Week 1 – Word Banks
This week’s activity:
Choose a favourite holiday or summer memory and create
2–3 Word Banks.
Thanks for joining in with the Summer Writing Challenge, a summer of words, ideas and stories
- one step at a time!
Does writing sometimes feel difficult because you don't know how to begin?
That’s called the blank page problem – and every writer gets it sometime.
One of the simplest ways to overcome this though is to create a Word Bank. It's a technique I've used with GCSE students and adult writers for many years because it helps ideas flow naturally.
And that’s exactly the frame of mind you want to have in the English GCSE Paper 1 exam.
This week, I'd like you to create two or three word banks based on the setting for your story. To keep with our summer theme, let's imagine your story takes place on a holiday.
Below are two buttons to follow.
On the Learn More About Word Banks button, you'll discover how this technique helps GCSE students and adult writers generate ideas, together with examples that I’ve used in my classes.
When you've explored that page, click on the SWC Examples button to see three word bank from one of my family holidays.
Notice how some entries are single words, while others are short phrases - both are fine in a Word Bank. Now, think of a holiday you've enjoyed and create some similar word banks of your own.
There's no need to do them all today. Spend just 5–10 minutes, two or three times during the week, collecting words and ideas. And, don’t overthink things – it is the summer holidays!
Please post your Word Banks in the Facebook comments or email them to me on david@davidwritingtutor.com. I’d love to hear from you.
Here's to a summer of words, ideas and stories - one step at a time!
David