Free Year 9 Is Social Media Doing More Harm Than Good? — Persuasive Writing
A NAPLAN-style persuasive prompt for Year 9 on the effects of social media on teenagers. Students analyse sophisticated persuasive techniques, plan a nuanced contention with developed arguments, a concession and rebuttal, and write a persuasive essay. Success criteria target the top bands: sustained argument, authoritative voice and controlled, varied language.
Instant download · No sign-up · Free for personal, classroom and homeschool use
- Year
- Year 9
- Subject
- English
- Topic
- Persuasive Writing
- Difficulty
- Level 3 · Challenge
- Estimated time
- 45 minutes
- Curriculum
- Australian Curriculum
- Questions
- 8
- Answers
- Included, with working
- Format
- PDF (A4) + print
Students will practise
- constructing a nuanced contention
- developing arguments with reasoning and evidence
- using concession and rebuttal strategically
- sustaining an authoritative persuasive voice
Curriculum: Australian Curriculum. We show specific outcome codes only where they have been verified against the official curriculum document.
What's next?
Completed: Is Social Media Doing More Harm Than Good? — Persuasive Writing
How to use this writing prompt
- Print the PDF or complete it on screen. Write the student's name and date at the top.
- Read the instructions for each part together before starting. Encourage working to be shown.
- Mark with the answer sheet. Use the model answers and success criteria as a guide rather than a single right answer.
- Record the score, celebrate what went well, then follow the "What's next" suggestion.
Common questions
Who is this writing prompt for?
Year 9 students (typically ages 14–15) working on persuasive writing. It is pitched at level 3 · challenge.
Are the answers included?
Yes. The PDF includes a full answer sheet with model answers and success criteria where there is more than one good answer. You can also view the answers online.
How long does it take?
About 45 minutes for 8 questions. Short, regular sessions work best: two or three a week beats one long one.
Do I need to sign up to download?
No. Click Download Free PDF and it opens immediately. It is free for personal, classroom and homeschool use.
What should we do next?
Try Analysing Persuasive Techniques in Advertising.
Preview
Year 9 · English · Persuasive Writing
Is Social Media Doing More Harm Than Good? — Persuasive Writing
Student name:
Date:
Plan for seven minutes, write for thirty-three minutes, then edit for five minutes.
The prompt
Social media connects teenagers to friends, communities and ideas that previous generations could never have reached. It is also blamed for rising anxiety, sleep loss, bullying and a constant pressure to perform. Governments around the world, including Australia's, have debated age limits and restrictions.
Is social media doing more harm than good for teenagers? Write a persuasive essay that argues your position.
A strong persuasive essay at this level has:
• A nuanced contention that takes a clear side without pretending the issue is simple.
• Three or four arguments developed with reasoning, evidence and examples, ordered for maximum impact (strongest last).
• A concession and rebuttal: acknowledge what is valid in the opposing view, then show why your position still holds.
• An authoritative voice: confident, measured, and aware of a sceptical reader.
• Sophisticated devices: analogy, carefully chosen evidence, juxtaposition, controlled emotive language, strategic repetition.
• Cohesion across the whole essay: a line of argument the reader can follow from introduction to conclusion.
Persuasive techniques
Identify the techniques you will use to persuade a sceptical adult reader.
- Analogy
- Juxtaposition
- Concession
- Strategic repetition
- Appeal to authority
- Rhetorical question
- If a product were keeping our children awake, anxious and comparing themselves to strangers, would we call it entertainment?
- It is true that for isolated teenagers, online communities can be a lifeline.
- Handing a thirteen-year-old an unrestricted feed is like handing them the keys to a car and hoping for the best.
- The app promises connection; what it delivers, at midnight, is a room full of people and no one to talk to.
- Paediatric bodies have repeatedly warned about the link between heavy use and poor sleep.
- Designed to be checked. Designed to be scrolled. Designed, above all, never to be put down.
- ASocial media is bad and should be banned for everyone.
- BSocial media has good and bad sides, so it depends.
- CAlthough social media offers teenagers genuine connection, its design rewards comparison and compulsion, and on balance it is doing more harm than good.
- DSocial media is good because everyone uses it.
Plan
Plan for seven minutes. Order your arguments deliberately.
Preview — the PDF contains the full resource and answer sheet.
Persuasive Writing in other year levels
- Should Mobile Phones Be Banned at School? — Persuasive Writing
Writing Prompt · Year 7 · Persuasive Writing · Level 2 · Standard
About this resource
- Created by
- Success Tutoring
- Last reviewed
- 1 October 2026
- How it was made
- Written by our team
Free to print and share for personal, classroom and homeschool use. Please don't resell. Spotted an error? Let us know.