Preparatory 1 – Writing

Using the present tense to tell a story

A scary incident…

It was a cold night. Rain pattered against the windows. You were

in a deep sleep wrapped in your blankets when suddenly you

woke up to a loud THUD. You were terrified! No-one else should

have been in the apartment - you live alone. You heard it again.

You trembled in fear and began to sweat as it came closer… and

closer… and closer. You wanted to run and hide but it was too

late. The bedroom door swung open.

1. Underline all the past verbs.

2. Change all those verbs to the present.

3. Make any other changes to the text so that it makes sense.

4. What effect does changing from past to present have on the reader?

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