An individual written story item for primary school pupils in classes 3 to 5, marked out of 100 on the originality of the idea, creativity, use of Indonesian and the message of the story.
Story Writing, called Menulis Cerita in Indonesian, is the written-narrative branch of a national school arts and literature festival in Indonesia for primary pupils. Each entrant is one child in class 3, 4 or 5, and the item is open to boys and girls together. The child composes an original story in Indonesian rather than telling it aloud or copying one.
On the template the item sits in one individual group for classes 3 to 5, which eTalenter maps to ages 8 to 11, with Indonesian as the language and no time limit set. The festival’s own guide gives classes rather than ages, and it holds the national final live online over about four hours; that format, the themes and the upload rules are not modelled on the template.
It is marked out of 100 on four printed criteria: authenticity of the story idea 35, creativity in developing the story 25, use of the Indonesian language 20, and the message of the story 20. The largest share, 35, therefore rewards a genuinely original idea rather than polished sentences alone.
A strong entry has a clear beginning, middle and end, characters the reader can picture, correct and natural Indonesian, and a message that grows out of the events instead of being stuck on at the finish. Organisers run the item because it builds imagination and writing fluency in young children and needs only paper or a screen.
Where Story Writing (Menulis Cerita) is run
On the eTalenter templates this item appears on one: a national student arts and literature festival in Indonesia for primary classes 3 to 5, where it sits beside drawing, singing, craft, storytelling, pantomime and dance. Children’s story-writing contests are run at schools, libraries and literary festivals in many countries, but the four-part weighting here is specific to this festival, so organisers elsewhere should set their own criteria.
- Indonesia
Key facts
- Individual entry; pupils in class 3, 4 or 5 (mapped by eTalenter to ages 8 to 11), boys and girls together
- Language on the template is Indonesian; no time limit and no entry fee are set
- Marked out of 100: idea 35, creativity in developing the story 25, Indonesian language 20, message 20
- Judged on the written story, so the original idea carries more marks than any other single criterion
- Variant note: the live online four-hour final, themes and upload rules in the source guide are not modelled on the template
On eTalenter, Story Writing (Menulis Cerita) is filed under Creative Writing and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Story Writing (Menulis Cerita) is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.
The scoring method the templates attach to this item, and what that scale means. The category this competition is filed under when a template is installed. Others in this category: Essay Writing, Story Writing, Poetry Writing, Article Writing, News Writing, Script Writing eTalenter matches an item to its criteria on the words in its name, and creates exactly these when the template is installed. Each organiser scores this competition on its own criteria. These are the ones the ready-made templates carry.How it is scored
Where it sits
Judging criteria installed for it
How organisers judge it
FLS3N Indonesia - National Student Arts and Literature Festival (Primary)
What judges look at in Story Writing (Menulis Cerita)
What a Story Writing (Menulis Cerita) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Authenticity of the idea (35): the story starts from the child’s own idea and is not a retelling of a well-known tale; a copied plot or a famous character with a new name loses the most marks on the sheet
- Creativity in developing the story (25): how the idea is built up through scenes, a problem and a resolution; a story that states the idea in a few lines and stops earns little here
- Use of Indonesian (20): correct spelling, sentences and word choice suited to a child of that age; repeated errors or mixed-in words from another language cost marks
- Message (20): the story leaves the reader with a clear point, such as kindness or honesty, that comes out of what happens; a moral announced in the last line without support from the plot scores lower
- Overall: the idea and its development together carry 60 of the 100 marks, so a simple, fresh story written with care usually beats a long one built on a borrowed plot
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Story Writing (Menulis Cerita) under Scoring Setup, or start from the full essay & story writing judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Story Writing (Menulis Cerita)
How entrants and their teachers usually get Story Writing (Menulis Cerita) right on the day:
- Collect story ideas from the child’s own life, such as family, school, animals or a local place, and pick the one that feels least like a story already told
- Practise planning before writing: a few lines each for beginning, the problem, how it is solved and the ending, so the story does not wander
- Write several short practice stories in a set time on the festival’s usual themes, and check your organiser for any set theme
- Read the finished draft aloud to catch missing words, repeated phrases and sentences that are hard to follow
- Work on spelling and sentence endings in Indonesian with a short list of the mistakes this child makes most often
- Decide the message before writing and check that something in the plot leads to it
- After a round, ask the teacher which of the four criteria held the story back, and plan the next practice around that one
Events that run this (1)
Ready-made templates that already include this competition. Installing one sets it up for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Story Writing (Menulis Cerita) judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Which classes can enter Story Writing?
Pupils in class 3, 4 or 5 of a primary school. The source gives classes rather than ages, so the eTalenter template maps them to ages 8 to 11.
How is Story Writing marked?
Out of 100 on four printed criteria: authenticity of the story idea 35, creativity in developing the story 25, use of Indonesian 20, and message 20.
Is it judged individually or as a team?
Individually. One child writes the story alone and the marks go to that child.
Is Story Writing the same as Storytelling?
No. Story Writing is a written item judged on the text. Storytelling is a separate spoken item on the same template with its own criteria.
Is there a word limit or time limit?
The template records neither. The source guide describes a live online final of about four hours, which the template does not model, so check your own organiser’s rules.
Similar competitions
Items whose names share a word with this one — usually the same discipline in another form.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full essay & story writing judging criteria guide, or browse every creative writing competition item.
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