NAPLAN Writing: What the Test Asks Students to Do

NAPLAN writing asks your child for one piece of writing in response to a prompt: a page with the topic, the type of writing to produce and sometimes pictures to spark ideas. The type is either a narrative, which is a story, or a persuasive piece, where your child argues for their opinion on the topic. ACARA doesn't reveal which one until the test, there's an equal chance of either, and students don't get a choice.

Every student in Australia gets the same type, but not always the same topic. Years 3 and 5 have different prompts from Years 7 and 9, and children in the same year can get different topics depending on the day they sit the test. ACARA publishes examples, such as a story prompt called The Box and a persuasive one, “It is cruel to keep animals in cages” (both PDFs), which show what the page looks like.

The prompt also carries a few reminders to help your child start. For a story, they're asked to think about the characters and where they are, the problem to be solved and how the story will end. For a persuasive piece, they're asked whether they agree or disagree, to give reasons for their opinion and explain them, and to start with an introduction and finish with a conclusion. Before writing, your child can plan on a sheet of paper, which is collected at the end but not marked.

Trained markers score each piece against ACARA's marking guide, and every marker in Australia uses the same guide and training. The guide has ten criteria, the separate parts of the writing a marker gives a score for.

Your child's writing is reported as one result, which reaches you later in the year as one of NAPLAN's four proficiency levels, ACARA's descriptions of how a result compares with what's expected for your child's year level. When the report arrives, our NAPLAN results explainer sets out what your child's writing level means and what you could ask the teacher.

Writing is the first NAPLAN test. In 2027 the testing window runs from 10 to 22 March, and schools start the writing test on the first day. Your child has 40 minutes in Year 3 and 42 minutes in Years 5, 7 and 9.

Year 3 students write by hand, on paper, while Years 5, 7 and 9 type their writing online, with editing tools on screen. That's why ACARA's public demonstration site, its free practice version of the online tests, has a writing test for Years 5, 7 and 9 but not for Year 3. Our guide to NAPLAN practice covers what the demo site is useful for.

Each year level has its own guide to the other tests and the report:

• Year 3 NAPLAN, for a child's first NAPLAN
• Year 5 NAPLAN, the second NAPLAN year
• Year 7 NAPLAN, which comes a few weeks into secondary school
• Year 9 NAPLAN, the last NAPLAN year

ACARA discourages excessive preparation and coaching services, so everyday writing can stay part of family life. A story could be a comic about the dog. If your child reads a piece aloud to you, they can hear for themselves where a sentence runs on or an idea goes missing. You can also ask about it in ordinary words, like who's in the story and what goes wrong.

For a child who worries about a blank mind, making up a “what if” from a picture in a book can show them how little it takes to get a story started. It also mirrors the test, where any pictures on the page are there to help.

Sometimes talking about NAPLAN brings a bigger worry to the surface: writing your child finds hard everywhere, not just in a test. Their class teacher is the first person to talk to, or their English teacher in secondary school. They know your child's classroom writing, can tell you what the class is working on and can let you know about any extra literacy support the school offers.

For persistent difficulty with planning or sentences, tutoring can support the schoolwork itself. Our primary English tutors work from the writing task or teacher feedback your child brings, in person across Melbourne or online, and our Years 7 to 10 English tutors shape sessions around the tasks and feedback your child gets at secondary school.

You can listen to the writing your child wants to share, without making every piece a rehearsal for March.

Is it fair when children get different topics?

ACARA designs its prompts to be of a similar level of difficulty, and every piece is marked with the same guide and reported on the same scale. That's why it says results can be compared even when the topics differ.

Does a persuasive piece have to argue one side?

It needs an opinion, but your child can choose which one. The instructions ask whether they agree or disagree and suggest they can think of ideas for both sides, then ask them to write to convince the reader of their view.

What if my child is away on the writing day?

Your child may be able to sit a catch-up, so it's worth telling the school as early as you can. Writing catch-ups are held as soon as possible, and only until the end of day 4 of the window for Year 3, or day 9 for Years 5, 7 and 9.

Can my child have a scribe?

Only if they have a disability and already use a scribe for classroom assessment. A scribe isn't available for a temporary injury like a broken arm, though a child who uses another adjustment in class, such as extra time, may be able to use it in the writing test. You can talk to their teacher about the adjustments that fit your child.

We checked these official sources on 6 November 2026.