NAPLAN · Writing
How NAPLAN writing is marked: the 10 criteria
Every piece is scored against ten separate criteria out of 47. Here is what each one is looking for, and what moves a score up a band.
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Why this is worth reading
Every other NAPLAN section has right answers. Writing does not — a marker reads the piece and scores it against ten criteria, and the same story can score very differently depending on things a child has never been told to look at. Paragraphing is worth two marks and takes no talent at all. Spelling is worth six, and is capped for a child who only uses words they are certain of. Knowing the shape of the marking is most of the advantage.
Persuasive writing criteria
Persuasive — 47 marks in total
| Criterion | Marks | What it is looking for | What lifts the score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | 6 | Whether the writing holds a reader and does it on purpose. | Writing that clearly has someone in mind — anticipating what they would object to, and answering it. |
| Text structure | 4 | A beginning that states a position, a middle that argues it, an end that closes it. | An introduction that previews the arguments and a conclusion that adds nothing new. |
| Ideas | 5 | How relevant, developed and thought-through the arguments are. | Fewer arguments, each properly explained, rather than a list of every reason that came to mind. |
| Persuasive devices | 4 | The techniques used to convince — appeals, rhetorical questions, emphasis. | Devices that fit the argument rather than decorate it. |
| Vocabulary | 5 | Precision and range of word choice. | Choosing the exact word rather than a big one. "Vital" beats "very important"; "very unique" costs marks. |
| Cohesion | 4 | How the parts connect so the whole reads as one piece. | Reference words and connectives that carry the argument forward, not just "firstly, secondly" pasted on. |
| Paragraphing | 2 | Whether paragraphs group ideas that belong together. | One idea per paragraph, and a new paragraph when the idea changes. Two marks, easily earned. |
| Sentence structure | 6 | Correct, varied and controlled sentences. | Mixing short sentences with longer ones on purpose. The highest-weighted criterion alongside audience and spelling. |
| Punctuation | 5 | Correct use across the range, not just full stops. | Commas in lists and after openers, apostrophes right, and speech punctuated properly if it appears. |
| Spelling | 6 | Accuracy across simple, common and difficult words. | Attempting difficult words and getting them right. Playing safe with easy words caps this criterion. |
Narrative writing criteria
Nine of the ten are identical. Only one differs: persuasive writing is marked on persuasive devices, narrative writing on character and setting. A child who can structure an argument can usually structure a story.
Narrative — 47 marks in total
| Criterion | Marks | What it is looking for | What lifts the score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience | 6 | Whether the story holds a reader and controls their response. | Deliberate effect — withholding something, or making the reader feel what the character feels. |
| Text structure | 4 | A story with an orientation, a complication and a resolution that fit together. | A complication introduced early enough that there is room to resolve it properly. |
| Ideas | 5 | How developed and coherent the story's content is. | One idea explored properly, rather than three events stacked up and none of them landed. |
| Character and setting | 4 | Whether characters and places are drawn well enough to picture. | Showing character through what they do, not through a paragraph describing them. |
| Vocabulary | 5 | Precision and range of word choice. | Verbs doing the work — "crept" instead of "walked quietly". |
| Cohesion | 4 | How the parts connect so the story reads as one piece. | Time connectives used to control pace, and pronouns that always have a clear owner. |
| Paragraphs | 2 | Whether paragraphs group what belongs together. | A new paragraph at a change of time, place, speaker or focus. |
| Sentence structure | 6 | Correct, varied and controlled sentences. | A short sentence after several long ones. Used deliberately, it is the cheapest tension in writing. |
| Punctuation | 5 | Correct use across the range. | Dialogue punctuated correctly — it is where most narrative marks are lost. |
| Spelling | 6 | Accuracy across simple, common and difficult words. | Reaching for the harder word and spelling it right. |
Where marks are most often lost
- Not paragraphing. Two marks, no skill required, and regularly left on the table.
- Running out of time. An unfinished piece loses on text structure, on ideas and on audience at once.
- Safe spelling. Only using easy words caps the six-mark criterion. Reaching for a harder word and getting it right is what scores.
- Every sentence the same length. Sentence structure is worth six marks, and variation is what it rewards.
- A new idea in the conclusion. It costs a text structure mark and gains nothing.
The rest of this section
- Persuasive writing — How to build the argument, the words that do the persuading, and a full sample text broken down paragraph by paragraph.
- Narrative writing — Orientation, complication, events, resolution, coda — what each part has to do, with a complete story showing all five.
- Practice prompts — Ten prompts, persuasive and narrative, each with the planning questions to answer before writing a word.
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