A2 Key (KET) Writing Part 7 – Write a Story

A2 Key (KET) · Writing

In Part 7 of the A2 Key Reading and Writing paper, you write a short story of 35 words or more based on three pictures. Your story must describe what happens in all three pictures. On this page you can write your own story, check it with a self-assessment list, compare it with an annotated model answer, and practise the skills you need with short interactive exercises.

Your Task

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

Write 35 words or more.

Write your answer here:

Check your writing

I wrote 35 words or more. I described what happens in all three pictures. I told the story in order (picture 1, then 2, then 3). I used past tenses (walked, saw, was walking). I used sequencing and linking words such as first, then, when, so, in the end. I gave the main character a name. I checked my spelling, capital letters and full stops.

Model answer (58 words)

Last Saturday, Tom was walking in the park when he saw a small brown dog under a bench. It was alone and looked sad. Then Tom saw a poster on a tree: ‘Lost dog’. He called the number and took the dog to the owner’s house. A girl opened the door. She was very happy and thanked Tom.

Blue = picture 1 Green = picture 2 Yellow = picture 3

Why this answer works

Area	What the model answer does
Content	It tells the story of all three pictures, so the reader understands the whole story.
Organisation	The events are in the correct order and are connected with when, then and and.
Language	It uses the past simple and the past continuous correctly (Tom was walking in the park when he saw…) and everyday vocabulary (poster, owner, thanked).

A weaker answer (15 words)

Tom is in the park. He see a dog. He call. The girl is happy.

It is shorter than 35 words.
It does not explain picture 2: there is nothing about the poster or why Tom calls.
It uses the present tense instead of past tenses, and He see and He call are incorrect (He saw, He called).
It has no linking words, so it reads like a list of sentences rather than a story.

About Writing Part 7

Part 7 is one of two writing tasks in the A2 Key Reading and Writing paper. You must answer it.
You write a short story of 35 words or more, based on three picture prompts.
It is marked out of 15, with up to 5 marks each for Content (does your story describe all three pictures?), Organisation (is it connected, with basic linking words?) and Language (is your everyday vocabulary and simple grammar mostly correct?).

Sources: Cambridge English – A2 Key exam format and Cambridge English – Teacher guide for writing, A2 Key for Schools.

Tips

Look at all three pictures before you start writing, and decide what happens in each one.
Write at least one or two sentences for each picture.
Tell the story in the past, and use words like first, then, when and in the end to connect the events.
Check your verbs: many common past forms are irregular (see → saw, take → took, go → went).

More A2 Key practice: A2 Key Writing Part 6 · A2 Key Reading · A2 Key Listening · A2 Key (KET) overview