What the Year 5 NAPLAN writing task asks for, and how to prepare
By Year 5 the writing test moves to the keyboard: your child types a response to a single prompt, narrative or persuasive, in the time allowed. The step up from Year 3 is real. A Year 3 story could stand on one idea; a Year 5 piece is expected to have a planned shape, paragraphing and a wider, more controlled vocabulary.
Nobody knows which genre this year's prompt will be, so the only sound preparation is practising both: a story built on character and setting, and an opinion piece built on reasons a reader can follow.
What the Year 5 writing task covers
| Topic | What it looks like at this year level |
|---|---|
| Narrative | A planned story rather than an idea followed wherever it goes: a clear beginning, characters shown through what they do and say, and paragraphing that moves the reader between moments. |
| Persuasive | A structured argument rather than a stated opinion: a position taken early, each reason given its own paragraph with an example, and a deliberate closing. |
Planning time sits inside the same allowance as the writing itself; there is no separate planning block. Everything is typed rather than handwritten from this year on, so spelling and punctuation are judged on what actually appears on screen, with no benefit of the doubt for messy handwriting. A longer piece is not automatically a better one: the marking rewards a controlled, well-shaped response over a long one that loses its structure halfway through.
A free diagnostic covers all four Year 5 areas and shows you where writing sits against the rest.
Get startedSample Year 5 writing prompts
These are original questions written in the style of NAPLAN. Real test questions are ACARA copyright and are not published for practice use.
Narrative
There is one ticket left for something everyone wants. Somebody is going to get it, and somebody is not. Write a story about what happens.
What a strong response does: A strong response makes the reader care what the ticket is for before deciding who gets it, and follows through to an ending that feels earned rather than convenient.
The common loss at this level is a strong opening idea followed by a rushed ending crammed into the last two sentences once time runs short.
Persuasive
Some people say weekend homework keeps learning going. Others say weekends are for rest and everything school does not teach. Write to say what you think.
What a strong response does: A strong response takes a clear position in the opening paragraph, then gives each reason its own paragraph with a real example rather than a general claim.
Because every student already has an opinion on this topic, the marking separates on structure and evidence, not on which side is taken; the usual loss is reasons that never move past a general assertion.
Persuasive
Your school is considering asking every family to send lunches with no plastic wrapping. Some say it would cut waste; others say it is unfair to families with less time or money. Write to the school council and argue your view.
What a strong response does: A strong response acknowledges the fairness objection directly instead of ignoring it, then explains why the position still holds.
The stimulus states the counter-argument outright, so a piece that only lists reasons for its own side reads as having missed half the prompt.
Where Year 5 writers lose marks
A good idea with no shape
The story has an original idea, but the structure collapses: too much happens in the middle and the ending is rushed into the last couple of sentences once time is short.
Fix
Re-teach planning the shape before writing: how much of the piece is beginning, middle and end, decided before the first sentence rather than discovered along the way.
No real paragraphing
Writing runs as one block, or breaks into paragraphs at random line lengths rather than at a change of time, place or idea.
Fix
Re-teach paragraphing as marking a change, not a visual habit: a new paragraph starts when something in the story or argument actually shifts.
Vocabulary reached for, not controlled
Ambitious words appear because they sound impressive, but are used slightly wrong or repeated in a way that undercuts them.
Fix
Re-teach that a plain, accurate word beats an ambitious, slightly wrong one; vocabulary marks reward control, not difficulty.
A persuasive piece that asserts, not argues
Opinions are stated firmly but without an example or reasoning to back them, so the piece reads as a list of declarations.
Fix
Re-teach the reason, example, link pattern for every paragraph: what I think, why, and a specific example that makes it real.
How to practise Year 5 writing
Typed practice under timed conditions is the single biggest gap between a Year 3 writer and a Year 5 one: the format is new, and format familiarity is exactly what practice removes.
Alternate genres deliberately rather than letting your child default to whichever they prefer, since the real prompt could be either.
A typed piece that is never marked against the ten criteria the real test uses is a piece that mostly measured how fast your child types. See how that marking works on our writing page, and make sure practice includes it.
When is the Year 5 NAPLAN in 2027?
The 2027 window is Wednesday 10 March to Monday 22 March 2027. Schools schedule the four tests inside that window, and Writing has to be scheduled for the first day. Most schools finish in the first week, so confirm the exact days with your school rather than a national site.
On the day, Writing at Year 5 runs for 42 minutes.
Test structure, marking and reporting facts on this page come from ACARA's public NAPLAN documentation, checked against nap.edu.au in August 2026.
Find the Year 5 Writing gaps now, not on test day
The jump from Year 3 to Year 5 is steep. Practising both genres, typed and timed, is what closes it.