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The Dare

Story Writing

Intermediate

30 minutes

Kent

FSCE

Independent

The Prompt

“Write a story titled "The Dare".”

Planning Hints

4 tips to help you plan your response

What is the dare? Make it something that tests courage, not something silly.

Why does your character accept? Peer pressure, pride, curiosity?

Build tension through physical sensations — racing heart, sweaty palms.

Does the character complete the dare? What do they learn from it?

Starter Sentences

Suggested opening lines to get you started

“"I dare you." Two words. That's all it took.”

“Everyone was watching. Walking away wasn't an option — or at least, it didn't feel like one.”

“The old swimming pool had been closed for years. Everybody knew that. Everybody also knew the gap in the fence.”

Key Techniques to Demonstrate

Techniques the examiner will be looking for in your response

Annotated Model Answer

A high-quality example response with techniques highlighted

"I dare you." Two words. That's all it took. Jake grinned. Priya folded her arms. And I — stupidly, recklessly, with every alarm bell in my head ringing — said yes. The abandoned swimming pool sat behind St. Mary's Church like a forgotten secret. Its walls were stained green with damp, the windows boarded up with plywood that had warped and split over time. The dare was simple: climb in through the gap in the fence, walk to the deep end, touch the wall, and come back. Easy. At least, that's what it sounded like in the bright safety of the playground. At seven o'clock, with the evening light fading to amber, it felt very different. The fence loomed above me, its chain links cold and sharp. I squeezed through the gap, feeling the metal snag on my sleeve, and dropped into knee-high weeds on the other side. Silence. Not the comfortable silence of a library or a bedroom at night, but the thick, watchful silence of a place that didn't want me there. My trainers crunched on broken tiles. The pool was empty — of course it was — but somehow that made it worse. A deep, concrete mouth, gaping at the sky. I reached the deep end. My hand touched the wall. The tiles were slippery and cold, and something about the contact — that proof that I had actually done it — sent a jolt of electricity through me. I ran. Not from fear, though fear was certainly part of it, but from a wild, breathless triumph that I couldn't contain. I burst through the gap in the fence and into the fading light, where Jake and Priya were waiting with wide eyes and open mouths. "Well?" Jake asked. I just smiled. Some things don't need words.

Hover or tap the highlighted phrases to see the technique and explanation

Techniques Used in This Answer

Rule Of Three

Simile

Personification

Metaphor (x2)

Show Dont Tell

Reflection

Ready to Write?

Practice this prompt under timed conditions, just like the real exam. You have 30 minutes.

Planning Templates

Suitable for story writing

Story Mountain

The classic 5-part narrative structure. Perfect for story writing prompts where you need a clear beginning, middle, and end.

5 steps|3-5 minutes

4-Paragraph Plan (CSSE Style)

A focused structure for shorter writing tasks (15-20 minutes). Ideal for CSSE where you only write 2 compulsory paragraphs, but this plan gives you 4 strong ones if time allows.

4 steps|2-3 minutes