In ASET writing, spelling and grammar have little impact, as long as the work is readable, so fix what stops a reader. Children in Year 5 now sit it on 6 March 2027 in Perth, Bunbury and Albany.
Each "after" fixes the slips that make a piece hard to follow and leaves the tiny ones alone. Each shows the "before", the "after" and why it reads better. Read the "before" aloud together exactly as it's written, then talk through what the "after" fixes.
Worked explanation 1
‘The surprise in the letterbox.’
‘The surprise in the letterbox.’
i opend the letterbox and their was a parsel it was for me i didnt no who sent it i rippd it open and it was a book
I opened the letterbox and there was a parcel. It was for me! I didn't know who had sent it, so I ripped it open. Inside was a book.
In this test, spelling slips cost little as long as the writing can be read. The bigger problem in the first version is that it never stops, so the reader has to work out where each idea ends. Capital letters and full stops in the right places make it easy to follow. Readable and clear is the goal, not perfect.
Worked explanation 2
‘Don't open that yet.’
‘Don't open that yet.’
dont open that yet said Mum I want to see your face when you do but I already opened it I said sorry
‘Don't open that yet!’ said Mum. ‘I want to see your face when you do.’
‘Too late,’ I said, holding up the torn paper. ‘Sorry.’
When two people speak, the reader needs to know who is talking. The first version runs both speakers together, so it is confusing. In the second, speech marks and a new line for each speaker make the conversation clear. Markers here are not counting commas; they need the writing to be easy to follow.
Worked explanation 3
‘The bus driver's last day.’
‘The bus driver's last day.’
The bus driver starts her last shift. She waved to Mrs Lin and remembers all the children she had driven to school. Tomorrow someone new will drive her bus and she felt sad but also she is proud.
The bus driver starts her last shift. She waves to Mrs Lin and remembers every child she has driven to school. Tomorrow someone new will drive her bus. She feels sad, but underneath the sadness, she is proud.
The first version keeps switching between present ('starts') and past ('waved', 'felt'), so the reader loses their place in time. The second stays in the present and splits the long last sentence in two. Spelling and grammar have little effect on the score if the writing is readable, but slips this frequent make a piece harder to follow.
How should my child approach it?
Aim for readable, not perfect, because that's where the handbook draws the line. Spelling and grammar aren't among the marking criteria, which look at the prompt, the ideas and how they're written.
The piece is handwritten, and it comes straight after Reading Comprehension.
So minutes spent polishing a spelling are minutes taken from the idea. Accuracy still matters once slips stop a reader following the piece, and our checks below catch those.
Mark where sentences end
A capital letter at the start and a full stop at the end tell the reader where each idea finishes. Check this before worrying about spelling.
Give each speaker a new line
Speech marks and a new line for each speaker show who is talking.
Stay in one tense
Pick past or present and keep to it, so the reader doesn't lose their place in time.
Reread for sense
In the last minutes, fix anything a stranger couldn't follow. Neatness isn't the aim.
The slip to check for is one that changes how the piece reads, not how it looks. When you go through your child's writing, look for these before you circle a single misspelt word.
Writing that never stops. The letterbox example has spelling slips, but the bigger problem is that it has no full stops, so the ideas run together.
Speakers run together. In the "Don't open that yet" example, two voices on one line are confusing until each gets its own line and speech marks.
Switching tense. The bus driver example jumps between "starts" and "waved"; slips this frequent make a piece harder to follow.
How can we practise it at home?
These examples fix someone else's slips. Practice test 1 shows whether your child avoids them in a fresh piece written against the clock, in 25 minutes. It's free and includes the writing test.
At home, a few minutes of these does the job without a worksheet:
Read your child's writing aloud exactly as written, pauses and all. Missing full stops show up fast.
Copy out a short conversation from a book and notice where the speech marks and new lines go.
Rewrite a paragraph from past to present tense, or the other way round.
Spend less time on spelling lists for this test and more on rereading for sense, since spelling counts for little if the work is readable.
