NAPLAN Practice – Writing
Year 5 Worksheet
Engaging narrative and persuasive writing prompts in the style of NAPLAN. Includes planning space and clear success criteria so students can practise the full writing process under test-like conditions.
Download Free PDFQuick Facts
About this worksheet
This free printable NAPLAN-style Writing worksheet gives Year 5 students authentic practice with the writing task format. Students receive a stimulus and are guided to plan, write and review a complete narrative or persuasive text within a realistic time frame.
Ideal for classroom writing lessons, timed practice, or parent-supported home revision.
Learning Intention
Students will plan, create and edit a sustained written text (narrative or persuasive) that demonstrates clear structure, appropriate language features and careful attention to the NAPLAN writing criteria.
Australian Curriculum V9 Alignment
- AC9E5LY06 – Plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive, developing ideas using visual features, text structure, text connectives, expanded noun groups, specialist vocabulary and punctuation including dialogue punctuation
- AC9E5LA05 – Understand complex sentence structure
- AC9E5LA06 – Expand noun groups for fuller description
- Supports the Literacy general capability (Creating texts, Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling)
Skills Practised
- Planning and organising ideas
- Writing engaging openings and effective endings
- Developing characters, setting or persuasive arguments
- Using paragraphs and text connectives
- Applying sophisticated vocabulary and sentence variety
- Editing for spelling, punctuation and clarity
How to use this worksheet
- Introduce the prompt and discuss the purpose (narrative or persuasive).
- Allow 5–10 minutes for planning using the provided space.
- Students write for approximately 30 minutes.
- Reserve a few minutes at the end for editing and proofreading.
- Share strong examples and discuss against the NAPLAN marking criteria (audience, text structure, ideas, vocabulary, cohesion, paragraphing, sentence structure, punctuation, spelling).
Differentiation
Support: Provide sentence starters, a word bank, or a simplified planning scaffold. Allow extra time or a scribe if needed.
Extension: Challenge students to include specific literary devices or a counter-argument, or to write a second draft improving one criterion.
EAL/D: Pre-teach key vocabulary related to the prompt and allow oral rehearsal before writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the real NAPLAN writing task be narrative or persuasive?
ACARA announces the genre (narrative or persuasive) closer to the test window each year. Practising both is the best preparation.
How long should students write for?
The official NAPLAN Writing test allows 40 minutes total (including planning and editing). This worksheet is designed around that timing.
Can I use this for assessment?
Yes. It works well as a formative assessment piece or as practice before a summative writing task.