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Progression In Writing

Pre-Expected Standard

Composition and purpose Organisation and style Technical aspects
  • Write their own name and a few other simple words correctly from memory
  • Copy letter forms, e.g. labels and/or captions for pictures or for displays.
  • Differentiate between letters and symbols
  • Produce letters and words relating to familiar objects and own name
  • Attempts to write short sentences in meaningful contexts
  • Think about and discuss what they are going to write
  • Continue a rhyming string
  • Communicate & present ideas pictorially on screen
  • Think about & say what they are going to write
  • Begin to be aware of story language and structure
  • Uses some conventions of print e.g. left to right & top to bottom
  • Leaves spaces between words and/or groups of letters
  • Can segment the sounds in simple words and blend together
  • Link sounds to letters, naming and sounding the letters of the alphabet
  • Know initial phoneme in own name
  • Upper & lower case letters may be mixed randomly
  • Hold a pencil effectively
  • Know shapes and sounds of letters important to them
  • Show increasing control of mark making
  • May experiment with full stops

 

Year 1 Expected Standard

Composition and purpose Organisation and style Technical aspects
  • Write sentences by saying out loud what they are going to write
  • Compose a sentence orally before writing
  • Sequence sentences to form short narratives
  • Re-read what they have read to ensure it makes sense
  • Discuss what they have written with adults and peers
  • Read aloud their writing so they can be clearly heard
  • Use information & ideas from own experience as basis for writing
  • Writing can be largely read without mediation
  • Compose & write simple sentences independently to communicate meaning
  • Begin to write for familiar audiences
  • Begin to show consistency in basic narrative & non-narrative forms, including use of person & tense
  • Write about main events in a familiar story
  •  Label information appropriately
  • Write captions in the form of simple statements
  • Write two-step instructions
  • Write about main events in a recount based on own experience or role-play
  • Leave spaces between words
  • Join words and clauses using ‘and’
  • Create & sequence simple pictures & captions on screen
  • Begin to sequence simple sentences to form short narratives
  • Use recognisable words & simple statements
  • Begin to incorporate new vocabulary into their writing
  • Develop their awareness of grammatical structures
  • Write some compound sentences
  • Use simple conjunctions other than 'and'
  • Write both statements & questions
  • Compose sentences using adjectives
  • Spell words containing each of the 40+ phonemes taught
  • Can recognise and write the first 100 high frequency words
  • Spell common exception words and days of the week
  • Can name the letters of the alphabet in order
  • Use letter names to distinguish between alternative spellings of the same sound
  • Use the spelling rule for adding s/es to plurals and the third person singular marker for verbs
  • Use the prefix un
  • Use ing, ed, er and est where the root is not affected
  • Apply simple spelling rules
  • Write from memory dictated simple sentences that include words using GPC and common exception words taught
  • Apply phonic knowledge & skills to spelling unfamiliar words that are not completely decodable
  • Begin to use capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks
  • Use a capital letter for proper nouns
  • Use a comfortable & efficient pencil grip and sit correctly
  • Form & orientate all lower-case letters correctly
  • Form all capital letters and digits 0-9
  • Join all letters correctly
  • Identify constituent parts of 2- and 3- syllable words to support the application of phonic knowledge & skills
  • Spell some common monosyllabic words correctly

Year 2/End of KS1 Expected Standard

Composition and purpose Organisation and style Technical aspects
  •  Plan writing by noting down ideas and/or key words, including new vocabulary
  • Plan with reference to form & features of specific text types
  • Write down ideas and/or key words, including new vocabulary before they write
  • Write narratives about personal experience and those of others (real and fictional)
  • Develop writing for different purposes including writing about real events and poetry
  • Evaluate their writing with the teacher and other pupils
  • Re-read during & after writing to ensure the writing makes sense and for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation
  • Read aloud what they have written with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear
  • Begin to identify success criteria to evaluate writing
  • Write stories with a beginning, middle & end
  • Show some variety in story openings
  • Begin to develop characters by describing their feelings
  • Show some awareness of reader & some detail to engage reader
  • Use sentences with forms (statements, questions, exclamations and commands)
  • Using some expanded noun phrases to describe and specify
  • Use coordination (or/and/but) and subordinating conjunctions (when/if/that/because)
  • Use present and past tense correctly and consistently including the progressive form
  • Draw on and use new vocabulary
  • Use some features of written Standard English
  • Write simply structured sentences with some variation in openings
  • Use a range of time conjunctions and begin to use simple causal conjunctions e.g. because, so
  • Writing draws generally on written language
  • Compose sentences using adjectives and adverbs
  • Sustain form & features in narrative & non-narrative, including use of person and tense
  • Segment words into phonemes and represent these by graphemes, spelling many correctly
  • Spell common exception words
  • Spell words with contracted forms
  • Add suffixes to spell some longer words including: ment, ness, ful, less, ly
  • Learn new ways of spelling phonemes for which one or more spellings are already known, and learn some words with each spelling, including a few common homophones
  • Distinguish between homophones and near-homophones
  • Demarcates sentences with capital letters & full stops, question marks & exclamation marks
  • Use commas for lists, apostrophes for contractions and the possessive apostrophe (singular)
  • Letters consistent in size, orientation and to each other.
  • Join letters in their writing
  • Use appropriate spacing between words
  • Spelling is phonetical plausible
  • Spell a range of prefixes & suffixes, understanding how they modify meaning & spelling
  • Spell common monosyllabic words accurately
  • Spell high & some medium frequency words

Year 3 Expected Standard

Composition and purpose Organisation and style Technical aspects
  • Plan writing and its structure by noting down ideas and/or key words, including new vocabulary
  • Use success criteria to evaluate writing and begin to edit work in relation to the criteria
  • Edit work to check that it makes sense and for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation
  • Write narrative & non-narrative texts using structures of different text types, which is mostly consistent in purpose, person & tense
  • Make & use simple notes from relevant texts
  • Use story elements such as setting, story language &  structures & show some consistency in characters
  • Use beginning, middle & end to write narratives in which events are sequenced logically & conflicts resolved, not necessarily well paced
  • Begin to vary sentence structure to interest reader e.g. use of prepositions, fronted openers
  • Write simple & compound sentences & use subordinating and coordinating conjunctions in relation to time, reason and cause
  • Compose sentences using a wider range of adjectives, adverbs, verbs & nouns to interest the reader
  • Begin to organise ideas and events logically & clearly in sections in narrative & non-narrative texts
  • Begin to use simile and metaphor
  • Begin to use personification and ‘show not tell’
  • Begin to use more adventurous words and language choices, although may not always be appropriate
  • Spell simple plurals accurately e.g. s, es, ies
  • Spell accurately common homophones
  • Spell all words with contracted forms accurately
  • Demarcate most sentences using capital letters, full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, apostrophes & use commas to separate items in a list
  • Begin to use commas after a fronted clause and before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence
  • Write with consistency in the size & proportion of letters & spacing within & between words
  • Spell most words from year 3-4 word list
  • Spell less common alternative graphemes including trigraphs
  • Use an ellipsis for a range of purposes

Year 4 Expected Standard

Composition and purpose Organisation and style Technical aspects
  • Choose appropriate way to plan and make notes
  • In narratives, create settings, character and plot
  • Assess the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggest improvements
  • Propose changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of pronouns
  • Proof-read writing for spelling and punctuation errors
  • Read aloud writing using appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear
  • Know some differences between Standard and non-Standard English
  • Evaluate & edit writing based on identified success criteria, audience & purpose
  • Use different ways to plan & note make e.g. bullet points, diagrams
  • Begin to adapt writing to be concise & clear
  • Make decisions about form & purpose
  • Apply elements such as setting, dialogue, characterisation, story language & structures
  • Use beginning, middle & end to write narratives in which events are sequenced logically, showing an awareness of pace, & conflicts resolved
  • Write narrative & non-narrative texts using structures & forms of different text types
  • Organise paragraphs around a theme
  • In non-narrative, use simple organisational devices
  • Propose changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of pronouns
  • Extend sentences with more than one clause by using a wider range of conjunctions, including when, if, because, although
  • Use the present perfect form of verbs in contrast to the past tense
  • Use conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions to express time and cause
  • Use fronted adverbials
  • Choose nouns or pronouns appropriately for clarity and cohesion and to avoid repetition
  • Begin to use complex sentences as well as simple & compound sentences
  • Begin to know and when to use, Standard and non-standard English
  • Begin to use some examples of impersonal language in non-narrative
  • Make adventurous word & language choices generally appropriate to style/purpose of text
  • Select & use a range of technical and descriptive vocabulary (e.g. simile, personification, rhetorical questions etc.) and consider language impact on the reader
  • Recognise a range of prefixes & suffixes, understanding how they modify meaning & spelling, & how they assist in decoding long complex words
  • Distinguish the spelling & meaning of homophones
  • Spell words that are often misspelt
  • Use the possessive apostrophe for regular plurals and in words with irregular plurals
  • Use the first few letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary
  • Use dictionaries efficiently
  • Have legible, consistent handwriting
  • Proof read for spelling and punctuation errors
  • Use a comma after fronted adverbials and before coordinating conjunctions
  • Use possessive apostrophe with plural nouns
  • Punctuate direct speech
  • Spell unfamiliar words using known conventions including grapheme-phoneme correspondences & morphological rules
  • Spell all words from year 3/4 word list correctly
  • Spell common polysyllabic words accurately
  • Begin to use commas to mark clauses
  • Use indefinite article a/an accurately

Year 5 Expected Standard

Composition and purpose Organisation and style Technical aspects
  • Make sensible decisions about which notes are most relevant & how content should be ordered
  • Edit for audience & purpose, justifying choices and
    produce final form mostly matched to needs of identified reader
  • Begin to adapt form & content to audience & purpose
  • Writing is beginning to engage the reader through empathising with characters, being well paced, language selection and organisation
  • Vary conflicts & endings in narrative
  • Use of Standard English mostly consistent including subject/verb agreement
  • Begin to address reader through commentary & questions to challenge reader's thinking
  • Begin to vary sentences to enhance meaning & pace
  • Begin to show imagination through use of language to create emphasis, humour, atmosphere or suspense
  • Organise texts into paragraphs around a theme to distinguish between different information, events or processes
  • Some use of modal verbs evident
  • Show relationships of time, reason & cause, through conjunctions & use of relative and subordinate clauses
  • Begin to choose & combine words, images & other features for particular effects
  • Choose nouns and pronouns appropriately for clarity and cohesion and to avoid repetition
  • Extended noun phrases are used to add detail
  • Clarify meaning & point of view by using varied sentence structure (phrases, clauses & adverbials)
  • Select words & phrases in order to write effectively in both narrative & non-narrative forms
  • Vocabulary choices are matched to the subject
  • Mostly use impersonal language in non-narrative
  • Begin to make a generalisation e.g. use 'always,' 'often'
  • Organise & extend ideas logically & clearly, but it may not be sustained
  • Spell a wider range of polysyllabic words accurately
  • Spell common misspelt words
  • Punctuate sentences accurately: capital letters, full stops, commas to mark clauses and in a list, question marks, ellipsis and exclamation mark.
  • To to use commas, dashes and brackets to indicate parenthesis with some consistency
  • Commas for fronted clause and before coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences are accurate
  • Spell words containing unstressed vowels
  • Spell most words accurately from the year 5/6 list
  • Begin to spell words with ‘silent’ letters
  • Use commas to mark clauses with increasing accuracy
  • Begin to adapt handwriting to specific purposes, e.g. printing, use of italics

Year 6/End of Ks2 Expected Standard

Composition and purpose Organisation and style Technical aspects
  • Plan writing by identifying audience for and purpose for the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar models
  • Plan efficiently, using a range of planning & note making formats, drawing on reading and research where necessary
  • Create atmosphere and integrate dialogue to convey character and advance the action
  • Consider how authors have developed characters and settings
  • In narratives, describe settings, characters and atmosphere and intriguing dialogue to convey character and advance the action
  • Assess the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing
  • Propose changes to vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to enhance effects and clarify meaning
  • Ensure the consistent and correct use of tense
  • Ensure correct subject and verb agreement when using singular and plural, distinguishing between the language of speech and writing and choosing appropriate register
  • Proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors
  • Perform own compositions, using appropriate intonation, volume, and movement so that meaning is clear
  • Use Standard English consistently
  • Use a range of cohesive devices, including adverbials, to build cohesion within and across sentences and paragraphs
  • Use passive and modal verbs mostly appropriately
  • Use modal verbs or adverbs to indicate degrees of possibility
  • Use a wide range of clause structures, sometimes varying their position within the sentence
  • Use adverbs, prepositional phrases and expanded noun phrases effectively to add detail, qualification and precision
  • Select the appropriate grammar and vocabulary to reflect the level of formality required, and understanding how choices can change and enhance meaning
  • Précis longer passages
  • Use organisational and presentational devices to structure text and guide the reader (e.g. headings, underlining)
  • Use the perfect form of verbs to mark relationships of time and cause
  • Use relative clauses with an implied relative pronoun
  • Recognise vocabulary and structures that are appropriate to formal speech and writing, including subjunctive forms
  • Mostly use well-chosen phrases e.g. adverbials & adventurous vocabulary to contribute to effectiveness of writing
  • Use figurative language effectively
  • Spell words correctly from the year 5/6 word list
  • Use prefixes and suffixes and understand rules for adding them
  • Spell words with silent letters
  • Distinguish between homophones and other words which are often confused
  • Use dictionaries to check the spelling and meaning of words
  • Use a thesaurus
  • Proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors
  • Use inverted commas, commas for clarity and punctuation correctly, and make correct use of semi-colons, dashes, colons and hyphens
  • Use brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis
  • Punctuate bullet points consistently
  • Maintain legible, fluent handwriting at speed
  • Use different styles of handwriting for different purposes with a range of media, developing a consistent & personal legible style
  • Know & use less common prefixes & suffixes such as cial, tial, ance, able

    Monks Orchard Primary School

    The Glade, Shirley, Croydon, CR0 7UF
    020 8654 2570