• Assignment 3 only assesses writing skill — 500–800 words, marked out of 25 (10 for content/structure, 15 for style/accuracy).
• Successful stories are built on one plot idea, a maximum of two main characters, and a setting you know well.
• Plan using the five-part narrative structure (Freytag's Pyramid): Exposition → Rising Action → Climax → Falling Action → Resolution.
• "Show, don't tell" is the golden rule — reveal character and mood through detail, not by stating it outright.
• Setting should mirror your character's mood (pathetic fallacy) and change as the story develops.
• Characterisation works best when it's indirect (shown through movement, dialogue, thought) rather than direct (told through narration).
• A toolkit of linguistic devices — metaphor, imagery, repetition, juxtaposition and more — should be used deliberately, for effect, not decoration.
• Avoid clichés (abandoned cabins, "it was all a dream" endings) and don't over-rely on dialogue.

Think of Assignment 3 as a fiction-writing test, not a "recount your day" exercise. Examiners are checking whether you can build an imagined world convincingly — that means a real plot, real characters, and real atmosphere, all inside a tight 500–800 word limit.

The marks split into two separate skills, and it's worth understanding what each one is actually rewarding:

The single biggest cause of a weak narrative essay is writing without a plan. If you just start typing and see where the story goes, you'll almost always run out of space and time before you reach a proper ending. The fix is to plan your story around one main event using a five-stage arc, sometimes called Freytag's Pyramid.

TENSION
  ^
  |              CLIMAX
  |               /\
  |              /  \
  |    RISING   /    \   FALLING
  |    ACTION  /      \  ACTION
  |           /        \
  | INCITING /          \
  | INCIDENT/            \
  |________/              \________
  |EXPOSITION            RESOLUTION
  +---------------------------------> TIME

Here's what each stage needs to do for your story — not just what it's called:

Setting isn't just backdrop — it's one of your main tools for controlling mood. The guide's core principle here is pathetic fallacy: making your setting reflect your character's internal emotional state.

The practical rule for describing setting: devote one full paragraph to it, using sensory language (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) — and don't mix in other information like which characters are present. That confuses the reader and dilutes the mood.

And crucially — don't give everything away at once. Good setting description makes the reader ask questions ("What's going on? Why is this like this? Who is this?"). Think of it like the game Taboo: describe something vividly without stating outright what it is or means.

Limit yourself to a maximum of two characters. In 500–800 words, you simply don't have room to develop more than that — extra characters end up as names with no depth, which weakens rather than strengthens your Content & Structure marks.

The most important distinction in this whole section is direct vs indirect characterisation:

The guide breaks indirect characterisation into four practical tools:

• Movements & body language — this is how we judge people most accurately in real life, so it works powerfully in fiction too. "His head dropped" says more than "he was sad."
• Monologue — in first person, internal thought creates intimacy. Short sentences or questions can signal nervousness; emotive language deepens the reader's connection.
• Dialogue — reveals relationships and what characters think of each other. Use it sparingly, and only when it drives the plot forward. Vary your speech verbs ("whispered," "bellowed") instead of relying on "said."
• Appearance (mostly direct) — only worth including if it's actually relevant, e.g. it signals status ("a king, a soldier, someone in trouble") or reflects emotion ("her tear-stained face"). Note: it's awkward to describe your own appearance in first person, so third person handles this better.

Every device below should be a deliberate choice for effect — think about the connotations of your word choices. Does this word evoke a specific emotion? Does it reveal something about a character's background or state of mind? If a device doesn't serve the mood, plot, or characterisation, cut it.

Here's how a top-mark answer was planned using the five-part structure — this is the exact kind of planning table you should draft before writing in an exam:

Look at how much groundwork this five-line plan does before a single sentence of prose is written. It already has: one setting, two characters, a flashback (a structural technique the guide recommends — remember to use past-tense verbs for this), a clear turning point, and a resolution that circles back to the opening image. That circling back — starting and ending at the same decayed house — is what creates the cyclical structure the guide praises as a strong ending technique.

• Word count: 500–800 words.
• Marks: 10 for Content & Structure, 15 for Style & Accuracy (25 total).
• Character limit: maximum 2 main characters.
• Setting rule: stick to ONE main setting; set it in a place familiar to you.
• Structure: 5–6 paragraphs, following Exposition → Rising Action → Climax → Falling Action → Resolution (Freytag's Pyramid).
• Golden rule: "Show, don't tell" — favour indirect characterisation over direct.
• Pathetic fallacy: setting mirrors character mood; contrast scenes to track emotional change.
• Perspective: first person + past tense = easiest to control confidently.
• Devices toolkit: repetition (as motif), alliteration, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, simile, imagery, juxtaposition, emotive language, power verbs, pathetic fallacy.
• Avoid: clichéd settings (abandoned cabins), clichéd endings ("it was all a dream"), overusing dialogue, mixing moods within one description, describing a long "journey" before the story starts.