Writing - Composition
KS2EN-Y5-D006
Planning, drafting and editing complex narrative and non-fiction writing with attention to audience, purpose, cohesion, grammar choices and performance.
National Curriculum context
Writing composition in Year 5 consolidates and extends the plan-draft-evaluate-edit cycle established in lower KS2, but applies it to more sophisticated texts and with greater metacognitive demand. Pupils are now expected not only to plan with audience and purpose in mind but to use other writers' work as conscious models, drawing on what they have noticed about how authors develop characters, settings and atmosphere — a bridging move between reading as a consumer and reading as a writer. New compositional demands include précising longer passages (requiring the ability to identify essential information), using a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs (linking adverbials of time, place and number), and integrating dialogue purposefully to convey character and advance action rather than simply punctuating speech. The curriculum also introduces performing compositions with appropriate intonation, volume and movement, foregrounding the oral–written continuum. The non-statutory guidance emphasises that pupils should understand the skills and processes for writing — thinking aloud, drafting, re-reading — suggesting that the writing process itself is explicit curriculum content at this stage.
4
Concepts
3
Clusters
4
Prerequisites
4
With difficulty levels
Lesson Clusters
Plan, draft and write for identified audiences, purposes and forms
introduction CuratedAudience, purpose and form in writing and précis writing are the meta-compositional concepts at upper KS2 — pupils plan explicitly around APF and practise condensive writing as a disciplined planning tool.
Write cohesive multi-paragraph texts linking ideas across sections
practice CuratedCohesive devices and paragraph linking is the single Y5 composition concept addressing text-level coherence — the use of referencing, ellipsis, connectives and lexical chains across paragraphs.
Write narrative with deliberate craft: character, setting, atmosphere and dialogue
practice CuratedNarrative writing: character, setting, atmosphere and dialogue is the upper-KS2 creative writing concept; pupils are expected to make deliberate authorial choices — a qualitative shift from lower-KS2 narrative composition.
Teaching Suggestions (2)
Study units and activities that deliver concepts in this domain.
Narrative: Myth-Inspired Fiction
English Unit Text StudyPedagogical rationale
At Y5, narrative writing moves from retelling to original composition with conscious stylistic choices. Myth-inspired fiction provides a bridge: pupils draw on the structural patterns of myth (quest, challenge, transformation) while developing their own narrative voice and descriptive style. This unit introduces relative clauses and parenthesis as tools for adding detail and complexity to sentences.
Persuasion and Discussion: Balanced Argument
English Unit Discussion and DebatePedagogical rationale
At Y5, discussion writing becomes more analytically demanding. Pupils must move beyond simple for/against to acknowledge complexity, use hedging language (may, could, tends to), and build cohesion across paragraphs. The formal debate component develops the spoken language competence needed for secondary school. Modal verbs and passive voice are statutory Y5 grammar and fit naturally into academic register.
Prerequisites
Concepts from other domains that pupils should know before this domain.
Concepts (4)
Précis writing
skill Guided MaterialsEN-Y5-C024
Précis is the skill of condensing a longer piece of writing into a shorter form while retaining all the essential meaning, in the writer's own words and in a coherent style. It is distinct from note-taking and summary: a précis is a polished, continuous prose piece. At upper KS2 mastery, pupils can identify what is essential, omit what is not, and rewrite in their own words without distorting the original meaning.
Teaching guidance
Begin with short, clearly structured paragraphs and work up to longer extracts. Model the process: read the whole, identify the essential meaning, draft a condensed version, check it against the original. A useful benchmark is reducing text to one-third of its original length. Note that précis is valuable preparation for note-taking in secondary school across all subjects.
Common misconceptions
Pupils often produce a summary that is merely shorter by removing some sentences, rather than a true précis that reconceives the content. They may struggle to distinguish essential meaning from illustrative examples.
Difficulty levels
Rewriting a short paragraph in fewer words while keeping the main meaning, with teacher modelling of the process.
Example task
This paragraph has 40 words. Rewrite it in 20 words or fewer, keeping the main idea: 'The ancient Egyptians believed that when a pharaoh died, their spirit would need their body in the afterlife. For this reason, they developed a process called mummification to preserve the body.'
Model response: The ancient Egyptians mummified pharaohs to preserve their bodies for the afterlife.
Condensing a longer passage by identifying essential information and rewriting in own words, distinguishing between core meaning and illustrative examples.
Example task
Read this 80-word paragraph about the Romans in Britain. Reduce it to about 30 words in your own words.
Model response: The Romans invaded Britain in AD 43 and ruled for nearly 400 years. They built roads, towns and forts, and introduced new laws, language and customs that shaped British life.
Producing a polished precis of a multi-paragraph text that retains all essential meaning in approximately one-third of the original length, written as coherent continuous prose.
Example task
Read this 150-word extract about renewable energy. Write a precis of approximately 50 words that covers all the key points.
Model response: Renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectric power generate electricity without depleting natural resources or producing harmful emissions. Although initial costs are high and output depends on weather conditions, renewable technology is improving rapidly. Many countries are investing heavily in renewables to combat climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Writing a precis that not only condenses content but preserves the argument structure and tone of the original, demonstrating critical judgement about what constitutes essential versus peripheral information.
Example task
Read this 200-word persuasive text arguing that all children should learn to cook. Write a precis of about 65 words that preserves the argument structure (claim, evidence, counterargument, conclusion).
Model response: The author argues that cooking should be compulsory in schools because it promotes healthy eating, builds life skills and connects to science and mathematics. Research cited shows children who cook at home eat more vegetables. Critics suggest time constraints make this impractical, but the author counters that cooking integrates multiple curriculum areas. The conclusion asserts that the long-term health benefits justify the investment.
Delivery rationale
Composition concept — writing process benefits from adult modelling and feedback using structured materials.
Cohesive devices and paragraph linking
skill Guided MaterialsEN-Y5-C025
Cohesive devices are words and phrases that connect ideas within and across paragraphs, creating a coherent, unified text. At Year 5, these include devices within paragraphs (then, after that, this, firstly) and linking adverbials across paragraphs referring to time (later), place (nearby) and number (secondly), as well as tense choices that signal temporal relationships. Mastery means pupils deploy a wide range of these devices deliberately and appropriately.
Teaching guidance
Teach cohesive devices as a repertoire organised by function: time, place, number, addition, contrast, consequence, example. Model how to vary devices to avoid repetition. Annotate published writing to identify how professional writers achieve cohesion. In editing sessions, specifically target cohesion as a revision focus.
Common misconceptions
Pupils often overuse 'then' and 'next' as the only cohesive devices they know. Some pupils insert cohesive devices mechanically without ensuring they accurately reflect the logical relationship between ideas (e.g., using 'however' where 'therefore' is needed).
Difficulty levels
Using basic time connectives (then, next, after that) to link ideas within a paragraph.
Example task
Rewrite these three sentences as one paragraph, adding words to link them together: 'We arrived at the museum. We bought our tickets. We went into the dinosaur gallery.'
Model response: We arrived at the museum and first we bought our tickets. After that, we went into the dinosaur gallery.
Using a range of cohesive devices within paragraphs (then, after that, this, firstly) and beginning to link paragraphs using adverbials of time, place or number.
Example task
Write two paragraphs about a school trip. Use at least three different cohesive devices, including one that links the two paragraphs together.
Model response: First, we boarded the coach at 9 o'clock. During the journey, Mr Harris explained what we would see at the castle. Meanwhile, everyone was too excited to sit still. Later that morning, we arrived at the castle gates. The ancient walls towered above us. Inside the courtyard, a guide was waiting to take us on a tour.
Deploying a wide range of cohesive devices deliberately and appropriately, organised by function (time, place, number, addition, contrast, consequence), to build coherent, well-structured texts.
Example task
Write a non-fiction explanation of how a river changes from source to mouth. Use cohesive devices to link your paragraphs, choosing devices that reflect the logical relationship between ideas (not just time order).
Model response: A river begins as a small stream high in the mountains, fed by rainfall and melting snow. At this stage, the water flows quickly downhill, cutting a narrow V-shaped valley into the rock. As a result, the river carries loose stones and sediment downstream. Further along its course, the river widens and slows. Consequently, it begins to deposit some of the sediment it has been carrying, forming flat flood plains on either side. In contrast to the steep upper valley, the landscape here is gentle and low-lying. Finally, the river reaches the sea at its mouth, where the remaining sediment is deposited to form a delta or estuary.
Using cohesive devices with subtlety and variety, including pronoun references, synonyms, and tense choices as well as adverbials, to create seamless, professional-sounding prose.
Example task
Read your own extended writing from last week. Identify three places where cohesion could be improved. Rewrite those sections and explain what you changed and why.
Model response: Original: 'The Vikings invaded Britain. The Vikings came from Scandinavia. The Vikings wanted land and treasure.' Revised: 'The Vikings invaded Britain in the 8th century. These Scandinavian warriors were driven by a desire for new land and treasure.' I replaced the repeated noun 'The Vikings' with the pronoun reference 'These Scandinavian warriors', which avoids repetition while adding information. I also combined the three short sentences into two, using the cohesive device 'driven by' to show the cause-and-effect relationship between where they came from and why they invaded.
Delivery rationale
Composition concept — writing process benefits from adult modelling and feedback using structured materials.
Audience, purpose and form in writing
process Guided MaterialsEN-Y5-C026
At upper KS2, pupils plan writing by explicitly identifying the intended audience, the purpose of the writing and the most appropriate form to achieve that purpose, selecting from a range of text types used as models. Mastery means pupils make conscious choices about form and language that reflect genuine awareness of audience and purpose, not simply genre conventions applied mechanically.
Teaching guidance
Before all extended writing tasks, require pupils to articulate audience and purpose explicitly: Who is this for? What is it trying to do? What form is most appropriate? Provide model texts for each form studied. Return to audience and purpose when evaluating and editing — 'Does this achieve its purpose for its audience?'
Common misconceptions
Pupils often treat 'audience' as a mechanical box to tick rather than a genuine influence on their writing choices. They may choose form based on what they find easiest rather than what is most effective for the purpose.
Difficulty levels
Identifying who a piece of writing is for and what it is trying to do when given clear examples.
Example task
Look at these two texts: a letter to a friend and a letter to the headteacher. Who is the audience for each? What is the purpose of each?
Model response: The letter to a friend is for someone I know well. Its purpose is to share news in a chatty way. The letter to the headteacher is for an adult in authority. Its purpose is to request something politely.
Identifying audience, purpose and form before writing, and making some deliberate language choices that reflect this awareness.
Example task
You need to write about why your school should get a new playground. Your teacher gives you two options: a persuasive letter to the local council, or a poster for the school noticeboard. Which form would you choose and why? How would the language differ?
Model response: I would choose the letter to the council because it can include detailed arguments. The language would be formal and polite because I am writing to adults in authority. I would use phrases like 'I am writing to request' and give evidence for my points. A poster would need to be short, eye-catching and use simpler language because it is for a quick glance, not a careful read.
Consistently identifying audience, purpose and form before writing, selecting appropriate forms using other writing as models, and making conscious language and structural choices throughout the writing process.
Example task
Write the opening paragraph of a newspaper report about a local event AND the opening of a diary entry about the same event. Explain how audience and purpose changed your choices.
Model response: Newspaper: 'Hundreds of residents gathered in Victoria Park on Saturday for the annual Summer Fair, which raised over two thousand pounds for the local hospital.' Diary: 'What an amazing day! The Summer Fair was brilliant. Mum let me go on the bouncy castle three times and I won a goldfish.' In the newspaper report I used third person, formal language and the most important fact first because the audience is the general public and the purpose is to inform. In the diary I used first person, informal language and personal feelings because the audience is myself and the purpose is to record my experience.
Adapting writing flexibly for different audiences and purposes within the same piece, and evaluating how published writers make audience and purpose choices.
Example task
A charity wants to raise money for clean water in developing countries. They need three texts: a fundraising letter to parents, a fact sheet for children, and a social media post. Write the opening of each and explain how you adapted your choices.
Model response: Parent letter: 'Dear Parent/Carer, Every child deserves access to clean drinking water. Your donation of just five pounds could provide safe water for a family for a month.' Child fact sheet: 'Did you know? 1 in 10 people around the world do not have clean water to drink. That is like 3 children in every class having no safe water at home.' Social media: 'Clean water changes everything. Five pounds. One family. One month. Donate now.' Each adapts to its audience: formal and emotional for parents, accessible and relatable for children, punchy and shareable for social media. The purpose is the same (fundraising) but the form, register and techniques change completely.
Delivery rationale
Composition concept — writing process benefits from adult modelling and feedback using structured materials.
Narrative writing: character, setting, atmosphere and dialogue
skill Guided MaterialsEN-Y5-C027
In narrative writing at upper KS2, pupils are expected to describe settings, characters and atmosphere with deliberate craft, and to integrate dialogue in ways that convey character and advance the action — not simply punctuate speech correctly. Mastery means pupils make authorial choices about how and when to use description and dialogue for effect, drawing on their knowledge of how authors work.
Teaching guidance
Read extracts specifically for the techniques authors use to build atmosphere and character. Teach the distinction between describing a character and revealing character through action and dialogue. Model integrating dialogue into narrative smoothly rather than as isolated exchanges. Practise writing the same scene using different combinations of description, action and dialogue to explore the effects.
Common misconceptions
Pupils often write dialogue in isolated chunks rather than integrating it with action and description. They may describe characters' emotions directly ('she felt sad') rather than conveying emotion through behaviour, action or dialogue ('she turned away and said nothing').
Difficulty levels
Writing a simple narrative with a character, a setting and a basic sequence of events, including some dialogue with correct punctuation.
Example task
Write the opening of a story set in a forest. Include a character, describe the setting, and write at least two lines of dialogue.
Model response: The forest was dark and quiet. Liam walked slowly along the path, looking at the tall trees. 'I think we are lost,' he said to his sister. 'No we are not,' she replied. 'The map says we go left.'
Writing narratives that use description to build atmosphere and character, and integrating dialogue with action rather than presenting it in isolation.
Example task
Rewrite this flat narrative to create atmosphere: 'It was night. The house was old. Sarah went inside. She was scared.'
Model response: The last sliver of daylight disappeared behind the rooftops as Sarah stood before the house. Its windows stared back at her like hollow eyes. She pushed the door and it groaned open. Inside, the air smelled of dust and something older. Sarah's hand trembled on the doorframe.
Writing narratives that deliberately build character, setting and atmosphere through carefully chosen description and dialogue, integrating dialogue to convey character and advance action.
Example task
Write a scene where two characters disagree about something. Use dialogue to show their different personalities and use description to create the atmosphere. Do not tell the reader how the characters feel; show it through what they say and do.
Model response: 'We should turn back,' whispered Priya, pulling her coat tighter around her shoulders. The rain hammered against the windows of the abandoned station. Marcus did not look up from the map. 'We have come too far to give up now,' he said, tracing a line with his finger. 'The bridge is only half a mile from here.' Priya stared at the dark shapes of the trees outside. A branch scraped across the glass like fingernails on a blackboard. 'Half a mile in that?' she said. Marcus folded the map with a sharp snap. 'Stay here if you want. I am going.'
Making deliberate authorial choices about how and when to use description, action and dialogue for maximum effect, drawing on techniques observed in published authors.
Example task
Write the same short scene twice: first, telling the story mainly through dialogue; second, telling it mainly through description and action with very little dialogue. Explain which version works better and why.
Model response: Version 1 (dialogue): 'They have taken the bridge,' gasped Leo. 'What do we do now?' Ava did not answer immediately. 'We swim,' she said. Version 2 (description): Leo stopped at the riverbank. Where the bridge had been, there was nothing but broken timber and churning water. He looked at Ava. She looked at the river. Then she began to take off her shoes. Both versions tell the same story but create different effects. Version 1 is faster and more dramatic because the dialogue drives the pace. Version 2 builds more tension because the reader has to infer what Ava is thinking. I think Version 2 is stronger here because the silence is more powerful than words.
Delivery rationale
Composition concept — writing process benefits from adult modelling and feedback using structured materials.