Describing her father as having a 'big forehead and being super naughty', a 5th grade student in Nghe An's essay got a score of 10.

The essay about her beloved father by Nguyen Phan Anh Thu, a 5th grade student at Ha Huy Tap 2 Primary School, was given 10 points by her teacher. The essay portrays a father who is a combination of all the good and bad things, and at the same time expresses the father's love for his daughter and the daughter's feelings for her father. In Anh Thu's eyes, her father is far inferior to "other people's fathers", but her father is everything, never makes her sad and is always the hero who saves her from her mother's anger.

In Anh Thu's writing, her father has a short, stocky figure, a big belly, "shiny hair because he hasn't washed his hair in a long time" and a "super-muddy forehead". Compared to "other people's fathers" with serious eyes or pursed lips, Anh Thu's father has "shifty eyes like a crow in a pigsty" and "only smiles all day". "Other people's fathers" are independent and talented, making their wives and children respect them, but in Anh Thu's eyes, "his wife scolds him all day long". "Other people's fathers" are admired by their subordinates, while Anh Thu's father is just a motorbike taxi driver for the ladies and gentlemen.

"But my dad was willing to sign my self-criticism without telling my mom; willing to listen to my teacher's critical calls; willing to stay up until 3-4 o'clock waiting for me to finish my homework and go to bed; willing to sit next to me and 'plow' through difficult math for hours; willing to wake up every morning to call me, even though he wanted to sleep more than me; willing to give me a piece of delicious caviar that he really liked; willing to lend me his iPad on the weekend, with the reason: 'Let him have a little more fun'; willing to drive to class to pick me up, even though he had to miss an important meeting; willing to joke with me, chat with me about random things to 'help him reduce stress'", quoted from Anh Thu's essay.

Although he is "not as good as other people's fathers" in many ways, Anh Thu's father is very good at begging her mother not to hit her or taking the blame for her so that she won't be scolded by her mother. To Anh Thu, a father like that is everything.

According to Ms. Nguyet Anh, Anh Thu's mother, this is her daughter's homework assignment. Anh Thu is currently taking a Literature class after successfully passing an exam at the beginning of the school year. This class is taught by a retired teacher. In addition to the essay about her father, Anh Thu has several other highly rated essays.

"The day the teacher returned the paper, Anh Thu did not go to school but heard from her friends that this was her second essay with a 10. Receiving the paper with a 10, Anh Thu was surprised and happy, especially since it was a rare score in her teaching career. Before giving the paper to her mother to read, she said: 'Don't laugh and be angry with me,'" said Ms. Nguyet Anh.

The father described in the essay is quite true to the real-life prototype, the only difference being that every morning he washes his hair and sprays it with hairspray, instead of "not washing it for a long time".

"I wrote that for fun. Every morning I wait for my dad to shower before taking me to school. We are very close," said Nguyet Anh.

In real life, Anh Thu is absent-minded and slow-witted, but she is intelligent, humorous, and knowledgeable. She can discuss any topic enthusiastically; sometimes like a "little old lady," other times like a child because she nags her younger sibling all day. Since childhood, Anh Thu has loved reading stories, and can stay up until 2-3am to read. She can read a book like that dozens of times without getting bored. At home, Anh Thu has a whole bookshelf of all kinds. In subjects, Anh Thu is good at Literature, English, and Math.

When talking about her student’s essay about her father, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lai, 60 years old, seemed excited and pleased. Ms. Lai is a Literature teacher who has taught gifted classes for many years and has interacted with many generations of excellent students. She used to be a teacher at a specialized school in Nghe An. After retiring in 2013, she was invited to teach extra classes for students, including Anh Thu’s class, on weekends.

Ms. Lai confided that in 38 years of teaching, Anh Thu's essay was the second essay she gave a score of 10, and this was the first 10 given to an elementary school student.The essay received many compliments in the teacher's comments at the end of the lesson for the way it used comparison and contrast to highlight the image of the father and the way it organized the paragraphs and the tight layout.

"The article is emotional, creative, humorous, cheerful and not stereotyped. The comments in the article do not convey all the things I want to say about Anh Thu's strengths. I like the comparison between Anh Thu's father and other people's fathers. The father is nobody, not handsome and has many things that are not as good as other people's fathers, but the father loves and protects Anh Thu," Ms. Lai commented.

Anh Thu's essay made her feel excited and read it in one go. According to Ms. Lai, Anh Thu started cleverly and ended in an innocent and harmonious way.

"The paper received a worthy 10, not an encouraging 10. In class, Anh Thu is a student with sharp perception. There are a few students who also show talent, but Anh Thu has a remarkable creativity. In my teaching career, meeting students with such qualities, for me, is a joy. This can be considered a seed for later national excellent student competitions," Ms. Lai assessed.

In addition to compliments for Anh Thu, Ms. Lai also gave advice on how to place semicolons instead of commas in a paragraph using repetition with more than 10 lines.