GIIS TOKYO presents TSUNDOKU: A GIIS Interschool Writing Contest ｜ Participation open to all campuses from the GLOBAL SCHOOLS GROUP (GSG)

How Your Story Will Be Judged

Every story submitted to the Tsundoku Writing Contest 2026 will be evaluated using the official Story Judging Rubric throughout all judging stages.

The rubric is designed to reward creativity, originality, storytelling, and effective use of language. Judges will consider not only the ideas behind each story, but also how successfully those ideas are developed through the plot, characters, setting, organisation, and writing style.

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are also assessed. However, as Tsundoku is a creative writing contest, technical accuracy represents only one part of the overall evaluation and should support rather than overshadow the writer's creativity.

Story Judging Criteria

Creativity & Originality (20%). Judges will look at how original and imaginative your story is. They will consider whether your ideas feel fresh, how well you develop them throughout the story, how thoughtfully you explore your chosen theme, and whether you avoid overused ideas or clichés.

Plot & Story Structure (20%). Judges will consider how well your story is planned and developed, including how the events unfold, whether the pacing keeps the reader interested, and whether the story builds towards a satisfying ending.

Organisation & Cohesion (15%). Judges will consider how clearly your story is organised and how smoothly your ideas flow from beginning to end. Your story should be easy to follow, with clear paragraphs, consistent narration, and well-presented dialogue.

Characterisation & Literary Elements (15%). Judges will look at how effectively you develop your characters, setting, conflict, and theme. They will also consider how these elements work together to create an engaging atmosphere and, where appropriate, a believable fictional world.

Language & Style (20%). Judges will look at how effectively you use language to bring your story to life. This includes your choice of vocabulary, narrative voice, description, dialogue, imagery, and other literary techniques that make your writing engaging and enjoyable to read.

Language Accuracy (10%). Judges will consider the accuracy of your grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, sentence construction, and dialogue punctuation. Small mistakes are acceptable, but they should not make your story difficult to read.

Performance Levels

Each criterion in the Story Judging Rubric is assessed independently using the 10-point performance scale below. Judges will select the descriptor that best reflects the quality demonstrated for each criterion. The individual scores are then combined using the criterion weightings to calculate the final score out of 100.

What Makes an Outstanding Story?

The strongest stories usually:

present fresh and imaginative ideas
develop memorable characters and meaningful conflicts
maintain a clear and engaging narrative
build towards a satisfying ending
use language creatively to engage the reader
are carefully proofread before submission

Submission Requirements

Students must take the following requirements into consideration when writing their stories. Failure to comply with any of these rules may result in immediate disqualification.

Some of the submission requirements and writing guidelines included in this document have been adapted from the CBSE Budding Authors Programme 2022

Word Count

Make sure your story stays within the word limit for your category. Stories that exceed or fall below the required word count will be disqualified.

Declaration of Originality

Don't forget to complete the Declaration of Originality included in the Story Submission Template. Failure to do so will result in immediate disqualification.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Plagiarism means presenting someone else's work as your own.

Your story must be your own original creation. Don't copy characters, settings, plots, dialogue, or substantial ideas from books, films, television series, games, or other published works. Everything should come from your own creativity and imagination.

AI

Don't use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write, rewrite, expand, or edit your story. AI-generated or AI-assisted writing is strictly prohibited.

Sensitive Content

Stories should not contain excessively graphic or mature content, including but not limited to:

excessive or graphic violence (towards people or animals)
unnecessary profanity or offensive language
age-inappropriate intimate content
self-harm
substance abuse

Respect

DON'T create stories that promote hate speech, bullying, harassment, discrimination, intolerance, or attacks against individuals or groups based on their race, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, or disability.

Real People

If your story includes real people or historical figures, portray them respectfully and avoid misleading or harmful fictional representations.

Images & Illustrations

Cover Image

Every story must include a cover image on the designated page of the Story Submission Template.

Illustrations

You may also include illustrations throughout your story. These are optional and will not affect your score.

Image Requirements

Every image used in your story (including the cover image) must meet one of the following conditions:

It was created by you.
It was created by a friend, family member, or teacher, and you have their permission to use it.
It was generated using an AI image generation tool.
It is a copyright-free, royalty-free, or public domain image. Images from the stock library of an online design platform (e.g. Canva) are also acceptable.

Image Credits

Do not simply copy images from Google Images.

For every image you use, you must complete the Image and Graphic Credits section at the end of the Story Submission Template.

Include:

who created the image,
the AI tool used (if applicable),
or the website or URL where you found it (if applicable).

What are copyright-free or royalty-free images?

Copyright-free or royalty-free pictures are images whose creator or owner has given permission for others to use them. Many pictures that were created a very long time ago are now in the public domain, which means that anyone can use them freely.

However, even if you use a copyright-free or royalty-free image from the internet, you must still include the link (URL) to its source in the Image and Graphic Credits section at the end of the Story Submission Template.

Need help finding free images?

If you need help finding copyright-free or royalty-free pictures online, check out the websites listed below!

Open Access Galleries (Public Domain Images) from Libraries & Museums

Clipart & Public Domain Pictures

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