Y3/4 Writing End of Year Expectations

Spelling
use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them (English Appendix 1)
spell further homophones
spell words with sounds with alternative spellings (e.g sh spelt ch)
place the possessive apostrophe accurately in words with regular plurals and in words with irregular plurals
begin to use a dictionary to check spellings
spell correctly words from learning in previous year groups, and most words from the year 3 / year 4 spelling list

Handwriting
write legibly and with increasing fluency, paying attention to size and spacing
maintain the use of joined handwriting throughout independent writing.

Planning
plan their writing by discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar and record their ideas

Draft and write
draft and write for a range of purposes and audiences with an increasing awareness of appropriate language and form
draft and write by organising paragraphs around a theme
draft and write narratives by creating settings, characters and plot
draft and write by non-narrative material, using simple organisational devices
use vocabulary and grammatical structures to communicate ideas for the given audience and purpose (e.g. use a range of sentences and begin to vary the position of clauses within a sentence)
use a wider range of conjunctions, adverbs, prepositions and pronouns for cohesion, detail and clarity (e.g. appropriate noun or pronoun to avoid repetition and adverbs to express time and cause)

Evaluate and edit
evaluate and edit by assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements, including changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, and the accurate use of pronouns in sentences
use past and present tenses correctly, and include a wider range of verb forms (e.g. we were going; they have been)
proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors

Punctuation
use the range of punctuation taught up to and including Y4 mostly correctly, including:                              using commas after fronted adverbials
indicating possession by using the possessive apostrophe with plural nouns
using and punctuating direct speech
use and understand the grammatical terminology in English Appendix 2 accurately and appropriately when discussing their writing and reading.