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CONTENTS
About The Guide
Note for parents/teachers/tutors 5
Meet the team 7

Starting point - story activity 9

Section 1: The Writing Task

Reading and understanding the task 14
Planning your writing 30
Checking your writing 51
Section summary and task 56

Section 2: Writing Description

Using the five senses 63
‘Wow words’ 68
Similes 82
Alliteration 84
Section summary and task 86

Section 3: Sentences and Structure
‘First’ and ‘third person’ 93
Past and present tense 98
Conjunctions 102
Paragraphs 107
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Sentence openers 114

Basic sentence punctuation 119
Section summary and task 121

Section 4: Story Writing

Creating characters 127
Creating a setting 138
Writing speech 144
Story types 152
Section summary and task 153

Section 5: Spellings 160

Writing Exemplars 198

End point - story activity 205

Extra practice activities 209

Glossary 233

Answers 238
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ABOUT
THE GUIDE
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NOTE FOR PARENTS,

TEACHERS AND TUTORS
The purpose of this study guide is to help your child develop the
key skills they will need to succeed in the composition section of
the 7+ English exam.

In this part of the exam, they could be asked to write a story, diary
entry, recount or report. Some writing tasks may be as short as
20 minutes, others may be as long as 45 minutes. Some give your
child specific planning time, others do not. It is important that
your child is fully aware of how to plan, write and check their work
within specific time limits, whilst making intelligent choices regarding
what information to include.

This guide covers how to approach the writing task and builds key
skills that will enable your child to become a fluent and competent
writer, whilst fulfilling the required criteria for the 7+ exam.

The guide is broken up into sections, with a handful of skills being

developed in each one. Your child will be accompanied on their
journey by some friendly faces: ‘Wilfred the Writing Wizard’, ‘Lucy
Lightbulb’, ‘Charlie Challenge’ and ‘Tanya Teamwork’. These
characters are designed to help make the activities fun and enjoyable
for children.

Children can work independently through many of the tasks in this

guide. However, there are sections where they will benefit from the
input and guidance of a parent, teacher or tutor. By working with
your child, you will be able to monitor their progress effectively,
provide plenty of positive reinforcement and hopefully enjoy the
journey too!
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If there are any sections which your child finds difficult, or if you
feel they would benefit from more preparation, there is an extra
practice section towards the end of the guide.

Keep in mind
It is very important that children get used to writing under
timed conditions. Therefore, many of the activities and exercises
in this guide require the use of a timer or stopwatch.
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MEET THE TEAM

Wilfred the Writing Wizard
Hello there! My name is Wilfred. Actually, it’s
‘Wilfred the Writing Wizard’ if you want my
full title. I’m the most skilled author in all the
land and I’m here to help you become a
super-writer. Not too super though – I don’t
want you taking my job! Hehe, only joking!

Now, I hear you will be sitting an exam called the 7+. Well, I’ve done
plenty of research and put together this guide to help you with
the writing part of the exam, or, as it’s sometimes called, the
‘composition’ section.

It’s quite a detailed guide though, so don’t try to do it all at once or

you’ll end up like my friend, Forgetful Fran. She once tried to do all
her work in one go and was so busy that she forgot to do anything
else! Imagine what a state she was in when I went to see her and she
had forgotten to go shopping, forgotten to take a shower and even
forgotten to go to bed!

Anyway, back to my point. Complete the guide in small chunks,

maybe an activity or two at a time, and before you know it,
you’ll have successfully completed your quest to become an
excellent writer!

To help you along your journey, I have asked three of my trusted

assistants to come with us.
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Lucy Light Bulb

She’s full of useful hints and top tips that will make
your quest easier. You’ll see her shining on certain
pages so be sure to pay close attention to what
she has to tell you.

Charlie Challenge
He loves activities that get his brain working harder.
If you feel like giving your brain an extra workout,
look out for Charlie’s Challenges.

Tanya Teamwork
She loves working with other people and, whenever
you see her along your journey, she is letting you know
that it would be a good idea to read or complete the
activity with a friend or family member.

So now you have met me and the rest of the team, let’s start that
journey! I will be here at all times to help you along the way.
Race you to the first activity…
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STARTING POINT STORY ACTIVITY

Wilfred says: …Ah, I knew I’d get here before you; wizards are as
fast as lightning! We’re starting with a writing task, so that we can
see what you are good at already and which skills might need a
little more practice.

The Magic Bottle

Complete within 30 minutes.

Write at least one page about a boy or girl who finds a magic
bottle. Give your story the title, ‘The Magic Bottle’. Use the picture
below to help you, and think about the following questions:

• Who is your main character?

• Where do they find the bottle?

• How do they know it is magical?

• What does the bottle do?

• What happens to your

character and the bottle at
the end of the story?
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Title
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Wilfred says: Below is a checklist of the things that you need to do

really well in order to become a super-writer.

Tanya Teamwork says

Read through your ‘Magic Bottle’ story with an adult. Give yourself a score
out of 5 for each of the items on the checklist.

Checklist
Write a relevant story that clearly follows the instructions
provided. Score

Complete the task with a beginning, middle and end, within the
time given. Score

Use correct punctuation such as capital letters, full stops,

question marks, exclamation marks, speech marks and
commas. Score

Make interesting word choices and use adventurous

vocabulary. Score

Spell words correctly and use good handwriting. Score

Include paragraphs that begin and end in the correct places.

Score

Which items on the checklist did you do well on and which ones
need a little more practice? By working through this guide carefully,
your writing will improve tremendously!

Try this task again on page 205 once you have completed the
activities in the study guide.