US 31035 annotated exemplars

This annotated exemplar is intended for teacher use only. Annotated exemplars are extracts of student evidence, with commentary, that explain key parts of a standard. These help teachers make assessment judgements at the grade boundaries.

Download all exemplars and commentary [PDF, 216 KB]

For Achieved, the learner needs to write three moderately complex texts on general topics.

This involves:

• ensuring that the content, structure and layout are appropriate to the topic, audience, purpose and text type
• developing ideas
• writing clear, coherent and cohesive text
• using a wide range of language features appropriate to the text type
• using vocabulary relevant to the topic and appropriate to the sentence structure.

There may be some minor inaccuracies.

The learner has written a discursive text on the advantages and disadvantages of modern tourism.

Content and structure are appropriate to the topic, audience, purpose and text type. There is an introduction defining tourism and identifying three areas where this has positive or negative effects. These are discussed in the following paragraphs, and summarised in the conclusion.

Ideas are developed with detailed explanations and examples (1).

The text is clear, coherent and cohesive. A wide range of cohesive devices are used, including connectives, conjunctions and pronoun reference (2), with occasional minor inaccuracies in punctuation.

The writing uses a wide range of language features appropriate to the text type with good control. Simple, compound and a range of complex sentences are used, usually correctly (3). A wide range of present, past and future tense verb forms are used, including some passive voice and modals, usually correctly (4). Language is generally formal and objective.

Vocabulary relevant to the topic is used, usually appropriate to the sentence structure.

For Achieved, the learner needs to write three moderately complex texts on general topics.

This involves:

• ensuring that the content, structure and layout are appropriate to the topic, audience, purpose and text type
• developing ideas
• writing clear, coherent and cohesive text
• using a wide range of language features appropriate to the text type
• using vocabulary relevant to the topic and appropriate to the sentence structure.

There may be some minor inaccuracies.

The learner has written a discursive text on the advantages and disadvantages of modern tourism.

Content is generally appropriate to the topic, audience, purpose and text type, but there are structural flaws. The introduction juxtaposes the economic benefit of tourism with its drawbacks for local citizens, but there is an additional paragraph about the spread of culture. The conclusion focuses only on the negative impact of tourism.

There is some development of ideas, with explanations and examples (1). The text is generally coherent, although the logic of the penultimate paragraph is unclear. Conjunctions and pronoun reference are used (2).

Writing uses a range of language features. Simple, compound and complex sentences (3) and present and past verb forms are used, with some inaccuracies.

Vocabulary relevant to the topic is used. There is some use of inappropriate informal language which occasionally lacks objectivity (4).

To reach Achieved, ideas need to be more developed and coherent. Consistently appropriate formal and objective language and fewer inaccuracies are required.