This circular is published to provide information about Scholarship

Format of the 2006 assessment in Scholarship English

30 June 2006 - SC2006/002

The 2006 Scholarship English paper will follow the structure of last year’s examination and the marking criteria will be consistent with last year’s marking schedule. There will be three essays from three separate sections.

Section A will require an essay comparing two unfamiliar texts, one prose and one poetry. Successful candidates will engage fully with both texts and use the guidelines in the question as a framework to sustain an in-depth discussion of the numerous features used in crafting both texts.

Section B will require an in-depth response to literature and/or language of one or more texts. Candidates will again show engagement with the chosen text(s) through critical appreciation and independent reflection. The ability to develop and sustain an argument that is clearly related to the chosen question is essential. There will be a range of questions to choose from in this section.

Section C will require the exploration of issues in language and/or literature. Successful candidates will fully integrate their discussion to demonstrate a sustained critical response across a range of texts. There will be a range of questions to choose from in this section.

Successful candidates will generally write more than the minimum 800 words suggested for each essay. In 2005 some of the best candidates wrote considerably more than this. Candidates must ensure that they address the chosen topic for their essay. An essay prepared for NCEA Level 3 will not be sufficient to satisfy Scholarship requirements and candidates should be discouraged from attempting to skew questions to fit prepared essays. The best candidates address the question with enthusiasm and show maturity and originality in their responses.

Each essay (section) will be marked out of 8 to give a total mark of 24. Candidates are more likely to reach Scholarship level by devoting equal time to each of the 3 sections. Candidates who produce a very weak third essay are unlikely to be successful because the total mark from all three essays is used to rank candidates.

The 2006 English examination is to be conducted on Saturday 25 November 2006.

The examination writing team

The examining panel in 2006 is a highly qualified and experienced group of secondary and tertiary teachers. Several members of the writing group are also involved in the marking process.

The marking process

The exact number of markers in 2006 will depend on the number of candidates entering for Scholarship English. In 2005 there were four markers who marked together regularly as a group throughout the marking process. Extensive checkmarking was carried out to ensure the full panel is marking to the same standard. The top papers were marked by all markers before being returned to candidates. This process will be repeated in 2006.

Over January, NZQA will work alongside the Scholarship Technical Advisory Group, comprising Professor Gary Hawke, Head of the School of Government at Victoria University, Professor John Hattie, Faculty of Education, University of Auckland and Professor Terry Crooks, Director of The Educational Research Unit, University of Otago, to determine the cut off points for the award of Scholarship. NZQA will be advised by the panel leader in this process.

The results of the 2006 Scholarship examinations will be distributed to candidates by mid February 2007.

Enquiries

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• 2006-001 - 19 May 2006 - Eligibility to be awarded Scholarship in Visual Arts

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