Persuasive writing genres from two theoretical perspectives: Positioning students for success on the NAPLAN test

Since 2008, Australian Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students have been required to sit a series of annual tests, known as the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Although the NAPLAN writing component began with a focus on narratives, the 2011, 2012 and 2013 tests sought to assess students’ persuasive writing skills. In these years, students were broadly asked to write a ‘persuasive text’ in response to a given prompt, however upon investigation, each year’s prompt suited a different persuasive genre. Due to this variation, students who were only prepared for one style of persuasive writing were not positioned for success on the test. An example of this could be seen when numerous students reported difficulty with the 2013 test, which asked them to write about a person who deserved to receive a hero award. This presentation aims to address the issue by outlining a number of persuasive genres commonly encountered in schools, grounded in two complementary language theories: Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and Classical Rhetoric. The content presented will be of particular interest to primary and secondary school teachers, and parents with children who are in the NAPLAN year range. It is hoped that the practical knowledge provided will be useful in positioning students for success on future NAPLAN tests, in addition to other persuasive writing tasks.