Have you ever wondered how some people seem to know exactly what they’re doing to get great marks in NCEA Level 3 English? You may have noticed that they walked away from NCEA Level 2 knowing exactly how to pass exams with the coveted “excellence”, while you struggled to write a coherent sentence.
The old adage of “work smarter, not harder” applies here. It’s easier to get great marks in NCEA English if you know what the examiners are looking for.
To do that, you need to know all about annotated exemplars – and know that they are free to download from the NZQA website.
What is an English Level 3 annotated exemplar?
According to the NZQA website, “an annotated exemplar is an extract of student evidence, with a commentary, to explain key aspects of the standard. It assists teachers to make assessment judgements at the grade boundaries.” But what does this mean?
When you sit your NCEA exams and an external marker will go through and mark your exam. While generally your teacher, or another member of staff, will mark your internally assessed assignments, a few from each class may also be sent away to be verified by an external marker.
This ensures that we have similar standards across all schools in Aotearoa.
For each different standard – both unit standards and achievement standards, a submitted piece of work is marked with notes from the assessor. These include the grade given the work, and how the assessor decided on that grade. There will also be notes on how the student could have improved to get a higher grade.
Using annotated exemplars
Using the standard “Respond critically to significant connections across texts, supported by evidence” as an example. You can look at a piece of graded work that was awarded a “low excellence”. You can read through the student work and see how it compares with your standard (this is more effective if you have already completed the “mock exam”). Then you can read the assessor’s commentary.
This will include notes like:
The student has made sophisticated and insightful interpretations about how conflict through war leads to the moral corruption of those participating in it. The judgement of the author’s subversion of the genre shows insightful critical response to how all texts are linked
For a more secure Excellence, the student could provide clearer links between interpretations and specific examples from the texts
One thing to be aware of is that these annotated exemplars, while useful tools aren’t designed explicitly to help students. They are there for teachers to ensure they are encouraging students to reach high standards.
So, to get the best use, it is a good idea to work with a tutor familiar with the NCEA system to help you work through NCEA English exemplars.
Do all NCEA Level 3 Subjects have Annotated Exemplars?
While we’re only looking at Level 3 English, you should be able to find exemplars for other subjects by going through the NZQA website. Each NCEA subject area has its section on the website, and within that section, you will find information about different levels, practice exams and marker comments.
For Level 3 English, not all standards have marked papers for you to go through. However, standards, both internal and external, for NCEA English Level 3 that have annotated exemplars available include:
- AS91475 - Produce a selection of fluent and coherent writing which develops, sustains, and structures ideas
- AS91475 - Produce a selection of fluent and coherent writing which develops, sustains, and structures ideas
- AS91476 - Create and deliver a fluent and coherent oral text which develops, sustains, and structures ideas
- AS91477 - Create and deliver a fluent and coherent visual text which develops, sustains, and structures ideas using verbal and visual language
- AS91477 - Create and deliver a fluent and coherent visual text which develops, sustains, and structures ideas using verbal and visual language
- AS91478 - Respond critically to significant connections across texts, supported by evidence
- AS91479 - Develop an informed understanding of literature and/or language using critical texts
- AS91480 - Respond critically to significant aspects of visual and/or oral text(s) through close reading, supported by evidence
Again, make sure you use these with the support of a tutor to work through these effectively. For example, looking at the assessor’s remark “making discerning and informed interpretations and judgements across at least four texts” … do you know what this means?
More importantly, do you know how this applies to what you have written in your mock exam?
Getting better marks in NCEA Level 3 English
No one knows what they don’t know, and this is one area where it pays to get someone knowledgeable to look over what you’ve written and align it with what the markers are looking for.
It’s not enough to read through the assessors’ comments where the student has been awarded an excellence. You also want to look at the work that was marked “not achieved”. This will give you strong examples of what you need to do in your work.
For example, when you write your concluding statement, is it linked back to the introduction? This was a comment the assessor made on one not achieved submission.
If you don’t have access to a tutor, you at the very least need a study buddy. It is very hard to read your own work critically. Not for any ego-based reason, but simply in your head you have all the background knowledge that makes what you’re saying seem perfectly logical.
However, someone else will notice where your ideas jump or where you aren’t making as much sense as you could.
Internal or External assessments
Most standards in English Level 3 are assessed internally. Anything called an “achievement standard” is externally assessed, while anything called a “unit standard” is internally assessed. At this stage the only NCEA Level 3 English external exams students can sit are:
- Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied written text(s), supported by evidence
- Respond critically to specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), supported by evidence
- Respond critically to significant aspects of unfamiliar written texts through close reading, supported by evidence
These seem like quite intense exams, but remember, you have been working on them all year!
Improving results from English Exams
If you know your content, the most difficult aspect of sitting an exam is simply writing your ideas down within the time allotted. There is no word limit, so you can just keep writing. However, you need to make sure that the answers you are providing make sense and answer the questions.
You will have been told that you should plan out your answer on the note paper. This means writing down key points that you want to cover, including the key point in your introduction and conclusion. But really, that’s the easy part – if you know your topic.
By the time you get to Level 3 English, you have probably had a lot of practice in writing key points. However, few students are comfortable writing for 2 hours straight. So, this is the bit you can practice.
Make sure that you are completing previous years' exams, but also use this as an opportunity to increase your handwriting stamina.
If you have any concerns about meeting the time constraints, make sure you have discussed these with your school. Again, by NCEA Level 3 hopefully, everyone is aware of any accommodations that can be provided to ensure you succeed.
But sometimes these things do get missed. Make sure you have talked to the teacher responsible for exam accommodations beforehand - and have written confirmation ready to take into the exam hall.
Getting Enough NCEA Credits to Pass
Most students worry that they have managed to get enough credits to be awarded NCEA. You need to know that you need 80 credits to pass each level. However, these can be made up in a wide variety of ways.
The New Zealand Ministry of Education has a national curriculum that offers a range of topics and subtopics. But how these are implemented will vary for each school. They can also be customised to fit the needs of individual students as well.
In fact, the policy states “The National Curriculum details what may be taught, but not everything needs to be assessed. Too much assessment can get in the way of learning.”
The goal of the NCEA system, and the New Zealand education system in general, is not to trick students. Having a knowledgeable and educated population may be harder to control than a population that blindly accepts what the government tells them.
But, having a knowledgeable and educated population also leads to better innovation and more creative thought. Innovation and creative thinking are certainly hallmarks of the culture, so it should not surprise anyone that our education system is set up to encourage this way of thinking.
If you are struggling to understand the content within a subject, there are a range of options to help you. Yes, there are requirements to pass NCEA, but these are not hidden. With a little guidance and support, most students can successfully pass NCEA Level 3 English.
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