Writing is 25% of the Selective test: one typed task, marked by people on ideas, purpose and language. Children in Year 5 now sit it on 13–14 May 2027.
One writing task, set by the Department and typed on a computer. It comes last in the day, so your child writes after three other sections, with a tired head and a clock running.
Handwriting doesn't count, but typing speed does: a slow typist runs out of time before running out of ideas. If your child types slowly, a few minutes of typing practice each week is the cheapest gain on this page.
Part
The Department's rule
The task
1 task, 30 minutes
Who sits it
Children sit it in Year 6
Share of the result
25%, one of 4 sections
When
In the Department's example timetable, the last section of the day
How it's written
Children plan on paper or on screen, then type, on computers provided by the Department
By people, against the Department's criteria: ideas, purpose and audience, language for effect. Structure, grammar and spelling count too, but a neat piece with a thin idea won't score well, and writing that misses the topic is marked lower however fluent it is.
The practice papers say the task shows how well a child can select, develop and organise ideas and communicate them effectively. So when you read a practice piece, ask first "does it answer the prompt, for this reader?" and only then look at the spelling.
What the Department publishes
What it doesn't
The criteria
A marking scale: Not published
What else counts: structure, grammar, punctuation, style and vocabulary; markers look at grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary
A word count: Not published
2 examiners per response; if their scores differ, a third marker re-marks it
A list of text types: Not published
The report shows one band for Writing, as for every section: Top 10% · next 15% · next 25% · lowest 50%. No scores or ranks are given. So a practice mark from any tutor, book or app is a practice mark, not a prediction.
Any form, as far as families can know: the list of text types is not published. The Department's three practice tasks each asked for a different one, and none asked for a story or a persuasive piece.
That doesn't mean those won't come up. It means a child who can write only one form is taking a risk. Practise across purposes: to persuade (a speech, a letter), to tell (a story, a diary entry), to inform or advise (a report, an advice sheet) and to reflect.
Department practice task
The form it asked for
What else it gave
First practice test
an advice sheet
A situation and a reader to write for
Second practice test
a newspaper report
a list of ideas the report could include
Third practice test
a diary entry
a sentence to start the diary, and ideas it could include
Plan first, then write to the plan. The Department's papers tell children to think first about what to say, and how organisation and layout help the message. A short plan is what stops a piece drifting off the topic halfway through.
Read the task twice
Underline the form, the reader and the purpose. A report and a story about the same event need different plans.
Choose one idea
Pick the idea your child can write most about, and check it answers this exact prompt.
Jot a plan in a few words
One line for the opening, one for each middle part, one for the ending.
Write, then read it back
Follow the plan, and save the last few minutes to fix spelling, missing words and the ending.
Two prompts from our public sample set: a story that must start with a given line, and a speech for a class speech day. Each one shows what good looks like, a worked plan and a model opening.
Worked explanation 1
The Lighthouse Wakes
Begin your story with this line:
The lighthouse on Gull Point had been dark for forty years, so when its lamp blinked on one Tuesday night, the whole town came down to the harbour to stare.
Who, or what, switched the light back on, and why? Your story can be realistic or imaginative, but it must start with the line above.
Write a story that begins with the line above.
explain who switched on the lamp and why it matters now
show one character who goes closer while everyone else just watches
end with how the town, or one person in it, is changed
30
It copies the given first line exactly and makes the rest of the story answer the question that line raises.
It follows one character who acts, rather than describing a whole crowd that only watches.
It builds to one tense moment at the lighthouse and ends with a clear change.
Form: story (narrative). Audience: a reader who enjoys a mystery. Purpose: to entertain and make the reader wonder.
Plan (5 minutes)
Copy the given line exactly as the first sentence.
Choose one main character with a reason to care about the lighthouse (a grandchild of the last keeper, a new kid in town).
Problem: the light means something (a message, a warning, a mystery) and the character must reach it.
Climax inside the lighthouse: one tense moment, slowed down.
Resolution that answers the question the first line raises.
Language moves: contrast the crowd's noise with the silence inside the tower; use one sharp sensory detail (salt-crusted rails, the beam sweeping across faces) instead of a string of adjectives.
What markers look for: ideas that grow from the given line rather than a story learnt by heart, a clear beginning, problem and ending, varied sentences and precise words, and correctly punctuated speech.
The lighthouse on Gull Point had been dark for forty years, so when its lamp blinked on one Tuesday night, the whole town came down to the harbour to stare. I stood at the very end of the jetty, pyjama pants tucked into my gumboots, and counted. Three long flashes. One short. Three long again. The adults muttered about faulty wiring, but I wasn't listening. Pop had tapped that same pattern on the kitchen table every morning of my life.
The opening keeps the given line, then narrows from the whole town to one child at the end of the jetty, which gives the reader someone to follow. It also plants a mystery with a concrete clue: the flash pattern Pop tapped on the table every morning. Short fragments ("Three long flashes. One short.") slow the moment down and make the reader count along.
Worked explanation 2
Keep Going or Let Go?
"Practice makes perfect." (a well-known saying)
Many children start an activity such as piano, swimming squad or a language class, and after a while they want to stop. Some adults say children should keep going, because skills take years to build. Others say children should be free to quit and try something new. Your class is holding a speech day on this question.
Write a speech for your class arguing whether children should have to keep going with an activity after they want to give up.
open with a question, a short story or a surprising idea to win your audience's attention
give two or three reasons, each with an example your classmates will recognise
finish with a line your audience will remember
30
It sounds like a speech, with a greeting, direct address to the audience and a strong final line.
It takes a clear position on whether children should keep going, rather than saying it depends.
It backs each reason with an example classmates would recognise.
Form: speech. Audience: classmates and a teacher who will hear it, not read it. Purpose: to persuade them to your view.
Plan (5 minutes)
Greeting and a hook: a question, a quick story or a bold claim.
Your position in one clear sentence. Use the saying, or argue with it.
Two reasons, each with an example your classmates know (a music exam, a swimming carnival, a friend who quit).
Answer the other side in a sentence or two.
A short conclusion with a memorable final line.
Language moves: speak directly to the audience with "you" and "we" and the occasional question; use a pattern of three or a repeated phrase that listeners will remember.
What markers look for: writing that sounds like a speech (a greeting, a spoken style, a strong close), a position that stays clear, reasons that build, lively but precise vocabulary, and correct sentences and punctuation.
Good morning, everyone. Hands up if you have ever begged to quit something. Now keep your hand up if, years later, you were glad you didn't. "Practice makes perfect," the saying goes, but I would change one word: practice makes possible. Today I will argue that children should keep going with an activity for at least one full year, because the hardest part of learning anything is the part just before it starts to get good.
The opening involves the audience at once: two quick "hands up" questions make listeners take part before the argument begins. It then plays with the given saying, changing "perfect" to "possible", which shows the writer is thinking about the stimulus rather than just quoting it. The position follows in one clear sentence, with a reason attached.
Five forms, each with its own page: what markers look for, a plan, worked prompts and the common traps. Start with the form your child finds hardest, since any of them can be set.
From one moment to what it taught you, and what you'll do next.
Here is a preview from the story lesson, on showing rather than telling. The full lesson adds dialogue that works and a balance of action and detail.
Writing a Great Story (lesson preview)
A short preview from the SelectiveReady lesson “Writing a Great Story”, on narrative writing for the NSW Selective test.
Published:
Read the video transcript
Instead of just telling us the room was scary, show us the flickering lights, the peeling wallpaper, that shadow lurking in the corner, you're literally painting a picture with words. Look, great dialogue is never, ever just small talk. Every character should have a unique voice that totally reflects their personality. And their words, they have to do double duty. They have to reveal who they are while pushing the plot forward at the same time. And this is where balance becomes absolutely crucial. A story that's all description is like a beautifully painted rollercoaster that just never moves. And a story that's all dialogue, it's like a super fast ride, but in a completely dark tunnel. You feel the speed, but you can't see a thing. You need both. You need the scenery and you need the speed to create that complete experience.
How should my child practise writing?
Little and often, across many forms. One short piece a week, talked through, builds more than a long one every month. Type most pieces with spell-check off, and now and then write to the full clock after a busy day.
Watch for these three habits when you read a piece back. Each has a simple fix.
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Writing well about the wrong thing: check each paragraph against the prompt's words.
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A memorised piece bent to fit: practise the shape of each form, not whole pieces.
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No ending when time runs out: plan the ending first and leave time for it.
Practice test 1 is a full Selective test, one full practice test with results, with a free account, and there's AI writing feedback on the free practice test's writing task. It is automated AI feedback, not a Department mark, and it can be wrong or miss things, so read the piece yourself too.
What to use
What it gives you
Practice test 1
The writing task at the real time, with feedback; then drills by section and topic; a free account drills the free test's questions, and a paid plan opens the rest
The Department's online practice
The real screen
The Department's PDF papers
3 sets; for Writing, a sample question only; older paper-based versions
Real tasks from the computer test
Not released; whether they will be is not published
Keep it in proportion. The Department says a small amount of preparation is enough and coaching is not necessary.
The Department gives no word count. Beside its sample question, it says a response needs to be no more than 2 pages. A finished, planned piece beats a long one without an ending.
Can my child use spell-check or a dictionary?
No dictionary is allowed , and markers look at spelling. Practise with spell-check turned off.
Will the task be persuasive or a story?
No one outside the Department knows. The list of text types is not published, so prepare for any form.
Can AI mark my child's writing reliably?
Treat any AI feedback as a second opinion, ours included. Neither it nor any other practice mark predicts a band, and the Department publishes no scale to compare with.
