely shifting every night.
• A shadowy cabal seeks occult texts and artifacts for mysterious rituals from the catacombs below a corrupted monastery.
• In the candlelit rooms of an abandoned Gothic manse, ghosts endlessly recreate a tragedy.
• A prisoner is spirited away every night from his cell to a ghostly masked ball even as he awaits execution.
• Sinister medieval torture devices are revived to torment victims of an obsessive cryptic society within a dungeon.
• Glimpses of fatal visions in ornate mirrors drives the viewer slowly mad.
• An eccentric gentleman scientist conducts deranged experiments bringing corpses to life with disastrous consequences.
• A remote island filled with exotic flowers breeds an opiate-like scent that draws visitors only to never let them leave again.
• A silver bell that rings unexpectedly in the night signals another soon-to-be victim marked for death by a vengeful spirit.
• Eerie doppelgangers take the place of loved ones, deceiving everyone except one person who knows the truth.
• A crumbling gothic tower imprisoned artists driven mad trying to capture visions of a beautiful muse who tragically perished.
• An asylum patient speaks a dead language to mysterious entities living within the walls.
• Sinister satanic rituals take place in the catacombs below a remote monastery.
• An eccentric widow performs bizarre elaborate funerals for her dead pets left to wander restless on the grounds of her decaying estate.
• Terrible secrets fester behind the boarded up windows of a foreboding Gothic manse sinking into a swamp.
• A cursed ancient artifact causes a strange wasting plague to rapidly age victims until they become desiccated ghoulish remnants.
• Phantasmagoric illusions plague a masked ball, showing omens of tragedy within the mirrors.
• Witch hunters accuse women in a village of secret satanic pacts causing children to dance madly to macabre magical flutes only they seem to hear.
• A miserable masked carnival performer transforms into a real grotesque creature when offstage after being born malformed.
• An old wooden marionette begins subtly manipulating its puppeteer.
• Mysterious locked rooms once used for occult rituals drive the curious to obsessively seek ways to see inside.
• Winged vicious creatures stalk the elaborate stone halls of crumbling ancestral castle.
• Unmarked graves in family cemeteries disturbingly sink every year even after exhumation.
• A vampiric contagion spreads from rats boldly biting citizens in a shadowy slum.
• A wretched foundling child suffers violent fits and harbors a cruel second soul those in the workhouse strangely indulge.
• A portrait’s eyes seem to hauntingly follow you as if the spirit remains trapped within.
• An intricate puzzle box found in the ashes of an old burned down asylum proves maddeningly impossible yet sinister to solve.
• A masked stranger seems to mysteriously die multiple violent deaths before your eyes at the same masquerade ball over centuries.
• A sleep experiment induces ghastly nightmares that continue to haunt waking victims.
• A wax museum’s strikingly lifelike figures seem prone to subtly shifting when unobserved.
• Mourning paintings morph the dead’s faces into cadaverous skulls if stared at too long.
• Disturbing eerie echoes of macabre theater scenes continue to repeat within an abandoned Opera house attic even without players.
• A widower’s pained artistic attempts at revival seem to succeeding at resurrecting his deceased wife into an uncanny creature.
• A sentient schizophrenic house’s architecture keeps fantastically warping.
• A broken antique kaleidoscope filled with tainted bone fragments shows macabre visions of death to owners.
• An inhabitant of opiate dens seems to project their delirious dreams of a haunted palace.
• Gargoyles mysteriously take the place of landlords thought to be away on extended trips.
• Elaborate startling illusionist tricks at a theater inexplicably shift into real supernatural manifestations.
• An ornate hand mirror shows the viewer’s face aging rapidly or glimpses their own gruesome death behind their shoulder.
• Ghostly debutante dancers endlessly waltz together unable to stop until dawn breaks the spell binding them to the ballroom.
• A widow uncovers her husband’s secret obsession with building uncannily perfect wind up automata replacements of recently deceased townspeople.
• A physician teaches his unusual nervously sensitive ward to enter a trance to retreat from reality’s disturbing stimuli into the meticulously crafted rooms of a haunted mind palace.
• Corpses of the recently deceased are stolen from cemeteries before materializing days later woven into elaborately posed configurations on church pews.
• A troubled writer frequents the sprawling haunted ruins of an alchemist’s strange estate, inspiring her wildly imaginative yet disturbing stories seeming to manifest elements into reality the more she writes them.
• A masked stranger haunts the private theater box night after night to bizarrely mentor an actress until she embodies her dead lover reborn onstage.
• Ghostly echoes of macabre deaths plague a murderer forcing them toward the scene of their crimes for a reenactment on every anniversary.
• Eerie music box melodies woven from metal pins and blood guide the imaginative inside a labyrinthine mechanical puzzle house.
• A widow trapped in perpetual mourning painstakingly applies her dead daughter’s preserved face to lifelike doll effigies.
• Disturbing unseen presences seem to forcibly puppeteer vulnerable drug addicts into recreating bizarre depraved theater shows.
• An intricately decorated artifact using human bones and teeth seems to promise supernatural visions yet also extract sanity as payment.
• A troubled detective frequents the bizarrely maze-like halls of his inherited family estate which seems to ominously shift and transform to mirror his fractured mind.
• A strange idol causes bizarre uncanny doppelgangers to manifest when studying your mirrored reflection too closely by candlelight.
• An ominous ancient grandfather clock always seems to countdown toward the hour of a person’s eventual mysterious death.
• Eerie echoes from a deceased twin haunt a surviving sister while her parents seem obliviously content to pretend the deceased child never existed.
• A troubled magician able to manifest realistic illusions finds the appearances slowly becoming autonomous entities no longer under their control.
• A melancholy doll somehow houses the soul of a drowned child submerged from a past tragedy mysteriously able to animate itself.
• A comatose woman’s nightmares seem to cross over into waking reality the longer she remains unable to wake up.
• A grieving eccentric covertly captures apparitions on antique photographic plates by stealing close keepsakes from dead loved ones to haunt the images.
• A drug addict watches a doppelganger slowly take over their life leaving them behind like a forgotten hollow shell.
• An heiress who haunts a decaying mansion seems to enchant guests into staying longer each visit until they waste away becoming dusty relics imprisoned by her loneliness.
• Death masks crafted from wax conceal a bizarre way for the wealthy secretly achieve eternal life by encasing souls.
• An intricate puzzle box found in an asylum’s ashes proves disturbingly irresistible yet maddeningly impossible to solve.
• Faded unnerving portraits hide being them twisted decaying corpse faces revealed by candlelight.
• An artist’s miraculously revived daughter rapidly becomes a bizarre inhuman creature.
• A grieving mother uses bodies of the recently deceased as bizarre life size macabre doll replacements for her dead daughter.
• Unmarked patient graves in an asylum’s cemetery subtly sink deeper when no one watches.
• A haunted portrait’s subject seems to possess those who gaze upon their beauty for too long.
• An intricate anatomical theater hides disturbing occult ceremonies deep below.
• A twisted sculptures garden filled with contorted stone bodies seems to come alive at night.
• Ghostly debutante dancers haunt an abandoned dilapidated ballroom unable stop waltzing even as the room crumbles.
• A magician’s transformative stage illusions become an addiction yet irreversibly distorts their appearance when not on stage.
• A troubling ornate music box plays seemingly random eerie melodies that prove to sadly match the tune of imminent real life tragedies.
• A grief stricken eccentric attempts increasingly deranged experiments to revive dead loved ones.
• An intricate mechanical puzzle house ensnares victims inside its constantly shifting labyrinthine rooms and halls.
• A haunted asylum’s disturbing experimental therapies leave victims in an eternally childlike regressed state even after death.
• Unearthly cries emerge from the boarded up ruins of a decaying estate no one dares gets near at night.
• An intricate mosaic floor patterns itself from the powdered cremation ashes of deceased institute residents.
• Mourning paintings hauntingly transform to show the dead’s faces become cadaverous skulls if stared at too long.
• An intricate clockwork automatons that perfectly resemble the newly dead seem to creepily enact aspects of their former living behaviors.
• An intricate artful anatomy theater hides disturbing occult ceremonies deep below its secret trapdoors.

We hope you enjoyed this list of Gothic writing prompts. There are many other writing prompts on our site you may enjoy. If you have any questions or concerns please leave them in the comments below. Feel free to leave us any work you want to share that was inspired by these prompts. 

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About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

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Miss Huttlestone's GCSE English

Because a whole class of wonderful minds are better than just one!

2 Grade 9 Creative Writing Examples

I recently asked my year 11s to pen a piece of description and/or narrative writing for their mini assessment. I gave them the following prompts:

Your school wants you to contribute to a collection of creative writing.

EITHER: Write a short story as suggested by this picture:

OR: Write a description about a person who has made a strong impression on you.

The following were two COMPELLING and CONVINCING examples of the second choice – one pupil taking ‘you’ as a fictional invitation, the other as a biographical one:

EXAMPLE ONE:

Gradually, I awake and open my eyes only to see the cracked white ceiling which greets me every day. Here I sit, slumped in the bed with the scratchy white sheets hugging me and muffled beeping noises jumping into my ears. Rubbing the sleep crust from my bloodshot eyes, I observe the scene before me. The sound of footsteps overlapping as nurses rush from bed to bed; the metallic tang from stainless steel invading my nostrils; the cold metal bed rail imprisoning and mocking me; the pungent scent of antiseptic troubling me and the blood-curdling cries and moans utterly terrifying me. Using all my strength, I try to imagine I am somewhere else, anywhere else but here.

Crowds, signs, roars: it was 1903 and the suffragette movement had begun. It was a crisp night, refreshing almost and I had taken to the streets. It was like I was possessed by something that night, some urge and deep desire within me that had led me there, surrounded by women like myself. I stood clueless and lost in the crowd; the women yelling ‘Deeds not words’ in unison; passionately parading with large wooden signs and viciously shattering windows with bricks and stones. Despite the violence that was displayed before me, I was not afraid of what was happening and I didn’t deem it unnecessary or improper, in fact I wanted the same as these women, I wanted equality. Abruptly, all of the roars and cheers became muted and faint, one woman walked slowly towards me, her hair messily swooped into an updo, her clothes somewhat dirtied and her chocolate brown corset slightly loosened. There was a glimmer in her eyes as tears seemed to swell within their hazel pools, she seemed inspired, hopeful. After reaching me in the crowd, she held out her hand, gently passing me a sign. Immediately, I clasped it and the yelling and chanting rang loudly in my ears once more. My journey had begun.

Here however, is where it ends. I am aware I do not have much time left, as the doctors have told me so, and spending my last moments in this hospital room is not optimal. However, as I look around I can see beauty within a room which at first glance seems void of it. The hollow medical tubes by my side remind me of the awful act of force feeding I have faced in the past; the shrieks and bawls of patients reflecting the pain women had felt in my time and the bed bars mirroring the prisons we were thrown into and the gates we would chain ourselves too. I know these things may seem far from beautiful, but I can see my past within this room, the power I possessed and the changes I have contributed to today. I know now that I can leave this earth having had an impact. Slowly I close my eyes, I can see her, the women who changed my life many years ago, her name, Emmeline Pankhurst.

EXAMPLE TWO:

I will never forget that day. The hazel pools of her eyes glazed over, and hands delicately placed at her sides. Nobody in the room could quite grasp the fact that this was happening. The crowds of black attire row on row seemed to mimic the thing she loves most in life, the piano. However, this time she had taken the ivory natural keys with her and left everyone else with the sharp tones. You needed both to create beautiful symphonies but all that filled the room was the excruciating silence of her absense. Even the metronone like ticks of the clock seemed to come to a standstill.

It had all began that day, she seemed to open up this whole new world for us to explore together as she placed my fingers onto the keys for the first time. I knew that this was what I was meant to do. She was the most passionately beautiful pianist I had ever seen in my life. Often, I would peer round the oak doorway before my lessons just to catch a glimpse at her. It seemed like nothing in the world mattered to her at the time.

As the years progressed, so did the scope of this world we were exploring. Each sheet of lovingly handwritten sheet music was like a new section of the map we were slowly creating together. Each of her students had their own map. Each as beautiful and each as unique as the pianist. The crotchets and quavers that adorned the staves directed the different paths we could take as my fingers graced the keys. This may not have been a beautiful ballet routine, but this was our dance and it had been carefully choreographed just for us.

That piano room was the safest place in the world. Every inch of it her: the potent scent of her floral perfume; shelves full of scruffy and well loved sheet music; rows upon rows of framed photos of her and her students; the vintage piano which she always kept in tune, it was home. I couldn’t bear the

idea that someone else was going move in and rip away the music room without a second thought. It was her music room.

It was up to me now. Up to me to finish this journey we had begun together.

She may not be with me in person anymore, but she will always live within the world we built together and nothing could ever change that. For she could never truly be gone since she left a piece of her within every one of her students; the passion for piano.

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gcseenglishwithmisshuttlestone

Secondary English teacher in Herts. View all posts by gcseenglishwithmisshuttlestone

2 thoughts on “2 Grade 9 Creative Writing Examples”

This has helped me a lot, I myself am preparing for a narrative test like this and these prompts and descriptive short stories are marvellous! Thank you for sharing this! 🙂

My pleasure!

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Key stage three

KS3 Introduction to Gothic Creative Writing

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An introduction to gothic fiction going over the conventions A timeline of gothic fiction Introduction to the describing gothic characters through analysis of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster This short scheme of learning could span 6 lessons

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November 13, 2020.

Insider GCSE creative writing tips + 106 prompts from past papers

by Hayley | Mar 9, 2023 | Exams , Writing | 0 comments

Are you feeling a little bit twitchy about your child’s English GCSE writing task?

Sciences and humanities – although sometimes daunting in their content – seem a fair bet as ‘revisable’ topics. But the creative writing element of the English Language GCSE is less knowable and ultimately more of a frightening prospect for a student keen to do well.

Preparing for the GCSE writing task? You don’t need to do it alone.

We run a weekly online writing club which prepares students to write high-scoring content. Our “Higher” level club is designed to transform your writing so that you can ace the GCSE language paper.

What is the GCSE writing element of the GCSE Language Paper?

There are 5 key GCSE exam boards: AQA , OCR , Pearson Edexcel , WJEC Eduqas and CCEA . Each board sets their own papers which may appear much the same at first glance (bizarrely they all have a similar front cover layout and fonts). Certainly there is plenty of overlap between their mark schemes and the comments and tips they share in their Examiner Reports.

However, as with all your child’s other subjects, it is essential to know which exam board they are preparing for. You may be surprised to discover that schools pick and choose boards by subject, perhaps choosing AQA for chemistry and OCR for mathematics. Individual school departments have their own preferences. My brother teaches at a school where their English Literature and English Language exams have been split between two different boards. This is unusual though, not the norm!

What forms (question formats) can the test take?

It varies by board.

The AQA board has a writing task in their Question Paper 1 called Explorations in creative reading and writing . Students are given two prompts to choose between. The AQA board also has a second persuasive writing task in Paper 2 called Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives.

Jump ahead to AQA creative writing and persuasive writing prompts from past GCSE papers

The Pearson/Edexcel international iGCSE favoured by many UK private schools has two prompts to choose between for each section. The student is asked to complete a piece of transactional writing (perhaps a persuasive speech or an advertisement leaflet) and additionally a piece of imaginative writing.

Jump ahead to Pearson/Edexcel transactional writing and imaginative writing prompts from past GCSE papers

Interestingly, the WJEC Eduqas board favours non-fiction writing. Unit 2 Reading and Writing: Description, Narration and Exposition gives two prompts to choose between, for an account and an essay perhaps, and Unit 3: Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion and Instructional sets up a letter, or similar.

Jump ahead to WJEC Eduqas non-fiction writing prompts from past GCSE papers

The OCR board offers two prompts to choose between. One might be a talk for other students and the other might be a letter on a difficult subject .

Jump ahead to OCR creative writing prompts from past GCSE papers

The CCEA board has a writing task in called “ Writing for Purpose and Audience and Reading to Access Non-fiction and Media Texts” and a second writing task which offers a choice between personal writing and creative writing.

Jump ahead to CCEA persuasive writing, personal writing, and creative prompts from past GCSE papers

How long do students have to craft their piece of writing?

Creative writing tests are timed at either 45 minutes or 1 hour. The last thing your child will need is to prepare to write for an hour, only to find they have just three-quarters of an hour on the day. If in doubt, insist that they check with their teacher.

AQA students are given 45 minutes to produce their writing response. The introduction advises: ‘ You are reminded of the need to plan your answer. You should leave enough time to check your work at the end.’ What this means is that 30–35 minutes max is what’s really allowed there for the writing itself.

Pearson/Edexcel allows 45 minutes for each of the two writing tasks.

OCR students are given an hour to complete this section of their exam. The introduction states: ‘You are advised to plan and check your work carefully,’ so they will expect the writing itself to take 45–50 minutes.

How long should the completed GCSE writing task be?

Interestingly, although the mark schemes all refer to paragraphingthey don’t state how many paragraphs they expect to see.

‘A skilfully controlled overall structure, with paragraphs and grammatical features used to support cohesion and achieve a range of effects’ (OCR)

‘Fluently linked paragraphs with seamlessly integrated discourse markers’ (AQA)

Why? Because management of paragraph and sentence length is a structural technique available to the student as part of their writers’ toolkit. If the number of optimal paragraphs were to be spelled out by the board, it would have a negative impact on the freedom of the writer to use their paragraphs for impact or to manage the pace of the reader.

For a general guide I would expect to see 3 to 5 paragraphs in a creative piece and 5 paragraphs in a persuasive piece. Leaflets have a different structure entirely and need to be set out in a particular form to achieve the top notes of the mark scheme.

What are the examiners looking for when they are marking a student’s creative writing paper?

There are two assessment objectives for the writing itself:

• It has to be adapted to the form, tone and register of writing for specific purposes and audiences.
• It has to use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures, with appropriate paragraphing, spelling, punctuation and grammar.

As a GCSE English nerd, I really enjoy delving deeper into the Examiner Reports that each board brings out once the previous cohort’s papers have been marked. They are a fascinating read and never disappoint…

Within their pages, examiners spell out the differences they have spotted between the stronger and the weaker responses.

For example, a creative task set by the AQA board was to describe a photograph of a town at sunset. The examiners explained that some of the strongest responses imagined changes in the scene as darkness descended. They enjoyed reading responses that included personification of the city, and those that imagined the setting in the past, or the weariness of the city. Weaker candidates simply listed what was in the picture or referred directly to the fact it was an image. This chronological-list approach weakened the structure of their work.

No surprises that some weaker students relied heavily on conversation. (As an exam marker myself, I dreaded reading acres of uninspiring direct speech.)

Pearson/Edexcel explain that weaker persuasive pieces (in this case on the value of television) simply listed pros and cons rather than developed ideas fully to clarify their own opinions. The higher-level responses here were quirky and engaging, entertaining the reader with a range of appropriate techniques and making the argument their own.

What accommodations are possible for students who have specific learning difficulties?

The UK Government’s Guide for Schools and Colleges 2022: GCSE, AS and A Levels includes information about changes to assessments to support ‘disabled students.’ Their definition of disabled includes specific learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, ADD, ASD etc).

Exam boards can make a wide range of adjustments to their assessments. Some of the most common adjustments are:

• modified papers (for example, large print or braille exam papers)
• access to assistive software (for example, voice recognition systems or computer readers)
• help with specific tasks (for example, another person might read questions to the student or write their dictated answers)
• changes to how the assessment is done (for example, an oral rather than a written assessment, word-processing rather than hand-writing answers)
• extra time to complete assessments
• exemptions from an assessment

The exam board will expect paperwork to be in place where your child’s specific needs are formally reported by an appropriate professional (Educational Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist, Consultant). The report needs to be recent, but how recent is difficult to confirm.

If your child is likely to need adjustments to their access arrangements you will need to discuss this with their school in plenty of time before the exam itself.

A close friend of mine realised in the final few weeks before her son’s GCSE exams that his tinnitus would have a negative impact on his performance. She approached the school to ask if he might take his exams in a separate room to minimise noise disturbance. Unfortunately, it was far too late by then to apply, and her son was denied the request.

Your child’s school will explain the process for applying for special arrangements and will be able to advise you on what your expectations should be. Never presume your child will be given what they need – but plenty of requests are successful, so stay positive and make sure your paperwork is in order beforehand.

Tips and strategies for writing a high scoring GCSE creative writing paper:

1.         learn the formats.

Know the different formats and conventions of the different GCSE writing tasks. There is a standard layout for a leaflet, for example, where including contact details and a series of bullet points is part of the mark scheme. Not knowing these conventions will knock back a student’s score.

2.         Plan ahead

Prepare a planning structure for each of the written forms you might encounter during the exam. It may need to be flexed on the day, but it will banish fear of the blank page and allow you to get started.

3.         Prepare sentence-openings

Familiarise yourself with appropriate sentence-openings for each type of GCSE writing task. Fronted adverbials of time and place will improve the quality of a creative piece, whereas access to varied and specific conjunctions might push up the mark of a transactional piece.

4.         Check your speaking

Ask your family to check your speech at home. Every now and then try to flip a sentence into formal language, using more interesting synonyms for your usual spoken vocabulary. This will help you to write formally on paper, avoiding colloquialisms.

5.         Forget finishing

Finishing is less important than you might imagine. Sloppy, hurried work is your enemy. GCSE examiners will follow your clear planning and mark you accordingly, even if you’ve not managed to complete that final paragraph.

6.         Note the details

The question often gives additional information the examiner would like to see included. Note it in your plan to make sure it doesn’t get forgotten.

7.         Start strong

Use your best sentence-opener at the start of each paragraph. It will set you up as someone to be taken seriously.

8.         Cut back dialogue

Keep dialogue contained in a single paragraph. Focus on description of the speaker and their actions before noting the second character’s reply.

9.         Revise

Do this by prepping work as above. Nothing beats it.

Would you like me to transform your child’s writing in my higher writing club?

Each week in my higher writing club , we spend 20 minutes on Zoom together. After the task has been introduced, the students write for 15 minutes. Next, they upload their work for 1:1 video marking.

There is no point prepping essays/creative pieces for the GCSE English Language exam if your child’s writing is poor. First, their scruffy presentation, attention to detail, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary need to be addressed.

After 2 months in the higher writing club your child’s written technique and fluency will be transformed by our 1–2-1 video marking system (consistent messaging is achieved by matching your child with their own teacher).

Each weekly activity is drawn directly from the GCSE English Language Subject Content and Assessment Objectives , published by the English Department of Education.

Here’s an example of a student’s writing, BEFORE they joined our club:

It is chaotic, poorly-presented and nonsensical. Letter-sizing is confused and the student is clearly anxious and repeatedly scribbling through small errors.

Below is the same student 2 months later:

Observe the rich vocabulary, authorial techniques (the jagged rocks are ‘like shards of broken glass’) and general fluency and sophistication.

Real and recent GCSE example questions/prompts from each of the 5 key exam boards

Aqa english language gcse questions, paper 2 writers’ viewpoints and perspectives:.

• ‘Our addiction to cheap clothes and fast fashion means young people in poorer countries have to work in terrible conditions to make them. We must change our attitude to buying clothes now.’ Write an article for a magazine or website in which you argue your point of view on this statement. ( Source )
• ‘People have become obsessed with travelling ever further and faster. However, travel is expensive, dangerous, damaging and a foolish waste of time!’ Write an article for a news website in which you argue your point of view on this statement. ( Source )
• ‘Cars are noisy, dirty, smelly and downright dangerous. They should be banned from all town and city centres, allowing people to walk and cycle in peace.’ Write a letter to the Minister for Transport arguing your point of view on this statement. ( Source )
• ‘All sport should be fun, fair and open to everyone. These days, sport seems to be more about money, corruption and winning at any cost.’ Write an article for a newspaper in which you explain your point of view on this statement. ( Source )

Paper 1 Explorations in creative reading and writing:

• A magazine has asked for contributions for their creative writing section. Either write a description of an old person as suggested by the picture below or write a story about a time when things turned out unexpectedly. ( Source )

• Your school or college is asking students to contribute some creative writing for its website. Either, describe a market place as suggested by the picture below or write a story with the title, ‘Abandoned’. ( Source )

• Your local library is running a creative writing competition. The best entries will be published in a booklet of creative writing. Either, write a description of a mysterious place, as suggested by the picture below or write a story about an event that cannot be explained. ( Source )

• A magazine has asked for contributions for their creative writing section. Either, describe a place at sunset as suggested by the picture below or write a story about a new beginning. ( Source )

OCR English Language GCSE questions

Paper: communicating information and ideas.

• Either, Write a post for an online forum for young people about ‘A moment that changed my life’.
• Or, You are giving a talk at a parents’ information evening about why all children should study science at school. Explain your views. ( Source )
• Either, Write a letter to a friend to describe a challenging and unpleasant task you once had to do.
• Or, Write a short guide for new workers about how to deal successfully with difficult customers. ( Source )
• Either, “Was it worth it?” Write an article for a magazine to describe a time when you had to do something difficult.
• Or, Write a speech for an event to congratulate young people who have achieved something remarkable. ( Source )
• Either, Write the words of a talk to advise pet owners how to make life more enjoyable for their pet and themselves.
• Or, Write an article for a travel magazine to describe your dramatic encounter with an animal. ( Source )
• Either, ‘How I prefer to spend my time.’ Write the words of a talk to young people about your favourite activity
• Or, Write a magazine article to persuade parents to allow their teenage children more freedom. You are not required to include any visual or presentational features. ( Source )
• Either, Write a talk for other students about a person you either admire strongly or dislike intensely
• Or, Write a letter to a friend to explain a difficult decision you had to make. ( Source )

Paper: Exploring effects and impact

• Either, Hunger satisfied. Use this as the title for a story.
• Or, Write about a time when you were waiting for something. ( Source )
• Either, The Taste of Fear Use this as the title for a story.
• Or, Write about a time when you were exploring a particular place. ( Source )
• Either, Alone. Use this as the title for a story.
• Or, Describe a time when you found yourself in a crowd or surrounded by people. ( Source )
• Either, Land at Last. Use this as the title for a story.
• Or, Imagine you have visited somewhere for the first time and are now reporting back on your experience. ( Source )
• Either, The Playground Use this as the title for a story
• Or, Write about a memory you have of playing a childhood game. ( Source )
• Either, It seemed to me like I had been magically transported. Use this as the title for a story.
• Or, Describe a place where you have felt comfortable. ( Source )

Pearson Edexcel English Language iGCSE questions

Paper 1: transactional writing.

• Either, ‘In our busy twenty-first century lives, hobbies and interests are more important than ever.’ Write an article for a newspaper expressing your views on this statement.
• Or, ‘We are harming the planet we live on and need to do more to improve the situation.’ You have been asked to deliver a speech to your peers in which you explain your views on this statement. ( Source )
• ‘ Zoos protect endangered species from around the world.’ ‘No wild animal should lose its freedom and be kept in captivity. Write an article for a magazine in which you express your views on zoos.
• Write a review of an exciting or interesting event that you have seen. ( Source )
• Your local newspaper has published an article with the headline ‘Young people today lack any desire for adventure’. Write a letter to the editor of the newspaper expressing your views on this topic.
• ‘The key to success in anything is being prepared.’ Write a section for a guide giving advice on the importance of preparation. ( Source )
• You and your family have just returned from a holiday that did not turn out as you expected. Write a letter to the travel agent with whom you booked your holiday, explaining what happened.
• A magazine is publishing articles with the title ‘Friendship is one of the greatest gifts in life’. Write your article on this topic. ( Source )
• ‘Important lessons I have learned in my life.’ You have been asked to deliver a speech to your peers on this topic.
• Your local/school library wants to encourage young people to read more. Write the text of a leaflet explaining the benefits of reading. ( Source )
• ‘Most memorable journeys.’ A website is running a competition to reward the best articles on this subject. Write an article for the competition about a memorable journey.
• ‘Cycling is one form of exercise that can lead to a healthier lifestyle.’ Write a guide for young people on the benefits of exercise. ( Source )
• ‘Television educates, entertains and helps global understanding.’ ‘Television is to blame for society’s violence and greed and delivers one-sided news.’ You have been asked to deliver a speech in which you express your views and opinions on television.
• ‘Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions we ever make.’ Write the text of a leaflet that gives advice to young people on how to choose a career. ( Source )
• Write the text for a leaflet aimed at school students which offers advice on how to deal with bullying.
• A museum is planning to open a new exhibition called ‘Life in the Twenty-First Century’. ( Source )

Paper 2: Imaginative writing

• Write about a time when you, or someone you know, enjoyed success
• Write a story with the title ‘A Surprise Visitor’.
• Look at the two images below. Choose one and write a story that begins ‘I did not have time for this’ ( Source )

• Write about a time when you, or someone you know, challenged an unfair situation.
• Write a story with the title ‘Bitter, Twisted Lies’.
• Look at the two images below. Choose one and write a story that begins ‘It was a new day …’ You may wish to base your response on one of these images. ( Source )

• Write about a time when you, or someone you know, visited a new place.
• Write a story with the title ‘The Storm’
• Look at the two images below. Choose one and write a story that ends ‘I decided to get on with it.’ ( Source )

• Write about a time when you, or someone you know, saw something surprising.
• Write a story with the title ‘The Meeting’.
• Look at the two images below. Choose one and write a story that starts ‘Suddenly, without warning, there was a power cut.’ ( Source )

• Write about a time when you, or someone you know, went on a long journey.
• Write a story with the title ‘A New Start’
• Look at the two images below. Choose one and write a story that begins ‘I tried to see what he was reading. ( Source )

• Write about a time when you, or someone you know, felt proud.
• Write a story with the title ‘The Hidden Book’.
• Look at the two images below. Choose one and write a story that begins ‘It was like a dream’ ( Source )

• Write about a time when you, or someone you know, had to be brave
• Write a story with the title ‘Everything Had Changed’
• Look at the two images below. Choose one and write a story that begins ‘It was an unusual gift’. ( Source )

WJEC Eduqas English Language GCSE questions

Unit 2 reading and writing: description, narration and exposition.

• Write an account of a time when you enjoyed or hated taking part in an outdoor activity.
• “It’s essential that more people are more active, more often.” (Professor Laura McAllister, Chair of Sport Wales) Write an essay to explain how far you agree with this view, giving clear reasons and examples. ( Source )
• Describe an occasion when you did something you found rewarding.
• Famous chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Mary Berry have spoken of the need for better food and better education about food in schools. Write an essay to explain your views on this subject, giving clear reasons and examples. ( Source )
• Write an account of a visit to a dentist or a doctor’s surgery.
• NHS staff, such as doctors and nurses, provide excellent service in difficult circumstances. Write an essay to explain your views on this subject, giving clear reasons and examples. ( Source )
• Write an article for a travel magazine describing somewhere interesting that you have visited.
• You see the following in your local newspaper: ‘Young people are selfish. They should all be made to volunteer to help others.’ Write an essay to explain your views on this subject, giving clear reasons and examples. ( Source )
• Describe an occasion when technology made a difference to your life.
• Write an account of a time you were unwilling to do something. ( Source )
• Describe a time when you faced a challenge
• Write an essay explaining why charity is important, giving clear reasons and examples. ( Source )
• Write an account of a time when you did something for the first time.
• “It’s time for us to start making some changes. Let’s change the way we eat, let’s change the way we live, and let’s change the way we treat each other.” Tupac Shakur Write an essay on the subject of change, giving clear reasons and examples. ( Source )
• “School uniform is vitally important in all schools.” Write an essay explaining your views on this, giving clear reasons and examples.
• Describe a time when you had to create a good impression. ( Source )

Unit 3: Reading and writing: Argumentation, persuasion and instructional

• Your school/college is considering using more Fairtrade items in its canteen. Although this will help to support Fairtrade farmers, it will mean an increase in the price of meals. You feel strongly about this proposal and decide to write a letter to your Headteacher/Principal giving your views. ( Source )
• Increasing litter levels suggest we have lost all pride in our beautiful country. Prepare a talk for your classmates in which you give your opinions on this view. ( Source )
• Write a guide for other students persuading them to stay safe when using social media and the internet. ( Source )
• According to your PE teacher, ‘Swimming is the very best form of exercise.’ You have been asked to prepare a talk for your classmates in which you give your views about swimming. ( Source )
• You read the following in a newspaper: ‘Plastic is one of the biggest problems faced by our planet. Why would we use something for a few minutes that has been made from a material that’s going to last forever?’ Write a letter to the newspaper giving your views on the use of plastic. ( Source )
• “People today never show enough kindness to one another. We must make more effort to be kind.” Write a talk to give on BBC Wales’ new programme Youth Views persuading young people to be kind to others. ( Source )
• ‘We have enough problems in the world without worrying about animals.’ Write an article for the school or college magazine giving your views on this statement.
• You would like to raise some money for an animal charity. Write a talk for your classmates persuading them to donate to your chosen charity. ( Source )

CCEA English Language GCSE questions

Unit 1: writing for purpose and audience and reading to access non-fiction and media texts.

• Write a speech for your classmates persuading them to agree with your views on the following issue: “Young people today are too worried about their body image.” ( Source )
• Write an article for your school magazine persuading the readers to agree with your views on the following question: “Should school uniform have a place in 21st century schools?” ( Source )
• Write a speech for your classmates persuading them to agree with your views on the following question: “Are celebrities the best role models for teenagers?” ( Source )
• Write an article for your school magazine persuading the readers to agree with your views on the following statement: “Advertising is just another source of pressure that teenagers don’t need!” ( Source )

Unit 4: Personal or creative writing and reading literacy and non-fiction texts

• Either, Personal writing: Write a personal essay for the examiner about what you consider to be one of the proudest moments in your life.
• Or, Creative writing: Write your entry for a creative essay writing competition. The audience is teenagers. You may provide your own title. ( Source )
• Write a personal essay for the examiner about an experience that resulted in a positive change in your life.
• Write a creative essay for the examiner. The picture below is to be the basis for your writing. You may provide your own title. ( Source )

• Personal writing: Write a speech for your classmates about the most interesting person you have ever met.
• Creative writing: Write a creative essay for your school magazine. The picture below is to be the basis for your writing. You may provide your own title. ( Source )

• Personal writing: Write a personal essay for the examiner describing your dream destination.
• Creative writing: Write a creative essay for publication in your school magazine. The picture below is to be the basis for your creative writing. You may provide your own title. (Source)

Get 1:1 support and personalized feedback on your GCSE creative writing practice

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Gothic teaching pack

This Gothic scheme of learning will introduce KS3 students to the key elements of the Gothic genre, while building their reading, writing and comprehension skills. 

You’ll find extracts from some of the most celebrated Gothic novels to share with students in this engaging teaching pack, as well as Gothic poems and ghostly short stories from the 18th and 19th century to the present day, including The Castle of Otranto, Northanger Abbey, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein,   Dracula, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , The Hound of the Baskervilles, ‘The Red Room’ and ‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe. There is also an extract from the exciting new YA series, City of Ghosts , to celebrate contemporary gothic fiction and encourage more reading for pleasure.

The key stage 3 lesson activities are designed to provide an overview of Gothic genre conventions, tropes, settings and character archetypes, and anticipate the key themes in Gothic literature to prepare students for GCSE English Literature prose texts.

To develop students’ exam skills for GCSE English Language, the teaching pack also includes a range of comprehension tasks to build students’ unseen fiction and unseen poetry skills and their confidence with new texts and new vocabulary. There are also exciting stimulus ideas for creative writing tasks for students to develop their fiction writing skills and comparative tasks looking at two texts.

The 94-page pack is student-facing and aimed at year 7-9 students, and includes a range of engaging teaching resources, worksheets and PPTs. There are differentiated activities, with stretch and challenge extension suggestions as well as more supportive ‘ladder up’ tasks, such as sentence starters and scaffolded resources.

What's included?

There are 14 lessons and lesson plans for English teachers which include:

Do now activities

Starter activities

Main activities with embedded formative assessment tasks, learning checks and reading comprehension questions

Homework tasks.

Each lesson is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation, and the teaching pack also includes the lesson tasks and classroom worksheets along with answers for self or peer marking in class. Several lessons include a focus on writing analytically, using the PETER paragraphing framework.

The teaching pack culminates in a GCSE-style summative assessment task, which will help you to assess students' progress in reading and writing. There is also a detailed and comprehensive 15-page scheme of learning to integrate into your KS3 curriculum plans. 

What's inside?

Overview for teachers 

Key stage 3: Gothic scheme of learning 

Lesson overview 

Lesson 1: An introduction to Gothic fiction 

• Resource 1 - gothic fiction
• Resource 2 - extract from The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole

Lesson 2: Exploring Gothic vocabulary 

• Resource 3 - Extract from Northanger Abbey (1803) by Jane Austen

Lesson 3: Understanding Gothic settings 

• Resource 4 - literary and language techniques
• Resource 5 - extract from Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley

Lesson 4: Analysing literary and language techniques

• Resource 6 - literary and language techniques in Frankenstein

Lesson 5: Comparing two Gothic texts 

• Resource 7 - comparing two Gothic texts
• Resource 8 - comparing the ‘red rooms’

Lesson 6: Creating Gothic settings 

Lesson 7: Exploring Gothic conventions in poetry 

• Resource 9 - storyboard for ‘The Raven’ (1845) by Edgar Allan Poe

Lesson 8: Exploring structure in a Gothic text 

• Resource 10 - exploring the narrative structure of ‘The Raven’
• Resource 11 - writing about the structure of ‘The Raven’

Lesson 9: Exploring Gothic characters 

• Resource 12 - Extract from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) by R.L. Stevenson

Lesson 10: Creating Gothic characters 

• Resource 13 - Extract from Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker

Lesson 11: Understanding Gothic conventions and characters in modern texts 

• Resource 14 - Extract from City of Ghosts (2018) by Victoria Schwab

Lesson 12 Creating your own Gothic character 

Lesson 13 Reading assessment

Lesson 14 Writing assessment 

• Resource 15 - word bank and glossary

About the writer

Victoria Walker  has taught English for over 15 years in schools across the country. She is currently Deputy Headteacher at St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School in Chatham, Kent.

Example activities from the Gothic teaching pack: 

Do now activity:  Skim read The Castle of Otranto extract. Highlight any words you do not understand.

Starter activity:  In pairs or small groups, discuss what you do when you read a word you don’t know. What strategies do you use to help you to understand unfamiliar words?

Activity 2:  Read the e xtract from The Castle of Otranto again : 

• Underline any ‘Gothic’ words you notice and compare the words you have chosen in pairs.
• Summarise the events that happen in each paragraph in 5-10 words.

Plenary: Do you agree that The Castle of Otranto is a Gothic novel?Explain your answer, giving three reasons from the text.

Ladder up: Remember the typical ingredients of Gothic fiction

• an ‘ordinary’ character
• a ‘monstrous’ character
• the presence of the supernatural
• a discovery of something historic or ancient
• a frightening or ruined setting
• a romantic relationship.

Sentence starter: I agree/disagree that The Castle of Otranto is a Gothic novel because …

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Gothic Story

The Darkness

The advancing darkness overwhelmed his senses and the fear of the night crept upon him. Distant screams beyond the unavoidable forest seemed to draw him towards the tall trees ahead. He fearfully entered the overpowering forest, after a few footsteps in, the trees surrounded him at every angle and there was no escape. The journey had to continue, there was no turning back now.  The scattered leaves and twigs crunched below his feet as he advanced further into the colossal forest, his nose was conquered by the dominant scent of burning wood and mud. The whispering footsteps of wild beastly animals seemed to be following his every motion, then the sudden roaring wind threw him off balance and he plummeted to the ground with a colossal thud.

He rose to his feet immediately and a distance ahead of him he could see the moon light fighting through the dense trees. He proceeded in the direction in which he was originally travelling in. After a while of walking he became aware that the night was at its peak and nothing but death could be heard. He fearfully darted as rapid as he could and now the opening of the forest was near, he cleared the last of the trees, and he was now out of the mighty forest.

In front of him stood an isolated castle, he sceptically approached the mammoth cast iron gates that towered far above him. The gates had huge rusted chains securing them, but they were not locked. He heaved the gates with great difficulty and managed to open a small gap that he was able to squeeze through.

This is a preview of the whole essay

The gravel in advance of him seemed disturbed as if someone had already past over it recently, he continued anyway and the gravel crunched beneath his feet, the old cold stone castle was in front of him. He approached the huge rotting wooden doors, which were wide open and he slowly entered the vast hallway, a mighty bash was heard behind him, he spun around and realized  that the doors had fastened.

The hallway was damp, with a stale smell, it was decorated with ancient wallpaper and rotting furnishings, it seemed as if the place had been abandoned years ago and any previous owners are long dead, but judging by the size of the doors and gates the people who lived here must have been humongous.

He progressed deeper into the ancient castle, he could hear dripping echoes around the corridor he had entered, the smell changed it was now a disgusting rotting smell as if something or someone had died in the area.

Further forwards he saw an object hanging in the centre of the corridor in the distance but he could not tell what it was, the smell had become more dominant as he continued it was becoming unbearable, he reached the hanging object and to his disgust and astonishment was a man’s leg dangling from a piece of wire tied to a pipe above his head, the leg had already begun rotting away but a lot of flesh still remained, it appeared as if the leg was chopped of by a butchers knife or an axe.

He had now reached the end of the corridor and was lingering at the top of a dark spiralling staircase, he descended slowly but fearfully into the darkness of the staircase that was slowly absorbing him, unable to see anything but his feet and the step he was treading on he would be unable to tell how many steps he would have to descend. Trusting himself he gripped onto the railing at one side of these stairs and went down one step at a time, he had descended masses of steps, he must have been going down for at least half an hour.

Finally some light began to creep in as he continued downwards; he could now see the vast remaining number of steps beneath him begin to reveal themselves. He touched the walls for balance as he descended; they were as cold as ice.

At last he discovered that the never-ending staircase was coming to an end. He reached the final step and felt a mixture of relief because the journey had ended and yet he was nervous as to what lay ahead.

At the end of the stair case was a poorly lit room that was damp and dirty.

There was blood everywhere; all over the walls and a huge puddle where he was standing. In the centre of the room he found a bleeding man tied to a small wooden chair with thick ropes. In the man’s leg a large butcher’s knife had been wedged deep into his flesh. The room was empty except for a large steel door at the back of the room. The door swung open and a giant man with a huge blood soaked knife stood at the door saturated in shadow.

By Vas Panayi 11ES

Document Details

• Word Count 829
• Page Count 2
• Subject English

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Image based gothic themed creative writing task with sentence starters

Subject: English

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

18 October 2018

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For any year group to inspire gothic themed creative writing, but I used this with my Year 8s and 9s after studying Susan Hill’s ‘Woman in Black.’

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English Literature and Creative Writing (BA)

Subject area: english language and literature.

• UCAS code: QW11
• Next intake: September 2024
• Duration: 3 years
• Mode: Full time

Why study this course

Study abroad

Adventure into a new culture; open your mind to new ideas and experiences in life and learning.

Tailored to you

With primarily optional modules you have freedom to choose a personalised degree.

Industry experience

Gain skills, confidence and connections through a variety of literary and cultural internships.

Learn from the best

Benefit from research-led content; learn from world-renowned literary scholars and authors.

Our BA English Literature and Creative Writing programme allows you to study all periods of literature in English, from the Anglo-Saxon period to the twenty-first century, together with training in Creative Writing. We cover all genres, from contemporary and historical fiction to poetry, drama, film and music.

The Creative Writing element of the programme provides you with the opportunity to progress from introductory modules on reading and writing creatively to specialised work within specific forms and genres such as fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and scriptwriting, culminating in the production of an extended collection of creative work.

Throughout the programme you will be encouraged to stretch yourself intellectually and imaginatively by exploring literature as both a practitioner and a critic. Our approach will help you develop an understanding of the creative process, as well as enhancing your knowledge of genre, literary history, and the varied and dynamic academic field which is English Literature.

You will focus on becoming a careful, attentive, and informed reader and writer, sensitive to the nuances of language and style and able to produce polished and sophisticated creative work, as well as to articulate your responses to texts in writing which is precise, stylish, and effective. 

You join a friendly and supportive environment with an international reputation for both teaching and research. Our talented Creative Writing team regularly scoop national and international awards, and collectively share experience in theatre, television and film. Our public platforms Cardiff BookTalk and Cardiff Poetry Experiment are popular and hugely engaging.

• Telephone +44 (0)29 2087 4243
• Marker Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU

Entry requirements

We accept a combination of A-levels and other qualifications, as well as equivalent international qualifications subject to entry requirements. Typical offers are as follows:

AAB-ABB. Must include Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.

Extended/International Project Qualification: Applicants with grade A in the EPQ/IPQ will typically receive an offer one grade lower than the standard offer. Please note that any subject specific requirements must still be met.

Our grade range covers our standard offer and contextual offer. We carefully consider the circumstances in which you've been studying (your contextual data) upon application.

• Eligible students will be given an offer at the lower end of the advertised grade range.
• Where there is no grade range advertised and/or where there are selection processes in place (like an interview) you may receive additional points in the selection process or be guaranteed interview/consideration.

Learn about eligible courses and how contextual data is applied.

International Baccalaureate

34-32 overall or 666-665 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL English Language and Literature, English Literature, or English Literature and Performance.

Baccalaureate Wales

From September 2023, there will be a new qualification called the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales (level 3). This qualification will replace the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (Welsh Baccalaureate). The qualification will continue to be accepted in lieu of one A-Level (at the grades listed above), excluding any specified subjects.

Chevron right Other essential requirements

You must have or be working towards: - English language or Welsh language at GCSE grade C/4 or an equivalent (such as A-levels). If you require a Student visa, you must ensure your language qualification complies with UKVI requirements. We do not accept Critical Thinking, General Studies, Citizenship Studies, or other similar equivalent subjects. We will accept a combination of BTEC subjects, A-levels, and other qualifications, subject to the course specific grade and subject requirements.

Chevron right English language requirements

Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.

IELTS (academic)

At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.

At least 90 overall with a minimum of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading, and 20 for speaking.

PTE Academic

At least 69 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.

Trinity ISE II/III

II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits. III: at least a Pass in all components.

Other accepted qualifications

Please visit our English Language requirements page for more information on our other accepted language qualifications .

Chevron right Criminal convictions

You are not required to complete a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check or provide a Certificate of Good Conduct to study this course.

If you are currently subject to any licence condition or monitoring restriction that could affect your ability to successfully complete your studies, you will be required to disclose your criminal record. Conditions include, but are not limited to:

• access to computers or devices that can store images
• use of internet and communication tools/devices
• freedom of movement
• contact with people related to Cardiff University.

Other qualifications from inside the UK

DD in a BTEC Diploma in Humanities and Social Science subjects, and grade B in A-level Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.

Acceptance of T Levels for this programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Academic School. Consideration will be given to the T Level grade/subject and grades/subjects achieved at GCSE/Level 2.

Qualifications from outside the UK

Please see our admissions policies for more information about the application process.

Tuition fees for 2024 entry

Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on your fee status. Your fee status could be home, island or overseas.

Learn how we decide your fee status

Fees for home status

The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees in the second and subsequent years of a course as permitted by law or Welsh Government policy. Where applicable we will notify you of any change in tuition fee by the end of June in the academic year before the one in which the fee will increase.

Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss national, your tuition fees for 2024/25 be in line with the overseas fees for international students, unless you qualify for home fee status. UKCISA have provided information about Brexit and tuition fees .

Fees for island status

Learn more about the undergraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man .

Fees for overseas status

Learn more about our tuition fees

Financial support

Financial support may be available to individuals who meet certain criteria. For more information visit our funding section. Please note that these sources of financial support are limited and therefore not everyone who meets the criteria are guaranteed to receive the support.

Additional costs

Accommodation.

We have a range of residences to suit your needs and budget. Find out more on our accommodation pages .

Living costs

We're based in one of the UK's most affordable cities. Find out more about living costs in Cardiff .

Course structure

This is a full-time undergraduate degree that takes three years to complete. You will study modules worth a total of 360 credits split evenly over the three years.

You must pass each academic year before proceeding to the next stage of your studies.

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2024/2025 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2024.

Year one is a foundation year, designed to equip you with the skills and practice for advanced study and to give you an overview that will enable you to make informed choices from the modules available in years two and three while laying down the foundations of your engagement with Creative Writing.

You will take three core modules and three optional modules. These will provide you with a solid base for the next two years of your degree by offering the opportunity to develop your critical and creative skills through reading, analysing and producing imaginative work across a wide array of different genres.

In year two you select from a range of period-, genre- or theme-based modules in which you will build on the foundation year, reading a selection of texts in their historical and cultural contexts.

You also continue your studies of Creative Writing within a variety of forms and genres, including fiction, poetry and scriptwriting.

In your final year you will choose from a range of more specialised modules, allowing you to pursue interests developed in the previous two years. You will engage with current issues in research and scholarship, enabling you further to develop analytical and presentation skills that employers will value, as well as equipping you for postgraduate study.

You also undertake a portfolio dissertation in Creative Writing that complements your work in the English Literature modules and allows you to produce an extended piece of writing in a specialist genre. The dissertation also allows you to develop research and project management skills.

The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.

Module information

Learning and assessment

You will be taught through a combination of lectures and seminars, with all modules including seminar or small-group teaching. In Creative Writing the small-group teaching takes the form of workshops based on peer review of student writing.

Teaching stresses the importance of the way texts interact with their contexts, and each module is designed to encourage you to focus on a number of specific texts and to prepare carefully a considered answer to specific topics dealt with in the module, while the workshops in Creative Writing ask you to engage with the critical creative process through evaluative discussion of peer writing.

Learning activities will vary from module to module as appropriate, but may include such activities as: interactive lectures, seminar discussions of prepared texts/topics, student individual or group presentations, small-group work within seminars, peer review in workshops, translation classes, formative writing exercises, journal entries, and film viewings.

You are expected to do the reading and other relevant preparation to enable you to participate fully in these activities. You are encouraged to explore the resources of the library as appropriate. For the workshops, peer work is previously circulated and you are expected to bring prepared comments as part of the exchange of ideas informing the sessions.

How will I be supported?

You will be assigned a personal tutor and will meet him/her for regular academic progress meetings (one per semester). There is a form to fill in before each Academic Progress meeting which is designed to help you reflect on the written feedback and the reasons for the marks you have received from the previous round of assessment. You will discuss this feedback and your reflections on it with your personal tutor.

In addition, all staff have weekly office hours during teaching weeks and you may make appointments to see your personal tutor or module leaders on a one-to-one basis about any issues. Staff may also be contacted by email.

Key information for each module will be available on our Virtual Learning Environment, Learning Central, together with appropriate additional learning resources, such as lecture notes and slides.

The University offers a range of services including the Careers Service, the Counselling Service, the Disability and Dyslexia Service, the Student Support Service, and excellent libraries and resource centres.

Written feedback is provided on both formative and summative assessment and you are encouraged to discuss your ideas with module tutors in seminars and, where appropriate, on a one-to-one basis in office hours.

Your achievement and progress are also discussed in regular progress meetings with personal tutors.

How will I be assessed?

All English Literature modules offer you the opportunity to undertake unassessed formative work appropriate to the module. Most modules are assessed by essay and/or examination, but some include other forms of assessment such as journal entries, a portfolio, or presentations.

Creative Writing modules are assessed by short portfolios of creative work that include a critical commentary. The assessment strategy is structured to lead you from formative thinking throughout the module towards the production of an informed critical/creative response.

Your final year project consists of a substantial, independently-researched and original portfolio of creative work, produced under the guidance of a member of staff, in the field of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, playwriting, or screenwriting. The portfolio includes a critical commentary on the work produced.

What skills will I practise and develop?

Knowledge and understanding

• Awareness of different literary periods, movements and genres and of the variety of English literature.
• Understanding of the importance of historical and cultural contexts.
• Ability to sustain a critical argument that is responsive to the workings of language and literary styles.
• Awareness of the bibliographic conventions of the discipline and their role in communicating information.
• Knowledge of the critical issues and/or debates surrounding or raised by texts.
• Understanding of the shaping effects of historical and cultural circumstances on the production and meaning of texts.
• Knowledge of appropriate critical vocabulary and terminology.
• An awareness of editorial approaches and processes.
• Understanding, through reading and your own practice, of the key elements of different forms of writing.
• Ability to produce original literary work in a variety of forms and genres.
• An awareness of tone, register, structure, genre and audience in your own writing.

Intellectual skills

• Ability to handle complex ideas with clarity.
• Ability to analyse and interpret material drawn from a diversity of literary periods.
• Ability to apply high level critical skills of close analysis to literary texts.
• Ability to select and organise material purposefully and cogently.
• Ability to use the views of others in the development and enhancement of practice; formulate considered practical responses to the critical judgements of others, while developing a generous yet rigorous critical scrutiny in peer review and workshop activities.

Professional Practical Skills

• Advanced communication skills (written and oral).
• Ability to give an efficient critical evaluation of documents in various styles.
• Ability to give oral and written feedback on others’ work.
• Ability to access, use and evaluate electronic data.
• Ability to interact effectively with others, in team or group work situations.

Transferable skills

• Plan, organize, and deliver work to a deadline.
• Initiate and take responsibility for independent projects.
• Respond creatively and imaginatively to research tasks.

Careers and placements

Career prospects.

Our graduates commonly go on to pursue careers in freelance writing, academia, teaching, publishing, arts management and administration, public relations and journalism.

Many employers welcome graduates with high-level literacy skills. Together with such skills, our students develop the kind of insights into the creative process that are valued by business, from design to sales.

Imaginative writing transfers readily into advertising and tourism as well as advertising companies. As a graduate of our School you will have a portfolio of creative writing to demonstrate to potential employers.

Our graduates find employment in HR, the book trade, professional areas such as librarianship but also local government and other areas of public life concerned with communication.

We have an established portfolio of internships with Wales-based literary/cultural magazines for which students can apply. 

You may also apply for exchanges with the range of University partners through the University’s Global Opportunities Centre.

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