Exam guide
Scholarship Writing — the Written Expression section
Every scholarship exam — AAS, ACER and Edutest — includes a timed writing task. It is the section marked by a human, and the one where most capable students lose avoidable marks.
What the writing task looks like
The student is given a stimulus or topic and must produce one (sometimes two) original pieces under tight time. The genre — narrative, persuasive, descriptive or expository — is set by the prompt and is not known in advance, so a child needs to be comfortable across all of them.
| Exam board | Writing task (typical) |
|---|---|
| AAS | One prompt, around 25–30 minutes, handwritten or typed. |
| ACER | The “Written Expression” domain — often one or two pieces (e.g. a narrative and a persuasive), commonly 25–50 minutes total. |
| Edutest | One piece, around 15 minutes, with no separate planning or reading time. |
Times and structure are indicative and vary by year level and year — confirm the format for your target school's exam.
What markers actually reward
Across all three boards, the writing is marked against a small, consistent set of criteria:
- Ideas & content — relevant, thoughtful, original; answers the prompt.
- Structure & organisation — a clear beginning, middle and end; ideas that flow.
- Expression & vocabulary — controlled sentences, varied and apt word choice.
- Mechanics — grammar, punctuation and spelling.
How to prepare
- Decode the prompt first. Spend the first 30–60 seconds working out exactly what is being asked, and stay strictly on topic.
- Plan before writing. A 2-minute plan — a hook, two or three beats, and an ending you can actually reach — beats two extra minutes of unplanned writing. Structure beats inspiration.
- Practise every genre. Narrative needs a real resolution (not a scene that just stops); persuasive needs a clear stance, two or three reasons, and a confident close.
- Build a vocabulary and openings bank. Rehearse a few strong ways to open and close so the child never freezes on an unseen prompt.
- Write to time, then proofread. Practise complete pieces inside the real time limit, leaving a final minute to fix obvious errors.
- Mark against the four criteria. Don't ask “is this good?” — ask “did it answer the prompt, is it structured, is the expression controlled, are the mechanics clean?”
The single best habit: one timed piece a week, marked against the four criteria, reviewing what to do differently next time.
Scholarship Writing course — coming July 2026
See exactly where your child's writing stands
We provide an exam-style scholarship writing mock. Your child sits it, we mark it against the real criteria and return detailed feedback and a mark — so you know their level and their weak spots before the real exam.