Hi,
Please can anyone help me understand:

1. How many essays is DD expected to write?
2. How long should the essays be? 1 page? 2 pages? (or number of words?)

Please share relevant info about creative writing part of this test.

DD is a natural writer, she loves writing and has a good vocabulary. We are doing DIY preparation, so I'm not quite confident.

Just be aware that the writing task might not be creative, it might be persuasive (eg a letter to an MP), so the girls need to be prepared for anything. I've also heard of writing tasks that involved re-writing a third-person passage into a first-person diary entry, writing a newspaper article in response to source material, or continuing a story after being given the opening paragraphs.

The schools don't confirm beforehand what the format will be so although I think recent years have all been single pieces there is nothing to stop them changing the format this year. Again, the girls just need to keep an open mind on what they might be asked to do and to remember that everyone else is doing the same paper so will have the same challenges.

On the whole I think the teachers on this forum will confirm that quality is more important than quantity, with the caveat that there needs to be enough quantity to demonstrate the quality.

Thanks Streathammum, Would say 1 page be considered good enough ?

Depends on how good it is I suppose! And how big the handwriting is

I don't think you should be worrying about the length of the piece at this stage. The exam is on Saturday and there are two school days between now and then - not much time to introduce new information to your DD. I'm sure your DD has done loads of writing at school so this won't be unfamiliar to her. Try not to worry too much.

Last year my daughter said that she heard a couple children tell the invigilators that they didn’t understand the meaning one of the words in the English question. Such a shame when there was only one question. She wasn’t 100% sure of word herself, having never encountered it written down, but luckily made an educated guess based on the context.