Planning and proofreading

Planning and proofreading should bookend your writing process. In the planning phase you
prepare your ideas and narrative structure. When you have finished, proofread carefully to check
that your writing is working.

Planning to write

Planning is an important part of the fiction writing process. Many professional writers
use a plan as the basis for a first draft, which they will later edit several times before the
work is complete.

There are several different ways to plan a piece of writing. Try them all and find the one
that works for you. You could:

 create a mind map

 bullet point your ideas
 create a flow chart of each stage
 create a table

What to include in a plan

A plan is an outline of your ideas. You could use the five-stage story arc to help
structure your narrative.

You could also use your plan to remind you of key features you want to include
- figurative language, variety of sentence structures, TiPToP paragraphs. You can
also use your plan as a place to write down particular words and phrases to include.

Proofreading

When you have completed a piece of writing, it is a good idea to read over what you
have created. Read once for sense, making sure the sentences flow and that the
paragraphs are in the right places. If you are writing by hand and realise that you
missed a paragraph break, insert the // symbol to indicate where you want the new
paragraph to start.

Read a second time, checking spelling and punctuation. Read slowly to make sure you
haven’t missed out any important words.

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re in your creative flow! Make time to read your
writing with critical eyes so you can spot your errors and put them right.

Sample question
Question

Write about a time when you, or someone you know, were surprised.

Attempt 1

It was windy and wet and the road was full of big puddles. Walking along whistling he
was making his way home from school in a bit of a dream. He’d got out early because
of the bad weather. Which is why he’s whistling. He doesn’t much like wind or rain but
he likes being let out of school early. That’s when it happens this car comes out of
nowhere and just drove right through the biggest puddle you’d ever seen. It splashed up
him as he stands there drenched not knowing what had hit him, he just knew he’d be in
for it when he got home because his new parka was filthy and his mum would be
furious.

Feedback - basic

 Shows an awareness of the purpose of the task and begins to write an entertaining
story.
 Uses some figurative language, eg alliteration ‘windy and wet’.
 Uses some variety of sentence structure, eg starts with verb ‘Walking along’.
 Some variety of vocabulary.
 The ideas are linked well and the structure of the paragraph is good.
o improve

 More control of the narrative voice needed. Verb tenses vary from present to past and
should use one or the other.
 More sentence variety would make this a livelier piece.
 More attention to punctuation needed – some confusion between commas and full stops.
 Vocabulary choices could be more ambitious.

Attempt 2

The wind howled and the rain battered down. The roads were more like a lake than a
city centre – full of puddles. Walking along whistling, a schoolboy was making his way
home from school. He was in a bit of a dream. He’d been let out early because of the
bad weather. He didn’t much like the wind or the rain but he was thrilled at being let out
early. That was why he was whistling. You would think it was a summer’s day! That was
when it happened. The car came out of nowhere and just drove right through what was
more like a miniature lake than a puddle. The water just flew up from the road and
showered over the boy who stood there drenched. He didn’t know what to do but he
knew he’d be told off when he got home. He was wearing his brand new parka which
his mum and dad bought him for his birthday at the weekend.

Feedback - improving

 Communicates in a clear and effective way and matches the purpose of entertaining with
the story form and the intended audience.
 Images and ideas link to create a well-structured narrative.
 Sentences are more varied in length creating a lively voice and helping the story to flow.
 Vocabulary choices and imagery are increasing in variety and begin to be ambitious (eg
‘howled’, ‘like a miniature lake’).

To improve

 More variety in sentence types and structure is needed – many of the sentences in the
first paragraph begin with ‘he’.
  Paragraphs could be used to build tension.
 The writer should try to include the senses and aim to use more figurative language.

Attempt three

The wind howled like a banshee turning the rain into a salvo of bullets. Was this a
November day in Oxford? It was more like the monsoon season in Delhi! The roads
were covered in puddles the size of small lakes. Walking along and seemingly unaware
of it all was a schoolboy. Whistling as he strolled along, hands in his pockets, he was
casually making his way home from school. To say he was in a bit of a dream was an
understatement. He’d been let out early because of the bad weather and, although he
didn’t much like either wind or rain he was in his new parka and, best of all, he was
thrilled to the core at being let out of school early. That was why he was whistling. To
him it was a summer’s day!

That was when it happened.

A car came out of nowhere and drove right through a puddle that was doing a very
good impression of a miniature lake. The water leapt up from the road with a life of its
own and drenched the day-dreaming boy. He was jolted out of his reverie and stood
there dazed and drenched. He didn’t know what to do, but he knew he’d be in for it
when he got home. His brand new parka had turned from green to a kind of dirty khaki-
brown. This wasn’t going to be fun. The parka had been a very expensive present from
mum and dad.

Feedback - even better

The story is absorbing and convincing.

It maintains a consistent viewpoint.
The tone, style and voice all match purpose, form and audience to create an engaging
narrative.
The sentences are varied in length and type to create a lively style.
Punctuation is accurate throughout and sophisticated in places.
Spelling is accurate and vocabulary choices are ambitious (eg ‘banshee’,
‘understatement’, ‘reverie’ and ‘khaki-brown’).
The description is impressive with some good uses of figurative language eg ‘like a
banshee’, ‘thrilled to the core’, ‘leapt up’ and ‘dazed and drenched’).