ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT
Creating an effective structure (fiction)
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 Creating an effective structure (fiction)
minus
any of these things
No plan provided or plan is incredibly short
Plan is not sufficiently well connected to the question
No sense of story or character development in the plan
equals
all of these things
Provides a clear plan of acceptable length
Some character or plot development outlined
Includes at least one direction to the writer (e.g. create tension, slow time, etc), though it may be implicit
plus
all of these things
Provides a clear plan of good length
Clear character or plot development outlined, though does not need to be fully resolved
Includes several clear directions to the writer (e.g. create tension, slow time, etc) — must be explicit
star
all of these things
Provides a clear plan of good length
Imaginative or thoughtful character or plot development outlined, with some crafting in terms of structural features (e.g. timeshift, symbolism, circular structure, etc)
Includes several clear directions to the writer — must be explicit
What a good one looks like
Example task
Imagine you had to answer the following GCSE question:
Write the opening of a story about an important day in a young person’s life.
Plan a response to this question, creating an effective structure that you could follow in an exam. Remember to plan not just what you would write but how you would write it.
Example response
DS – “Not gonna make it”
Desc car – bridesmaids, wedding dress – Show don’t tell
Desc traffic – horns – noise and anger – ominous
Switch to Scarlett’s thoughts – not how it’s meant to be on wedding day - lights stuck on red - if only it would go green – everything would be ok then
TS – engagement – unsure even then – was this true love? – was there someone better?
Bridesmaid’s phone goes – DS – “they’re worried”
S notices silence – looks outside – break in clouds – horns stopped - light is green!
Describe initial excitement - S starts to feel more hopeful
Build up pace – they’re gonna make it – describe looks of bridesmaids – texts – “we’re moving” - it’s gonna be okay
CRASH - there's an accident ahead
All the lights are green – but now it’s gridlock – no chance
S's thoughts – so much for green light – disappointment – marriage really is doomed
Notes on this response
It’s got quite a lot of bullet points in it — this is normal for a story plan.
Each bullet in the plan is pretty short and generally made up of words and phrases, never full sentences (this is a plan).
There are lots of codes or abbreviations used as directions to the writer (DS for direct speech, TS for timeshift, Desc for describe).
It is plan of how to write the story, not just what the plot is, and even includes full on instructions (e.g. “Build up pace”)
It uses abbreviations for names (e.g. S for Scarlett) to save time.
It begins in medias res — this is quite a good structural device to use
It’s only a story opening, so the plot is not resolved by the end