NAPLAN Writing Year 5: Prompts, Tips and Practice

The writing test is the part of NAPLAN many Year 5 students worry about most, and it is also the test where a little practice at home makes the biggest difference. This guide to NAPLAN writing Year 5 explains exactly what your child will be asked to do, how their writing is marked, and how to practise in short, low-stress sessions. You’ll also find 24 free Year 5 writing prompts you can use tonight.

What Year 5 students write in NAPLAN

Writing is the first test of NAPLAN week. Your child gets one writing prompt and has 40 minutes to respond to it. In Year 5 the writing test is completed online, so your child types their response rather than handwriting it. (Year 3 is the only year level that still sits the writing test on paper.)

The prompt asks for either a narrative (a story) or a persuasive text (an argument for a point of view). Students aren’t told in advance which type it will be, and they don’t get to choose, so it pays to practise both. Prompts can be text only or include pictures, and Years 3 and 5 receive different prompts from Years 7 and 9.

ACARA runs a public demonstration site where students can try the online test tools before the real thing. A few minutes getting used to the editing tools means one less surprise on the day.

How NAPLAN writing is marked

Every response is marked against the same 10 criteria, whatever the topic. Nine criteria are shared by both text types. The tenth is character and setting for narratives and persuasive devices for persuasive texts. Here is the narrative guide used for NAPLAN 2026, with a plain-English summary of each criterion:

Notice where the marks sit. Audience, sentence structure and spelling are each worth up to 6 marks, the same as the most creative idea. Careful, correct sentences matter as much as a clever plot. Our guide to the NAPLAN writing marking criteria explains each one in more detail.

Year 5 NAPLAN writing prompts

Use these original prompts for practice. Each one suits a single 40-minute session. Real NAPLAN prompts often give a topic plus a few ideas to think about, so encourage your child to respond to exactly what the prompt asks.

Persuasive writing prompts

1. Every school should have a four-day week.
2. Children should be allowed to bring their pets to school.
3. Homework should be banned in primary school.
4. Children under 12 should not have their own mobile phone.
5. School uniforms should be optional.
6. Everyone should learn to swim before they finish primary school.
7. Junk food ads should not be shown during children’s TV shows.
8. Recess and lunch breaks should be longer.
9. Zoos do more good than harm.
10. Every family should grow some of its own food.
11. Video games can be good for children.
12. Our town needs a new skate park more than a new car park.

Narrative writing prompts

1. The door at the end of the corridor had always been locked. Today it was open.
2. Write a story that begins: “That was the last time I trusted a map.”
3. A storm cuts your town off from the rest of the world for three days.
4. You find a note inside a library book, and it is addressed to you.
5. The class pet escapes on the day of the school concert.
6. Write a story about someone who has to make a brave choice.
7. An old photograph shows something that shouldn’t be there.
8. You wake up and everyone in your family has swapped jobs.
9. The last day of the holidays turns into the strangest day of the year.
10. A message in a bottle washes up at your feet.
11. Write a story called “The Return”.
12. Your shadow starts doing things on its own.

Want more? Our free NAPLAN writing prompts library has prompts for every year level.

Persuasive writing tips for Year 5

A persuasive text tries to convince the reader to agree with a point of view. Markers reward a clear position, strong reasons and language chosen to win the reader over. A simple structure gives your child something to hold onto under time pressure:

• Introduction: state your position clearly in the first two sentences.
• Body paragraphs: two or three paragraphs, each giving one reason with an example or evidence.
• Conclusion: restate the position in fresh words and tell the reader what should happen.

To lift the score:

• Pick one side and stay on it. Sitting on the fence weakens the argument.
• Choose reasons the reader will care about, not just reasons that matter to the writer.
• Use persuasive language: strong verbs, words like should and must, and the occasional rhetorical question.
• Answer the other side once (“Some people say… however…”). It shows deeper thinking.

Our NAPLAN persuasive writing guide has worked examples and more tips.

Narrative writing tips for Year 5

A narrative is a story with a beginning (orientation), a problem (complication) and an ending (resolution). In 40 minutes the best Year 5 stories are usually simple and well told rather than long and complicated.

• Keep the cast small: one or two main characters are plenty.
• Build the story around one clear problem and solve it properly.
• Show feelings through actions and dialogue instead of naming them (“her hands shook” rather than “she was scared”).
• Use the senses to bring the setting to life. Character and setting has its own criterion.
• Vary sentence openings and lengths. Short sentences add tension.
• Avoid endings like “it was all a dream”. Markers want a resolution that comes from the story.

See our NAPLAN narrative writing guide for examples.

How to use the 40 minutes

The planning step is the one most students skip and the one that makes the biggest difference to text structure and cohesion. Practise it until it becomes automatic.

How to practise writing at home

• Once a week: one timed 40-minute task, alternating persuasive and narrative.
• Twice a week: a 10-minute planning-only drill. Plan a response to a prompt without writing it.
• Typing practice: the Year 5 test is typed, so short typing sessions help slower typists show what they can do.
• One focus at a time: after each task, pick a single criterion to improve next time, such as paragraphing or speech punctuation.
• Read together: reading good stories and opinion pieces is the quiet engine behind better writing.

Keep sessions short and positive. NAPLAN is a snapshot, not a final verdict, and confidence matters. For examples of what different results look like, see our NAPLAN writing sample answers. To round out preparation, try the Year 5 practice tests and Year 5 past papers.

Frequently asked questions

Will my child know whether the task is persuasive or narrative?

No. The text type isn’t announced before the test, and every student in the same testing mode gets the same type. Practising both is the only safe approach.

Is the Year 5 writing test done on paper or online?

Online. Year 5 students type their response. Only Year 3 handwrites the writing test.

How long is the Year 5 NAPLAN writing test?

40 minutes, and it’s the first test of NAPLAN week.

Can my child plan before writing?

Yes. Students can plan and draft ideas on scrap paper during the online test.

Does spelling count in NAPLAN writing?

Yes. Spelling is one of the 10 criteria and is worth up to 6 marks in the narrative guide, as much as any criterion.

Related guides

• NAPLAN Writing: A Parent’s Guide to the Writing Test
• NAPLAN Persuasive Writing: Examples and Tips
• NAPLAN Narrative Writing: Examples and Tips
• Free NAPLAN Writing Prompts
• NAPLAN Writing Marking Criteria Explained
• NAPLAN Practice Test Year 5

Information current for NAPLAN 2026, based on published guidance from ACARA and state test authorities.