PASS THE

PET EXAM
WITH KAREN TEACHER
 T AS K 3
H ER A STO RY , O R A N AR TICLE.
WRITE EIT
HOW TO WRITE A
STORY
 •A STORY IS «AN ACCOUNT OF IMAGINARY OR REAL PEOPLE AND
EVENTS TOLD FOR ENTERTAINMENT.

• FOR THIS REASON, PRECISELY, YOU HAVE PLENTY MORE

FREEDOM TO WRITE, AS YOU CAN MAKE UP MOST OF THE STORY.

WHAT IS A
•BUT JUST LIKE IT HAPPENS WITH EVERY OTHER TYPE OF
STORY ? WRITING, A STORY MUST FOLLOW A PARTICULAR STRUCTURE
WHICH MAKES SENSE TO THE READER.

•SO LET’S MOVE ON TO THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF A

STORY.
T HE P A R T S
OF A S T O R Y
 •THE TITLE SHOULD EITHER SUMMARISE THE
THE TITLE WHOLE STORY (WITHOUT SPOILERS!) OR HAVE
SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE MAIN THEME.
 • THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY, WHERE
THE CHARACTERS AND SETTING ARE

THE ESTABLISHED.

EXPOSITION • IT SERVES AS THE INTRODUCTION TO THE NEXT

PART, THE ACTION, AND THE SO-CALLED CONFLICT
OF OUR STORY.
 •IN THIS PART, THE
THE CHARACTERS DEAL WITH
ACTION CONFLICT AND DO THINGS TO
SOLVE IT.
 THE •THIS IS WHERE THE CONFLICT IS RESOLVED AND
THE STORY CONCLUDES WITH AN ENDING,
RESOLUTION NORMALLY WITHOUT ANY LOOSE ENDS.
LE T’ S L OO K A T
AN E X A M P L E …. .
EXP R ES S I O N S
T O U SE I N A
STORY
 •IT ALL BEGAN…
TO BEGIN A
STORY IF A
•WHEN I FIRST…
STERTER IS •AT THE BEGINNING…
NOT GIVEN. •IT WAS A HOT/COLD
SUMMER/WINTER DAY.
 TIME PHRASES

• ONE OF THE GREAT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITING A LETTER, ESSAY, OR ARTICLE, AND WRITING A STORY
IS USING TIME PHRASES.

• IN ORDER TO DEFINE THE ORDER OF THE EVENTS IN THE STORY,

• WE MUST USE TIME PHRASES.
 •THEN
•AFTER THAT
•AS SOON AS
•WHILE
TIME •AS
PHRASES •SOME TIME LATER
•A LITTLE LATER
•A MOMENT LATER
•LATER (THAT
MORNING/AFTERNOON/DAY/NIGHT…)
 ADDING INTEREST
A STORY FOR PRELIMINARY (PET) WRITING PART 3 SHOULD AIM TO:
• ENTERTAIN
• BE INTERESTING
 •SUDDENLY
•ALL OF A SUDDEN
PHRASES TO •UNEXPECTEDLY
CREATE •OUT OF NOWHERE
INTEREST •RIGHT AWAY
•STRAIGHT AWAY
 FINISHING THE STORY

THIS PARAGRAPH, THE RESOLUTION, SHOULD BE

SEPARATED FROM THE REST / PREVIOUS PARAGRAPHS.
 •IN THE END
EXPRESSIONS •FINALLY
USED TO •WHEN IT WAS ALL OVER
FINISH THE •EVENTUALLY
STORY •AFTER EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED
•LUCKILY
 A R U SE D I N TH E STO RY
GRAMM
PAST SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS:
•IT WAS MIDNIGHT AND I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP.
PAST PERFECT AND SIMPLE:
•I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY.
PAST SIMPLE:
•THIS TIME I PICKED UP THE PHONE QUICKLY AND SHOUTED, «HELLO?!».
 BE CAREFUL!!!!

PLEASE AVOID A SIMPLE SUCCESSION I WOKE UP AND GOT OUT OF BED. IT’S NOT WRONG, BUT IT’S JUST NOT
OF PAST SIMPLE TENSES ALONE, LIKE: THEN I WENT TO THE KITCHEN AND GOOD ENOUGH FOR A STORY. 😉
MADE SOME COFFEE.
LET’S LOOK A STORY USING GOOD
GRAMMAR
 5 TIPS FOR
WRITING A
GO O D S TO R Y
 TIP 1.
LEARN, MEMORISE AND USE EXPRESSIONS.

Make sure you already know a set of expressions to

use.
• This will not only avoid you making mistakes, but also it will make your story
so much better!

• It will give you points to use those expressions.

 TIP 2
WRITE A WELL-STRUCTURED STORY.

One of the things Cambridge English examiners pay

attention to is the organisation of your writing.

Make sure not to write an incoherent story.

 TIP 3
BRAINSTORM BEFORE YOU WRITE.

Before starting to write your story, brainstorm a couple of things and

write down some ideas.

This can include vocabulary related to the topic, connectors, time

phrases, etc.

Also, decide before writing how the story is going to end.

 TIP 4
REVISE, EDIT AND IMPROVE.

• Once you have finished your story, review it.

• Look for possible mistakes, punctuation errors and ways to improve

it.

• you can save many points by simply reviewing what yo have written.
 TIP 5
PRACTICE
MAKE S P E R F E CT
SEE YOU AGAIN SOON