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Selena Sol presents…..

CREATIVE WRITING
TEMPLATES
A practical tool for primary-
school students

selena@selenasol.com
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-tachibana/0/33/b53
http://www.slideshare.net/selenasol
Using Composition Templates to Facilitate Creative Writing
A tool for primary school students
Selena Sol | selena@selenasol.com | http://www.slideshare.net/selenasol/

Creative writing can be pretty intimidating to primary school students. They


might be asked a very broad question like, “What did you do on your summer
vacation?” and be staring at a blank word document for many hours
thinking/worrying about what to write.

But it need not be so scary!

In this deck, I propose 4 easy-to-use templates for common primary school


writing questions that can quell some of the anxiety. With a good structure
and a series of fill-in-the-blanks, a child can easily plan out the skeleton of any
standard school-type of writing and then tackle the work in less intimidating
chunks.
ARCHETYPE DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
Narrative Tell a story What did you do on your school
holidays?
Descriptive Describe or explain Describe the way your room looks at
something home?
Positional Take a position on What is your favorite color?
something
Persuasive Take a position and Who is the most powerful Avenger?
try to convince
someone else to
share it

There are at least 4 generic types (archetypes) of creative


writing forms
NARRATIVE DESCRIPTIVE

POSITIONAL PERSUASIVE

To be continued….

Each type of writing uses a specific structure. The nice thing


about a structure is that if you don’t know what to write, just fill
in the blanks
Type 1: The Narrative Structure
You
Youare
areaafamous
famousdetective.
detective.You
You
What
Whatdid
didyou
youdo
do have
havejust
justbeen
beenhired
hiredtotofind
findout
out
on
onyour
yoursummer
summer why
whythe
theschool
schoollunches
lunchestasted
tasted
vacation?
vacation? awful
awfullast
lastweek.
week.How
Howdo doyou
yousolve
solve
the
the case? Write a story aboutwhat
case? Write a story about what
happens.
happens.UseUseyour
yourimagination!
imagination!

Imagine
Imaginethat
thatthe
thegrocery
grocerystore
storeisis
aatown
townwhere
wheredifferent
differentfoods
foodslive.
live. Suppose
Write Supposeyou youwoke
wokeupupand
and
Writeaastory
storyabout
aboutaaday dayinin found out that you had become
found out that you had become
Grocery
GroceryTown
Townwhen whenoneoneofofthe
the aasuper
foods superhero
heroforforaaday.
day.What
What
foodsdoes
doessomething
somethingthat that happened?
happened?What Whatpowers
powersdid
did
changed
changedthe thelives
livesofofall
allthe
thefoods
foods you
ininthe youhave?
have?WhatWhatdiddidyou
youdo?
do?
thetown.
town.What
Whatdid didthe
thefood
food Write
Writeaastory
storyabout
aboutyour
yourday.
day.Be
Be
do?
do?What
Whathappened
happenedtotoititand andtoto creative!
the creative!
theother
otherfoods
foodsafterward?
afterward?

You love to read stories! You should also love to write stories!
Many stories follow a very simple pattern.
D
TE
ES
R

n ts
TE

tio se
IN

mo at
in Wh
E
C

ry k!
N

sto Hoo
IE
D

e
Th
AU

2.
E
AK
M

rs
ra cte
e cha t
uc x
od nte
. I ntr & co
1

ACT 1
The Setup

It all begins with Act 1 where the author gets the reader
interested in the characters and excited about the story
6. Moment of
Enlightenment

MAK
TE
ES

E AU
R

E ROOT
n ts
TE

tio se
IN

mo at

5. The comeback!
in Wh

DIEN
E
C

ry k!
N

sto Hoo
IE

UDIENC
3. Fac stacles
D

CE A
e
Th
AU

2.

ing a
ob
E
AK

NXIO
series
M

MAKE A
rs
ra cte

US
cha t

of
uc e x
od nte
. I ntr & co
1

4. The Low Point!

ACT 1 ACT 2 ACT 3


The Setup Conflict Enlightenment

In Act 2, the hero is faced with a series of obstacles that force


her to grow and discover something meaningful.
6. Moment of
Enlightenment

R
EE
CH
st!
7. On

at la

E
e la s

NC
tory
t tes

D IE
c
8. Vi
t

AU
D

MAK
TE

KE
ES

MA
E AU
R

E ROOT
n ts
TE

tio se
IN

mo at

5. The comeback!
in Wh

DIEN
E
C

ry k!
N

sto Hoo
IE

UDIENC
3. Fac stacles
D

CE A
e
Th
AU

2.

ing a
ob
E
AK

NXIO
series
M

MAKE A
rs
ra cte

US
cha t

of
uc e x
od nte
. I ntr & co
1

4. The Low Point!

ACT 1 ACT 2 ACT 3


The Setup Conflict Enlightenment

In Act 3, the hero’s new wisdom is tested (just to be sure). Of


course, the hero rises to the challenge and everyone is happy
6. Moment of
Enlightenment

ER
HE
st!
7. On

EC
at la
e la s

NC
tory
t tes

DI E
c
8. Vi
t

AU
D

MAK
TE

KE
ES

MA
E AU
R

E ROOT
n ts
TE

tio se
IN

mo at

5. The comeback!
in Wh

DIEN
E
C

ry k!
N

sto Hoo
IE

UDIENC
3. Fac stacles
D

CE A
e
Th
AU

2.

ing a
ob
E
AK

NXIO
series
M

MAKE A
rs
ra cte

US
cha t

of
uc e x
od nte
. I ntr & co
1

4. The Low Point!

ACT 1 ACT 2 ACT 3


The Setup Conflict Enlightenment

The whole story looks like this!


!
OK, I know what you are asking. There are thousands of
different stories out there. Aren’t they all different?
STORYTELLING STAGE THE 3 LITTLE PIGS MULAN
THE INTRO Meet the pig family • Shan Yu crosses the great wall
Introduce characters & • Emporer sends general to fight and sends shifu to find
context conscripts
• Mulan introduced as loveable oddball who cannot get a
man because she is too boyish
THE HOOK Mother pig sends brothers out into the • Shifu comes to enlist father, but Mulan steps in because
The hook – what sets story world to setup their own homes father is sickly, but does it against his wishes
in motion • Mushu enters as mentor
THE CHALLENGE The pigs work hard to build their 3 types of • Many hijinks trying to maintain ruse
Facing a series of obstacles homes • Warrior training - Climbing the pole with weights!
THE LOW POINT The big bad wolf blows down the first 2 • Village destroyed
houses and the 3 pigs run to the safety of • Battle at the snowy pass ending with discovery of Mulan
the last house as a girl
THE COMEBACK The wolf tries and tries, but cannot blow • Mulan and Mushu in the snow coming to terms
down the brick house
THE AH-HA! The pigs celebrate that the brick house is • Mulan enters capital city as a herself. No need for
A moment of the best and it is worth it to build for deception! She can be brave and be herself!
enlightenment quality
THE TEST The wolf tries to come down the chimney • Battle at the castle where the boys dress like girls. Mulan
proves herself in battle again, but as herself
THE VICTORY The pigs start a fire and the wolf runs away • Mulan gets gift from emperor and gives to father
with a burning tail! • Captain comes to marry Mulan

As it turns out, this one structure works for probably 80% of the
stories you’ll come across (maybe 99% in primary & secondary
school)
STORYTELLING STAGE
ACTIVITY TIME!!!!!!
THE INTRO
Introduce characters & context

THE HOOK
The hook – what sets story in
motion
THE CHALLENGE
Facing a series of obstacles

THE LOW POINT

THE COMEBACK
Advanced Writer Note:
THE AH-HA! If you get a book for really
young kids, sometimes they
A moment of enlightenment stop at the end of Act 2 to
make it simpler for new
THE TEST readers. Then it is just 1)
Intro, 2) Obstacles, 3) Victory
THE VICTORY

Try mapping some of your storybooks and favorite movies


using the structure. You’ll be amazed at how many work!
Q: What did you do during school
holidays?

So what if you are asked to write a story in school? How would


you do it using the structure?
Q: What did you do during school holidays?

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN

THE INTRO
Introduce characters & context
THE HOOK
The hook – what sets story in
motion
THE CHALLENGE
Facing a series of obstacles
THE LOW POINT

THE COMEBACK

THE AH-HA! “It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!”
1 A moment of enlightenment
THE TEST

THE VICTORY

No problem. Just fill in the blanks!


Start with the “Ah-Ha” moment, which some authors call, “the
moral of the story.” I think of it as the “Why?”
Q: What did you do during school holidays?

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN


THE INTRO
Introduce characters & context
THE HOOK
The hook – what sets story in motion
THE CHALLENGE We could not play on the beach as planned because we were
2 Facing a series of obstacles slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!
Advice:
THE LOW POINT Think of maybe 3 obstacles
that the hero could
overcome that would lead
THE COMEBACK her to the Ah-Ha. Not all
obstacles will work. You
need to choose carefully.

THE AH-HA! “It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!”
A moment of enlightenment
THE TEST

THE VICTORY

Next, you need to put some obstacles in front of your characters


so that they have to work hard to succeed. Try to make the
challenges help the hero discover the “ah-ha!”
Q: What did you do during school holidays?

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN


THE INTRO
Introduce characters & context
THE HOOK
The hook – what sets story in motion
THE CHALLENGE We could not play on the beach as planned because we were
Facing a series of obstacles slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!

THE LOW POINT The whole day was ruined


3
THE COMEBACK

THE AH-HA! “It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!”
A moment of enlightenment
THE TEST

THE VICTORY

And of course, all the challenges need to lead to the low point
where the reader feels worried about the hero!
Q: What did you do during school holidays?

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN


THE INTRO
Introduce characters & context
THE HOOK
The hook – what sets story in motion
THE CHALLENGE We could not play on the beach as planned because we were
Facing a series of obstacles slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!

THE LOW POINT The whole day was ruined

THE COMEBACK We found another way to have fun despite missing the beach
4

THE AH-HA! “It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!”
A moment of enlightenment
Advice:
THE TEST The comeback needs to tie
the obstacles to the ah-ha!
This is how the hero learns
the ah-ha, so it needs to
THE VICTORY make sense!

But unless you want to leave the reader crying, you need to turn
the story around and show the hero growing
Q: What did you do during school holidays?

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN


THE INTRO
Introduce characters & context
THE HOOK
The hook – what sets story in motion
THE CHALLENGE We could not play on the beach as planned because we were
Facing a series of obstacles slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!

THE LOW POINT The whole day was ruined

THE COMEBACK We found another way to have fun despite missing the beach

THE AH-HA! “It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!”
A moment of enlightenment
THE TEST Will it rain and we miss day 2 also?!? Here is where I prove
5 myself!

THE VICTORY

But after the hero has grown and discovered the moral of the
story, we need to test her to make sure she really learned her
lesson!
Q: What did you do during school holidays?

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN


THE INTRO I went to Penang Beach Resort with family
Introduce characters & context
THE HOOK I was very excited to play on the beach
The hook – what sets story in motion
THE CHALLENGE We could not play on the beach as planned because we were
Facing a series of obstacles slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!

THE LOW POINT The whole day was ruined

THE COMEBACK We found another way to have fun despite missing the beach

THE AH-HA! “It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!”
A moment of enlightenment
THE TEST Will it rain and we miss day 2 also?!? Here is where I prove
myself!

6 THE VICTORY No! We made it to the beach and had a great time.

Finally let’s all say “Hooray!” Our hero has overcome all the
obstacles and learned a life lesson.
Q: What did you do during school holidays?

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN


THE INTRO I went to Penang Beach Resort with family
Introduce characters & context
THE HOOK I was very excited to play on the beach
7 The hook – what sets story in
motion
THE CHALLENGE We could not play on the beach as planned because we
Facing a series of obstacles were slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!
THE LOW POINT The whole day was ruined

THE COMEBACK We found another way to have fun despite missing the
beach

THE AH-HA! “It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!”
A moment of enlightenment
THE TEST Will it rain and we miss day 2 also?!? Here is where I prove
myself!

THE VICTORY No! We made it to the beach and had a great time

But wait, we still need to go back to write the starting! You’ll need something to
make your reader “excited” enough to read your story. This hooks the reader like
a fish on the line. Think about what goal the hero had that was thwarted by the
obstacles you came up with earlier!
Q: What did you do during school holidays?

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN


THE INTRO I went to Penang Beach Resort with family
8 Introduce characters & context
THE HOOK I was very excited to play on the beach
The hook – what sets story in
motion
THE CHALLENGE We could not play on the beach as planned because we
Facing a series of obstacles were slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!
THE LOW POINT The whole day was ruined

THE COMEBACK We found another way to have fun despite missing the
Thought provoker:
beach
Isn’t it interesting that we
write the intro last? Planning
THE AH-HA! “It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!” is like that. You need to first
A moment of enlightenment decide where you are going.
Then, you figure out how to
THE TEST Will it rain and we miss day 2 also?!? Here is where I prove get there. Finally, you start
myself! the journey! It’s all
backwards in a plan!

THE VICTORY No! We made it to the beach and had a great time

Finally, write the Intro. Sometimes authors say you should introduce
who, what, where, & when. Try to make your characters interesting to the
reader. After all, who wants to read about someone they don’t like!
Q: What did you do during school holidays?

STORYTELLING STAGE THE STORY PLAN


THE INTRO I went to Penang Beach Resort with family
8 Introduce characters & context
THE HOOK I was very excited to play on the beach
7 The hook – what sets story in motion
THE CHALLENGE We could not play on the beach as planned because we were
2 Facing a series of obstacles slow to wake up, then breakfast, then the hospital!

THE LOW POINT The whole day was ruined


3
THE COMEBACK We found another way to have fun despite missing the beach
4

THE AH-HA! “It’s not what we do, it is doing it together that matters!”
1 A moment of enlightenment
THE TEST Will it rain and we miss day 2 also?!? Here is where I prove
5 myself!

6 THE VICTORY No! We made it to the beach and had a great time.

Alright, so here is our Story Plan! All you need to do now is fill
in the details following your plan and you’re done!
STAGE THE STORY PLAN STORY
Introduce I went to Penang Beach During the last 2 weeks of school holidays, my family went to Penang to meet relatives and to learn about
characters & Resort with family Malaysia, where my mother’s family comes from. We went to a beach resort , so having fun at the beach was
8 context also my plan. We arrived on Friday night and settled into our rooms, which were comfortable. The big bathtub
was my favorite part!
The hook I was very excited to By 7AM on Saturday morning, my sister and I were awake and ready for the beach.
7 play on the beach
Facing a series First , we were slow to It took every ounce of patience to wait until 7:30 when my mummy and daddy woke up. But they did. I couldn’t
of obstacles wake up, then wait! Unfortunately, it was not to be. Mummy insisted that we needed to eat a proper breakfast, so we had to
breakfast, then the go down to the restaurant first. I had two eggs, bacon and bread. My sister had the chicken porridge (they
2 hospital! don’t eat pork in Malaysia). By 8:30, everything went wrong. My sister got very sick. There must have been
something bad in her porridge. She was vomiting and her temperature went up to 39. We all rushed to the
hospital and ended up waiting all day while my sister got treatment and medicine.
The low point The whole day was By the time we got back to the hotel, it was already too late to go to the beach.
3 ruined
The comeback We found another way In the end, we ended up playing on our iPads for the rest of the evening and watching videos. At first I was really
4 to have fun despite
missing the beach
upset. How could my sister waste the whole day?!? But as we played Dungeon Hunter 2 together, things just
seemed to get better and by the time it was bedtime, we were joking and laughing together like normal.
A moment of It’s not what we do, it is I realized that it really didn’t matter where we were or what we were doing. Anything could be fun, if we did it
1 enlighten-
ment
doing it together that
matters!
together.

One last test Will it rain and we miss But, by the next day, I was really anxious to get going. Unfortunately, the sky looked dark and mummy said it
5 day 2 also?!? Here is might rain. My sister looked like she was going to cry. So I said, “Don’t worry, let’s just cross our fingers and see
where I prove myself! if the clouds go away. In the meantime, we can finish the final levels of Dungeon Hunter2”
Victory at last! No! We made it to the And sure enough, within 30 minutes the clouds disappeared and we all went down to the seaside. My sister and
6 beach and had a great I had a really, really fun time playing in the water and collecting hermit crabs and putting them in the tide pools.
time. But even if we hadn’t, I knew I still would have had a fun time!

Even though everyone uses the same structure and even if their
plans are very similar, everyone’s story will be different. That is
the magic of writing!
ACTIVITY TIME!!!!!!

Now you try!


STAGE THE STORY PLAN STORY

Introduce
characters &
8 context

The hook
7
Facing a series of
obstacles

The low point


3
The comeback
4

A moment of
1 enlightenment

One last test


5

Victory at last!
6
PRINT THIS WORKSHEET
Type 2: The Descriptive Structure
Pretend
Pretendthat
thatyou
youhavehaveaa
cousin
cousinyou've
you'venever
nevermet.met.
Your
Yourcousin
cousinlives
livesinin
another
anotherstate,
state,but
butyouyouwant
want Think
him Thinkabout
aboutsomething
somethingthatthat
himor
orher
hertotoget
getto toknow
know made
you. madeyouyouhappy
happyrecently.
recently.
you.Write
Writeaaletter
lettertotoyour
your Describe
cousin Describefully
fullywhat
what
cousindescribing
describingyourself.
yourself. happened
Include happenedand andhowhowyou
you
Includewhat
whatyouyoulook
looklike,
like, felt.
your felt.Also
Alsoexplain
explainwhywhyitit
yourpersonality,
personality,andandyour
your made
interests. madeyouyoufeel
feelthat
thatway.
way.
interests.

Throughout life, you will be asked to describe something!


IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-
IN-A-SO-WHATA

ISAHASADOESAWASAINASOWHATA! It’s kind’ve fun to say


right? Well this is a good way to describe something
IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-IN-A
Q: Describe yourself!

IS A
He is a
• Human
• Boy
• Singaporean

First off, all things can be described by explaining what type of


thing they are
IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-IN-A
Q: Describe yourself!

ISA HAS A
He is a He has a:
• Human • Finger
• Boy • Hand
• Singaporean • Arm

Things can also be described by explaining the pieces that


make them up
IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-IN-A
Q: Describe yourself!

IS A HAS A DOES A
He is a: He has a: He does:
• Human • Finger • Gymnastics
• Boy • Hand • Dancing
• Singaporean • Arm • Homework

In addition, things can be described by explaining the things


they do
IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-IN-A
Q: Describe yourself!

IS A HAS A DOES A WAS A


He is a: He has a: He does: He was a:
• Human • Finger • Gymnastics • P1 Student
• Boy • Hand • Dancing • Toddler
• Singaporean • Arm • Homework • Baby

Further, things can be described by explaining what happens


to them over time
IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-IN-A
Q: Describe yourself!

IS A HAS A DOES A WAS A IN A


He is a: He has a: He does: He was a: He was in a:
• Human • Finger • Gymnastics • P1 Student • City
• Boy • Hand • Dancing • Toddler • Country
• Singaporean • Arm • Homework • Baby • Planet

Finally, all things can be described by explaining where they


are in space
BUT WAIT!!!!!

IS A HAS A DOES A WAS A IN A


He is a: He has a: He does: He was a: He was in a:
• Human • Finger • Gymnastics • P1 Student • City
• Boy • Hand • Dancing • Toddler • Country
• Singaporean • Arm • Homework • Baby • Planet

When you are writing a description, you can’t write about everything, or
you’d write a 1000 page book! Instead, choose only a few things to write
about from isahasadoesawasaina. But which ones to choose?!?
IS-A-HAS-A-DOES-A-WAS-A-IN-A
SO-WHATA
Q: Describe yourself!

IS A HAS A WAS A DOES A IN A

SO-WHATA
• I love to be different
• I am a responsible person
• I just like to have fun

The final bit of a Description brings everything together into one simple
message. That means you need to choose isahasawasadoesaina items
that fit like a puzzle piece into a single sowhata!
Q: Describe yourself!

INTRO

IS A HAS A WAS A DOES A IN A

SO-WHATA

Of course, you know by now that we always need a hook to start


the reader reading. Your introduction is the hook! Try to write
something that will entice the reader to read….
Q: Describe yourself
STAGE THE DESCRIPTIVE PLAN THE DESCRIPTION
INTRO It is nice of you to ask!

IS A Girl
P4 class
Singaporean
HAS A Strong legs
Short hair

DOES A Runner
Swimmer
Dancer
WAS A Medalist in Perth CSTD

IN A Singapore
Asia
SO WHATA When I grow up, I want to
be an athelete

Look at this example….


Q: Describe yourself
STAGE THE DESCRIPTIVE PLAN THE DESCRIPTION
INTRO It is nice of you to ask!

IS A Girl
P4 class
Singaporean
HAS A Strong legs
Short hair

DOES A Runner
Swimmer
Dancer
WAS A Medalist in Perth CSTD

IN A Singapore
Asia
SO WHATA When I grow up, I want to
be an athelete

Now you try!


Type 3: The Positional Structure
Of
Ofall
allthe
thewild
wildanimals
animalsthat thatyou
youhave
have
ever
everseen
seenininaazoo,
zoo,movie,
movie,or orbook,
book,
what
whatisisyour
yourfavorite?
favorite?Which
Whichanimal
animal
would
wouldyouyoumost
mostlike
likeforforaafriend?
friend?Write
Write
an
anessay
essaydescribing
describingyour yourfavorite
favorite
animal,
animal, including its appearance,its
including its appearance, its
habitat,
habitat,and
andits
itsbehavior.
behavior.Explain
Explainwhy
why
the
theanimal
animalisisyour
yourfavorite.
favorite.

Throughout life, you will be asked to take position, to state your


view on something or other!
Just like you use the Story Structure to tell great stories, you
can use the Positional Structure to take a position! The
Positional Structure looks more like a Plus Sign.
1

3 4 5

There are 5 parts to the Positional Structure. In primary school this


usually means that you have to write 5 paragraphs. In High School it
means 5 pages! In University, 5 chapters!!! But the key to remember is 5.
Q: What is your favorite color?

POSITION
I like the color blue

For Advanced Writers…


For Advanced Writers…
InInyour
yourposition
positionsection,
section,youyoushould
should
provide
providesome
somecontext.
context. Why
Whyisisitit
that
thatwe
wewant
wanttototalk
talkabout
aboutthethe
topic?
topic? InInthis
thiscase,
case,whywhyarearewe
we
talking
talking about colors at all? Trytoto
about colors at all? Try
“hook” the reader by writing
“hook” the reader by writing
something
somethingkind’ve
kind’veinteresting
interesting

First you need to state your position! In this case, the position is
you liking the color blue.
Q: What is your favorite color?

POSITION
I like the color red

2
THE AH-HA!
Blue makes me feel calm and
comfortable.

At the other end is the Ah-Ha. In the Ah-Ha you tie the position to
something meaningful or interesting to the reader.
Q: What is your favorite color?

POSITION
I like the color blue

3 4 5

OBSERVATION OBSERVATION OBSERVATION

2
THE AH-HA!
Blue makes me feel calm and
comfortable.

Finally, you need 3 observations that link the position to the ah-ha. Why
3? I don’t know!?! Whatever the case, remember you can choose any 3
things, but they all must lead to the Ah-Ha!
Q: What is your favorite color?

POSITION
I like the color blue

3 4 5

OBSERVATION OBSERVATION OBSERVATION


Because blue feels
relaxing

2
THE AH-HA!
Blue makes me feel calm and
comfortable.

When you are making an observation, it can be powerful to describe in


terms of one of your 5 senses. Great writers even describe one sense
using another like, “it tastes loud!” just to be cheeky.
Q: What is your favorite color?

POSITION
I like the color blue

3 4 5

OBSERVATION OBSERVATION OBSERVATION


Because blue feels Because water in a still
relaxing lake is blue

2
THE AH-HA!
Blue makes me feel calm and
comfortable.

When you are making an observation, you can also think about
context. Where does this thing occur? Is it left, right, up or down?
Q: What is your favorite color?

POSITION
I like the color blue

3 4 5

OBSERVATION OBSERVATION OBSERVATION


Because blue feels Because water in a still Because my mummy’s
relaxing lake is blue eyes are blue

2
THE AH-HA!
Blue makes me feel calm and
comfortable.

Finally, it is always good to appeal to emotion! Try to make your


reader ‘feel’ something about what you are saying rather than just
‘think’ something
Q: What is your favorite color?

STAGE THE POSITIONAL PLAN THE POSITION


POSITION I like the color blue There are so many colours around us. They are in our clothes, in rainbows, in
animals, and especially in the photos on Instagram. But if I had to choose only
one colour as my favourite, I would definitely have to choose blue.
OBSERVATION Because blue feels To me, blue is the most relaxing colour. Red makes me feel excited and yellow
relaxing makes me feel curious. But blue definitely calms me down.

OBSERVATION Because water is blue Blue is also the color of still water. Now I don’t mean seawater, which has lots
of crashy white foam in it. I mean still water, like in a mountain lake.

OBSERVATION Because my mom’s eyes Blue is also the colour of my mummy’s eyes. Although she wears glasses at work
are blue and when she comes home, when we are chatting in bed before we go to sleep,
the night light always lights up her eyes.
AH-HA Blue makes me feel clam I guess, if I had to sum everything up into a single word, I would say “peaceful.”
and comfortable. Blue makes me feel peaceful. It is calm, it makes me feel cool and still like water,
and it makes me feel loved when I am with my mummy.
The Advanced student
Did you notice I
referred back to all 3
observations at the
end?!? Do that!
Teachers love it!

OK, so when you need to take a position, you can use the Positional
Plan to organize your ideas!
Type 4: The Persuasive Structure
To be continued….

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