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Exams this week! Help me! (CCEA Exam Board)

I'v got two English exams this week and I need some help.
Unit 1 is about "Personal Writing and Reading Multi-Modal Texts" and Unit 2 is about "Functional Writing and Reading Non-Fiction". I need some exams tips on how to plan my "Personal Story". What's the best way to plan a story? Also how long does the story have to be? It's worth 24 marks.

I find it difficult on what to write for Unit 2 task 2(Reading Non-Fiction). You are given an article and the question is always going to be like this.

Here is the Article

I don't quite understand what i'm looking for. What should I be looking at and writing for "A lively, personal style of writing"," Particular words and phrases for selected effect."It seems quite easy but when i'm doing mocks my head goes into panic mode and I can't think.