AS 91924 Annotated exemplars

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

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Level 1 English assessment resources (external link) - NCEA.education

For Achieved, the student needs to demonstrate understanding of how context shapes verbal language. 

This involves:

• describing the context
• describing characteristics of verbal language used in the context
• describing how the characteristics of verbal language are typical of the context
• supporting descriptions with specific examples.

This student has described the context as “the early period of the First World War”. Further description of context indicates the text type as a poem, with the purpose of persuading men to fight in World War One.

Four verbal language features typical of persuasive poems and early WW1 poetry are accurately identified and described. The student selects two examples to support the description of each language feature, and describes generally how they are typical of the context of World War One propaganda poetry.

Each example is followed by a description of the characteristics of the language feature. For example, “‘Who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid?’ This encourages the reader to think about how they could look tough for going to war and being a hero for their country, and helps us understand the context of the early period of the First World War because they are making war sound a lot better than it actually is.” The description of the function (to persuade listeners) and effect (demonstrating bravery) of the euphemism is explicitly linked to context.

For Merit, the student could give more detail of the context, and more specific explanation of verbal language usage that is common in that context. This would support an explanation of how the context influences the language.

For Merit, the student needs to explain how context shapes verbal language use.

This involves explaining the connections between specific examples of verbal language use and how the language is influenced by the context.

This student has clearly described the context of mental health, and has selected a podcast that is aimed mainly at a teenage audience. Accurate and specific details about audience, purpose, and text type are provided. The topic of ‘self-talk’ is explained using six verbal language features common to social issue podcasts.

A specific and detailed explanation of the characteristics of each language feature is provided. The explanations explore the function of the language feature, e.g. “… because the speaker… wants the listener to focus on the problem the rhetorical question raises”. The explanation is further developed by considering the effect, “the use of this question forces the listener to become aware of how you cope with negative self-talk, helping us to realize the things we do wrong, so we can try to improve our self-talk.” The examples are further elaborated by considering how the two characteristics are typically combined within the context “…help us feel a connection to the podcast.”

The student explains how each example of verbal language use is typical of social issue podcasts. This is linked to an explanation of the connection between the context influencing the language. For example, pejoratives, “are used to make us aware of how serious and harmful this issue is” which “raises awareness about the subject…” Each of the techniques (emotive vocabulary and pejoratives) are then identified as “very typical for podcasts, especially mental health podcasts.”

For Excellence, the student could draw conclusions about the interplay between the context and verbal language use. This could include explaining how the context of a mental health podcast with a defined teen audience requires careful use of specific types of language features to both engage and reassure the listeners in an age-appropriate way.

For Excellence, the student needs to examine how context shapes verbal language use. This involves drawing conclusions about the interaction of the context and specific examples of verbal language.

This student has identified and clearly explained the context of a speech made during a debate about nuclear weapons. The explanation includes details about audience, purpose, text type, time, and place. The accurate and clear explanation of context establishes a firm foundation to draw conclusions about how context shapes verbal language use.

Three verbal language features are accurately identified and explained. In each case, several thoughtful examples from within the text are provided to demonstrate how context and verbal language features interact. The function, quality, or effect of the feature is examined and linked to the overall purpose of the debate. The student then draws conclusions about the impact it has on the listening audience. For example, “Lange uses humour in an informal matter to demonstrate that he is conversing with someone who he doesn’t believe should be viewed with respect or referred to formally, furthermore indicating his dominance in the debate.”

The student draws conclusions about the reasons for the interplay between context and language. For example, “Speaking with a lot of metaphors can be confusing because the audience needs to be able to understand what the comparisons mean. David Lange knew exactly what type of audience he was talking to, and this will have helped him confidently choose these metaphors, knowing they would understand them.”

Conclusions about why the interaction of context and language have occurred are fully developed, demonstrating an examination of how context shapes verbal language use. For example, “triples in this context are used to shine a light on the future. By doing this Lange has created a sense of fear that he can harness to help draw people away from the opposing side.”