Narrative Composition: Question 5
Syllabus W1, W5
A story titled "The Spare Key" follows Jono, who has spent the whole narrative trying to get back into his flat after locking himself out during a thunderstorm, growing increasingly convinced that someone is following him down the street. He has just found the spare key exactly where his neighbour said it would be, under a chipped plant pot by the door.
Write the final paragraph (3–4 sentences) that brings this story to a satisfying, earned close. Resolve the immediate situation (the locked door), and let at least one small detail settle the fear that has been building. Without introducing a new, unrelated event or a twist that comes from nowhere. [9]
Show worked solution Hide worked solution
Worked solution
Assessment focus
This tests the ability to write an earned, satisfying ending: resolving the story’s central complication logically, settling its built tension through detail rather than statement, and avoiding both coincidence and a last-minute new twist.
Mark scheme (9 marks)
- Logical resolution (3 marks): the locked-door situation is resolved in a way that follows directly from what has already been established, with no new coincidence or unearned rescue.
- Tension laid to rest (3 marks): the fear of being followed is addressed and settled through action or detail, not simply dropped or merely stated as resolved.
- Controlled final beat (2 marks): the paragraph ends on a specific, deliberate image or action that gives genuine closure, rather than trailing off or introducing a new cliffhanger.
- Concision and focus (1 mark): 3–4 sentences, with no new characters or unrelated plot strands introduced.
Model ending
The key turned first time, and the door gave way into the warm, ordinary smell of home. Jono stepped inside and looked back once. The street was empty, just rain sliding gold under the lamppost, nothing moving in it. He shut the door, turned the latch, and for the first time all evening let his shoulders drop. Whatever had been following him, real or not, stayed outside.
Why this works
The locked-door situation resolves through the very key the story has been building toward, with no new event introduced. The fear of being followed is settled through a concrete, observed detail (the street shown empty, “nothing moving in it”) rather than a stated feeling, and the physical action of letting his “shoulders drop” shows relief without naming it. The final sentence lands as closure precisely because it addresses the story’s central tension one last time without opening a new one.
Common pitfalls specific to this task
- Having the neighbour appear at the last second to reassure Jono, which introduces a new character purely to resolve the tension rather than letting the established situation resolve it.
- Ending with “Jono felt relieved and safe, and he knew nothing bad would happen to him now,” which states the resolution directly instead of showing it through action or detail.