In Year 3 NAPLAN, your child has 40 minutes to handwrite one piece of writing on paper. It's either a narrative (a story) or a persuasive text (an argument), and they won't know which until they see the task on 10 March 2027. It's the only NAPLAN test that Year 3 students still do on paper.
The good news: at Year 3, most marks come from a few basic habits that you can practise at home.
What the task looks like
Your child gets a stimulus sheet with a topic, some pictures or ideas, and instructions. A narrative task might ask them to write a story about finding a mysterious box. A persuasive task might ask whether children should have homework.
The task is read aloud by the teacher, and your child writes in a booklet. They can plan on a separate page.
How it's marked
Every NAPLAN writing script is marked against 10 criteria. Nine are the same for narrative and persuasive writing; the fourth changes.
| # | Criterion | What markers look for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audience | Does the writing engage the reader? |
| 2 | Text structure | Clear beginning, middle and end (narrative), or introduction, body and conclusion (persuasive) |
| 3 | Ideas | Interesting, relevant, developed ideas |
| 4 | Character and setting (narrative) or persuasive devices (persuasive) | Believable characters and places, or techniques that persuade |
| 5 | Vocabulary | Precise, interesting words |
| 6 | Cohesion | Ideas link together; words like "then", "however", "because" |
| 7 | Paragraphing | Ideas grouped into paragraphs |
| 8 | Sentence structure | Complete, varied sentences |
| 9 | Punctuation | Correct punctuation that helps reading (scored 0 to 5) |
| 10 | Spelling | Accuracy, and the difficulty of words attempted (scored 0 to 6) |
Notice that four criteria (paragraphing, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling) are about technical control. A Year 3 student who writes a simple story with clear paragraphs, full stops and capital letters can score well even with a fairly ordinary idea.
The four habits that matter most at Year 3
- Finish the piece. An unfinished story loses marks for structure. Teach your child to keep an ending in mind and to start wrapping up with about 8 minutes left.
- Use paragraphs. Even three paragraphs (beginning, middle, end) is a big step up from one block of text. Leave a line or indent for each new one.
- Full stops and capitals. Many Year 3 scripts are one long sentence joined with "and then". Short, complete sentences score better.
- Try ambitious words. The spelling criterion rewards attempting harder words. "Enormous" spelt slightly wrong can earn more credit than "big" spelt right.
A simple plan your child can use
Spend 5 minutes planning, 30 minutes writing and 5 minutes checking.
For a story:
- Beginning: who, where, when. One sentence on how the character feels.
- Middle: a problem, and two things that happen because of it.
- End: how the problem is solved and how the character feels now.
For an argument:
- Introduction: say what you think. "I believe children should..."
- Reason 1 with an example.
- Reason 2 with an example.
- Conclusion: say it again in a new way and tell the reader what to do.
In NAPLAN persuasive writing, it's fine to use "I believe" and to speak to the reader as "you". Those are often discouraged in later school essays, but NAPLAN rewards a direct, personal voice.
How to practise at home
- One piece a week from January. Handwritten, timed at 40 minutes.
- Alternate narrative and persuasive.
- Give one piece of feedback, not ten. "Next time, start a new paragraph when something changes" is more useful than a page of red pen.
- Read the piece aloud together. Children hear missing full stops when they read their own writing out loud.
Our guide to marking your child's timed writing shows a quick way to count and sort errors, and our NAPLAN writing prompts give you topics to practise with. For the difference between the two text types, see narrative vs persuasive writing.
Our Year 3 NAPLAN practice bundle includes four writing tasks alongside full reading, conventions and numeracy tests. For the whole picture, read our Year 3 NAPLAN guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Year 3 NAPLAN writing on paper? Yes. Year 3 writing is handwritten; all other Year 3 tests are online.
How long is the Year 3 writing test? 40 minutes.
Will my child know if it's narrative or persuasive? No. The text type is revealed on the day, so practise both.
Does handwriting neatness count? Not directly, but markers need to be able to read it. Clear, readable handwriting is enough.
Sources: NAPLAN writing narrative and persuasive marking guides (ACARA); NAPLAN writing test FAQ (nap.edu.au); National Assessment Program key dates.