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In the SET Stage 2 exam, the examiner will read dozens of pieces of writing in a single session. Your opening is your chance to stand out from the very first line, and your ending is the last thing the examiner reads before deciding your mark. Together, they frame your entire piece. The strongest candidates for Sutton Grammar, Wilson's, Wallington County Grammar, Nonsuch, and Wallington High know that a powerful opening and a memorable ending can transform a good piece of writing into an outstanding one.
Your opening sets the tone for everything that follows. It tells the examiner:
A weak opening — "One day, a boy went to the park. It was sunny." — immediately signals a less experienced writer. A strong opening says: this student knows what they are doing.
1. Action opening — Drop the reader into the middle of something happening.
The rope snapped. For one terrible second, she hung in the air, fingers clawing at nothing — and then she fell.
2. Dialogue opening — Start with a character speaking.
"Whatever you do," whispered the old woman, "do not look back."
3. Description opening — Paint a vivid picture using the senses.
The alley smelled of rain and rust. Puddles reflected the neon signs above, turning the ground into a broken mosaic of red and blue.
4. Question opening — Pose a question that hooks the reader.
Have you ever made a promise you knew you could not keep?
5. Flashback opening — Begin at a dramatic moment, then jump back in time.
The sirens were getting closer. Fifteen minutes ago, everything had been normal.
6. Short and punchy opening — A single powerful statement.
Silence. Then, the scream.
Weak opening:
My name is Emma and I am going to tell you about a scary thing that happened to me one day. It was a Saturday and I was at home.
Strong opening:
The house had been empty for six months. Everyone said so. So when the light appeared in the upstairs window at three in the morning, Emma told herself she had imagined it. But the next night, it was there again.
The strong version creates mystery, atmosphere, and a hook — all in four sentences.
Psychologists call it the recency effect — people remember the last thing they read most clearly. Your ending is your final impression on the examiner. A brilliant story with a rushed or missing ending will always score lower than a good story with a satisfying conclusion.
1. Circular ending — Return to where the story began, but something has changed.
She stood at the garden gate again. The same roses, the same cracked path, the same blue door. But she was not the same. She would never be the same.
2. Reflective ending — The character thinks about what they have experienced.
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