For persuasive writing, students need to establish a clear position and develop arguments logically. Each paragraph should contribute to the overall purpose rather than simply adding another point.

For narrative writing, the focus shifts towards purposeful storytelling. Characters, setting, events and language should work together to create a coherent and engaging response.

Across both forms, students should pay attention to:

Ideas

Are the ideas relevant, developed and sufficiently detailed?

Structure

Does the response have a logical beginning, progression and conclusion?

Vocabulary

Are words selected accurately and appropriately rather than simply being “fancy”?

Cohesion

Do sentences and paragraphs connect naturally?

Sentence control

Are sentence structures varied, accurate and purposeful?

Audience and purpose

Does the writing suit the task and intended reader?

A useful way to improve writing is to analyse a response against these criteria rather than simply giving it a numerical score.

Ask your child to identify one strength and two specific improvement opportunities.

Then rewrite a paragraph incorporating the feedback.

This creates a feedback loop where students learn how to improve their writing rather than simply receiving a mark.

The strongest exam preparation therefore combines regular writing, explicit instruction, targeted feedback and repeated opportunities to revise.

A top-band response is ultimately the result of controlled communication, not vocabulary complexity alone.