Glossary · Organisation
What is a narrative arc?
A narrative arc is the shape of a story — set-up, rising tension, climax and resolution — that keeps a reader hooked.
A narrative arc is the path a story travels: a set-up that introduces a character and situation, rising action that builds a problem or tension, a climax where it comes to a head, and a resolution that settles it. Even a very short exam narrative needs this shape, or it reads as a list of events rather than a story.
Under time pressure, the trick is to keep the arc small — one character, one problem, one turning point — and spend your words on the climax rather than the build-up.
How markers see it
In selective and NAPLAN narrative tasks, a controlled arc with a clear turning point scores higher than a busy plot that goes nowhere.
See narrative arc on your own writing.
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