Fantasy Composition Quality Guide
This guide describes a fantasy narrative extract for a reader who does not yet know the world. It is formative: use it to plan, self-check, and give peer feedback. It contains no scores, bands, levels, or confidential marking material.
How to use this guide. Read the whole guide before you draft. Choose one criterion to work on in each revision pass. A useful self-check names a specific sentence or choice, not a general feeling.
1. World with rules
What strong work does. The setting has a rule, limit, or obligation that changes what a character can do. Detail is selected, not catalogued.
Ask your draft. Which rule causes the most trouble, and where can I see its cost?
Revision move. Add one consequence of the rule to the scene, then remove a paragraph of explanation.
2. Character under pressure
What strong work does. The protagonist wants something specific, needs something harder to name, and has a flaw that makes the problem worse.
Ask your draft. What does the character do that a wiser person would not do?
Revision move. Rewrite one choice so it reveals the flaw rather than announcing it.
3. A turn that matters
What strong work does. A decision, discovery, or reversal changes the direction of the story. The ending does not arrive by accident.
Ask your draft. What is different after the turn, and what does the character do because of it?
Revision move. Cut the scene before the turn and rebuild it so the choice is unavoidable.
4. Concrete language
What strong work does. Verbs carry action; sensory detail is specific; figurative language is used sparingly and for effect.
Ask your draft. Which sentence could only belong to this world?
Revision move. Replace three abstract nouns with objects, actions, or sounds.
5. Control of pace
What strong work does. Scene and summary are balanced. The most important moment receives the most space.
Ask your draft. Where does the draft hurry, and where does it linger without purpose?
Revision move. Expand the turn by four sentences; summarise the travel in one.
6. Proofreading and coherence
What strong work does. Spelling, punctuation, tense, and names are controlled. Paragraphs follow a clear logic.
Ask your draft. Can a reader follow who is speaking and where they are?
Revision move. Read aloud and mark every place where you stumble.
Peer feedback protocol
- Read or view the whole draft once without writing anything.
- Name one strength using the language of the guide: “The … works because …”.
- Ask one genuine question about a choice you could not follow.
- Offer one specific next move that the maker can complete in the next lesson.
Do not give a score, a band, or a level. The purpose is to help the maker see their own draft more clearly.
Draft checklist
- The world note names one rule and one cost.
- The character makes at least one choice that reveals the flaw.
- The turn changes the character’s next action.
- One object or detail carries emotional weight without being explained.
- The final paragraph answers the question the opening raised, or deliberately refuses to.
Teacher note
Use this guide formatively. Select two criteria for a feedback lesson rather than all of them. Model the difference between a general comment (“make it better”) and a specific one (“the second paragraph names a technique but does not say what it makes the reader notice”).
This page is not an assessment instrument. It contains no scores, bands, or confidential marking material.