NAPLAN Writing Marking Criteria Explained

The NAPLAN writing marking criteria are the 10 skills every writing response is scored against, from audience and ideas through to punctuation and spelling. Knowing the criteria is the quickest way to understand what markers are looking for and why a piece that “sounds good” can still lose marks. This guide explains each criterion in plain English, how many marks it’s worth, and how to use the rubric at home.

How NAPLAN writing is marked

NAPLAN writing is marked by trained human markers, using the same marking guide and quality checks in every state and territory. There are two marking guides: one for persuasive writing and one for narrative writing. Each uses 10 criteria, and nine of them are identical. The one that differs is persuasive devices (persuasive) or character and setting (narrative).

Every criterion has a score range, and markers choose the category that best describes the whole piece. A persuasive response can score up to 48, and a narrative up to 47.

The 10 NAPLAN writing criteria

Criterion	Persuasive	Narrative	What markers look for
Audience	0 to 6	0 to 6	Does the writing engage the reader and keep them interested?
Text structure	0 to 4	0 to 4	Is there a clear beginning, middle and end (or introduction, body and conclusion)?
Ideas	0 to 5	0 to 5	Are the ideas or arguments well chosen and developed?
Persuasive devices / Character and setting	0 to 4	0 to 4	Persuasive: techniques that win the reader over. Narrative: believable characters and a vivid setting.
Vocabulary	0 to 5	0 to 5	Are words precise and varied?
Cohesion	0 to 4	0 to 4	Do ideas link smoothly from sentence to sentence?
Paragraphing	0 to 3	0 to 2	Are paragraphs used to organise the text?
Sentence structure	0 to 6	0 to 6	Are sentences correct, varied and controlled?
Punctuation	0 to 5	0 to 5	Is punctuation accurate and helpful to the reader?
Spelling	0 to 6	0 to 6	How accurate is spelling, especially of harder words?
Total	48	47

1. Audience (0 to 6)

How well the writer engages and holds the reader. High scores come from writing that feels aware of who is reading, with a confident voice and deliberate choices to interest or convince.

2. Text structure (0 to 4)

Whether the piece has a clear overall shape. For persuasive writing that’s an introduction, body and conclusion. For narratives it’s an orientation, complication and resolution.

3. Ideas (0 to 5)

The quality and depth of the ideas. Markers reward ideas that are well chosen, relevant and developed with detail or explanation, rather than a list of points.

4. Persuasive devices or character and setting (0 to 4)

In persuasive writing, this is the range and effect of techniques such as rhetorical questions, appeals to emotion, modal verbs (“must”, “should”) and conditional statements (“If we do this, then…”). In narratives, it’s how well characters are developed and how vividly the setting and atmosphere are created.

5. Vocabulary (0 to 5)

The range and precision of words. Precise, well-chosen words score higher than long or unusual words used for show.

6. Cohesion (0 to 4)

How smoothly the text holds together, through linking words (“however”, “as a result”), clear pronoun references and connected ideas.

7. Paragraphing (0 to 3 persuasive, 0 to 2 narrative)

Whether the text is broken into paragraphs that each have a clear purpose. Even a correctly paragraphed short piece can earn marks here.

8. Sentence structure (0 to 6)

Whether sentences are grammatically correct and varied. Higher scores need a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences that are controlled and clear.

9. Punctuation (0 to 5)

Accuracy and range of punctuation, from full stops and capital letters through to commas in complex sentences, apostrophes and correctly punctuated dialogue.

10. Spelling (0 to 6)

Accuracy of spelling, judged against how difficult the words are. A child who spells ambitious words correctly will score higher than one who only uses simple words, so encourage your child to have a go at harder words.

Reading the NAPLAN writing rubric

The official marking guides include a description of every score category, with annotated sample scripts. They’re published under a Creative Commons licence, and you can read them in full: the persuasive writing marking guide and the narrative writing marking guide (2026 versions hosted by the VCAA).

Two things are worth knowing when you read them. First, the categories describe the piece as a whole, so one great sentence doesn’t lift a score on its own. Second, the guides note that around a page of writing is usually needed to show the higher categories consistently, so a very short response limits the marks available.

How long is the NAPLAN writing test?

40 minutes for every year level. A good split is 5 minutes planning, 30 minutes writing and 5 minutes rereading to fix punctuation and spelling, which together carry 11 marks.

Using the criteria to practise at home

Choose one or two criteria per practice piece, for example paragraphing and punctuation, rather than all 10.
Ask your child to underline their best word choice and their most persuasive sentence. It builds awareness of vocabulary and persuasive devices.
Read the piece aloud together. Missing punctuation and clumsy sentences are easier to hear than to see.
Compare your child’s writing with the sample answers by proficiency level to see what the next step looks like.

Marking criteria FAQs

Is NAPLAN writing marked by AI or by people?

By trained human markers, following the same guide and quality checks nationally.

What is a good NAPLAN writing score?

There’s no fixed “good” raw score, because results are converted to the NAPLAN scale and reported as proficiency levels. As a guide, consistently scoring in the middle category or above on most criteria indicates solid writing for the year level. See proficiency levels explained.

Are the criteria different for each year level?

No. The same 10 criteria and marking guides are used for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Older students simply need more sophisticated writing to reach the higher categories.