ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT

Describing a setting in vivid detail

Assessment Criteria and What A Good One Looks Like

Below you will find the Skill Check assessment criteria for this skill, and underneath you will find an example of what a good one looks like, with a brief explanation of how it fits the criteria.

Assessment Criteria for Describing a setting in vivid detail

minus
any of these things

Basic task instructions have not been followed

Very little written or very poor written expression / technical accuracy

No actual description added – just more plot/character, or a few additional adjectives

equals
all of these things

Acceptable written expression and accuracy

Adds some additional description to the setting provided in the task, though nothing particularly vivid

Keeps the plot and characters broadly the same as those provided in the task.

plus
all of these things

Accuracy and style is somewhat effective

Adds at least one original detail to the description of the setting to make it more vivid

Keeps the plot and characters exactly the same as those provided in the task.

star
all of these things

Accuracy and style is effective, with a consistent and appropriate mood

Adds several original details to the description of the setting to make it significantly more vivid

Keeps the plot and characters exactly the same as those provided in the task.

What a good one looks like

Example task

Read the passage below and then complete the task underneath.

When Yewande reached the entrance to the park, Candice wasn’t there. Shielding her eyes from the rising sun, she scanned the area to see if she could see her. The park was full of people but Candice wasn’t among them. Where could she be?

Rewrite this so that it includes a vivid description of the setting. Bring the setting to life in your description, while keeping the plot/characters the same.

Example response

When Yewande reached the entrance to the park, Candice wasn’t there. Shielding her eyes from the rising sun, she scanned the area to see if she could see her. To the right of the path, there was a small group of primary school children holding hands and skipping round in a circle, singing some kind of child’s song. Yewande scoffed; it was somehow both sickening and sinister at the same time. She looked left, then, past a forlorn looking playground area, empty and rusting, to a group of teenagers, who were lounging on the grass, surrounded by fast-food detritus, and laughing occasionally as they looked at their phones. Candice wasn’t among them. Where could she be?

Notes on this response

  • It’s not particularly long — there are only 4 extra sentences, though some of them are quite long sentences, as is normal for description.

  • The plot and the characters are exactly the same as in the task.

  • The start and the end are exactly the same as in the task — these parts didn’t need to change.

  • It does not just add lots of adjectives to the words in the task: it provides several vivid details to create a clear picture of the setting. It’s a setting that could be sketched out in a drawing.

  • The description creates a mood to match the situation (it’s a bit bleak and miserable — even the singing children are described as “sickening and sinister”).

  • The writing style is effective, with varied sentence structures and some ambitious vocabulary (e.g. forlorn, detritus).