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Narrative Writing Enhancement Worksheet

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Narrative Writing Enhancement Worksheet

Practise choosing vivid words, varying sentence openings and punctuating dialogue. Then use these skills in your own short story.

Choose vivid words

Select words that make the action clear and interesting.

1.Choose the best replacement for “went”: The puppy ______ across the lawn to greet its owner.

bounded
drifted
crept

2.Choose the best replacement for “said”: “I can’t wait for the concert!” Wiremu ______.

cheered
muttered
stammered

3.Match each speaker to the speech verb that best fits. Angry speaker; quiet speaker; delighted speaker; nervous speaker.

Angry speaker
Quiet speaker
Delighted speaker
Nervous speaker

exclaimed
snapped
whispered
stammered

4.Rewrite this sentence with a different opening phrase, keeping its meaning: “The lighthouse stood on the rocky shore.”

Vary openings and punctuate speech

Use punctuation and different sentence beginnings to help your narrative flow.

5.Which sentence openings can help make a narrative varied? Choose all that apply.

An adverb, such as “Silently,”
A phrase, such as “After lunch,”
A time word, such as “Later,”
A place phrase, such as “Beyond the gate,”
Beginning every sentence with “The”

6.Rewrite this dialogue with speech marks, capital letters and punctuation. Put each speaker’s words on a new line: Oliver said I left my lunch in the car. His sister asked should we go back for it Oliver replied yes please.

7.Add commas where needed: Before the storm rolled in we gathered blankets torches and water.

Write and reflect

Apply the skills in a short continuation. Then check your writing against the success criteria.

8.Continue this story in 4–5 sentences: “A silver key lay on the library windowsill, though every window was shut. Isla picked it up and heard a faint click behind the bookcase…” Include at least two vivid alternatives to “went” or “said”, two different sentence openings, correctly punctuated dialogue, and a comma in a list or after an opening phrase.

9.Review your story and tick each skill you used: vivid synonyms, varied sentence openings, correctly punctuated speech, and commas used correctly.

TrueFalse