Clarification details
Updated February 2017. This document has been updated in its entirety to address new issues that have arisen from moderation.
Evidence requirements
A minimum of two tasks are required for the standard. 600 words is the suggested guideline across the written evidence. When assessing for a grade, the teacher needs to ensure that the student is working consciously and reasonably consistently at the level rather than accidentally and occasionally. The two pieces are not assessed separately but rather as one whole body of work.
If one piece of evidence is throwing doubt on the grade as it is weaker than the other piece, (e.g. one piece meets the criteria for Excellence, while the other meets the Achieved criteria) it may be that the student should re-work the Achieved evidence or submit a further piece of crafted writing evidence to ensure consistency. All criteria of a grade need to be met in order for that grade to be awarded.
Whakawhanake whakaaro
At this level, students are required to express and develop ideas. Ideas may include facts, opinions, information or arguments.
Development includes building on ideas by adding comments, explanation, details or examples appropriate to the selected text type, for example ‘I te taenga mai o Tauiwi ki Aotearoa ka timata te hinga o te reo Māori. Nā te mea kāore e taea e rātou te tauwhāinga i ngā Pākehā, ā, ka piki ake te nama o ngā Pākehā i te nama o ngā Māori’.
Justify means to give an explanation or reason for an opinion expressed, for example ‘Tino whakaae au ki te whakapae. Tuatahi, ahakoa kāore ngā tangata e matua mōhio ki tō tātou reo rangatira, nanao rātou i ngā kōrero o ngā tipuna, ā, ko te take, kia a au, ko te tā moko he waitohu e whakaatuhia ko wai koe, no hea koe’.
Pūtake
The purpose of the writing should be evident to the reader. The format needs to reflect the conventions of the selected text type. For example, a persuasive essay will have an introduction that clearly states the writer’s position or opinion, a structured argument and a conclusion that links back to the introductory statements.
In a pakiwaitara, this includes a setting, characters/s, plot and a resolution or the main point of the story.
Students need to show they can use language to entertain and persuade as well as to inform. Recounting a legend, listing biographical details, or giving factual information on a topic may not enable students to meet the curriculum requirement without some evidence of reflection, analysis, evaluation, or creativity.