KS3 · English

Writing a travel article

What's the most boring trip you've ever been on? Write about it so well that a reader can't stop. The secret is where you point the camera.

English · Perspective

Where is the camera pointing?

Each line below comes from an account of a place. Which perspective is it using? Commit to an answer first, then read why.

Still to sort

In medias res (0)

Latin for 'in the middle of things': the writing starts in the middle of the action, often with a present participle for a sense of immediacy.

Where the line is: This one is about where the line starts: you're dropped into the action, not walked through the beginning or shown a view.

Panoramic (0)

A sweeping viewpoint that takes in the whole scene.

Where the line is: Also looks outwards, but in one wide sweep of the whole scene rather than one sensation near the body.

External (0)

The outer landscape: anything that can be sensed around the body.

Where the line is: Looks outwards with no thoughts or feelings. If the line sweeps across the whole scene, it's panoramic instead.

Internal (0)

The writer's unspoken thoughts, feelings and ideas.

Where the line is: Looks inwards at what the writer thinks and feels, not at what is sensed around them.

8 of 8 still to sort.

Perspective means two things: what the writer can see, and what the writer feels and thinks about what they see. Think like a camera operator. Where does the narrator stand? Where does the account start? How wide does the shot sweep? Handy words for talking about it: focus, zoom, trace, notice.

Watch out: Easy mistake: 'in medias res' doesn't mean 'the start of the trip'. It means starting in the middle of the action. (And the camera comparison has a limit: a camera can't film what you feel. That's the job of internal perspective.)

English · Choosing what to write

What stops people writing about a place?

You've been asked to write a compelling account of a place for a travel article. The only trip you can think of is a rainy week at a relative's house.

Which is closest to what you think right now?

I haven't been anywhere exciting, so I've got nothing worth writing about.The best account includes everything I remember, so the reader gets the full picture.A strong structure has to be complicated, with plenty of twists and layers.One memory, described with sensory details and strong feelings, beats a pile of half-remembered ones.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

I haven't been anywhere exciting, so I've got nothing worth writing about.

This is a common misconception

It's a very common worry, and it stops writers before they start. But the quality of the writing matters more than the topic. Any topic can be interesting if the account is well written, so you don't need an exciting experience to write in a compelling way.

The best account includes everything I remember, so the reader gets the full picture.

This is a common misconception

Trying to remember everything is the trap. Choose one specific memory, then work on conjuring up sensory details and intense emotions. One experience described well is better than ten half-recalled ones.

A strong structure has to be complicated, with plenty of twists and layers.

This is a common misconception

A strong, clear structure doesn't have to be complicated. The account of the fairground in Dylan Thomas's Holiday Memory moves simply from day to dusk to night, and a theme can run through it.

One memory, described with sensory details and strong feelings, beats a pile of half-remembered ones.

This matches the evidence

That's the idea. It also explains the other two points: because the quality of the writing matters more than the topic, an ordinary memory can work, and because a clear structure can be as simple as day to dusk to night, you don't need clever twists.

You don't need an exciting trip. You need one well-chosen memory and the writing to bring it alive.

English · Crafting language

Build a compound adjective

A compound adjective is made by combining words. It adds precision and vivid description: plain 'red' becomes 'blood-red'. Pick a first word and a second word and watch what you build.

blood-red

noun + adjective

First word

Second word

Choose a first word and a second word. When your pair builds one of the four patterns, the finished adjective appears with its pattern named.

blood-red is noun plus adjective. It's more precise and more vivid than plain 'red'.

Built: blood-red. blood-red is noun plus adjective. It's more precise and more vivid than plain 'red'.

Watch out: Notice that in all four examples here the two words are joined with a hyphen.

English · Crafting language

Simile and metaphor (imagery)vsAnalogy

Analogy is easy to mistake for a longer simile. Here's what separates it from simile and metaphor.

Focus

What the reader does

Simile and metaphor (imagery)

Explores the connotations of the comparison

Analogy

Follows a comparison that is developed to make a point

The insight

This is the big difference. Imagery leaves the reader free to explore; an analogy steers them towards a point.

What it is for

Simile and metaphor (imagery)

Creating imagery. Think of 'life is like a river' and 'life is a river' as one worked example.

Analogy

Explaining a point by making an abstract idea concrete: clear and imaginative at once.

Words that can signal it

Simile and metaphor (imagery)

'like' appears in 'life is like a river', but a simile doesn't have to use it.

Analogy

can be seen as, in the same way that, it's as if, like

A fresh example

Simile and metaphor (imagery)

'The market was a beehive.' You decide what that suggests: busy? buzzing? crowded?

Analogy

'In the same way that a map shows the route before the journey, a plan shows an account's route before you write it.' An abstract idea (planning) becomes concrete.

English · Your turn

Write it, then check it

Plan first. (1) Where will the narrator stand? Decide that before anything else. (2) Pick three key points in the scene and jot down words and phrases for each. (3) Note where the tone or mood will change. Order words such as initially, then, lastly and finally, and place words such as foreground and background, can show where the reader's eye is moving.

Write the opening of a travel account about ONE place you remember. It can be an ordinary place. Write for readers who want to share the experience. Start in medias res, shift from an external to an internal perspective, and use at least one compound adjective and one piece of wordplay (assonance, alliteration or inverted syntax). Aim for 5 to 8 sentences. [10 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

It has a clear beginning, middle and end. (1 mark)
It is emotionally engaging. (1 mark)
It speaks directly to the reader at least once. (1 mark)
It has a theme. (1 mark)
It includes imaginative sensory details. (1 mark)
It is deliberately inviting to the reader. (1 mark)
It has a clear tone or mood. (1 mark)
It uses words and phrases crafted specifically to delight the reader, including at least one compound adjective and one piece of wordplay. (1 mark)
It opens in medias res, in the middle of the action. (1 mark)
It shifts from an external perspective to an internal one. (1 mark)

Model answer

Unzipping the tent with numb fingers, I tumbled out into the half-dark. The whole valley lay silver and silent below me: mist clung to the lake, the pines stood black against the sky, and the ice-cold grass crackled under my bare feet. Golden and enormous, the sun hauled itself over the ridge. I didn't say a word to anyone, but something inside me went quiet and huge at the same time. Can you remember the last time the world felt that new? Come and stand with me at the edge of that morning, and you'll see why I've carried it home ever since.

Check your own writing honestly: tick only what your words actually do. Anything you can't tick is your next edit.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

One well-chosen memory, and control over where the reader is looking.

What you need to know

People travel for a range of reasons, including enjoyment and health. Writers record their observations to remember and recall their journeys, and readers read travel writing to share in those experiences.
Compelling writing is irresistible, often because of its emotional power or theme. Its qualities include emotional resonance, imaginative details, a strong clear structure, meaningful themes and pleasure in the use of words.
Perspective is a literal viewpoint (what is seen) and also an opinion (what is felt and thought about what is seen). Four examples: in medias res, panoramic, external and internal.
A good plan decides where the narrator will be positioned, where the account begins and ends, and where the tone or mood will change.

The big picture

You can write a compelling account of a place without an exciting trip. Choose one memory, decide where the narrator stands, steer the reader's eye with four kinds of perspective, add crafted language (compound adjectives, analogy, wordplay), then check your writing against a self-assessment list.

Key points

1You don't need an exciting experience. The quality of the writing matters more than the topic, and one specific memory described well is better than ten half-recalled ones.

2In medias res starts in the middle of the action (present participles create immediacy). Panoramic takes in the whole scene. External is the outer landscape, anything sensed around the body. Internal is the writer's unspoken thoughts and feelings.

3Shifting perspective maintains the reader's interest, and it is particularly effective to shift from external to internal.

4Compound adjectives add precision and vivid description. An analogy starts with a comparison and develops it to make a point. Wordplay includes assonance, alliteration and inverted syntax.

5A strong, clear structure can be simple: the fairground account in Dylan Thomas's Holiday Memory moves from day to dusk to night.

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Worked example

Problem

Turn a dull memory (sheltering from the rain in a seaside café) into the start of a compelling account.

⚠ Watch out

Thinking 'in medias res' means 'the start of the trip'. It means starting in the middle of the action, so 'Last summer, we drove to the coast' is just the beginning, not an in medias res opening.

🧠

Memory hook

Camera operator: decide where the narrator stands, start in the middle of the action, sweep the scene, then turn the camera inwards to what you feel.

✓

Check yourself

Pick a moment from a journey you remember. Write one external sentence and one internal sentence about it. Which words show which perspective?

Flashcards

(13)

Compelling writing

Writing that is irresistible, often because of its emotional power or theme. Qualities include emotional resonance, imaginative details, a strong clear structure, meaningful themes and pleasure in the use of words.

Perspective

A literal viewpoint (what is seen) and also an opinion (what is felt and thought about what is seen).

In medias res

Latin for 'in the middle of things': writing that starts in the middle of the plot or action.

Panoramic perspective

A sweeping viewpoint that takes in the whole scene.

External perspective

Focuses on the outer landscape: anything that can be sensed around the body.

Internal perspective

Focuses on the unspoken thoughts, feelings and ideas of the writer.

Why use present participles in an opening?

Present participles (verbs ending in -ing, like 'dragging') in an in medias res opening create a sense of immediacy and excitement.

Compound adjective

An adjective made by combining multiple words. It adds precision and vivid description (blood-red, 15-mile, blue-grey, brown-eyed).

Analogy

Starts with a comparison and uses it to make and develop a point, making an abstract idea concrete. Phrases like 'can be seen as' and 'in the same way that' can signal one.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds in the middle of nearby words.

Inverted syntax

Can mean placing an adjective at the start of a sentence, for example 'Golden and enormous, the sun rose.'

First decision when planning an account of a scene

Where to position the narrator. Then focus on three key points in the scene and note words and phrases for each.

Which shift of perspective is particularly effective?

Shifting from external to internal: it maintains the reader's interest.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Where is the camera pointing?

What stops people writing about a place?

Build a compound adjective

Write it, then check it

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