To Narrate or Describe ... that is the question!

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]To narrate or describe, that is the question. Now, some of you may be amazing all-rounders, simply guided by the prompt on the day. Others may be better at narrative writing and vice versa. So, in this short video, let's break down a few distinct differences which might help you make more of an informed choice before next week. Now, descriptive writing is, I guess, heavily dependent on strong vocabulary, crafting atmosphere, sustaining imagery, and avoiding that dreadful repetition. In many ways, making nothing happening still interesting. And that, guys, can get pretty difficult if your vocabulary bank or repertoire is limited, or if you fall into the trap of just listing things you can see. The sky was blue, the trees swayed, the birds chirped. The list is endless. Needless to say, successful descriptive writing needs a bit more style and flair than this.

[00:00:56]However, narrative writing gives you far more tools to impress the examiner.

[00:01:01]There's structure, there's pacing, there's tension, there's um dialogue, there's shifts in perspective, there's flashbacks, symbolism, there's cyclical ending, characterization, sentence variety, withholding information, and so on and so forth. So, even if your vocabulary is only good rather than exceptional, you can still write something sophisticated through how you craft it. Now, a strong narrative doesn't need to sound like a thesaurus exploded. And I know I'm really showing my age here because no one even probably knows what a thesaurus is anymore. So, short sentences, structural shifts, emotional moments, carefully controlled revelation, those things score highly, too. For example, the phone rang again. This time, he or she answered it. That's simple vocabulary, but it creates tension because of structure and control. Also, narrative often helps students naturally write more. There's momentum, events push the writing forward, and I guess in descriptive pieces, weaker writers can run out of things to say after one paragraph, and I guess start circling the same imagery repeatedly, and you definitely don't want that. Now, that said, descriptive writing can be brilliant for students who can naturally write vividly, they have a strong vocabulary, they can sustain mood, they enjoy crafting imagery. Maybe they struggle with plotting credible narratives. And just to muddy the waters even more, if you are watching this thinking you are absolutely lousy when it comes to descriptive writing, and you're going to opt to do a narrative task, you still need some descriptive writing woven throughout, particularly when it comes to setting and character.

[00:02:50]So, you can't completely escape it. And of course, there's the sneaky tactic of memorizing a really killer narrative you are particularly proud of, and I guess reshaping it to fit the prompt. Now, as an English teacher, I'm not going to say do this or don't do this. If I don my teacher hat momentarily, as if I ever take it off. As someone who absolutely loves creative prose, and unfortunately in class we just don't have enough time to do more of it. I digress. For me, memorizing a narrative does take away from the spirit of the exam a bit, which ultimately is to demonstrate your creative writing skills there and then.

[00:03:31]However, in the same breath, if you are going to go down that route, you better be prepared to bend, tweak, twist, snap, and any other appropriate verb, and just completely manipulate and reshape your narrative, so it fits one of the two prompts you are given. Now, for descriptive writing, other than maybe learning a few ambitious words. You can't really pre-plan anything, so maybe that's something to think about. Look guys, for paper two, I usually tell students this, choose the one where ideas come fastest. Choose the one you can structure confidently. Choose the one where you can sustain quality for two plus pages because remember, you're going to be writing for about an hour.

[00:04:13]And that's all for today, guys. A really, really short video. Let me know in the comments below whether you are planning to do a descriptive prompt or a narrative prompt, and I will see you again very soon. Until next time.

[00:04:24]Bye-bye.