Selective writing: a discursive response, annotated

Quick Answer

A discursive response looks at a question from more than one side before the writer says where they stand. This workshop from Braintree Coaching Australia has one original prompt, a model of about 350 words with eight notes tied to its paragraphs, the same prompt opened two ways, and a new prompt to try. It is written for Year 5–6 children, and it is free with no sign-up.

Who is this workshop for?

It suits a Year 5 or Year 6 child who tends to pick a side in the first sentence and then repeat it, or who lists "some people say" without letting either side have a real reason. It also helps a parent who wants to see what "both sides" looks like on the page.

The NSW Department of Education describes the Selective Writing Test as one topic, with instructions the student must write about, in 30 minutes. It does not use the word "discursive" for the task and it publishes no list of text types. "Discursive" on this page is our preparation label, not the Department's name for anything. See the Department's Selective practice tests page and our guide to the Selective writing test.

The prompt and model below were written by us as teaching examples. They are not a real child's work and have not been assessed against any official criteria.

What is a discursive response, and how is it different from persuasive writing?

A persuasive response chooses a position at the start and spends every paragraph defending it. A discursive response gives each side a fair paragraph, weighs them, and then says where the writer stands. The view comes late, and it comes with a reason.

Both are useful. If the instructions say to persuade, a discursive piece would miss the job. If the instructions say to consider a question, a one-sided piece would miss it too. Our persuasive opening workshop covers the first kind.

The same prompt, opened two ways

Prompt: Should the Year 6 camp be five days far from home or two days nearby?

Persuasive opening: "The Year 6 camp should be five days far from home. Short camps waste time on the bus and give children no chance to try anything new, so the school must choose the long trip."

• The writer has decided. The reader is being asked to agree.
• The other option has already been dismissed in one phrase.

Discursive opening: "Every year, the Year 6 students at our school ask the same question: should the camp be five days far away, or two days at a campsite nearby? Parents, teachers and children do not agree, and each side has a point worth hearing before the school decides."

• The writer names the question and says people disagree.
• The reader is told that both sides will be heard before a view arrives.

The prompt

Prompt: Your school must decide how to run the Year 6 camp: five days far from home, or two days at a campsite nearby. Write an article for the school newsletter that looks at both options and says what you think.

Time for the model below: about 20 minutes, written after a five-minute plan.

The model response with annotations

Each paragraph is followed by notes. The note numbers run from 1 to 8.

Paragraph 1

Every year, the Year 6 students at our school ask the same question: should the camp be five days far away, or two days at a campsite nearby? Parents, teachers and children do not agree, and each side has a point worth hearing before the school decides.

1. Names the question and the disagreement. The reader knows the topic and that there are two options after one sentence.
2. Does not choose. "Each side has a point worth hearing" tells the reader that both sides are coming. No position is given yet.

Paragraph 2

Those who favour the long trip say that five days away is a chance to do something new. Children who have never spent four hours on a bus, slept in a cabin or cooked over a fire learn to rely on each other and on themselves. Some also say that a shy child may find a new friend in a place where nobody has a fixed role.

3. Gives the first side its own reasons. There are two reasons, each with a concrete detail (the bus, the cabin, the fire, the shy child). The side is not summed up in a clause.
4. Attributes each idea. "Those who favour" and "some also say" show whose reasons these are. The writer is reporting, not yet agreeing.

Paragraph 3

Those who favour the short trip have reasons that are just as practical. Two days at a nearby campsite costs far less, so families who find the long trip expensive are not left out. A child who is nervous about being away from home for a week is more likely to enjoy two nights, and a teacher can phone a parent within the hour if something goes wrong.

5. Gives the second side the same room. It has a full paragraph with three reasons, the same length as paragraph 2, and "just as practical" says so in words.
6. Uses neutral wording. The reasons are about cost, nerves and distance. None of them calls the other side foolish.

Paragraph 4

Weighing these up, the two sides seem to care about different things. One values the size of the experience; the other values who gets to take part. Neither is wrong, but the cost matters more if even one child stays behind because of it. A long trip also cannot be undone, whereas a short one can be followed by something bigger later. It is easier to add a challenge to a short camp than to take a child home early from a long one.

7. Names what each side values. "The size of the experience" and "who gets to take part" turn two lists into one comparison.
8. Weighs, then leans. The paragraph chooses what to treat as heavier (a child left behind) and gives the reason, so the view in the next paragraph is already prepared.

Paragraph 5

On balance, I think a two-day camp nearby is the better choice for Year 6, provided the school plans real challenges into it: a night walk, a cooking task, a team problem to solve. That way most of what the long trip offers is kept and nobody is left behind. Children still have something to be proud of when they get home, and every family can say yes. I hold this view loosely, though. If the cost of the long trip were covered for every family, I would think again.

How was the model planned in five minutes?

The plan was written first, in note form. It took about five minutes, and the model grew out of it.

Plan box	What the writer put there
The question	Long camp or short camp for Year 6?
Side A and its reasons	New things, relying on each other, a shy child finds a friend
Side B and its reasons	Cost, nervous children, parents can be reached fast
What each side cares about	Size of the experience versus who takes part
My view and the condition	Short camp, if it has real challenges; would change if cost were covered

The plan does not decide the view first. The view box is filled in last, after the two sides have been written down.

Can my child try a new prompt?

New prompt: Many shops now have self-serve checkouts with fewer staff. Write an article for the school newsletter that looks at the good and the bad of this change and says what you think.

Fill in the frame before writing. Give each side at least two reasons, and leave the view box until the end.

Plan box	Your notes
The question, in one sentence
Side A and two reasons
Side B and two reasons
What each side cares about
My view, one reason and one condition

Then check the draft with these questions:

• Does the opening name the question without choosing a side?
• Does each side have a full paragraph with its own detail?
• Is the wording about each side fair?
• Is there a paragraph that weighs the two against each other?
• Does the view come after the weighing, with a reason?

If two or more boxes are unticked, rewrite the opening once using the same prompt. Rewriting teaches more than starting a new topic.

What should we do after this workshop?

• Write only paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 of the new prompt tomorrow. Giving each side a fair paragraph is the skill to build first.
• For acting on a page of comments after a practice piece, use the writing feedback card.
• For how the writing section works and how to pace it, read the NSW Selective writing test guide. To see what kinds of feedback can and cannot tell you, read AI and teacher marking.
• The free mock tests need a free classroom account.
• For a structured set of writing tasks with feedback, see what the Selective writing course includes and check how responses are assessed before buying.

Sources and review

Official source (checked 2026-10-15): NSW Department of Education, Selective High School practice tests: the Writing Test is one topic with instructions, 30 minutes. The page names no text type and does not use the word "discursive".

Where the examples came from: the prompts, model, openings and plan are original Braintree Coaching Australia teaching examples written for this page. Names and places are made up. None is a real child's response.

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

Review status: a named teacher review has not yet been recorded for this workshop. If you think a note is wrong or unclear, please tell us.

Last updated: 2026-10-15.