Year 5 - Working towards the expected standard

The pupil can: 

• write for a range of purposes 
• use paragraphs to organise ideas
• in narratives, describe settings and characters† 
• in non-narrative writing, use simple devices to structure the writing and support the reader (e.g. headings, sub-headings, bullet points) 
• use the range of punctuation taught up to and including Y2 correctly^ and some of the punctuation taught in Y3 and Y4
• spell correctly common exception words and many words from Y3/4 spelling lists* and use phonic knowledge and other knowledge of spelling, such as morphology to spell words as accurately as possible  
• write legibly.¹

Year 5 - Working at the expected standard

The pupil can:

• write for a range of purposes and audiences, and mostly select language that shows good awareness of the reader (e.g. clarity of explanations; appropriate level of formality in speech writing)
• in narratives, describe settings, characters and atmosphere†
• begin to convey character and advance the action through dialogue, maintaining a balance of speech and description
• select vocabulary and grammatical structures that are appropriate for the audience and purpose (e.g. correct sentence types; tenses; a range of verb forms; relative clauses)
• use a range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs (e.g. conjunctions; adverbials of time and place; pronouns; synonyms), in much of their writing 
• use verb tenses consistently and correctly throughout most of their writing
• use the range of punctuation taught up to and including Y5 mostly correctly^ (e.g. commas separating clauses; punctuation for parenthesis)
• spell correctly words from learning in previous year groups, and some words from the year 5 / year 6 spelling list,* using known spelling strategies and dictionaries to check the spelling of uncommon or more ambitious vocabulary
• write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed. ²

Y5 - Working at greater depth within the expected standard

The pupil can: 

• begin to select the appropriate form and draw on what they have read as models for their own writing (e.g. rhetorical questions; interactions between characters; range of sentence constructions and types) 
• choose precise and effective vocabulary, according to the purpose and audience, and adapt this when editing to improve effect
• sustain and develop ideas within paragraphs
• begin to independently use punctuation^ and sentence constructions to show the difference between formal and informal writing³ (e.g. contractions in speech).