Name:
Teacher:
Class: Date:
MODE Written TYPE Imaginative
TASK
Task A — Write a short story about a character who faces a conflict.
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Section 1: Plan a short story
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Section 2: Plan language choices
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Section 3: Draft the short story
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Section 4: Publish the short story
Task B — Reflect on the writing process and explain editorial choices.
CONDITIONS
Task A — 400–1000 words (approximately)
Task B — 100–200 words (approximately)

1. Brainstorm some examples of different types of conflict a character might face in a short story.
Remember, the conflict can be internal or external and you can adapt or combine aspects of short stories you have already read.
2. Choose one of the conflicts above to base your short story on for the assessment task. Record and explain your chosen conflict below. Be sure to explain how the conflict will entertain readers.
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3. Create a plot profile for your short story. Record notes about the narrative structure, indicating the organisation and sequencing of events in the short story, on the diagram below.
Remember, these are short notes to give an overall impression of what happens in the story and the order in which they occur. However, you should use language to expand and sharpen your ideas, and to express shades of meaning that indicate how the action in the story will rise and fall to entertain readers.

4. Brainstorm nouns and noun groups to describe the main character and setting.
Record your ideas in the table below:
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5. Brainstorm verbs, verb groups, adverbs and adverb groups to depict the thoughts and feelings of the main character, the actions and events, and the relationships and interactions between the characters.
Record your ideas in the table below:
Thoughts and feelings
What are the different emotions the character experiences in each stage of the story?
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Actions and events
What vivid descriptions can help describe the actions and events in the story?
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Relationships and interactions
How does the main character behave and interact with others ?
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6. Consider the narrative point of view of your story. Will you write in first person or third person?
Explain briefly why you think this is the best approach to writing your story.

7. Use your notes (recorded in Section 1 and Section 2) to write the first draft of your short story.
Short story draft
TITLE
Write an interesting and engaging title.
STORY OPENING
Write a sentence to hook your reader and encourage them to keep reading the story.
COMPLICATION or
CRISIS (RISING and FALLING
ACTION)
Continue the story, providing more detail about the conflict that causes the disruption.
Consider:
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How does the rising action affect the relationships of the characters?
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How do the events of the story reach a climax?
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How is tension created?
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How does the falling action impact on character relationships and the outcome of the story?

RESOLUTION
(CONFLICT
RESOLVED)
Bring your short story to an end. Consider:

How are the conflicts resolved?
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How does the fall of action bring harmony to the characters — or does it?

How are events brought to a close
— or is there a
‘cliffhanger’ for the reader to ponder?
Short story draft

8. Use word-processing software to publish your short story about a character that faces a conflict.
The final published version should reflect changes made because of your editorial choices.
Your short story should be approximately 400 to 1000 words.
Short story

Short story

9. Reflect on your editorial choices by writing paragraph responses to the following questions: a. What editing and proofreading changes did you make to the draft short story? b. Explain why you made these editorial choices to publish the final version of the short story.

Name:
Purpose of assessment: To write a short story about a character who faces a conflict and to explain editorial choices.
Creating texts
(Productive)
Knowledge and understanding
(Productive)
Uses features and language patterns for emphasis.
Creates a short story about a character who faces a conflict to entertain an audience. (TASK A)
Uses grammar, makes considered choices from an expanding vocabulary, uses accurate spelling and punctuation for clarity.
Makes and explains editorial choices . (TASKS A and B)
Creates a short story that adapts or combines aspects of other short stories students have experienced in innovative ways.
Investigates how vocabulary choices, including evaluative language can express shades of meaning, feeling and opinion in a reflection about a short story.
A
Plans, drafts and publishes an imaginative short story, experimenting with text structures and language features and their effects in entertaining an audience. Expands and sharpens ideas through careful choices of verbs and adverb groups.
Uses language features and language patterns for emphasis.
Creates a short story about a character who faces a conflict to entertain an audience.
Creates a short story to entertain an audience .
Writes a sequence of events that features a character .
Feedback:
Re-reads and edits own short story using agreed criteria and explains editing choices in a reflection about a short story .
Uses grammar, makes considered choices from an expanding vocabulary, uses accurate spelling and punctuation for clarity.
Makes and explains editorial choices.
Identifies and explains language features and text structures that create an entertaining short story.
Identifies features of short stories .
B
C
D
E