Y10W02PA - How Australian Federal Elections Work

This week you wrote a three-paragraph explanatory piece about how Australian federal elections work. Now you'll read another student's piece and judge how strong it is. Working through how assessors evaluate explanatory writing sharpens your ability to apply the same lens to your own work.

Part 1

The Assessor Scorecard for

Explanatory – Explanatory Piece

An effective explanatory piece selects accurate information, organises it clearly, and expresses it with precision so the reader gains genuine understanding. Assessors evaluate how well content, structure and language serve the reader's need to know.

Ideas & Content

Accurate information chosen and explained with enough depth to show not just what, but how and why. No vague or incomplete explanations. Key concepts explained, not just named.

  • Accurate selection: chooses the right information and explains how and why it matters.

Structure & Cohesion

Clear organisation that signals what each section covers and how ideas connect. No topics bleeding across paragraphs. A clear topic sentence so the reader never has to work out what a paragraph is about.

  • Clear organisation: signals each section’s purpose so the reader can follow without effort.

Audience & Purpose

Pitched at the right level — neither over-simplified nor assuming too much prior knowledge. Jargon explained when it is used. A tone that is neither too casual nor too dense for the intended reader.

  • Ask whether a: reader unfamiliar with the topic would understand each explanation without needing to look anything up.

Language Choices

Precise, subject-specific vocabulary that builds credibility and clarity. No vague or informal language standing in for accurate terms. Technical terms used rather than ordinary words that approximate them.

  • Subject vocabulary: uses accurate terms that build clarity, precision and trust.

Conventions

Accurate spelling and punctuation, especially with technical terms and proper nouns. Errors in facts or terminology undermine the reader's trust. Sentence variety supports clarity.

  • Technical accuracy: keeps terminology, spelling and sentence control reliable throughout.

Part 2

Today’s Marking Targets

Task in one sentence

Write a three-paragraph explanatory piece covering how Australian federal elections work, how the House and Senate voting systems differ, and the main arguments for and against compulsory voting.

Let’s Focus

Three strands matter most this week: Ideas & Content, Structure & Cohesion and Language Choices. The depth of ideas in each paragraph decides whether the explanation builds real understanding or only gestures at it. The organisation of the three paragraphs decides whether the reader can follow it from start to finish. The precision of vocabulary decides how accurately electoral concepts are communicated.

Ideas & Content

Strong writing this week shows Ideas & Content applied consistently — not just in isolated moments. Assessors look for genuine depth that serves this task: each electoral concept explained well enough that the reader understands how and why it works.

What markers scan for

  • Ideas & Content applied consistently throughout — not only in isolated moments.
  • The specific task and topic visibly shaping how the strand is demonstrated.

Score Bands

  • Basic

    Ideas & Content is present but applied inconsistently or only at a surface level.

  • Strong

    Ideas & Content is applied consistently, with genuine understanding of what this task requires.

  • Excellent

    Ideas & Content is applied with sustained precision throughout, shaped by the specific demands of this task.

Structure & Cohesion

Strong writing this week shows Structure & Cohesion applied consistently — not just in isolated moments. Assessors look for clear organisation that serves this task: three paragraphs that each handle one topic and connect logically.

What markers scan for

  • Structure & Cohesion applied consistently throughout — not only in isolated moments.
  • The specific task and topic visibly shaping how the strand is demonstrated.

Score Bands

  • Basic

    Structure & Cohesion is present but applied inconsistently or only at a surface level.

  • Strong

    Structure & Cohesion is applied consistently, with genuine understanding of what this task requires.

  • Excellent

    Structure & Cohesion is applied with sustained precision throughout, shaped by the specific demands of this task.

Language Choices

Strong writing this week shows Language Choices applied consistently — not just in isolated moments. Assessors look for precise vocabulary that serves this task: accurate political and electoral terms used in place of vague approximations.

What markers scan for

  • Language Choices applied consistently throughout — not only in isolated moments.
  • The specific task and topic visibly shaping how the strand is demonstrated.

Score Bands

  • Basic

    Language Choices is present but applied inconsistently or only at a surface level.

  • Strong

    Language Choices is applied consistently, with genuine understanding of what this task requires.

  • Excellent

    Language Choices is applied with sustained precision throughout, shaped by the specific demands of this task.

Now read · Student sample

How Australian Federal Elections Work

Year 10 sample · \~250 words

Student sample for assessment

Written by a Year 10 student in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.

Australian federal elections happen every three years and are used to choose the people who make up the parliament that governs the country. The main way people vote is called preferential voting, where voters number all the candidates from their first choice to last rather than just picking one. The idea is that votes do not go to waste. If the person you ranked first does not get enough support, your vote moves to whoever you ranked second, and this keeps going until one candidate has a majority of the vote. The House of Representatives and the Senate use different voting systems because they represent different things. In the House, each local area sends one person to represent it in parliament. In the Senate, each state elects a bunch of senators at once, so a different method is used. The Senate method tries to make sure parties get a number of seats that roughly matches how many votes they actually got, which makes it easier for smaller parties to be elected compared to the House. Compulsory voting is something that sets Australian elections apart from most other countries around the world. Every eligible person is legally required to attend a polling place on election day and vote, or risk getting a fine. Supporters say this is a good thing because it means election outcomes represent what the whole population thinks, not just those who bother. Critics say being forced to vote takes away your freedom to choose, which they believe is also important. Both sides make a fair point depending on what you think the purpose of voting actually is.