Year 6 - 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 capital letters, full stops, question marks, commas for lists and apostrophes for contraction mostly correctly 
• spell correctly most words from the year 3 / year 4 spelling list, and some words from the year 5 / year 6 spelling list*
• write legibly.

Year 6 - Working at the expected standard

The pupil can:

• write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences, selecting language that shows good awareness of the reader (e.g. the use of the first person in a diary; direct address in instructions and persuasive writing)
• in narratives, describe settings, characters and atmosphere
• integrate dialogue in narratives to convey character and advance the action 
• select vocabulary and grammatical structures that reflect what the writing requires, doing this mostly appropriately (e.g. using contracted forms in dialogues in narrative; using passive verbs to affect how information is presented; using modal verbs to suggest degrees of possibility)
• use a range of devices to build cohesion (e.g. conjunctions, adverbials of time and place, pronouns, synonyms) within and across paragraphs 
• use verb tenses consistently and correctly throughout their writing
• use the range of punctuation taught at key stage 2 mostly correctly^ (e.g. inverted commas and other punctuation to indicate direct speech)
• spell correctly most words from the year 5 / year 6 spelling list,* and use a dictionary to check the spelling of uncommon or more ambitious vocabulary 
• maintain legibility in joined handwriting when writing at speed

Y6 - 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).