In QCE English, your three internal assessments make up 75% of your final result, much more than in maths or science. That makes the written response for a public audience, the persuasive speech and the imaginative writing exam the core of your English grade.
This guide breaks down the internal assessment sections of QCAA's 2025 English subject report. It covers how students scored on each IA, what QCAA's high-scoring samples did, and the changes under the revised 2025 syllabus that students completing Units 3 and 4 from 2026 need to know, including IA1 and IA2 swapping places. For the exam, see our companion 2025 QCE English external assessment breakdown.
Key Takeaways
- Internal assessments are worth 75% of your English result: IA1, IA2 and IA3 are worth 25% each.
- Full marks were rare: only about 7–8% of students scored 25/25 on any single IA. The most common mark on every IA was 19 out of 25.
- School marks were reliable: QCAA agreed with schools' marks 95.72% (IA1), 96.36% (IA2) and 97.22% (IA3) of the time.
- The top marks went to responses with a perceptive thesis, integrated analysis and deliberate language choices that shaped the audience's reactions.
- Under the 2025 syllabus, the persuasive spoken response becomes IA1 and the written response for a public audience becomes IA2, texts come from the 2026–2029 prescribed list, and the imaginative exam has no word limit.
How Internal Assessment Works in QCE English
| Assessment (2025 cohort) | Type | Weighting | What You Do |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA1 | Extended response: written response for a public audience | 25% | Analyse how two texts represent a concept, identity, time or place, written for a public audience |
| IA2 | Extended response: persuasive spoken response | 25% | Create and deliver your own perspective on a contemporary social issue |
| IA3 | Examination: imaginative written response | 25% | Use a prescribed text as a springboard for an imaginative piece, under exam conditions |
| External assessment | Examination: analytical essay | 25% | Analytical essay on one prescribed text |
The two extended responses each take about 12 hours of class and home time. Your school writes each IA, but the QCAA must endorse it first, then confirms a sample of marked responses to check that your school's marks are accurate.
💡 New to the system? Read our explainer on how QCE internal assessments work.
How Students Scored in 2025
| Assessment | Maximum Mark | Most Common Mark | Approx. % on Full Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA1 (written, public audience) | 25 | 19 | 6.5% |
| IA2 (persuasive spoken) | 25 | 19 | 8% |
| IA3 (imaginative written) | 25 | 19 | 7% |
| Total IA | 75 | About 47–57 | 2% |
Approximate values read from the mark distribution charts in QCAA's 2025 English subject report.
English internal marks are much more spread out than in maths and science, where full marks were often the most common result. Most English students scored between about 13 and 24 on each IA, so there is plenty of room to gain marks.
Criterion Results
Each IA is marked on three criteria. The approximate percentage of students on full marks for each:
| Criterion | IA1 | IA2 | IA3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge application | 16% (of 9) | 20% (of 8) | 19% (of 9) |
| Organisation and development | 13% (of 8) | 16% (of 8) | 16% (of 8) |
| Textual features | 15% (of 8) | 16% (of 9) | 14% (of 8) |
Approximate values read from QCAA's 2025 criterion charts.
How Reliable Were School Marks?
| Assessment | Instruments Endorsed First Time | Samples Reviewed | Agreement With School Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA1 | 85% | 4,695 (+13 additional) | 95.72% |
| IA2 | 94% | 4,667 (+19 additional) | 96.36% |
| IA3 | 87% | 4,677 (+6 additional) | 97.22% |
Source: QCAA English subject report, 2025 cohort.
Your school's English marks are very likely to stand. Changes were small and went both up and down, with no criterion adjusted in more than 1.5% of samples.
IA1: Written Response for a Public Audience (25%)
You analyse how two different types of text (for example, a novel and a film) represent a concept, identity, time or place, and write for a public publication, such as a literary article. At least one text must come from the prescribed text list.
The most popular texts schools chose for internal assessment were the ABC's Four Corners (144 schools), Wilfred Owen (128), The Great Gatsby (126), Sylvia Plath (122) and Robert Frost (115).
What QCAA's Sample Did
QCAA's sample, "Lies, Lights, and Lab Rats", compared Stranger Things with Carol Ann Duffy's poem "We Remember Your Childhood Well" to argue that fear is "a weapon that distorts reality, isolates individuals and tightens the grip of those in power".
- A perceptive thesis, developed logically. Each paragraph opened with a clear topic sentence and built the argument that both texts show fear stripping people of their agency.
- Cohesion across texts. Transitions such as "similarly" and "in contrast" moved between the two texts, and repeated sentence patterns connected ideas.
- Analysis tied to effects. The student linked the show's dim, flickering lighting and pacing to Joyce's isolation and paranoia, and Duffy's clipped sentences, repetition of "nobody" and lack of stanza breaks to gaslighting.
- A strong public voice. Rhetorical questions ("And isn't that exactly how fear controls us?") drew readers into the conversation.
What Top Marks Need
- Knowledge application: insightful analysis of how specific techniques position the audience and strengthen your overall argument, not just a list of techniques.
- Organisation and development: a deliberately crafted piece for the publication, using conventions such as a relevant personal anecdote or connections to contemporary human experience, with a sustained, authoritative tone.
- Textual features: nuanced vocabulary and deliberately varied sentences that shape readers' reactions.
IA2: Persuasive Spoken Response (25%)
You create and present your own perspective on a contemporary social issue from the media in the previous year, for a specific audience. The focus is on persuading, not analysing other people's views.
What QCAA's Sample Did
QCAA's sample was a speech to a teenage audience arguing AI-generated images are not art.
- A personal hook. The student opened by holding up a drawing of a friend's guinea pig they had made as a gift, then asked whether an AI image would have meant the same.
- Values that move the audience. The speech drew on beliefs about effort, creativity and friendship, contrasted with AI "scavenging" artists' work, and backed this up with figures from a 2024 Society of Authors survey.
- A hopeful call to action. It ended by asking the audience to use AI only as a tool and "never call AI art".
- Inclusive, emotive language. Phrases such as "Who here loves to be given thoughtful gifts?" and "We need real art" built a shared identity. Short sentences emphasised key points.
- Deliberate delivery. Changes of tone, slowing down and pausing, with sincere expressions and gestures.
What Top Marks Need
- Knowledge application: discerning use of the audience's values and beliefs to shape their emotional and critical reactions.
- Organisation and development: arguments ordered deliberately to build a clear thesis, with signposting and repetition for effect.
- Textual features: vocabulary that fits your role as speaker and the audience, plus sustained control of voice and body language.
IA3: Imaginative Written Response (25%)
You use a prescribed literary text as a springboard for your own imaginative piece, written under exam conditions with one week's notice of the task.
What QCAA's Sample Did
QCAA's sample, "Learning to Fly", told the story of a mother, Maria, struggling as her daughter Chloe prepares to leave Brisbane for university in Melbourne.
- Cultural assumptions used for emotional impact. The story drew on ideas about teenagers "flying the nest" and parents letting go. Dialogue such as "I'm proud of you … I just don't know how to be without you" positioned readers to sympathise with both characters.
- A circular structure. It opened with Maria's neglected garden and closed with her watering it, showing her acceptance.
- A motif with purpose. Birds "urgently rising" early in the story became a bird that "soared without hesitation" at the end.
- Deliberate sequencing. The acceptance letter is only revealed after Maria's struggle is established, which builds tension.
What Top Marks Need
- Knowledge application: plot, setting, characters and word choices all work together to create a subtle perspective that readers accept.
- Organisation and development: strong genre conventions, such as a central conflict, a clear perspective and a limited cast of characters.
- Textual features: sentence structures and punctuation used for effect, such as fragments and ellipses for tension, or em dashes and embedded clauses to weave in detail.
💡 Not sure what "analyse", "create" or "persuade" are asking for? Read our complete guide to QCE cognitive verbs.
What Changes Under the 2025 Syllabus
| Area | Change |
|---|---|
| Order of tasks | IA1 and IA2 swap. IA1 becomes the persuasive spoken response (Topic 1: Conversations about issues in texts) and IA2 becomes the written response for a public audience (Topic 2: Conversations about concepts in texts) |
| Prescribed texts | Texts come from the Prescribed text list: English and EAL 2026–2029. Macbeth is no longer an external assessment text |
| Written response for a public audience | You should offer a focused perspective (for example personal, philosophical, social, political or cultural) and aim to engage a public audience |
| Persuasive spoken response | Analysing media texts is part of your preparation, not your response. Multimedia counts toward the time limit. Schools choose the mode, such as a podcast or video, which decides the features assessed |
| Imaginative written response | No word limit may appear on the task. Objectives now say "and/or", but teachers judge them the same way |
| Marking guides | The middle performance level is now a single mark rather than a range |
QCAA's example of a focused perspective: comparing The Yield and the film Little Women, a student might narrow "coming of age" to how August and Jo realise their inner strength to challenge restrictive cultural narratives.
How to Improve Your English IA Results
- Choose a specific, perceptive thesis for both the written response and the speech.
- Analyse effects, not just techniques. Explain how each choice positions the audience and supports your argument.
- Write for the real audience named in your task, using the conventions of the publication or speaking context.
- In the speech, create your own perspective and appeal to your audience's values. Rehearse your delivery as much as your words.
- In the imaginative response, plan a central conflict, a limited cast and a motif or structure that carries your ideas.
- Edit for deliberate sentence variety and precise vocabulary in every task.
- Use your draft feedback. Small improvements in each criterion add up across 75% of your result.
For more preparation:
- read our 2025 QCE English external assessment breakdown
- follow our guide to getting an A in QCE English
- learn how IA1, IA2 and IA3 work.
Need Help With QCE English?
Our QCE English tutors work one-on-one with students to sharpen their analysis, craft persuasive speeches and imaginative writing, and build the precise, controlled style QCAA markers reward.
Source: Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority, English subject report, 2025 cohort (January 2026).
