NAPLAN-Style Writing Prompts for Years 3 and 5
In the NAPLAN writing test, students are given one prompt and write either a narrative or a persuasive text. They do not know which kind until the day, and there is no choice. Students in Years 3 and 5 are given the same kind of prompt, and the official time is 40 minutes in Year 5 and 40 minutes in Year 3. These practice prompts are written by makekite in the same style, so students can practise planning and writing under time.
Narrative prompts
- The Secret Door: write a story about finding a small door somewhere you have been many times before.
- The day the animals could talk.
- Lost at the show: write a story about getting separated from your family at a big event, and how you found them.
- A story that begins: 'I knew something was different as soon as I opened my eyes.'
Persuasive prompts
- Children should be allowed to bring their pets to school one day a term. Do you agree?
- Every school should have a longer lunch break.
- Is it better to live in the city or the country?
- Homework should be banned in primary school.
How to practise
- Choose one prompt. Spend about five minutes planning: for a narrative, the characters, the setting, the problem and how it is solved; for a persuasive text, your position and three reasons with examples.
- Write for the rest of the time. Use the classroom timer to keep to 40 minutes.
- Leave two or three minutes at the end to reread and fix spelling and punctuation.
- Check the finished piece against the list below, or ask a parent or teacher to.
Self-check list
ACARA's published marking guides use ten criteria. Use them as a checklist when you reread your writing:
Narrative
- Audience
- Text structure
- Ideas
- Character and setting
- Vocabulary
- Cohesion
- Paragraphing
- Sentence structure
- Punctuation
- Spelling
Persuasive
- Audience
- Text structure
- Ideas
- Persuasive devices
- Vocabulary
- Cohesion
- Paragraphing
- Sentence structure
- Punctuation
- Spelling
Tips
- Narratives: start close to the action, show feelings through what characters do and say, and give the story a clear ending rather than 'it was all a dream'.
- Persuasive texts: state your position in the first paragraph, give each reason its own paragraph with an example, answer one argument against your view, and finish by restating your position.
- Vary sentence beginnings and lengths, and choose precise words: 'sprinted' says more than 'ran fast'.
- Paragraphs matter in both kinds of writing: start a new one for each new idea, time or place.
Important
These prompts are written by makekite and are not official NAPLAN prompts. See ACARA's public demonstration site and its published example prompts and marking guides.
Practice tests for Years 3 and 5
- Year 3 NAPLAN-Style Numeracy Practice Test 1
- Year 3 NAPLAN-Style Numeracy Practice Test 2
- Year 3 NAPLAN-Style Numeracy Practice Test 3
- Year 3 NAPLAN-Style Conventions of Language Practice Test 1
- Year 3 NAPLAN-Style Reading Practice Test 1
- Year 3 NAPLAN-Style Conventions of Language Practice Test 2
- Year 3 NAPLAN-Style Reading Practice Test 2
- Year 5 NAPLAN-Style Numeracy Practice Test 1
- Year 5 NAPLAN-Style Numeracy Practice Test 2
- Year 5 NAPLAN-Style Numeracy Practice Test 3
- Year 5 NAPLAN-Style Conventions of Language Practice Test 1
- Year 5 NAPLAN-Style Reading Practice Test 1
- Year 5 NAPLAN-Style Conventions of Language Practice Test 2
- Year 5 NAPLAN-Style Reading Practice Test 2
- All NAPLAN-style practice tests