At a glance
Individual · five class periods · a short story of 800–1200 words plus a 300-word craft note · assessed on Application, Thinking, and Communication
The task
Write a short story. Then write about how you built it.
The story is judged as a story. The craft note is judged as analysis of your own work — and it is the part that makes this an English task rather than a creative-writing exercise.
The story
Constraints, because constraints are what make a short story a short story:
- One central character who wants something.
- A time frame under a week. Preferably under a day.
- A turn — something changes: a decision, an understanding, a refusal.
- No more than three named characters.
- A last sentence you chose, not the one you stopped at.
The craft note
Three hundred words on the decisions you made and why:
- Where did you start the story, and what did you leave out?
- Whose perspective, and what did that choice cost you? See Narrative Perspective.
- One technique you took from a story we read — name the story and what you adapted.
- What did the ending do that the beginning set up?
How it is marked
| Category | What I am looking for |
|---|---|
| Application | The story uses the techniques from the unit deliberately, and the writing is controlled |
| Thinking | The craft note explains choices, not intentions — what is on the page and why |
| Communication | The story holds a reader; the note is precise and readable |
Where these usually go wrong
Too much time. A story covering two years in 1000 words becomes a summary with dialogue in it. Choose the afternoon everything turned on, and let the reader infer the rest — that is what Short Stories shows five different writers doing.
Curriculum connection
C1.1
identify the topic, purpose, and audience for a variety of writing tasks (e.g., an academic essay examining a theme in one of Shakespeare’s plays for the teacher; a speech about an Aboriginal leader or role model for peers; a rite-of-passage narrative relating the experience of a fictional character for peers and adults; a narrative about a significant personal moment in their own Grade 9 experience for new Grade 9 students; an article on a local issue for a community newspaper)
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C2.1
write for different purposes and audiences using a variety of literary, graphic, and informational forms (e.g., a speech to persuade their peers to take action on an issue; a myth or updated fairy tale for young children; a review of a music CD or a song to be shared with the class; the cover for a “talking books” CD for a senior; a biography about a family member)
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C2.3
use appropriate descriptive and evocative words, phrases, and expressions to make their writing clear, vivid, and interesting for their intended audience (e.g., identify concrete, specific words they can use to depict objects and events vividly and with exactness; identify long-winded expressions they can replace with more concise language)
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B4.2
identify a variety of their skills in listening, speaking, writing, viewing, and representing and explain how the skills help them read more effectively (e.g., describe in a double-entry journal how viewing pictures of a historical period contributes to their understanding of fiction set in that period)
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C2.5
explain how their own beliefs, values, and experiences are revealed in their writing (e.g., compare their writing on a topic with a piece written from a different viewpoint and identify and explain the differences; write in-role to support an opinion with which they personally disagree and use feedback from a partner to assess whether they have represented the position fairly)
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C3.3
use punctuation correctly and appropriately to communicate their intended meaning (e.g., use the semicolon to separate independent clauses and items in a list that contain sublists separated by commas; use underlining or italics to indicate book titles; use quotation marks to indicate titles of shorter works)
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C4.2
identify a variety of skills they have in listening, speaking, reading, viewing, and representing and explain how the skills help them write more effectively (e.g., explain how selecting graphics and designing a layout for a poster strengthened the visualizing skills they need to set the scene for a poem or story)
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C4.3
select a variety of examples of different types of writing that they think reflect significant advances in their growth and competence as writers and explain the reasons for their choice (e.g., identify work in which they deliberately tried to include strong verbs and concrete diction; explain how they used real-life examples to add depth to their essay about a societal issue)
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