Excel Test Zone. Get the Results You Want! SAMPLE TEST WRITING

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1 Excel Test Zone Get the Results You Want! NAPLAN*-style YEAR 3 SAMPLE TEST WRITING It was announced in 2013 that the type of text for the 2014 NAPLAN Writing Test will be either persuasive OR narrative. We have included both types of text in this test to help you with your preparation. FIRST NAME LAST NAME CLASS 0 :40 Time available for students to complete the Writing Test: 40 minutes Use 2B or HB pencil only. * This is not an officially endorsed publication of the NAPLAN program and is produced by Pascal Press independently of Australian governments

2 Today you are going to write a persuasive text, often called an exposition. Pupil-free school days Many schools have pupil-free days. These are days, usually the day after a school holiday, when teachers go to school but students do not. What do you think of pupil-free days? Write to convince a reader of your opinions. Before you start writing, give some thought to: whether you strongly agree or disagree with having pupil-free days the way you will present your ideas: clearly list or order your points the reasons or evidence for your arguments your brief but definite conclusion. In your conclusion list some of your main points you may add a personal opinion. Don t forget to: plan your writing before you start write in correctly formed sentences and take particular care with paragraphing choose your words carefully and pay attention to your spelling and punctuation write neatly but don t waste time quickly check your story once you have finished. Your position must be clear to your reader. Remember: the stance taken in a persuasive text is not wrong, as long as the writer has evidence to support his or her opinion. How the opinion is supported is as important as the opinion itself. 2

3 Today you are going to write a narrative or story. Your story will be about a stray. Look at the picture on the right. It might give you an idea. Your story could be about a stray you found or a stray that someone else found. What sort of animal was the stray? Don t just think of mammals. When was the stray animal found? What was done with the stray? How was it helped? Were the owners found? Add a brief description of the stray animal. Your story may be serious or humorous. Your writing will be judged on expression and the structure of your story. Before you start writing, give some thought to: where your story takes place (the setting) the characters and what they do in your story the events that take place in your story and the problems that have to be resolved how your story begins, what happens in your story, and how your story ends. Don t forget to: plan your story before you begin writing write in correctly formed sentences and take care with paragraphing choose your words carefully and pay attention to your spelling and punctuation write neatly but don t waste time quickly check your story once you have finished. 3

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7 Advanced level sample persuasive writing Structure Language and ideas Audience The audience is readily identified (families, pupils, teachers). Background information is provided to give context to the points raised. Brief statements are made, outlining the issue to be discussed. Persuasive techniques Arguments for the writer s reaction are in separate paragraphs. The points raised are obviously important to the writer in a personal way. Evidence and examples are used to support the argument. Objectivity is maintained throughout the writing. Text structure The text contains a wellorganised introduction, body and conclusion. The writer refers regularly to words used in the topic. Paragraphing New paragraphs, with topic sentences, are used for new arguments and the summary. Pupil-free school days Schools are permitted to have several pupil-free days each year. These are usually tacked onto end-of-term school holidays. They are free time for teachers to prepare school work. Should teachers have these extra days at school without pupils? I don t think so! Firstly, why should schools be closed and teachers get extra holidays to prepare their work? You don t see police stations closed down so that police officers can prepare for future crimes. Nowhere else allows a whole building to shut down for a day so that workers can prepare for their work. Surely teachers get enough holidays each year. There are at least ten weeks of holidays for teachers. Ten weeks is more than most other workers get. If teachers have to prepare work all together, why can t they do it on a day when the pupils are on holidays? Pupil-free days are wasted days for students wanting to complete their education. Pupils have to hang around waiting for school to begin. Many students are already bored with holidays. They haven t gone away because their parents still have to work. Some students hang around and get involved in anti-social behaviour. Pupils should be in school, not roaming the streets like feral animals. Pupil-free days can be costly. Parents with young children have to get a babysitter. Many families have both parents working. One parent will take a holiday for the two weeks of school holidays but that usually leaves the extra day at the end. Special arrangements and payments have to be made. Vocabulary A good variety of precise verb types are used to establish strong, informed arguments. Nouns are used to make generalised statements. Adverbs and adjectives are well selected to qualify statements. Sentence structure There is a good variety of sentence beginnings (e.g. Nowhere, Firstly), types and lengths. A topic sentence is used to introduce each paragraph s main idea. Questions and exclamations are used to good effect. Ideas Ideas are well balanced to create a sense of rational, logical argument. A strong simile adds impact. A strong viewpoint is expressed with careful choice of words. Ideas are delivered forcefully. Cohesion The final paragraph refers to the topic and re-establishes how the writer feels. There is a forceful, personal concluding sentence. Schools should not be given pupil-free days. Teachers with long holidays can do their planning during the holidays. They have enough holidays! Pupil-free days cause unwanted extra work, cost and inconvenience for the students families, and are boring for the students. The school days should be used to everyone s advantage, especially the students. Punctuation Punctuation, including apostrophes and full stops, is correctly applied. Spelling There are no spelling mistakes of common or unusual words. Please note that this sample has not been written under test conditions. However, it gives you a standard to aim for. This writing sample has been analysed based on the marking criteria used by markers to assess the NAPLAN Writing Test. 7 Log in to

8 Structure Advanced level sample narrative writing Language and ideas Audience The main character is introduced early in the first short paragraph. The reader can relate to a familiar school situation. Character and setting The reader is quickly told what, who, when and where. The title suggests the subject of the story. The problem (orientation) is introduced early in the writing Toby has to get rid of the dog. Text structure A series of amusing events is related in the order in which they happen. Extra children get involved in a rather frantic effort to chase the dog away. The reader has to read on to find out if Toby succeeds. Paragraphing Paragraphs are used to show different time periods and to show when actual words are spoken (direct speech). Cohesion The story has an obvious beginning, middle and end. The problem is resolved. The ending ties in with the title and beginning (the dog is not a stray without a name). Dog with no name Something was different about our school today. There was a dog near our classroom steps. We don t have dogs at our school. It wagged its tail, but it was not my dog. Hello Dog, I welcomed. What s your name? Is it Scruffy? I shook my head. It wasn t Scruffy. Its coat was brown and shiny. I told my teacher who was at work at her desk. There s a dog near our steps. I don t know its name. Toby, she said, if it s a stray, then chase it away. No dogs at school! I don t want a dog in my classroom. I chased it and chased it. It wouldn t go away. It jumped up and down, and ran under a bush, then panted at me. I was puffing too. I couldn t call it. I didn t know its name. What could I do? I told my teacher. That dog is still in the playground. The dog with no name. If it s a stray, then chase it away, she said again. It wouldn t go for me. I got Bobby. He d know what to do. Bobby said sternly, It should go home. You think his name is Spot? Bobby and I chased it and chased it. It jumped up and down, having fun. It ran across a garden and through Lisa s hopping game. This is not working, Bobby panted. What could we do? We told our teacher. That dog, Miss, just won t go away. If it s a stray, please chase it away, she said. It cannot stay! It wouldn t go for Bobby or me. I had to get Lisa. Is its name Star? she asked with a frown. Lisa, Bobby and I chased it and chased it. It yapped and jumped excitedly around in circles having fun. Then it ran into our classroom! I called my teacher, The dog s in our classroom. That dog s under my desk! Miss stood up, but she didn t smile. That s Rusty. It s not a stray. It s my dog, she gasped. I must take him home, right away! But Rusty just wagged his tail, turned and went. What could I do? I just smiled. Good dog Rusty. That was fun! Vocabulary Adjectives and adverbs are used to enhance the story. Verbs are used imaginatively. A variety of said words are used (e.g. gasped, panted, welcomed), helping with characterisation. Sentence structure A variety of sentence beginnings add interest. A variety of sentence lengths keeps the story flowing. Short sentences create a sense of frantic action. The story is written in the past tense using the first person with a controlled use of I. Ideas Italics are used to emphasise a point. Interesting detail is included (e.g. asked with a frown). Repetition of words and ideas is used to create short bursts of action. Punctuation No errors in punctuation occur. All direct speech is correctly punctuated. Apostrophes and question marks are used correctly. Spelling There are no spelling errors in commonly used words or the more unusual words. Please note that this sample has not been written under test conditions. However, it gives you a standard to aim for. This writing sample has been analysed based on the marking criteria used by markers to assess the NAPLAN Writing Test. Log in to 8