English for CXC Short Story Topics

Published: 29th of April, 2024 by Patrick Carpen.

The short story is a critical element of the English for CXC exams. Students writing the CXC English for CXC exams must master the art of writing good short stories. A good short story contains a conflict, that is, two opposing forces. An external conflict is when the main character wrestles against an external force or problem such as an enemy, dangerous animal, inclement weather or dangerous weather conditions, natural disaster, challenging circumstances, etc. An internal conflict takes place in the mind of the main character.

The conflict is part of the wider plot which includes exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

In addition to incorporating all the elements of the plot, the short story must be well punctuated and neatly written, and it must fall within the defined word limit: 400 to 500 words.

Usually, short stories for CXC are written from the First Person Point of View, but it is OK to write from the Third Person Point of View as well.

Below are some example short story tasks that frequently appear in English for CXC exams. Try to formulate plots in your mind around these titles.

Write a Short Story Entitled, “The Day I got Lost.”

Write a Short Story Entitled, “The Most Disappointing Day of Life.”

Write a Short Story Entitled, “A Day I Will Never Forget.”

Write a Short Story Containing the Following Sentence, “I Saw Two Hands Coming Out of the Water.”

Write a Short Story Ending with the Following Line: And That was the Last I Saw of Him

Write a story entitled,”The decision that saved my life.”

“Jamila turned and walked away. I knew then that I had lost a friend.” Write a story in which this sentence plays an important part. (In this case, that sentence must be in the short story).

Write either a story OR a description entitled, “The village where nobody lives anymore”. (Please note that if you choose to write a description, the description does not need to contain elements of the plot such as conflict).

Write a story which leads up to the following ending: “To this day, people passing through Coconut Grove still stop to ask for Waspie.”

Write a story entitled: “The Dream That Came True.”

Write a story which includes the following sentence:
“That’s no excuse for fighting,” said the Principal.

Write a story in which you include the following sentence:
“That was the strangest thing that ever happened in our village.”

Write a story entitled, “The light on the hill.”

Write a story entitled: “The contest”.

Write a story which begins with the following sentence:
“Small Boy was lazy, really lazy. Everybody knew that one day he’d pay for it.”

Write a story entitled: “A Success Story.”

The foreman of the jury stood up. “What is your verdict? Guilty or not guilty?” asked the judge. A hushed silence fell over the courtroom.

Write a story in which this scene plays an important part. (Remember to give your short story a relevant title).

Important Notes:

If you are asked to write a short “inspired by the following line,” then that line may or may not appear in the short story. The said line may or may not used as the title; that is, you can use that inspirational line, or another line entirely, as the title of the short story. For example, if you are asked to write a short story “inspired” by the line, “good things come to those who wait,” you can title your story, “My Perfect Marriage.” The story could revolve around you waiting a long time to find the right partner to finally get married. The theme of the story would be “good things come to those who wait” suggesting that your waiting a long time resulted in finding the perfect life partner. The inspirational line could be in the short story, or it could be suggested.

If you are asked to write a short story “containing the following line,” then that line must be in the short story.It doesn’t matter whether the said line appears at the beginning, middle,or end, or somewhere in between, as long as it appears somewhere in the short story. The said line may be used as the title of the short story, but you can also give the short story an entirely different line.