NAPLAN Writing Prompts for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9

The NAPLAN writing task looks simple: one prompt, one page, one timed session. That simplicity is exactly what makes it hard. Students get a single stimulus and have to plan, draft and edit a complete piece in roughly 40 minutes — with no second prompt to fall back on if the first one doesn't click.

The most useful preparation isn't drilling grammar worksheets in isolation. It's giving students repeated, low-stakes practice with realistic prompts so the format stops being a surprise. This page gives you a ready-made bank of persuasive and narrative prompts, a plain-English summary of how the piece is marked, and a routine you can run in a single lesson.

NAPLAN (the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy, run by ACARA) is held each year in March. The writing test uses one nationwide genre per sitting — either persuasive or narrative — and every student in a year level responds to the same prompt. Because the genre isn't announced in advance, students need to be ready for both.

• Persuasive prompts give a statement or topic (for example, "Homework should be banned") and ask the student to argue a position.
• Narrative prompts give a word, picture or short idea (for example, "Lost") and ask the student to tell a story.

Markers use a rubric of ten criteria: audience, text structure, ideas, persuasive devices (or character and setting for narratives), vocabulary, cohesion, paragraphing, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling. Knowing those criteria changes how you coach — a strong piece needs a clear structure and developed ideas, not just correct spelling.

Persuasive prompts work best when every student has an opinion within reach. These topics are deliberately broad and school-relevant. Ask students to pick a side, give at least three reasons, and address the other side once before their conclusion.

1. Homework should be banned in primary school. Do you agree or disagree?
2. Every student should learn to play a musical instrument. Convince your principal.
3. The school week should be four days long, not five. Argue your case.
4. School canteens should only be allowed to sell healthy food. What do you think?
5. Zoos do more good than harm. Persuade your reader.
6. Students spend too much time on screens. Do you agree?
7. All schools should have a garden that students help run. Make your argument.
8. Sport should be a compulsory subject every year. Convince the reader you are right.

Each of these can be reused across year levels — a Year 3 student writes three short reasons, while a Year 9 student weighs evidence and counter-arguments.

NAPLAN narrative stimuli are usually short — a single word or image — so students have room to invent. Coach them to plan a simple shape first: a character who wants something, a problem, and a resolution. These eight open prompts do the same job:

1. "Lost" — tell the story of someone or something that goes missing.
2. "The door that was always locked."
3. "A surprise in the letterbox."
4. "The last one left."
5. "When everything changed."
6. "The storm."
7. "The map no one could read."
8. "Trapped."

Remind students that a NAPLAN narrative doesn't need a huge plot. One clear problem, one main character and a satisfying ending will out-score a rambling adventure with ten events and no shape.