Questions arising from the assessment of EFL narrative writing

Abstract

This article questions how narrative writing is assessed, seeking to understand what we test, what we value, and why. It uses a single anomalous case that arose in the course of my recent PhD thesis to highlight the issues, asking if sufficient attention is being given to the value of emotional content in a piece of writing in comparison to its technical merit. In doing so, the nature and purpose of teaching narrative writing as a subject in EFL is questioned. Given the diversity of English-speaking cultures, has too little attention been given to the importance of narrative writing as a key subject area? Is there unrealized potential for integrating narrative writing into language acquisition? A new dialogue between academics and practitioners is called for to develop new approaches in understanding and enhancing our concepts of �narrative writing�.