This is probably a very stupid question, but why is writing a pure imaginative piece (no hybrid stuff) such a big risk?
I always feel inclined to write creatively whether it be a short story / scene from a play / etc. I can write persuasively effectively if required, but it's not my preferred style for C&P responses - takes a bit longer to get it going.
Do you guys think I should continue with creative, or practise persuasive more?
Probably should add I get ~9s for either style... it's just this "risk" of creative pieces that worries me... =\
This is the exact sort of question I like because I feel like I can give real insight here.
So to sum up your case
- I believe you think writing creatively comes naturally, but you also have the skills/competency to write persuasively and that you'll still get great marks if you write persuasively.
- You think writing creatively is easier because you think you can assess all the criteria (firstly relating your imaginative piece to the characters and events in the book, then relating those to the prompt, and finally making sure that the ideas are appropriate for your context) by just creating something that links them all together. Fabricating a story. Writing an article. Being creative - just make it up and it works, right?
- In other words, you write something like a story that has characters like the books characters or people in similar positions to characters in the story, they encounter a situation which is related to the events in the book, and they have to confront ideas aroused in their context that are also relevant to the prompt
- Your conundrum is that you are unsure of whether or not to go creatively (you are wondering what the dangers of such an approach are, if any), and you are erring on the side of safety - safety in the sense that you can virtually guarantee yourself a high mark writing persuasively, just because it's methodical and you can deal with that no problems.
So my advice, in short, is that creative has a bigger potential to go wrong but you can totally deal with that if you want to write creatively come exam time, and with no doubt get a high mark if you practice skills that will guarantee you marks on the exam in this study period. However, you are less likely to screw up writing persuasively - there's not much to be left to the imagination, and they are entirely methodical and so therefore easy to work through under the pressures of an exam situation. You could guarantee yourself an 8/10, but how would you be feeling after it? You could also totally blitz a creative piece if you know how to do it and feel confident about the rest of your exam knowing you owned a complex prompt.
But to elaborate on a couple of points I think are important...
If you are going to do this, pick which one you want now based on your own predilections in conjunction with advice you get here from AN members. The earlier you pick, the more you capitalise on your finite revision and preparation time. Don't waste time on the activities that aren't going to help you come exam time, unless you have a good reason for it.
Make sure that if you decide to write creatively, you play it smart. You know that there is the real danger of not being able to think creatively on the day, and you will be under pressure of knowing that it all comes down to this essay. You might be able to spin -a- story, but you have to make it as radiant as your other best ones. Only someone very mentally strongwilled can walk confidentally into an exam situation and know with their entirety that if they didn't stress out and thought about the problem before them, they would be able to find a great way through that would impress their examiners. I'm not saying "if you don't have the confidence here back out now". I'm saying "if you are tentative, then prepare until you know you can link any idea together with a wicked story so that the exam will be breezy just like any other practice essay." In other words, practice to the point where you can make up 5 stories in 5 minutes; worry about the framework, the detail can come as you're writing. That's the best possible mentality you can enter an exam situation in. And if you get there, you'll kill it. It's about being positive and confident and knowing that, hey, you actually can do this pretty damn well.
On the topic of playing it smart when writing creatively, make a plan. Realise what the examiners are looking for, and what they award marks to. The assessors need to analyse three major things - how well your story works into the text, the context, and the prompt. They look at the relationships between your story and things in the book (these could be characters, people, places, plot twists, structure formats, alternate media like letters, tv shows, or psychiatric reports that could be relevant to the book that would justify writing in these mediums). They look at the relationship between your story and the context (what are the ideas in your context? how are they represented in the books? what were you supposed to pay attention to in class when they were discussing context for your chosen book on the exam?). What are the relationships between your story and the (highly generic, always easy-to-handle) prompt.
If you figure out a way to connect the main ideas in your book (in other words, learn all of the main ideas in your book. all of them. then you've satisfied this step) and imbue them in your story, you'll be fine.
And then you figure out a way to link that into the ideas that are in your context (you will discuss highly generic ideas in class that are widely applicable and "universal") and imbue them in your story, you'll be fine.
And finally if you figure out a way to link the ideas that are in the prompt to your story, and maybe even give your own special take / interpretation / personal twist of the prompt, you'll be fine.
Practice making stories that you can do that super efficiently in. In other words, learn about the book, the context, and think about the prompt, then just make stuff up.
If you practice this enough and came pre-loaded with the ability to write well, you can guarantee yourself a 10... If you practice.
The other option is just getting bloody brilliant at persuasive writing, and if this is something that doesn't bring you dismay, then by all means master the art of persuasive writing. It is definitely more methodical and easier to work through if you have a writer's brain, and it's a lot harder to get lost for inspiration. You can, also, again, guarantee yourself an 8 or 9 on the exam.
You clearly must be adept with writing if you have some propensity to write creatively - it's a skill not a lot of people have, so if your case is anything like what I imagine it to be as described above, then I would encourage you to go with what feels natural. Because, chances are, you're not too bad at writing creatively and if you revise-smart, then seriously, just chill you're fine bro and you know it lol.
I'm super inebriated right now but you only live once. Let's see what I was thinking when I come back and read this tomorrow.
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