WRITING IMAGINATIVE COMPOSITION TECHNIQUES
An imaginative composition is:
- It is a story that we make up
- Pillars of good imaginative composition are; the plot, setting, characters and language
- to be used.
- A good story has a good setting which includes the places, time, weather and general
- atmosphere of the story
- You need to describe the setting in such a way that the reader gets a vivid picture of the
- surroundings in which the story takes place
- An important aspect of the plot is change as the story unfolds.
You should sketch the plot of your story before you start writing. This ensures that ;
a] You don’t run out of ideas in the middle of your writing
b] You don’t write a very predictable story
c] You don’t end your story in a very unrealistic way
WHAT TO AVOID WHEN WRITING IMAGINATIVE
COMPOSITION
- Avoid repetition e.g He entered into the room, return back, come back here etc
- Avoid misusing capital letters;e.g. personal pronoun must be capital “I”
- Avoid joining two separate words –make sure there is space.
- Avoid splitting one word.
- Avoid writing in contracted forms e.g. cant instead write can not.
- Avoid using obscene language …composition must be morally upright [create a solution to your problems in your story.]
- Avoid spelling mistakes …use your dictionaries for the correct spelling.
- Avoid writing violent compositions
- Avoid using clichés e.g. as fast as, happy as a king, run helter skelter etc.
- Omission of words in a given sentence
- Avoiding simplicity e.g. I woke up very early in the morning, prepared myself, it was on a
Sunday….etc. - Maturity – go out of the school setting e.g. being out of the country, a minister, in
employment etc. - Avoid using ridiculous use of idiomatic expressions and vocabularies….avoid using
those that don’t make sense. - Avoid writing titles unless you are told; write a story entitled………………………e.g.
write a story beginning with:
…..I wished I had another chance, I would have been wiser.
Write a story ending with:
…then I realized that it is good and noble to have and keep friends. - Avoid being over-ambitious…
- Avoid verbosity- write short and quality essays
- Avoid the error of elementary vocabulary e.g. dining…
- Avoid overcrowding words e.g.iam instead of I am…..
- Avoid vulgar vocabularies
WHAT TO DO WHEN WRITING IMAGINATIVE
COMPOSITION
COMPOSITION
- Ensure you write good handwriting
- Write on contemporary issues e.g. corruption, environmental protection, HIV/AIDS,
CORONA VIRUS etc. - Good paragraphing
- Clear and correct sentences
- Avoid writing longer essays-you easily make mistakes
- Avoid writing using slang
- Use a variety of sentences e.g. long and short sentences to communicate various
emotions. - Ensure you use the right tense….use present continuous tense
- Use vivid descriptions to describe events……use adjectives to describe mental images in
your mind as you describe….check the correct order of adjectives - Sustain suspense ……avoid revealing all the details e.g. if you lose your sister, avoid
finding her in paragraph 2 or 3 - Use rhetorical questions….to provoke the mind of the readers
- Proper use of sounds of animals and things e.g. chattering of monkeys, trumpeting of
elephants. - Write in non-fiction not in fiction[you will be penalized]
- The candidate should uphold good moral standards.
- Spelling and punctuation should be followed to the letter.
- Contraction form not allowed
- Correct use of phrasal verbs
- The economy of language – write only one and a half to one three quarter pages.
- Proper use of idiomatic expressions and wise sayings
- Use inverted sentences …sentences must have been ordered.e.g. subject +predicate=S+V+O
- Use of direct speech _have opening and closing inverted commas (“ “” Begin a direct
speech on a fresh line. - Use of flashback _To reveal what you didn’t say (Start your story in the middle or at
the end of your flashback .) - Use dialogue( Makes your composition lively-write in a fresh paragraph]
- Use indented dialogue. (Written at the middle of a sentence…..
- Use of ellipsis[…]….it can be used to create suspense or to avoid saying the obvious…..
- Use of twists and turns….avoid getting contradictory or irrelevant.
- Planning-make a skeleton of your composition or make your storyline in your mind…
- Use of youth and culture-lesson or message learned from a composition….a
composition should have a moral lesson …
- Ability to communicate in English through writing.
- Ability to communicate effectively in a variety of sentence structures.
- Linguistic competence.
- Level of intelligence, correctness, accuracy, fluency, pleasantness and originality…
- How to write creatively or imaginatively.
- What is required of them in set books i.e. thinking critically.
- Skills tested in paper 3; evaluation ,synthesis ,analysis ……..critical thinking skills…
- Promote critical thinking
- The correct interpretation of questions even with the challenging words
- Move away from cognitive to analysis and synthesis
- Learners ability to combine and connect similar episodes
- Read on dialogue , discussion and flashback in the set book and underline using a pencil
all the important parts/areas… - Teachers need to focus on an episodic approach; find a sub-story within the main story,
focus on situations and how characters react to them , break the story into little
complete storiesWHAT IS REQUIRED OF STUDENTS
- Fluency-by using basic grammar.
- Handwriting
- The plot[clever plot].
- Relevancy
- Felicity [pleasantness, total command of English language…has a spark ,memorable and
brings emotions]. - Economy e.g. driver of the matatu becomes matatu driver.
- Knowledgeability[expository]
- Originality
- Creativity
- Apt use of words
- Maturity of ideas
- Natural and effortless-do do not struggle to impress.
- Good use of style[ flashback, foreshadowing,dialogue,suspense etc. ]
- Length 2pages maximum-more than this is -2
- Moral /ethics- candidate should be aware of good values in the society
- Spellings –the maximum you can score with spelling errors is 8 out of 20
- Twists and turns …avoid linear plot –composition must have obstacles that build
climax
N/B-focus on quality, not quantity
1 . The candidate must have specific purpose, come up with meaningful situations that will
captivate and impress the reader.
2. In situations where the candidate is instructed to write a story beginning or ending with a
given statement, the instructions must be followed to the letter. Failure to attracts
automatic deduction of up to 2 marks …
3. The events in the story must tie with the given statement. Failure attracts AD up to 4 marks..
Title does not attract marks, once its written marking starts at that instance..if the title doesn’t
marry with the body , there is a penalty. It is, therefore, better to leave it…
4. A student who narrates shows inability to use language…graded in C category. Marks scored
between 6 and 1 0..
5. A twist should be introduced to sustain the suspense. A good essay should have twists and turns...
learners to identify moral lessons in the story.. - 7. Encourage candidates to ; read and analyze the text , think creatively and appreciate human
values..
GROSS ERRORS
- Sentence construction-can does not score beyond 7 out of 20
- Mother tongue –direct translation –maximum score is 5 out of 20
- Tintinnabulating /bombastic language-maximum 8 out of 20
- Spelling errors of elementary words- double-underlined
- Wrong words
- Confusing words e.g. there, their ….maximum is 8 out of 20
- Clichés e.g.as happy as a king
- Faulty paragraphing
- Vulgar language [minus 4]
- Punctuation errors
- Repetition
- Ridiculous expressions e.g. I went to the frog's kingdom, shaking like a chameleon on a
fig tree…. - Illogicalities e.g. my heart was beating like the west African tum tum drums….
MARKING CATEGORIES
D class
- Chaotic
- The flow of thought is impossible
C class
- Strained communication
- Flow is jerky
- Repetition
B class
- Ease of expression
- Creates fluency
- Natural and effortless
- Clean and unassuming
- Some items of merit
A class
- Effective and efficient
- Emotionally involving
- The composition creates a permanent impression
- Morals /values in the society
- Has a spark
- Memorable