Year 5 Writing Tips & Strategies
Practical strategies to help Year 5 students score higher in both Narrative and Persuasive writing.
Don't start typing immediately!
You have 5 minutes to plan. Use the scratch paper provided (or the built-in digital planner) to map out your ideas. For a story, sketch a quick "Story Mountain" (Beginning, Build-up, Climax, Resolution). For an argument, list your 3 strong reasons. A good plan prevents "writer's block" halfway through.
Speed matters in the online test.
Year 5 is the first year you type your story. If you hunt-and-peck, you might run out of time. Practice typing without looking at your hands. Aim to write at least 200-300 words in 30 minutes.
Make your reader feel like they are there.
Instead of saying "The boy was scared," try "His heart pounded like a drum and his palms began to sweat."Sensory details (what you see, hear, smell) get higher marks for Vocabulary and Ideas.
Sound confident in your argument.
Avoid weak words like "I think", "maybe", or "might". Use High Modality words like "certainly", "must", "essential", and "undoubtedly"."We must ban homework" is stronger than "I think we should stop homework."
Two Secret Weapons for High Marks
Every great story needs ups and downs to keep the reader interested. Use this simple 5-step path:
- 1
Introduction
Set the scene. Who is there? Where are they?
- 2
Build-up
Hints of a problem. Tension starts to rise.
- 3
Climax
The BIG problem! The most exciting part.
- 4
Resolution
The problem is solved (or not). Things calm down.
- 5
Ending
A reflection or a new beginning.
To win an argument, you need to prove your point. Use the CER structure for every body paragraph:
Claim (Statement)
State your main point clearly.
"Homework causes too much stress."
Evidence (Proof)
Give facts, statistics, or examples.
"Studies show students sleep 1 hour less."
Reasoning (Explain)
Link the evidence back to your claim.
"This lack of sleep harms their health."
Pro Tip: Repeat this C-E-R loop for each of your 3 main arguments!
Read the complete CER guideMore Paragraph Structures
Different schools teach different frameworks. Explore these detailed guides to find what works best for you.
The 5-Minute Editing Checklist
When the timer shows 5 minutes left, STOP writing new content and START checking.
- Punctuation: Did I start every sentence with a capital letter? Did I end with a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark?
- Spelling: Read backwards from the end to catch spelling mistakes easier.
- Paragraphs: Did I skip a line between ideas? (It makes it much easier for the marker to read!)