How to Write Travel Writing for KS3 English — Techniques and Structure

Travel writing is creative non-fiction that brings a place to life through vivid description, personal voice, and reflection. At KS3, listing what you saw is not enough — strong travel writing uses sensory language, figurative devices, and a clear authorial perspective to make the reader feel present in the place.

What makes travel writing different from a diary?

Both travel writing and diary entries use a first-person voice, but their purpose and audience differ significantly. A diary is private and introspective; travel writing is crafted for a public reader who wants to experience a place vicariously. The distinction matters for tone: travel writing is descriptive and outward-looking, using the narrator as a lens on the world rather than as the subject itself. The writer is always present — but the place is the star.

Feature | Diary entry | Travel writing
Purpose | Private reflection | Entertain and inform a reader
Focus | Writer's inner world | The place and experience
Register | Informal, intimate | Vivid, literary, crafted
Audience | The writer themselves | A reader or publication
Structural shape | Loose, conversational | More deliberate: scene-setting, narrative arc

What are the key features of travel writing?

Strong travel writing at KS3 typically includes:

A strong opening image or scene that places the reader immediately in the location

Sensory language — appeals to sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch

Figurative language — metaphors, similes, and personification used to make the unfamiliar vivid

The writer's voice and opinion — travel writing is subjective; your reaction to the place matters

Specific, concrete detail — names of streets, market stalls, dishes, people; not vague generalities

A sense of movement or journey — even if only through a single afternoon, there is usually a beginning, middle, and end to the experience

Reflection — what the place made you think or feel beyond the surface experience

How do you write a strong opening paragraph?

The opening must earn the reader's attention immediately. Rather than beginning chronologically ("We arrived at eight in the morning"), try opening with your strongest image, your most striking moment, or a question the reader will want answered.

Example opening: "The market hit me all at once — the smell of cumin and grilling meat, the shout of a vendor pressing warm flatbread into my hands before I had even asked. I had arrived in Marrakech's medina, and Marrakech had no intention of letting me catch my breath."

This opening uses sensory detail (smell, touch, sound), establishes a voice (slightly overwhelmed, engaged), and creates a sense of momentum. It also uses personification — "Marrakech had no intention" — to give the city agency and character.

What language techniques should you use?

The KS3 national curriculum expects students to "write for a range of purposes and audiences" and to demonstrate "awareness of the reader." In travel writing, the most rewarded techniques are:

Precise, unexpected vocabulary: "the city simmered in afternoon heat" rather than "the city was hot."

Figurative language: extended metaphors comparing a place to something unexpected; similes that capture a texture or feeling.

Second-person address (selective): "You cannot help but feel" — brings the reader into the experience.

Contrasts: between expectation and reality, noise and quiet, the ancient and the modern.

Varied sentence structures: short sentences for immediacy and impact; longer, clause-heavy sentences to capture the density of a place.

Avoid clichés such as "a feast for the senses" or "a place like no other." The best travel writing finds the unexpected detail that no one else has noticed.

How do you structure a piece of travel writing?

Opening scene or image — drop the reader into a vivid, specific moment.

Context and setting — establish where you are and what you are doing there; keep this brief.

The experience unfolds — move through the place or day, using specific scenes and moments rather than a continuous summary.

A turning point or significant encounter — the best travel writing has one moment that crystallises something about the place or changes how the writer sees it.

Reflection and close — what does this place mean to you? What has it shown you? The close should feel resonant, not abrupt.

How do you handle the personal voice without making it self-indulgent?

This is the central craft challenge of travel writing. The writer is always present, but the best writers use themselves as a conduit for the reader's experience, not as the main attraction. Practical tips:

When you describe your emotional reaction, connect it immediately to what caused it in the place.

Balance interior reflection with exterior observation — do not stay inside your head for more than a sentence or two at a time.

Use your own reactions to reveal something true about the place, not something private about yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Does KS3 travel writing have to be about an exotic location?

No. Travel writing can be about any place — a local park, a market in your nearest town, a bus journey. The quality of the writing matters far more than the prestige of the destination. In fact, finding the extraordinary in the familiar is often a stronger test of a writer's skill.

Can I make up details for KS3 travel writing?

In most KS3 tasks, travel writing is a creative exercise in which you invent details, even if the place is real. You are being assessed on your writing craft — voice, language, structure — not on factual accuracy. However, if the place is real and well-known, wildly inaccurate details will feel jarring; use plausible specifics even in fiction.

What is the difference between travel writing and a travel guide?

A travel guide is practical and informational — it tells you opening times, prices, and what to do. Travel writing is literary and personal — it tries to evoke an experience and provoke feeling. At KS3 and GCSE, travel writing tasks ask for the literary form, not a guide-book entry.

How do I avoid just listing what I saw?

The key is to slow down at the moments that matter most. Instead of narrating every event in sequence ("Then we went to... Then we saw..."), choose two or three significant moments and develop each one in depth with sensory detail, figurative language, and reflection. Less is almost always more in travel writing.

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