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Picture Story

A2 Key Part 7: three pictures tell a story, and you write it in 35 words or more. The examiner checks that all three pictures are in your story and that it reads as one connected piece.

Where It Appears

ExamPaper and partQuestionsMarksCounts towards
A2 KeyReading and Writing, Part 7Q3215Writing

What You See

The three pictures show a simple sequence: something happens, something goes wrong or changes, and it ends. There is no written prompt beyond "Write the story shown in the pictures." It is marked on Content, Organisation and Language, 0-5 each.

Worked Example

A complete picture story task at A2 Key level. Work it with the answers closed, then open the key.

A2 Key — The picnic

A2 KeyReading and Writing, Part 7Question 32

Question 32

Question 32

Look at the three pictures. Write the story shown in the pictures.

Write Write 35 words or more..

A woman in a sunny kitchen puts sandwiches, fruit and a bottle of juice into a picnic basket.
1
The woman and a man are sitting on a blanket in a park when it starts to rain heavily.
2
The woman and the man sit on the blanket on the living room floor, eating the picnic and laughing, with rain on the window.
3
Show model answers

Model answers

Model answer — Question 32 (story) (57 words, 15/15 marks)

On Sunday morning the sun was shining, so Kate made some sandwiches and put them in a basket. Then she and her friend Tom went to the park for a picnic. But after ten minutes, it started to rain very hard. They ran home and had their picnic on the living room floor. It was really fun!
SubscaleBand
Content5 / 5
Organisation5 / 5
Language5 / 5

All three pictures are clearly described: the preparation in the kitchen, the rain in the park and the picnic at home, so the reader is fully informed. The story is easy to follow because of basic linking words and time phrases (so, then, but, after ten minutes). Everyday vocabulary (sandwiches, basket, picnic, rain very hard, living room floor) is used correctly, and the past simple is well controlled throughout.

Weaker answer (band 3) — Question 32 (story) (38 words, 9/15 marks)

Kate make food for picnic with her friend. They go to park and sit on the grass. The wheather is very bad and rain. They was wet. After they eat in the house and they are very happy.
SubscaleBand
Content3 / 5
Organisation3 / 5
Language3 / 5

All three pictures are mentioned, but with little detail: the first is only “make food for picnic”, and the story doesn’t say that they leave the park and go home, so the reader is on the whole informed. The text is connected with basic, high-frequency words (and, after). Basic vocabulary is used reasonably appropriately, but the writer has little control of the past simple (make, go, eat, is), and there are errors with articles, agreement (They was) and spelling (wheather), although the meaning is still mostly clear.

Strategy

  1. Give the people names and say where they are in the first sentence.
  2. Write at least one sentence per picture, in the past tense.
  3. Link the pictures with then, after that, suddenly, finally.
  4. Add one feeling or reason (because she was hungry). It lifts Language and Content.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out what happens in one of the pictures.
  • Describing each picture separately instead of telling a story.
  • Mixing present and past tenses.
  • Writing fewer than 35 words.

How to Practise

More practice at every level is on the Cambridge Writing samples page. The whole section in context is on the Cambridge Writing page, and how it is marked is on the scoring page.

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Kirill O'Nayd, Cambridge English exams expert

Written by Kirill O'Nayd

English test expert and educator at TestSucceed. He has spent years preparing candidates for Cambridge English Qualifications from A2 Key to C2 Proficiency, and taking apart how each paper awards its marks. See all TestSucceed preparation materials.

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