How to Write a Story for B1 Preliminary

(PET) Writing

How to write a story for B1 Preliminary

Before seeing a sample task, we will focus on what is a story, so we can understand this kind
of task better and have a more accurate expectation of what is expected of us in this part of
the Writing for PET.

What is a story?
According to the Lexico.com (before Oxford Dictionaries), 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. But just like it happens with every other
type of writing, a story must follow a particular structure which makes sense to the reader.

Parts of a Story
A story can roughly be divided into the following parts:

• Title: The title should either summarize the whole story (without spoilers!) or have
something to do with the main theme.
• Exposition: This is the beginning of the story, where the characters and setting are
established. It serves as the introduction to the next part, the action, and the so-called
con ict of our story.
• Action: In this part, the characters deal with con ict and do things to solve it.
• Resolution: This is where the con ict is resolved and the story concludes with an
ending, normally without any loose ends.
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Sample Story for B1 Writing
Let’s take a look at the following example of a Preliminary (PET) Writing Part 2 task, where
we can see an answer to the sample task we saw above:
 In the example above you can see the different parts of a story very well de ned. Just like
with emails or letters, your story should be visually appealing. For this reason I recommend
the following:

• Write your title in capital letters.

• Leave a clear space between paragraphs.

Expressions to use in your story

In this section, we are going to focus on different expressions you can use in the different
parts of a story. While the vocabulary used in the story will vary completely, depending on the
topic, there is a set of expressions which you can make use of quite frequently if you memorize
them beforehand. Let’s take a look:

How to begin a story

When you start a story, if the rst sentence isn’t given to you, you can use phrases like these:

• It all began…
• When I rst…
• At the beginning…
• It was a hot/cold summer/winter day.

Just to be clear, these are only some simple examples which you can use, as there is
no right or wrong way to start a story.

Time phrases
One of the great differences between writing a letter, essay, article and so on, and writing a story
is the need to pay careful attention to the time over which the story develops. In order
to de ne the order of the events in the story, we must use time expressions or time phrases.
So let’s see a few:

• Then
• After that
• Not long afterwards
• As soon as
• While
• Meanwhile
• As
• Some time later
• A little later
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 • ____ minutes later
• a moment later
• Later (that morning/afternoon/day/night…)
• Just then

It is essential to use these expressions properly. Otherwise, it won’t be clear exactly how the
story develops.

Creating suspense
When writing a story, the aim is not to inform or to convey information; the real purpose is to
entertain the reader, just like when you read a novel you expect to be entertained. For this
reason, a story, even a story for Preliminary (PET) Writing Part 3 should aim to do so:
entertain. And a cool way to entertain is to create suspense, which we can do by using some of
the following expressions:

• Suddenly
• All of a sudden
• Without warning
• Just at that moment
• Unexpectedly
• Out of the blue
• Out of nowhere
• Right away
• Straight away

Direct speech
In every story there are characters and they usually interact with each other, so it is always
good if you know how to use direct speech, that is, reproduce the words the characters
actually say or think. The tricky bit about this is the punctuation and the verbs to choose,
because it’s good to use some verbs other than «say». Let’s take a look at some examples:

• «I’m coming with you,» she said.

• She said, «I’m coming with you.»
• «Do you like it?» he asked.
• «Don’t do it!» he screamed.

Pay close attention at where the comma (,) or other punctuation marks go (?, !). Also, don’t
forget to use inverted commas («…») to enclose the direct speech. In British English we
normally use single inverted commas (‘…’), but it’s not important so choose the one that suits
you best.
Finishing your story
This paragraph, the resolution, should be separated from the rest, and it’s a good idea to start it
with one of the following expressions:

• In the end
• Finally
• When it was all over
• Eventually
• After everything that happened
• Luckily

Again, these are just a few examples. There’s no right or wrong way to conclude a story, as
long as it makes sense with the rest of the piece of writing.

Verb tenses
One of the reasons why stories are particularly challenging for B1 students is that they tend to
take place in the past, which makes it necessary to use a range of past tenses
appropriately. The main three past tenses you should really try to use are the following:

• Past simple (-ed/irregular form)

• Past continuous
• Past perfect

If you take a look at the example of Writing Part 3 above, you’ll see how these tenses are used
in combination, when possible:

• 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?!».

So that’s how you should try to tell your story. Please avoid a simple succession of past simple
tenses alone, like:
I woke up and got out of bed. Then I went to the kitchen and made some coffee.

It’s not wrong, but it’s just not good enough for a story.

Another example story for B1 Writing Part 2

Now that we know what expressions we should be using when writing a story and how to
combine the different tenses, let’s take another look at another task and a sample answer:
 In the story above you can see different things:

• Well-de ned structure: 3 clear paragraphs.

• A variety of past tenses: past simple (was tired, didn’t want, etc.), past continuous
(was getting off, was sleeping, etc.) and past perfect (had broken, had stopped, etc.).
• Time expressions: in the end, when, a few hours later.
• Suspense elements: all of a sudden, without a warning.

Top 5 Tips for Writing a Story for PET Writing

1. Learn, memorize and use some of these expressions. Make sure you already know a
set of expressions to use in your next story. 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.
2. Write a well-structured and visually-appealing story. One of the things Cambridge
English examiners pay attention to is the organization of your piece writing, so make
sure not to write an incoherent story. Also, remember that punctuation matters, so be
sure to separate your sentences with stops and commas and don’t write sentences
which are too long.
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.
4. Revise, edit and improve. Don’t write all at once and then move on. Once you have
nished your story go over it. Look for possible mistakes. Look for ways to improve it,
maybe adding adjectives here and there. You can save many points by simply reviewing
what you’ve written.
5. Experiment at home, be conservative in the exam. Homework is the best chance to
be creative and experiment with stories. So make sure you try your hardest to keep
improving when you write at home. On the other hand, when you’re doing an exam,
don’t risk trying out new words or expressions, as you may be making a terrible mistake.
So be safe in your exam and stick to what you already know works.
6.
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