AS 90996 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, 253 KB]

TKI Media Studies assessment resources (external link)

For Excellence, the student needs to write effectively crafted media texts for a specific audience

This involves:

• demonstrating understanding and effective control of a range of conventions of current media writing by using them in constructing short media texts
• demonstrating effective control of grammatical and structural devices appropriate to the medium, product and target audience.

This student has, for one text, effectively crafted a short human interest article for the target audience of students, teachers and members of the wider school community.

The student shows effective control of at least five conventions to construct the article, such as using a clear active sentence for the headline to summarise the article’s angle, focusing on a relevant aspect of the subject’s story. The student uses the inverted pyramid structure and short paragraphs, which are mostly connected to the topic.

The student demonstrates effective control of grammatical and structural devices to effectively craft the writing, such as using an active voice in the third person, a clear and concise opening sentence to hook the target audience (1), a direct quotation which is effectively integrated (2) and short, concise sentences which are generally well written.

For a more secure Excellence, the student could show more effective control by:

• developing the final paragraph by using a supporting quotation and/or linking back to previous two paragraphs to have greater impact on the audience
• using more direct quotations to appeal to the target audience
• crafting some sentences with greater control and impact to hold the audience’s attention (3).

For Merit, the student needs to write crafted media texts for a specific audience.

This involves:

• demonstrating understanding and control of a range of conventions of current media writing by using them appropriately to construct short media texts
• demonstrating control of grammatical and structural devices appropriate to the medium, product and target audience.

This student has, for one text, crafted a film review using an informal personal voice to appeal to the target teenage audience. 

The student demonstrates understanding and control of a range of conventions, e.g. establishing personal opinion in the opening paragraph, providing background information (1), using a tricolon construction (2) to structure the review of three specific aspects of the film (3), providing supporting examples (4), referring to the film’s appeal to specific audiences (5) and ending with an emphatic recommendation linking back to the opening paragraph (6).

The student demonstrates control of appropriate grammatical and structural devices for a film review, e.g.: using inverted commas for the film title; referring to crew by surnames; writing in the first person present tense; using persuasive adjectives (including superlatives and comparatives) and adverbs, with some effective control, to communicate a clear personal opinion which has impact on the target audience.

To reach Excellence, the student could demonstrate more effective crafting and control by:

• including specific examples to support the discussion on soundtrack and storyline (7)
• using grammatical and structural devices, e.g. more appropriate word choice for the tricolon, fewer punctuation errors and clearer syntax to hold the audience’s attention.

For Merit, the student needs to write crafted media texts for a specific audience.

This involves:

• demonstrating understanding and control of a range of conventions of current media writing by using them appropriately to construct short media texts
• demonstrating control of grammatical and structural devices appropriate to the medium, product and target audience.

This student has, for one text, crafted a short human interest article for the target audience of students, teachers and members of the wider school community.

The student shows control of at least five conventions to construct the article, such as a lead (1) and a nut graph (2) to appeal to audience curiosity, a by-line (3), short paragraphs, and a summary ending (4).

The student demonstrates sufficient control of grammatical and structural devices of the medium, such as a clear active sentence as a headline, using speech marks for direct quotations which are confidently integrated into the article (5) and writing in the third person with clear and concise sentences and only minor lapses in control.

For a more secure Merit, the student could show greater crafting of the article by:

• providing more detail to support the main angle established in the headline by describing what the student is doing in the rest home
• keeping to a main angle throughout, e.g. paragraphs 4 and 5 could provide a stronger link between the rules and the student’s involvement in the rest home
• using a stronger closing paragraph for greater impact on the audience.

For Achieved, the student needs to write media texts for a specific audience.

This involves:

• demonstrating understanding of a range of conventions of current media writing by using them to construct at least two short media texts
• using grammatical and structural devices appropriate to the medium, product and target audience.

This student has, for one text, written a short film review for a teenage audience.

The student uses at least five conventions, including cast and crew names and discussion of specific technical aspects of the film (1). He demonstrates understanding of conventions to construct the review by giving a clear personal opinion in the opening paragraph (2), providing a plot synopsis without giving away the ending (3) and reiterating his personal recommendation in the closing paragraph (4).

The student uses appropriate grammatical and structural devices for a film review by writing in the first person present tense. He establishes a clear tone, linking the opening and closing paragraphs and choosing some appropriate vocabulary with control to establish his personal opinion of the film as mediocre.

To reach Merit the student could:

• use conventions more appropriately to construct the review, such as supporting discussion with specific evidence from the film (5) and crafting a more effective closing sentence (4)
• show greater control of review writing conventions, such as providing a more succinct plot synopsis and using character and actor names correctly throughout (6)
• provide greater variety in choice of vocabulary (1)
• demonstrate control of grammatical devices such as punctuation and syntax.

For Achieved, the student needs to write media texts for a specific audience.

This involves:

• demonstrating understanding of a range of conventions of current media writing by using them to construct at least two short media texts
• using grammatical and structural devices appropriate to the medium, product and target audience.

This student has, for one text, written a short film review for a teenage target audience.

The student uses at least five conventions, including film, director and composer names (1), discussion of specific technical aspects of the film (2) and a personal recommendation for a particular audience (3). They demonstrate sufficient understanding of these conventions to construct the review by giving a plot synopsis near the beginning (4) and stating clear opinions in the opening and closing paragraphs (5).

The student uses appropriate grammatical and structural devices, such as the film name in inverted commas, clear topic sentences for paragraphs, using the present tense, some evocative, persuasive vocabulary and addressing the reader (6).

For a more secure Achieved, the student could demonstrate greater and more appropriate understanding of the conventions of review writing by:

• providing cast and crew details, supporting discussion of the stop motion and music with more specific examples and by  using  more evocative adjectives (7)
• structuring the piece with a clearer opening paragraph, including background information on the film and offering a more direct recommendation or rating to the readers at the end
• using grammatical devices with greater accuracy, such as syntax, spelling, and punctuation.

For Achieved, the student needs to write media texts for a specific audience.

This involves:

• demonstrating understanding of a range of conventions of current media writing by using them to construct at least two short media texts
• using grammatical and structural devices appropriate to the medium, product and target audience.

This student has, for one text, written a short news story about a person of interest for an audience of students, teachers and members of their wider school community.

The student demonstrates some understanding of news article conventions by using a headline (1), by-line (2), short paragraphs and writing in the third person. The article features key elements of the story in the opening paragraph (who, what, where and when) and focuses on the angle of the subject’s surprising success and pride in representing her country (3).

The student uses some appropriate grammatical and structural devices, such as direct quotations in speech marks (4) and adding details to support the angle of the piece (5).

To reach Achieved, the student could demonstrate greater understanding of the conventions of news writing by:

• showing relevance/newsworthiness to the target audience by using a lead and a nut graph and including more details about the subject (age and school)
• following the inverted pyramid structure of a news story and featuring the most interesting details (paragraph 5) closer to the start of the article
• using appropriate grammatical devices with greater accuracy, using an active voice throughout (6), clearer syntax and more appropriate word choice (7).