creative writing level 1 ncea

Creative writing

Section 1 - what is creative writing.

Creative writing is the creation of a fictional piece of writing designed to transport the reader into the writer's world.

Whilst it can be based on a true event, it is a made-up piece of writing.

It is a chance for the reader to walk a mile in the writer's shoes.

Section 2 - What does the task look like for NCEA Level 1?

On the left here is the task for NCEA Level 1 creative writing. It is worth 3 credits and is INTERNALLY assessed.

You need to read through this task and brainstorm some ideas that you could write about. It is based on an experience so it could be your own, someone you know, or a fictional character that you base it on.

You MUST complete all the practice exercises and make notes from the videos provided to ensure that you have a good understanding of how you can construct your writing.

You MUST have contacted your teacher and discussed your writing plan before you start drafting.

It must be a minimum of 350 words long (about 2/3 of a page).

Always remember to SHOW and not tell :-)

On the right here are the exemplars for this task that past students have written.

They are NOT based on the same task that you will be doing but they do show how vital it is to SHOW and not tell.

You need to make a bullet point list of what you need to do to get an Achieved, Merit and then Excellence.

This will be something you can keep looking back at during the writing process to make sure you are on track for the grade that you want.

Section 3 - Ok, so how do I get started on my creative writing piece?

Step 1 - Understand how creative writing is made and why:

Watch this first video and answer the following questions:

What is the point of creative writing?

What kinds of things can you use when you write descriptively?

What happens for the reader when you write descriptively?

Watch this second video and answer the following questions:

What are the eight points of the eight-point story arc? What does each of them do?

Why would using a structure like this make your creative writing more interesting for the reader?

Step 2 - Build up your toolbox

In this section, there are a bunch of practice activities to really get you into the swing of things for creative writing.

Please remember to make a copy first if you're going to edit a Google doc.

Your first mission in this toolbox building, is to read through the slides presentation on the left here and complete the activities that are in it.

The next stage of your toolbox should be around just giving creative writing a go.

Fortunately for us, there is no particularly wrong way you can go about creative writing, as long as you are willing to keep editing and developing your work.

Give two of the exercises from the link to the right a go, send you efforts to your teacher for feedback :-)

After you have received feedback from your teacher on your practice pieces, it is time for you to have a go at the real deal.

Settle on an idea and plan with your teacher and get writing :-).

If you're still super stuck on how to get started, have a look and see if one of the prompts on the left can help get you thinking.

REMEMBER you creative piece must include an EXPERIENCE which leaves it very broad so you can most likely use your amazing idea :-)

FURTHER TIPS:

Don't worry about the word count, you will get there.

Don't worry about getting the perfect words etc. first time, that's what editing is for.

Make sure your ideas are developing and things are progressing in your creative writing piece.

Section 4 - What do I do after I have finished my draft?

After you have completed your draft, you edit your work. You read and reread it to improve and develop it further.

The videos on the left are designed as a starting point to help you edit, find out more about how to edit both creative and formal writing here .

It is a good idea to be looking for a different thing each time you read it over, for example:

Punctuation

Sentence structure

Descriptive wording

Development of ideas

Paragraphing

Deleting uneccessary words or sentences

The above list is not definitive. It is a prompt to get you thinking about how to edit.

Everything you need to know about NCEA English assessments from an expert teacher (part 2)

Everything you need to know about NCEA English

So, you can now call yourself an NCEA student, yet do you need a bit of a head's up on your NCEA English assessments? – Well, you've come to the right person, because I'm an NCEA English expert!

Here are the ins and outs of NCEA English! Part two! Check out part one about NCEA English exams, if you haven't already.

This blog will cover the NCEA English assessments under: Creating Meaning: Writing, Speaking, and Presenting.

These are some of my favourite assessments because I am able, as a teacher, to see my students' personalities shine through in their NCEA assessments. Here they are creating poems and stories, writing blogs and articles, critically analyse themes in a formal way, analyse films - and what I would call "The Mothership" - speeches and/or presentations!

A brief introduction about me and Tovah's Tutoring Company Ltd.

Another brief introduction about myself. My name is Tovah and I have a tutoring company called 'Tovah's Tutoring Company Ltd'. We have been available to New Zealand high school learners since February 2022. My team and I are experienced teachers with a plethora of content knowledge between us. I have been a teacher for over 12+ years and have taught NCEA English, NCEA Drama and/or NCEA Dance in a variety of Waikato/Waipa/Auckland high schools. So, I can say with confidence that I am an expert in my qualified subjects and know the ins and outs of each NCEA assessment.

Here are the ones I will be covering in this blog:

#1: NCEA ENGLISH Creative writing

#2: NCEA ENGLISH Formal writing

#3: NCEA ENGLISH Oral presentation

#4: NCEA ENGLISH Visual text (film)

#1 : NCEA ENGLISH Creative Writing

To begin with, it is imperative to say that creation is one of the highest forms of skills you can learn. to be able to think of an idea, conceptualise it, plan its delivery, and then execute your creative idea(s), is an intelligent thing to master so, all of these ncea assessments may be challenging for ncea students, so they do need to be well practiced..

Creative writing is fantastic. There are many ways to deliver it such as through poetry, scripts, blogs, articles, journals, short stories, novels etc. All students will be given a brief such as a situation or theme to write about and they will need to demonstrate this by using a variety of language features.

NCEA English proofreading and editing

I think one of the main things, particularly within NCEA English Level 2 and 3 is that you need to have a strong understanding of how to edit your work. You need to be able to re-read over your work and carefully proofread it to make sense. This element is crucial and is often overlooked in NCEA English Level 1 for NCEA students. But this skill is imperative in NCEA English Level 2 and 3 so it must be practiced at the very least in NCEA Level 1 English.

Three aspects to learn in NCEA English:

knowing your audience that you are writer for

knowing the purpose of your writing and therefore the writing style for the written piece you are developing (whether you will be informing, entertaining, or persuading your audience)

knowing how to communicate language features in a variety of ways to deliberately facilitate the reader's thoughts and the images they develop when reading your work.

#2 : NCEA ENGLISH Formal Writing

Ncea english critical analysis.

Formal writing is all about structure. It is important to know that you will be critically writing in this NCEA English assessment(s) so you must know how to write with conviction (having sounds examples and evidence to back up your opinions), while also writing formally (without teenage colloquialisms/slang and venting/ranting/tangents).

NCEA English paragraph structure

Having a sound knowledge of paragraph structure and essay structure is paramount to submitting NCEA English assessments. The vast majority require you to develop your answers in paragraphs and/or essay formal. In other words, through formal writing.

A common format idea for paragraphs which is easy to follow is the acronym S.E.E.D

Statement, Example, Evidence, Discussion. When you follow this correctly, you will develop a critical analysis formal piece of writing.

NCEA English practice tip

On another note, comprehension tasks and 3 level reading guides will strengthen this skill (formal writing).

The formal writing assessment is only available in NCEA Level 1 English; however, components of formal writing can be used for the NCEA Level 2 and NCEA Level 3 'Produce a selection' crafted and controlled assessments (AS 2.4 and 3.4), which is commonly known by NCEA English teachers and NCEA students as 'writing portfolios'. These assessments require students to produce a variety of different written pieces to showcase the NCEA student's knowledge of writing types, audience, purpose/writing style, and language features.

#3 : NCEA ENGLISH Oral Presentation

The Oral presentation is a flash way of saying "speeches". Students will have a concept to talk about and they will be required to plan and structure the speech with language features suitable for expressing their point across. For NCEA English Level 2 and 3 they are allowed to include a PowerPoint presentation. The minimum time limit is 3 minutes for NCEA Level 1 and 4 minutes for NCEA level 2 and 3.

Appropriate NCEA English oral presentation language features could include:

Rhetorical question

Alliteration

Facts and statistics

Audience interaction

Appropriate NCEA English oral presentation delivery features could include:

eye contact

hand gestures

change of voice (tone, pace, pausing, emphasis, volume)

body posture and movement

controlling technology while speaking

#4 : NCEA ENGLISH Visual text (film)

This assessment moves in parallel with media and advertising. Students will convey a message through an image they create, normally on A3 paper, which can be made using a variety of mediums of their choice e.g. scrapbooking material, drawing, painting, graphic design. There should be a message to convey and layers of symbolism used to communicate the message. Things like knowing what colours, fonts, textures, images and impact what message conveys. It is common for teachers to use this assessment as the next stepping stone after analysing a written text, so that students can communicate a theme within the text.

NCEA English visual text colour influences can include:

Red symbolises love, lust, hate, danger, revenge

Orange symbolises harvest and autumn

Yellow symbolises happiness and joy, also great to demand attention (construction sites etc)

Green symbolises envy, wealth, money, growth, nature

Purple symbolises luxury, royalty

Pink symbolises playful, infancy

White symbolises purity, loyalty, perfection, cleanliness, hygiene

Black symbolises professionalism, mystery, darkness, evil, unknown.

If you'd like support with this, I can help through our NCEA group tutorials - I am a qualified NCEA English teacher with confidence teaching NCEA English and supporting students with NCEA English exams.

See you in one of my NCEA English group tutorials!

Tovah O'Neill

Tovah's Tutoring Company Ltd

[email protected]

www.tovahstutoring.co.nz

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Achievement Criteria

Explanatory note 1.

Develop ideas in writing using stylistic and written conventions involves:

• developing ideas using stylistic conventions appropriate to audience and purpose
• using written conventions without intrusive error patterns that impede meaning.

Develop ideas in writing using stylistic and written conventions convincingly involves:

• developing connected ideas using stylistic conventions for effect, appropriate to audience and purpose
• using written conventions with accuracy, so that the writing only contains minor errors.

Develop ideas in writing using stylistic and written conventions effectively involves:

• integrating insightful ideas and stylistic conventions to command attention, appropriate to audience and purpose  
• using written conventions with control.

Explanatory Note 2

Writing can be either fiction or non-fiction and can take a variety of structures and forms, such as personal accounts, narratives, poems, scripts, reports, essays, or other appropriate text types.

Explanatory Note 3

Stylistic conventions include stylistic features, language features, and structural features.

Stylistic features are the ways in which language choices are arranged to create clarity and variety in a text.

Examples include:

• vocabulary selection

Language features are specific language techniques that create or support meaning in a text.

• figurative language (such as metaphor, simile, personification)
• sound devices (such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance).

Structural features are ways that a text is shaped or organised.

• paragraphing
• sequence/transitions
• clear opening, middle, and end.

Explanatory Note 4

Written conventions are established rules that are used to make writing comprehensible.

• spelling, grammar, and punctuation
• using vocabulary, syntax, and stylistic features
• other text conventions which are appropriate to audience and purpose.

Explanatory Note 5

Audience is the specific group for which the writing is produced.

Purpose refers to the possible intentions of the writer, as prescribed by the context.

Shared Explanatory Note

Refer to the NCEA glossary for Māori, Pacific, and further subject-specific terms and concepts.

This achievement standard is derived from the English Learning Area at Level 6 of The New Zealand Curriculum: Learning Media, Ministry of Education, 2007.

External Assessment Specifications

The External Assessment Specifications are published by NZQA and can be found on their website using this link:

NZQA English

Useful Pages

Unpacking the standard.

Mātauranga Māori constitutes concepts and principles that are richly detailed, complex, and fundamental to Māoridom. It is important to remember that the practice of these are wider and more varied than their use within the proposed NCEA Achievement Standards and supporting documentation.

We also recognise that the cultures, languages, and identities of the Pacific Islands are diverse, varied, and unique. Therefore the Pacific concepts, contexts, and principles that have been incorporated within NCEA Achievement Standards may have wide-ranging understandings and applications across and within the diversity of Pacific communities. It is not our intention to define what these concepts mean but rather offer some ways that they could be understood and applied within different subjects that kaiako and students alike can explore.

The intent of the Standard

This Achievement Standard is closely linked to the five English Big Ideas and the Learning Area whakataukī: Ko te reo tuakiri, Ko te reo tōku ahurei, Ko te reo te ora.

Engaging in the writing process is active, and occurs when texts or experiences are interpreted, and then reproduced in written form. Engaging in writing processes may give ākonga a space to express their identity, or to communicate ideas that they are interested in or care about. When the writing process requires ākonga to engage with texts as a source of joy and nourishment, this can inspire ākonga and provide them with a model for their own writing. Kaiako are able to guide ākonga through the writing process, including modelling how different stylistic or written conventions can be applied.

The understanding that this Achievement Standard assesses is the ability to make deliberate choices in the crafting and editing of writing to communicate ideas. By engaging in the writing process, ākonga learn that, as text creators, they are participants in an ongoing conversation that spans past, present, and future.

This Achievement Standard aligns with the following items of Significant Learning:

• communicate developed ideas by selecting and using a range of language features accurately for a variety of effects
• show a developed understanding of how writers position their intended audience through using the language conventions and techniques, point of view, structure, contexts, and intended purpose that shape a range of texts.

Making reliable judgements

The guiding principles of this Achievement Standard are independence, authenticity, and an ability to write for purpose and audience. In the assessment, ākonga will produce writing that builds on their ideas with a clear purpose in mind. Making a choice to write about something they are passionate about or have experienced, can allow ākonga to express their personal voice, and explore their ideas more effectively. Ākonga will use the prompts provided by NZQA as a starting point for their own writing and will draw on their previous learning.

Ākonga will be able to use stylistic conventions, which includes stylistic, structural, and language features that are appropriate to audience and purpose, in order to develop their ideas.

Ākonga will need to be able to use written conventions without intrusive error patterns that impede meaning. In order to communicate their ideas in writing, ākonga will need to have a thorough understanding of how to plan, review, and rework their ideas. This understanding will help ākonga craft their writing accurately and appropriately for a chosen audience and purpose.

At higher levels of achievement, ākonga will demonstrate control over stylistic and written conventions in order to use a distinctive voice in writing. This means that ākonga are able to show discernment in their selection of vocabulary, use of syntax, inclusion of language features, and use of structural features in order to develop increasingly complex ideas.

Collecting evidence

Writing will be externally assessed. The piece for assessment will be completed under conditions set by NZQA so that ākonga can authentically demonstrate their ability to independently communicate their ideas in writing. Throughout the drafting and editing process, kaiako must be able to verify that the work submitted for assessment has been produced by the student.

In order to provide sufficient evidence, it is recommended that writing should be around 350-500 words. While poetry may not reach this minimum, a poem considered for assessment must be of sufficient length to demonstrate depth of ideas, control of language, and form. Where significantly shorter poetry or prose pieces are included in the selection, ākonga may need to submit two pieces inorder to provide sufficient evidence for the Achievement Standard. Shorter poetry or prose pieces may be connected by theme or subject matter to ensure that sufficient development of ideas is present.

Examples of written pieces include:

• descriptions
• personal accounts
• commentaries
• text reviews
• short fiction
• other appropriate text types.

The assessment prompts will be released by NZQA at the beginning of Term 3. The final submission for the writing is early in Term 4. The period of time between the release of the prompts and the final submission of writing signals a window in which the assessment may be undertaken, and allows for the planning, drafting, and editing of writing in response to a chosen prompt.

As this is a summative assessment, ākonga should not spend the entirety of this period engaged with the assessment. Kaiako may use this time as appropriate for their learners. For example, a teacher may plan for ākonga to spend two lessons at the beginning of Term 3 independently planning and drafting their piece of writing intensively, and then ‘park’ the writing in order to engage in other teaching and learning. Ākonga then return to their drafted writing to do further independent drafting and editing. This could be repeated ahead of the final submission of the writing. Alternatively, ākonga could be engaged in the process of planning, drafting, and editing writing once a week for a portion of the assessment window.

Refer to the External Assessment Specifications for further information.

Possible contexts

The writing process should be woven throughout the year’s programme. As part of a teaching and learning programme, kaiako will give ākonga opportunities to engage with and become familiar with a range of writing types, covering a range of styles within non-fiction (formal) writing and fiction (creative) writing.

Experiences of engaging with different writing types is something that can be integrated throughout the year, as part of the study of literary and other texts. Writing opportunities should include the following stages: planning, drafting, revising, editing, and proof-reading. Kaiako are able to give formative feedback on writing that will not be used for assessment and this is something that should be utilised by ākonga to inform their learning. Kaiako are not able to give feedback on writing used for assessment.

Some opportunities for integrating writing exercises could be:

• within a language study and the learning that will be assessed with Achievement Standard 1.1. For example, using the language study as a model with a writing focus on the use of persuasive or other techniques
• within a text study. For example, writing from a different character’s point of view, or writing a prologue or epilogue for a novel that has been studied that year
• within a classroom focus on personal response. For example, documenting and reflecting on texts that they have encountered, using texts to experiment with structure, language, etc.

Standard Exclusions

This Standard has one or more exclusions, or Standards that assess the same or similar learning. These Standards are excluded against one another to prevent assessing the same learning twice. You can only use credits gained from one of these standards towards your NCEA qualification.

Find out more about the NCEA Level 1 Exclusions List .

Literacy and Numeracy Requirements

This Achievement Standard has been approved for literacy in the transition period (2024-2027). 

Full information on the co-requisite during the transition period: Standards approved for NCEA Co-requisite during the transition period (2024-2027) .

Assessment Activities

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Level 1 creative writing 1.4 learning workbook.

Mary Cleland and Angela Fitchett

ISBN: 978-0-908315-73-4

Expired NCEA Achievement Standards

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Based on our well-known Level 1 English Learning Workbook and Level 1 English Internals Learning Workbook, this book covers the internally assessed  Level 1 English Achievement Standard 1.4 (90052) .

It features brief notes, clear explanations, numerous worked examples and relevant exercises with answers. Use to support classroom work, to help with internal assessments and to revise for end-of-year exams. 

Published: 05/2016

• Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.

NCEA English

Sigma ncea english workbooks, purchase only the workbooks you need for achievement standards taught at your school.

Our new 2024 NCEA updated curriculum for Year 11 English students, Sigma provides a series of four write-on NCEA Level 1 ‘single-standard’ workbooks - one workbook for each Level 1 achievement standard. Sigma’s English NCEA study resources provide core skills building exercises as well as many excellent New Zealand based film, short story, visual, poetry, and drama resources for students to practise on.

Each workbook features an introduction to help students understand the standard, exercises to reinforce the English skills necessary for NCEA exam success, New Zealand based literary resources for students to practise on, examples, mock exams and course work, including essays, speech text and NCEA creative writing, to model the standards required to pass as well as a full set of answers.

The original series is still available while stocks last.

Sigma’s English Workbook NCEA Series features:

• Detailed instruction boxes teaching the key skills for the achievement standard with worked examples
• Plenty of practice tasks for classwork or homework
• A comprehensive set of task answers
• Practice assessment answers showing reasons for awarding grades
• Guided writing space for producing assessment work
• Spread the cost – buy only relevant workbooks each term
• Excellent for external assessment revision

For Teachers

Sigma’s NCEA English series meets the demand for a dedicated workbook for each NCEA Level 1 achievement standard.

These workbooks are great for independent study or they can be used by the whole class as core classroom material. You can lay the foundations for improved school-wide English results with Sigma NCEA workbooks.  Sample are available on book pages.

 For Parents

The NCEA English workbook series provides one workbook for each Level 1 Achievement Standard, so you can spread the cost and buy only the workbooks you need each term. These workbooks are great for individual NCEA study help. The activities are interesting, absorbing and fun for your child to do!  Now you can do something really positive to assist your child in their first NCEA year.

See our catalogue below for the series and see the individual book details pages for sample pages and content lists.

NEW 2024 NCEA ENGLISH - Senior Workbooks Levels 1  - Place your order now.

2024 AS 1.1 Verbal Language in Context

1 - 4: $16.95 5 - 19: $15.95 20+: $12.95

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2024 AS 1.2 Studied Text

2024 AS 1.3 Writing - Creative and Formal

2024 AS 1.4 Unfamiliar Written Text

2024 Literacy Co-Requisite

Original  ncea english - senior workbooks levels 1 - available while stocks last.

EWB AS 1.1 Studied Written Texts Workbook

1 - 4: $5.50 5 - 19: $4.50 20+: $4.00

EWB AS 1.2 Studied Visual or Oral Texts Workbook

EWB AS 1.3 Unfamiliar Written Texts Workbook

EWB AS 1.4 Creative Writing Workbook

EWB AS 1.5 Formal Writing Workbook

EWB AS 1.6 Construct & Deliver an Oral Text Workbook

EWB AS 1.7 Create a Visual Text Workbook

EWB AS 1.8 Connections Across Texts Workbook

EWB AS 1.9 Information Literacy Skills Workbook

EWB AS 1.10 Response to Read Texts Workbook

EWB AS 1.11 Understanding Visual and/or Oral Texts Workbook