Assessment and reporting in English Extension

Schools are required to submit to NESA a grade for each student based on their achievement at the end of the course.

Teachers use professional, on-balance judgement to allocate grades based on the Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses.

Teachers consider all available assessment information, including formal and informal assessment, to determine the grade that best matches each student’s achievement at the end of the course.

See ACE (Assessment, Certification and Examination rules and requirements) for further information.

Assessment programs must reflect course components and weightings

The course components and component weightings for Year 11 are mandatory.

Schools may determine specific elements of their assessment program

Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task. Schools may also follow the sample assessment programs provided by NESA.

Sample assessment program

NESA’s sample Year 11 formal school-based assessment program for English Extension 1 includes:

• 3 assessment tasks, including:
  • a formal written exam
  • a multimodal presentation about the Independent Related Project.

The recommended weighting for any individual task is 20% to 40%.

Independent related project

The Independent Related Project provides students with the opportunity to develop independent research skills and demonstrate the knowledge, understanding and skills of the module: Texts, Culture and Value in a multimodal presentation.

The multimodal presentation is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills across all of the modes. A multimodal presentation includes at least one mode other than reading and writing such as listening, speaking, viewing and representing.

No specific weightings have been allocated to the modes to allow flexibility in task design and to meet the needs and interests of students in a range of contexts.

NESA requires schools to submit a school-based assessment mark for each Year 12 candidate in a course. Formal school-based assessment tasks should reflect the syllabus outcomes and content. The mark submitted by the school provides a summation of each student’s achievement measured at several points throughout the course.

A school’s program of school-based assessment includes both mandatory and non-mandatory elements.

See ACE (Assessment, Certification and Examination rules and requirements) for further information.

Assessment programs must reflect course components and weightings

The course components and component weightings for Year 12 are mandatory.

Schools may determine specific elements of their assessment program

Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task. Schools may also follow the sample assessment programs provided by NESA.

Sample assessment program

NESA’s sample Year 12 formal school-based assessment program for English Extension 1 includes:

• 3 assessment tasks, including:
  • a minimum weighting for an individual task of 20%
  • a maximum weighting for an individual task of 40%
  • one task that is a formal written exam with a maximum weighting of 30%
  • one task that is a creative response with a maximum weighting of 40%
  • at least one task that integrates student-selected related material.

Formal written exam

This task may assess a broad range of course content and outcomes. Schools may choose to replicate the timing and structure of the HSC exam.

Creative response

Assessment in this module provides students with the opportunity to experiment with creative compositions that demonstrate the knowledge, understanding and skills of the course. The creative compositions may be realised in various forms, modes and media.

NESA requires schools to submit a school-based assessment mark for each Year 12 candidate in a course. Formal school-based assessment tasks should reflect the syllabus outcomes and content. The mark submitted by the school provides a summation of each student’s achievement measured at several points throughout the course.

A school’s program of school-based assessment includes both mandatory and non-mandatory elements.

See ACE (Assessment, Certification and Examination rules and requirements) for further information.

Assessment programs must reflect course components and weightings

The course components and component weightings for Year 12 are mandatory.

Schools may determine specific elements of their assessment program

Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task. Schools may also follow the sample assessment programs provided by NESA.

Sample assessment program

NESA’s sample Year 12 formal school-based assessment program for English Extension 2 includes:

• assessment that is based on the process of composing the Major Work
• 3 assessment tasks, including:
  • one task that is a Viva Voce with a weighting of 30%
  • one task that is a Literature Review with a weighting of 40%
  • one task that is a Critique of the Creative Process with a weighting of 30%
• the Major Work Journal should be submitted for monitoring with each assessment task.

Viva Voce in English Extension 2

The Viva Voce addresses the written proposal for the Major Work and provides students with the opportunity to present information on the major concept(s), scope, emphases and form of their proposed Major Work. Students also have the opportunity to explain how their proposal is based on the knowledge, understanding and skills of the English Advanced and Extension courses.

Elements of the Viva Voce:

• students acknowledge and reflect on the sources used to develop their proposal
• the task is conducted and assessed using a panel format
• the process supports the student in clarifying the direction of their work and provides opportunity for meaningful and constructive feedback
• time allocation for the Viva Voce is approximately 15–20 minutes with an additional 15 minutes' preparation time with the questions
• the journal is used as part of the presentation.

Elements of the Major Work Journal to be monitored with the Viva Voce include:

• concept mapping for generating ideas
• an original inquiry question and statement of intent
• evidence of investigation of a variety of composers in the chosen form
• an action plan with milestones.

Literature Review in English Extension 2

The Literature Review is a research and reflection task. Students select 2–4 examples of related literature to evaluate and critically examine how their Major Work supports or extends the field of texts in their chosen form. A Literature Review is evaluative and expresses the student’s perspective of the literature in relation to their work.

In total, the Literature Review should not exceed 1200 words.

Elements of the Major Work Journal to be monitored with the Literature Review include:

• annotated extracts from various texts with notes and evaluative reflection
• examples and evaluation of experimentation with style and structure
• summaries and notes about the exploration of the concept
• extracts of the student’s drafts with reasons for changes and critical questions from peers and/or teachers.

Critique of the Creative Process in English Extension 2

The Critique of the Creative Process should evaluate how the revising and editing stages of the composition process have contributed to the student’s development as a composer and the quality of their Major Work. The student considers how their skills and knowledge of their chosen form have evolved and why. They reflect on particular creative features of their work and evaluate the efficacy of the processes of revision and editing that they employed.

This task should not exceed 1000 words.

Elements of the Major Work Journal to be monitored with the Critique include:

• extracts of revisions of the Major Work and the Reflection Statement with reasons for the changes
• examples of the student’s final edits
• reflection on how the editing process has contributed to the quality of the published Major Work
• a reference list to inform the Reflection Statement.

Note: a draft or extract may be print, a recording, a sequence of shots, a scene or a storyboard/diagram as appropriate to the chosen form.

Monitoring and certification of the Major Work

Development of the Major Work should commence from the beginning of the HSC course. The Major Work must be conceived and executed by the student under the supervision of the English teacher. NESA will notify schools of the final date for the completion of the submitted Major Work. Schools access instructions for the submission and certification of Major Works via Schools Online.

Teachers supervising the English Extension 2 Major Work must ensure that ‘projects developed for assessment in one subject are not to be used either in full or in part for assessment in any other subject’ (NESA ACE website).

Schools must have procedures in place that will ensure that effective supervision of the development of students’ Major Works. It is essential that aspects of the process of development of the Major Work take place in school time. While it is expected that students will also work on their Major Work away from school this must be monitored and documented by the supervising teacher.

The response must be entirely original and completed without undue assistance from another person. ‘Original’ refers to the insights and exploration of form presented in the work, for example offering a fresh and engaging perspective on a concept or text, which may have been previously explored by other composers, in an appropriate medium for the intended audience and purpose. Originality can be demonstrated by the student’s independent investigation as evidenced in the Major Work and documented in the Reflection Statement and Major Work Journal, which documents the process of composition and investigation.

If students use a mentor in the development of the Major Work, the mentor must be aware that their role is limited to offering critical advice, posing open-ended questions and supporting the exploration of ideas. The supervising teacher is the primary mentor to the Extension 2 student and all contributions made by a mentor must be documented in the Major Work Journal.

Each student signs a statement, witnessed by the supervising teacher and the school principal, that the submitted Major Work is his or her own work.

The student and the supervising teacher ensure that any portable storage devices submitted are operable and conform to the specifications for the category. Students should ensure they have more than one copy of their Major Work as a back-up.

Teachers must certify that the work has been completed under their supervision, and that the rules and procedures detailed on the NESA ACE website have been followed. If the supervising teacher cannot certify the student’s work, the school must complete a non-certification report document. Principals must be able to endorse the teacher’s declaration that the work:

• has been done under their supervision
• is the student’s own work consistent with earlier drafts or any changes as negotiated with the teacher and other examples of the student’s work
• was completed by the due date.

Procedures and Information for teachers about submission of Extension 2 Major Works and Reflection Statements is available from Schools Online.

The Major Work Journal

During the composition process, students are required to keep a Major Work Journal as detailed in the English Extension Stage 6 Syllabus. It must be submitted with the Major Work to the supervising teacher. The journal may be digital or a hard copy. The Major Work Journal has a role in establishing the authenticity of the Major Work and must be kept at the school and be available if requested by NESA.

Print Medium

See Major Work parameters for presentation requirements.

Short Fiction

Students complete short fiction that responds to an area of special interest which is an extension of the knowledge and understanding developed in Stage 6 English courses, with a maximum limit of 5000–6000 words. The word limits do not include the Reflection Statement.

Students may consider:

• a new or different perspective or idea
• an appropriation or manifestation of a text
• experimentation with genre, form, style or language (including hybridity).

All appropriated or non-original material must be acknowledged in the Reflection Statement in accordance with the principles of All My Own Work. Bibliographies are not required to be added to short fiction; however, where works have been cited or referenced in the Major Work, these should be appropriately cited as an addendum attached to the short fiction.

Creative non-fiction

Students develop short creative non-fiction that responds to an area of special interest which is an extension of the knowledge and understanding developed in Stage 6 English courses, with a maximum limit of 5000–6000 words. The word limits do not include the Reflection Statement.

Students may consider:

• life writing
• investigative journalism
• an historical recreation or representation.

All appropriated or non-original material must be acknowledged in the Reflection Statement in accordance with the principles of All My Own Work. Bibliographies are not required to be added to creative non-fiction; however, where works have been cited or referenced in the Major Work, these should be appropriately cited as an addendum attached to the creative non-fiction.

Poetry

Students write a suite of poems, a collection of poems or an extended poem that responds to an area of special interest and which is an extension of the knowledge and understanding developed in Stage 6 English courses, up to a 3000-word limit. The word limits do not include the Reflection Statement.

Students may consider:

• a new or different perspective or idea
• an appropriation or manifestation of a text
• experimentation with genre, form, style or language.

All appropriated or non-original material must be acknowledged in the Reflection Statement in accordance with the principles of All My Own Work. Bibliographies are not required to be added to poems; however, where works have been cited or referenced in the Major Work, these should be appropriately cited as an addendum attached to the poem or poems.

Critical response

Students develop a critical response based on their independent research into an area of special interest which is an extension of the knowledge and understanding developed in Stage 6 English courses, with a maximum limit of 4000–5000 words. The word limits do not include the Reflection Statement.

Students may consider:

• a critique of an author’s work/particular text or texts
• an independent investigation into an aspect of language or writing
• an independent investigation into the works of a particular historical period
• an independent investigation into the works of a particular paradigm related to the study of English.

All appropriated or non-original material must be acknowledged in the Reflection Statement in accordance with the principles of All My Own Work. A bibliography is typically appropriate to the conventions of this form and, if included, should be attached to the Major Work.

Script – short film, television, drama

Students develop a script of a complete work for the medium of film or television or drama, based on their independent research into an area of special interest and which is an extension of the knowledge and understanding developed in Stage 6 English courses. The intended performance time for the script must be no more than 25 minutes. Scriptwriting conventions appropriate to the medium should be followed. NESA does not specify a particular style or format.

Students may consider:

• a new or different perspective or idea
• an appropriation or manifestation of a text
• experimentation with genre, form or style.

All appropriated or non-original material must be acknowledged in the Reflection Statement in accordance with the principles of All My Own Work and should be acknowledged as an addendum to the script.

Sound Medium

Podcasts – drama, storytelling, speeches, performance poetry

Students present a podcast that responds to an area of special interest and which is an extension of the knowledge and understanding developed in Stage 6 English courses, with a playing time of no more than 15 minutes. Students must submit a print copy of the script, storyboard or flow chart. The audio file may include music and/or sound effects, which will not be included in the running time but will be considered for contribution to meaning and aesthetics. The student presenting the Major Work must be the principal performer (minor voices should be used judiciously), sole writer and sole director/producer. For drama, the student must be the sole director/producer.

Students may consider:

• a new or different perspective or idea
• an appropriation or manifestation of a text
• experimentation with genre, form or style.

All appropriated or non-original material must be acknowledged in the Reflection Statement in accordance with the principles of All My Own Work and should be acknowledged as an addendum to the podcast.

Multimedia

Students present a digital file that has a playing time of 7–8 minutes. Students must submit a print copy of the script, storyboard or flow chart. The choice of genre, style or content must be based on their independent research into an area of special interest and which is an extension of the knowledge and understanding developed in Stage 6 English courses. The student presenting the Major Work must be the sole writer, director/producer and editor.

Students may consider:

• a new or different perspective of a concept
• an appropriation or manifestation of a text
• experimentation with genre, form or style.

Note: This form is not restricted to a short film. It could include a range of different multimodal performances including performance poetry or speeches.

All appropriated or non-original material must be acknowledged in the Reflection Statement in accordance with the principles of All My Own Work and should be acknowledged as an addendum to the script, storyboard or flow chart.