The Day Before — Narrative Writing — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 8 narrative writing writing prompt.
Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 8 · English · Narrative WritingThe Day Before — Narrative Writing — Answers
Warm-up — Writing techniques
- AAva was very nervous.
- BAva felt nervous and worried.
- CAva twisted the strap of her bag around her finger until it left a red mark.
- DAva was the most nervous person in the world.
Answer: Ava twisted the strap of her bag around her finger until it left a red mark.
The action lets the reader work out the feeling for themselves, which is more vivid than naming it.
- AOnce upon a time there was a boy called Leo.
- BHi, my name is Leo and this is my story.
- CThe boxes had been arriving for a week, and now there was only one thing left on Leo's shelf.
- DThis story is about the day before Leo moved.
Answer: The boxes had been arriving for a week, and now there was only one thing left on Leo's shelf.
It drops the reader straight into the situation and raises a question (what is the one thing left?), which creates curiosity.
Answer: For example: 'Sam slammed his bedroom door so hard that the photos on the hallway wall rattled.'
Answer: For example: 'Their footsteps echoed off bare floorboards, and pale squares on the walls marked where the pictures used to hang.'
Plan
Spend about ten minutes planning. A sample plan is given on the answer sheet, but your ideas should be your own.
Answer: Leo, 13. His family is moving to another city tomorrow. He tells everyone he doesn't care, but secretly he is dreading leaving his best friend, Tama.
Answer: Leo wants to say goodbye properly to Tama but is afraid that if he says how much he will miss him, he will cry.
Answer: Leo's almost-empty bedroom and the local skate park, over one afternoon and evening. Details: the screech of packing tape; the smell of cardboard; the rattle of skateboard wheels on concrete.
Answer: Opening: Leo packs the last item on his shelf, a skateboard trophy he and Tama won together. Rising tension: he avoids Tama's messages all afternoon. Turning point: Tama turns up at the door holding the other half of their old walkie-talkie set. Ending: that night Leo tapes one walkie-talkie into the last box, and keeps the button pressed for a second before closing the lid.
Answer: The pair of walkie-talkies: a way of staying connected over a distance.
Model opening
Study how this opening introduces the character, setting and conflict in a few short paragraphs.
The boxes had been arriving for a week, and now there was only one thing left on Leo's shelf.
It was a trophy, if you could call it that: a plastic skateboarder glued crookedly onto a wooden block, with the words 'Best Trick — Junior Division' peeling off the front. He and Tama had won it together two summers ago, landing the same move at the same moment, as if they had planned it. They hadn't.
Leo picked it up, put it down, and picked it up again. Downstairs, his dad's tape gun shrieked across another box.
His phone buzzed: a message from Tama. 'Skate park? Last time?' He typed 'can't, busy' and deleted it. He typed 'sure' and deleted that too.
Outside, the afternoon was going on without him.
(Model opening written for this worksheet.)
Answer: 'Leo picked it up, put it down, and picked it up again' shows that he is reluctant to pack the trophy and is struggling with leaving. (Also accepted: typing two different replies to Tama and deleting both shows he cannot decide whether to face the goodbye.)
Answer: It slows the pace and emphasises the moment, leaving the reader with a question (will Leo answer Tama?) that creates tension and makes them want to read on.
Write
Model answer: See the model opening above. A strong story would continue by building tension as Leo avoids Tama, reach a turning point when the two friends finally meet, and end with a quiet moment that shows how Leo feels about the change without stating it directly.
Success criteria:
- One main character whose feelings are mostly shown through action, dialogue and detail
- A clear conflict that drives the story
- Structure includes an engaging opening, rising tension, a turning point and a satisfying ending
- Setting is brought to life with precise sensory details
- Dialogue is used purposefully and punctuated correctly
- Sentence length and paragraphing are varied to control pace
- Spelling, punctuation and grammar are accurate
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.