In an exam, the humble BUT is your friend.
15.06.23
Whether your child is preparing for 11+ exams for grammar or private schools, or they love writing and want to get better and better, this tip is for them. 
Have you noticed that sometimes children’s stories leap from the beginning straight into the problem, and there seems to be no build-up? 
Here is an easy way to quickly increase tension and shoot the story into the rising action. 
BUT
The humble ‘but’ is a simple coordinating conjunction that we start to teach children in their early years. And then, as our students move up through school, we focus on increased complex vocabulary and learning different synonyms to create subtleties in the mood.
This is very important, but sometimes only a ‘but’ will do.
This is very important, but sometimes only a ‘but’ will do.
Example:
He looked out from the treehouse to see if he could spot Amir, but a strange tingling feeling moved across his chest.
In this example, the boy is looking out from the tree house, and so far, there is nothing to worry about, and then the ‘but’ turns this on its head.
Why is this a good exam technique?
This type of sentence can be used at the end of the beginning section of a story and serves as the rising action before moving on to the next paragraph.
It is a helpful technique in exams when children feel pressured and need a quick sentence to seamlessly move into writing the problem and climax.
Task 
Here are the beginnings of the sentences, plus the ‘but’. Now add the next part to quickly change the mood from ‘OK, there’s not much happening here’ to ‘Uh, oh, something IS happening’.
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Suri decided that today was going to be fun, but __________ .
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They were happy that they had found the exit, but _________ .
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She grabbed her bag and ran towards the school bus, but ______ .
Top tip
You can use ‘but’ differently to start with tension and bring the pressure back down like a rollercoaster.
Example: The noise became louder and louder, and the curtains twitched, but there was nothing there.
Now, go forth and write well! 
Anna