NAPLAN Year 7 spelling strategies: 12 words and two editing passages

Quick Answer

Spelling gets easier when you can see how a word is built. Split the word into prefix, base and suffix, apply the joining rule, then check the word in its sentence. This page from Braintree Coaching Australia has twelve spelling items and two editing passages, each answer explained by a rule. It is free and needs no sign-up.

Who is this spelling practice for?

This set is for a student in Year 6 or early Year 7 who will sit NAPLAN in Year 7, in any state or territory. It takes about 20 minutes: items first, then the two passages. Stop after the items if your child tires, and come back to the passages another day.

It is Braintree's own practice. It is not an official NAPLAN paper and it does not give a score or a band.

How does NAPLAN test spelling in Year 7?

ACARA says the conventions of language tests are "made up of 2 sections: a spelling section followed by a grammar and punctuation section", and that the first section is locked once a student moves to the second (NAP, what is in the tests). Across the conventions tests, ACARA lists "multiple-choice, text entry and technology-enhanced questions such as drag-and-drop and hot-text".

ACARA does not publish the number of spelling items or a spelling-only layout, so we do not describe them. The live online test is tailored: later questions can be easier or harder depending on earlier answers (NAP, understanding online assessment). The demonstration tests are not tailored. Use the public demonstration site to see the real question types.

Which word-building rules matter most? Three worked words

Every item below uses one of these moves. Find the base, then ask what happens at the join.

1. Drop the e. Hope + ing becomes hoping. The base ends in a silent e and the suffix starts with a vowel, so the e goes.
2. Double the consonant. Stop + ed becomes stopped. The base is short, has one vowel and ends in one consonant, so that consonant doubles before a vowel suffix.
3. Change y to i. Carry + ed becomes carried. A consonant comes before the y, so y becomes i. After a vowel, as in play + ed, the y stays: played.

If you cannot tell which rule applies, say the base aloud and write the join in pencil before you commit.

The twelve words

Choose the correct spelling for the gap. Cover the answers section until you have finished.

Item 1. We are ______ a surprise party for Dad.

• A. arrangeing
• B. arranging
• C. arrangging
• D. arrangning

Item 2. The ______ of the race was delayed by rain.

• A. begining
• B. beggining
• C. begginning
• D. beginning

Item 3. Winning the prize brought her great ______.

• A. happiness
• B. happyness
• C. happines
• D. happiniss

Item 4. He took great ______ in his vegetable garden.

• A. enjoiment
• B. enjoyement
• C. enjoyment
• D. enjoymint

Item 5. Be careful not to ______ the word "necessary".

• A. mispell
• B. misspel
• C. misspell
• D. missspell

Item 6. It is ______ to bring a calculator, because the test does not allow one.

• A. unecessary
• B. unnecessary
• C. unnecesary
• D. unnecesssary

Item 7. She was ______ with her mark and wanted to know why.

• A. dissatisfied
• B. disatisfied
• C. dissattisfied
• D. dissatisified

Item 8. I need to ______ my spelling words every night.

• A. practice
• B. practis
• C. practize
• D. practise

Item 9. The heat can ______ how well you concentrate.

• A. effect
• B. affect
• C. affekt
• D. efect

Item 10. The train was ______ at the platform.

• A. stationery
• B. stationnary
• C. stationary
• D. stationairy

Item 11. The Latin root scribe means "write". Which word means to tell what something is like?

• A. discribe
• B. descryb
• C. describe
• D. describ

Item 12. The Greek root chron means "time". Events listed in the order they happened are in ______ order.

• A. chronological
• B. cronological
• C. chronalogical
• D. chronologicle

The two editing passages

Each passage has exactly five misspelt words and no other mistakes. Read it through for meaning, then go word by word. Write the correct spelling above each error.

Passage 1: The school fete

Last Saturday our school held its annual fete. Volunteers arived early to set up the stalls, and by nine o'clock the oval was crowded. I helped at the cake stall with two freinds, where we sold sixty muffins and a dozen lemon slices. One girl in Year 3 was dissapointed that the chocolate cake had sold out, so I saved her a slice of the carrot one. By noon we had raised nearly four hundred dollars. The principle thanked every helper, especialy the parents.

Passage 2: A morning at the river

Our class went to the river for a science excursion. First we measured the temperture of the water, then we collected samples in small jars. A guide showed us how to read the water level on a ruler and record it in our notebooks. Mr Haddad explained how pollution harms the enviroment and the animals that live in it. After lunch we wrote about the intresting creatures hiding beneath the stones. On the bus home everyone was tired, but happyness filled the seats, and we all agreed the day had been a succes.

Answers and explanations

Each explanation gives the rule, not only the spelling.

The twelve words

Item 1: B, arranging. Arrange ends in a silent e and ing starts with a vowel, so the e drops. A keeps the e. C doubles a consonant the base does not need. D is not a word.

Item 2: D, beginning. Begin has two syllables and the stress falls on the last one, "gin". It ends in one vowel and one consonant, so the n doubles before ing. A forgets the double. B and C double the wrong letter.

Item 3: A, happiness. Happy ends in a consonant plus y, so y becomes i before ness. The suffix ness has a double s of its own. B keeps the y. C drops one s. D changes the e in the suffix to i.

Item 4: C, enjoyment. Enjoy has a vowel before the y, so the y stays. Ment then joins with no change. A turns the y into i, which the rule allows only after a consonant. B adds an extra e. D changes the vowel in the suffix.

Item 5: C, misspell. The prefix mis- means "wrongly". The s of mis and the s of spell both stay, giving ss, and spell keeps its double l. A loses one s. B loses one l. D has three s's.

Item 6: B, unnecessary. The prefix un- ends in n and the base necessary starts with n, so both n's stay. Necessary itself has one c and two s's. A drops an n. C drops an s. D has an extra s.

Item 7: A, dissatisfied. The prefix dis- ends in s and the base satisfied starts with s, so both stay. Then satisfy becomes satisfied by the y-to-i rule. B drops an s. C doubles the t. D adds an extra i before the f.

Item 8: D, practise. In Australian English practise with an s is the verb and practice with a c is the noun. The gap needs a verb ("I need to ______"). A is the noun. B and C are not words. A quick test: swap in advise and advice. The verb takes the s.

Item 9: B, affect. Affect is the verb, meaning to change or influence. Effect is usually the noun, as in "the effect of the heat". The gap needs a verb after "can". A is the noun. C and D are not words.

Item 10: C, stationary. Stationary with an a means "not moving". Stationery with an e is paper and pens. Clue: stand and stationary both have an a. The train is not moving, so it is the a spelling. A is the paper meaning. B and D are not words.

Item 11: C, describe. The Latin root scribe means "write", and de- means "down". The word is de + scribe, with a final e on the root. A spells the prefix with di. B changes the root. D loses the final e.

Item 12: A, chronological. The Greek root chron means "time" and logy means "study". Chronological begins with chron, then adds the o link, log and ical. B drops the h. C changes the a in the middle. D ends in le, but the suffix is ical.

Passage 1

Written	Correct	Rule
arived	arrived	Arrive has a double r, as in ar-rive. The final e drops before ed, so the word is arrived.
freinds	friends	The pattern is i before e: friend has the i first.
dissapointed	disappointed	Dis- + appointed. The prefix dis- has one s, and appoint has two p's. The written form swaps these.
principle	principal	A principal is the head of a school. A principle is a rule or belief. The word is a person, so it ends in al.
especialy	especially	Especial + ly. The base already ends in l, so the suffix adds a second l.

Passage 2

Written	Correct	Rule
temperture	temperature	Say it in four beats: tem-per-a-ture. The middle a is easy to skip.
enviroment	environment	Environ + ment. The n before ment stays.
intresting	interesting	Say it in four beats: in-ter-est-ing. The e after t is part of the base.
happyness	happiness	Happy ends in a consonant plus y, so y becomes i before ness.
succes	success	Two c's and two s's: suc-cess. Say it in two beats and write both doubles.

What error types are built into this set?

The ten errors are grouped by the rule that fixes them. We chose them to teach each rule once or twice. We have no data on which errors students make most often, and we do not claim any.

Error type	Where it appears
A letter that should double is single, or doubled in the wrong place	Passage 1: arived, dissapointed. Passage 2: succes. Items 2, 5, 6, 7
i and e in the wrong order	Passage 1: freinds
A homophone that fits the sound but not the meaning	Passage 1: principle. Items 8, 9, 10
A suffix joined without doubling the final letter	Passage 1: especialy
A syllable or letter skipped when spoken	Passage 2: temperture, enviroment, intresting
y changed to i, or kept, at a suffix join	Passage 2: happyness. Items 3, 4
A root that is spelt as it sounds	Items 11, 12

Can my child build five new words?

Using the prefixes, bases and suffixes taught above, build and spell five new words that are not in this set. Write each as a sum and then the word.

• Prefixes to use: mis-, un-, dis-.
• Bases to use: place, happy, like, agree, behave, stop, carry.
• Suffixes to use: -ing, -ed, -ness, -ment.

Self-check: mis + place + ing is misplacing (the e drops). Un + happy + ness is unhappiness (y to i). Dis + like + ed is disliked. Dis + agree + ment is disagreement (the e stays before a consonant suffix). Say the rule for each word aloud, then ask someone to check one of yours.

What should we do after this set?

• Mark each answer. Where it was wrong, say which rule applied, then re-spell the word from memory tomorrow.
• Retry the two passages after a week with a finger under every word.
• Try the free Year 7 practice set, which has its own conventions of language items.
• For the wider plan, see how to prepare for NAPLAN Year 7, and for free online practice see free NAPLAN practice tests and online resources.

Sources and review

Official source (checked 2026-10-15): ACARA, NAPLAN: what is in the tests and understanding online assessment. ACARA's public pages do not describe a spelling-only item format, so this page makes no claim about one.

Where the items came from: all twelve items, both passages and the building task are original Braintree Coaching Australia material written for this page. None is taken from an ACARA paper or a third-party word list.

Author: James Rush, content writer, Braintree Coaching Australia.

Answer check: every answer was checked against the rule it explains. A separate blind check of the passages and a named teacher review have not yet been recorded for this set. If you find an error, please tell us.

Last updated: 2026-10-15.