Writing for O level English paper one involves storytelling.
In fact, storytelling is one of the foremost ways of alerting people to your presence in this world.
Whether it is in the corporate sector or merely academic, storytelling has its roots in our history, family culture and lifestyle orientation.
If you want to tell your story properly, it is better to get it done professionally.
I am here to provide you with the necessary tools for getting this done the right way for your O level English paper.
I will discuss a few useful strategies for building up a story to create awareness of the message and creation of empathy.
Part 1: Focus On Your Theme
The first step in building up a story is to focus on your theme.
What do you want to discuss?
What do you wish to offer to your reader?
You will need to dig deep into your psyche and evaluate the circumstances of your experience which you think will be worth revealing.
Wait a minute.
Is this not supposed to be an O level English composition?
Yes, it is.
Then why should one’s personal experiences be brought into this?
Ok. I would like to answer this question but I will first have to explain some of the rules for writing.
Every writer who writes a work of fiction places something of himself or herself in that story.
It could even be a story like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
I am sure that the theme about spoilt children who should be taught a lesson to behave themselves was a theme close to Roald Dahl’s heart.
His feelings about children and their redemptive values must have been sincere.
It is impossible to write anything at all without having something of your own opinions seeping into the story.
That is how anyone who wants to write a good story will write.
And this is the best approach to writing for your O level English paper.
Why should this be the best approach?
Why can’t someone write a story which is totally fictitious?
Of course, the story may be totally fictitious.
However, there are parts in the narrative where the subtle thoughts and moral suppositions are laid bare.
This is where the author’s world intrudes in the work of fiction.
Ok. To put it in a nutshell, this simply means that even when a story is totally fictitious, it is not really.
Yes, really.
Ok. So Step 1 means understanding that you bring a little of your own experience in your story when you start building it.
Part 2: Write With A Truth
The next step in O level English is to write with a ‘truth.’
This is the essence of the story.
Without a ‘truth’, the story will have no point to it.
There will be no need to write it at all.
Ok, what is the ‘truth?’
The ‘truth’ is the moral value in the story.
It could be a tale about how you went through one of the darkest moments in your life and managed to find your way out of it.
Such a story will dwell on the moral catharsis of the protagonist and uncover certain hidden traits.
The protagonist may find that she has a hidden strength, the ability to face challenges and defeat her obstacles.
The ‘truth’ in this story is finding one’s hidden strength and the manner in which the odds were defeated.
The ‘truth’ may take many forms.
It depends on what you think is important and worth revealing to the reader.
It should always be something of value.
It could be a virtue, a quality worth describing and it should always inspire.
Part 3: Organisation In Your O Level English Paper
The last step for building up a story in O level English is about organisation.
When you think of your experience which you want to reveal and the truth which you wish to explore, the way you describe it will engage the audience from the beginning till the end of your story.
If you wish to stimulate interest where the story is a page-turner, you will need to organise your story.
Ok, how do you do this?
Write out a simple template.
Start with a few background details.
Your life as it stands now and how the darkest moment in your life was in your past, about 10 years ago.
Recount how you managed to get through that to surface eventually as a successful entrepreneur or a businesswoman.
Then trace your story to the lowest ebb, when you felt most unsupported and bereft.
Then start with the climb upwards from this point till you reach the moment where you were restored.
The tracing from the lowest to the present should be done gradually till you reach the resolution.
Always end the story on a high point.
In this way, you can share your ‘truth’ or moral value.
By the time you finish it this way, you will notice that your story will be well organised and this will help you score greatly in O level English.
Building up a story requires both creative and organisation skills.
You will need to be careful in planning the entire plot and purpose before you begin your O level English paper.
Have fun writing and try to use all three strategies. C’est la vie!