Changes to the Writing Exam in Selective Test (Predictions)

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With Cambridge Assessment partnering with the NSW Selective, it is imperative to know how this will influence the selective exam coming up. Although the specifics are not released as of yet, we can use past Cambridge writing assessments as a basis of what to expect. I have analysed the Progression Cambridge Tests and Cambridge Checkpoint Tests which are used for their international examinations and act as good benchmarks for the type of questions you may receive.

Based on this, there are 3 key elements that you can expect to change with the Writing exam in the selective test.

1.     Different format types.

This goes beyond the typical persuasive or narrative writing tasks that were commonly asked previously in previous years. By examining the Cambridge writing tests, they asked for a broader range of writing such as informative tests, writing in the structure of a newspaper, reports and even letters.

2.     Spins to current format types.

Instead of having a statement or just a text to go by, they have more specific requirements when it comes to narratives or persuasive writing. For narratives, they will posit a specific situation such as ‘two people waiting for each other or to write a ‘fable involving an animal’. For persuasive writing, they can bring up some example reasons for both for and against, which they haven't done before in the selective exam previously. You will then have to make up additional points on top of the ones they provide potentially making it more difficult as they cover the more generic responses.

3.     Time and planning.

In the resources that I have on hand, they have a 30-minute exam compared to the 20 minutes that was allocated in past selective exams. They also provide 5 minutes for planning and a section for it. This is drastically different from what was originally done and although I don’t believe this to be a new change in the upcoming exam concretely, it is an important consideration to account for just in case. The core rationale of why I don’t believe this to be implemented is because the entire duration of the 3 exams as well as the writing exam back to back can have a strain on a student’s mental ability throughout the day.

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