How to write the Perfect “STORY OPENING” in 5 Steps! ✍️

Hi there,

On Sunday, I released a YouTube video going over how to answer AQA’s “story opening” – the new structure of the “story” question! My most recent YouTube video covers this in detail (watch here:

Can’t be bothered to watch? Here’s a summary of your Perfect “STORY OPENING” Structure:

PS: Sign up for my English GCSE Masterclass every Sunday: https://www.firstratetutors.com/a/2148074961/bcfpJFoe

✨STORY OPENING STRUCTURE✨

1️⃣ START IN THE PRESENT:

Introduce setting and character

EG: wind and rain are lashing the window of your grandmother’s bedroom; your hands are trembling as you look at paper, tears are blurring your vision – you cannot believe your eyes

2️⃣ FLASHBACK:

Go back into the past using phrases like:

“I still remember it like it was yesterday”

“Everything had been so different just a few hours ago..”

Yet it had all been different just a few hours ago / just a day ago

EG: It was just an hour ago you had stood in your empty grandmother’s room, your heart heavy. You knew it was time to pack her things away as she had recently died and your mother was too distraught to help you

3️⃣ BUILD UP

Describe in vivid detail what the character did and what unfolded in the past.

EG: You walk through her bedroom and you gaze at the pictures lining her wall, everything you see is filled with memories of her

4️⃣ PROBLEM

Describe the problem or obstacle that changed EVERYTHING. Always add tension!

EG: Howling wind outside and rain lashes your grandmother’s window and you decide to empty her drawers but it’s jammed shut. You tug and pull, paper files out and you see one with bold red writing

5️⃣ END CIRCULAR (THE PRESENT WITH TINY CHANGE):

Go back to the present moment – where we find the character but add a slight, tiny change

EG: picking up the paper, your heart sinks, tears well in your eyes, the wind and rain lash at her bedroom window as you look at your adoption certificate

I’ll be writing a full model answer for both the “STORY OPENING” and “DESCRIPTION” in my Sunday GCSE Masterclass. Keen to see how to apply this to a model answer you can use?

Sign up here: https://www.firstratetutors.com/a/2148074961/bcfpJFoe

Much love,

Barbara 😊