NAPLAN writing: how the test works, the ten marking criteria and what each is worth, narrative and persuasive structure, 12 practice prompts for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, a self-marking checklist, and an eight-week plan (free PDF)

"NAPLAN writing prompts" and "NAPLAN writing marking guide" are searched from November, when Year 2, 4, 6 and 8 parents realise the writing test is the first one in March and the only one that cannot be practised with multiple-choice questions. Writing is also the test where preparation changes the result most, because the marking is public: ACARA publishes exactly what the markers look for. This page explains the test, sets out the ten criteria and their marks, shows what a marker wants from each genre, gives 12 original practice prompts by year level, a checklist to mark at home, and an eight-week plan.

Download the 12 practice prompts and the checklist (PDF) (six narrative and six persuasive prompts, the ten criteria as a self-marking checklist, A4, free).

How the test works

• One piece of writing, one prompt. The prompt is a page with a topic, a few sentences of guidance and usually pictures. It is read aloud.
• Narrative or persuasive. The genre is not announced in advance. Every student in the country gets the same genre on the day.
• Two prompts by age. Years 3 and 5 share one; Years 7 and 9 share another.
• About 40 minutes: 5 to plan, 30 to write, 5 to edit.
• Year 3 on paper, Years 5, 7 and 9 typed online. Typing speed matters from Year 5.
• First day of the window. In 2027 that is Wednesday 10 March; the dates by state are in NAPLAN 2027 dates.

The ten criteria and what each is worth

From ACARA's narrative and persuasive writing marking guides:

Where the marks really are

Read the table by weight. Audience, sentence structure and spelling are worth 6 each: 18 marks, more than a third of the total. Ideas, vocabulary and punctuation are worth 5 each. Paragraphing, the thing children are told about most, is worth 2 or 3.

Three practical consequences:

1. Spelling rewards ambition. The spelling score depends on the difficulty of the words spelt correctly, not just on having no errors. A piece with only simple words, all correct, sits in the middle. A piece that attempts "enormous", "suddenly", "environment" and gets most right scores higher. Teach children to use the word they mean, not the word they are sure of.
2. Sentence structure is variety that works. One long sentence, one short one, a sentence that starts with "When" or "Although". Not length for its own sake.
3. Audience is the opening and the ending. A marker decides early whether the writer is thinking about a reader. An opening that puts the reader in a place, and an ending that is an ending, move this criterion more than anything in the middle.

What the marker wants from a narrative

Orientation (who, where, when, in two or three sentences, with something to see or hear). Complication (one problem, introduced early: by the end of the first third). Resolution (the problem is dealt with by something the character does, not by waking up or being rescued). The commonest way to lose text structure marks is to spend 25 minutes on the orientation and write "and then we went home" at the bell. Plan the ending in the five planning minutes; it is the most valuable thing to write down.

Character and setting marks come from specific detail: what the character notices, says, wants. "A girl" is level 1. "Mina, who counted every step on the way to school" is a character.

What the marker wants from a persuasive text

Introduction that states the position in the first two sentences. Body of two to four paragraphs, one reason each, with the reason explained or supported, not just stated. Conclusion that restates the position and leaves the reader with something. Persuasive devices are what lifts it: a direct address to the reader, a rhetorical question, a short example, an appeal to fairness or to consequences, a deliberate repetition. One device used well is worth more than five used once each.

The commonest fault is a list: "Firstly, secondly, thirdly" with a sentence for each. That is three ideas named and none developed, and it caps the ideas criterion.

Twelve practice prompts

These are our own prompts, written in the style of the test. They are not past NAPLAN prompts.

Narrative, Years 3 and 5 1. The box. A box has been left outside your front door with your name on it. Write a story about what happens. 2. The wrong bus. Write a story about a character who gets on the wrong bus. 3. It was not a normal Saturday. Write a story that begins with this sentence.

Narrative, Years 7 and 9 4. The message. A character receives a message meant for someone else. Write the story. 5. Turning back. Write a story in which a character has to decide whether to turn back. 6. What was left behind. Write a story about something found in an empty house.

Persuasive, Years 3 and 5 7. Every child should learn to cook at school. Do you agree or disagree? 8. Homework should be optional. What do you think? Persuade a reader. 9. It is better to have one best friend than many friends. Agree or disagree.

Persuasive, Years 7 and 9 10. Phones should be allowed in classrooms. Take a position and persuade a reader. 11. Teenagers should be able to vote at sixteen. Agree or disagree. 12. Sport should be compulsory until Year 12. What is your view?

Use one a week, timed: 5 minutes to plan, 30 to write, 5 to edit. Year 3 by hand, Years 5 and up typed.

The self-marking checklist

After each piece, the child (not the parent) answers these, yes or no:

• Audience: Would a stranger know where we are by the third sentence? Is there an ending?
• Structure: Narrative: is there one clear problem and is it solved? Persuasive: is my position in the first two sentences and again at the end?
• Ideas: Did I explain at least one idea with a reason or a detail, not just name it?
• Character and setting / devices: One specific detail about the character or place? One persuasive device used on purpose?
• Vocabulary: Three words I chose because they were exact?
• Cohesion: Did I use something other than "and then"?
• Paragraphs: New paragraph for a new time, place, speaker or reason?
• Sentences: One short sentence, one long one, one that does not start with the subject?
• Punctuation: Capital letters and full stops everywhere; any commas, speech marks or question marks used correctly?
• Spelling: Did I attempt at least five hard words? Did I check them in the editing time?

Ten yeses is a strong piece at any year level. The two the child answers "no" to most often are next week's lesson.

An eight-week plan to March

The mistakes that cost the most

1. No ending. Costs text structure and audience at once.
2. Preparing one genre. The genre is not announced; a memorised story does not answer a persuasive prompt.
3. A memorised piece bent to fit the prompt. Markers see hundreds; it scores low on ideas and audience.
4. Safe words only. Caps both vocabulary and spelling.
5. Not using the editing time. Five minutes finds most punctuation and spelling slips. Children who write to the bell hand in their mistakes.

How the writing result appears on the report, and what "Strong" and "Developing" mean, is in NAPLAN results explained.

Download the 12 practice prompts and the checklist (PDF)

Where to get help

A 1-on-1 online English and writing class for Years 2 to 9 with a tutor who marks every piece against the ten NAPLAN criteria and gives the child one criterion to work on each week: timed writing in both genres from Term 4, typed for Years 5 and up, with the marked script and the recording after every class. About A$14 to A$19 an hour, at 4 to 7 pm Australian time. The NAPLAN page covers all five tests; the free 30-minute first class is a real lesson, starting from a piece your child has written.

Questions parents ask

See how we teach this, 1-on-1 online →