How the ten add up · Narrative writing

The ten criteria

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What the film covers

In the NAPLAN writing marking guide, a story about a lottery win and a story about a bus trip to outer space are each given twenty-nine out of forty-seven. The film goes through the ten scores behind each total: where one story is a mark ahead, where the other is, and where they are level.

All ten criteria, with teaching moves, in how to teach narrative writing

Stories from the film

From the guide’s sample scripts, with the total each was given.

Moving Away 29 out of 47
Space Tour 29 out of 47

A handout to print

Stories from the film. It comes with free access.

Open the handout (PDF)

This course covers narrative writing. Its descriptors, quotations, sample scripts and scores are from the 2026 NAPLAN Writing Marking Guide – Narrative. © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2026, unless otherwise indicated. This material was downloaded from https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/foundation-10/naplan/writing-marker-information (accessed 6 October 2026) and was modified: it is excerpted and re-set in type, and in the films also annotated. The material is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ACARA does not endorse any product that uses ACARA’s material or make any representations as to the quality of such products. Any product that uses ACARA’s material should not be taken to be affiliated with ACARA or have the sponsorship or approval of ACARA. It is up to each person to make their own assessment of the product.

What the film covers

Stories from the film

A handout to print

Give every writer in your school a boost