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WACE · WACE Year 12 ATAR · official past papers

WACE English as an Additional Language or Dialect past exams 2021–2025, by year and topic

The official SCSA exams, marking guides and examiner reports we index, organised by topic and subtopic and labelled with the study design it was written under. Open the official paper, work the question in your own workspace, or bring a tutor into it live.

Index last synced 19 August 2026.

Papers, marking guides and examiner reports open on the official SCSA website — they stay official and up to date. Question descriptions below are our own; we never republish exam content. Prefer to be walked through it? See the tutor directory →

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ATARMAxxing indexes 15 official SCSA English as an Additional Language or Dialect papers from 2021 to 2025, with 19 questions mapped to 5 topics. Every paper opens on the SCSA website.

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Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024) · 2023–2026Previous examination format (Listening 30%, Reading and viewing 35%, Extended writing one from five 35%) · 2021–2022

WACE English as an Additional Language or Dialect exams by year: official papers & marking guidance

Past exams indexed: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021. Open the official SCSA papers, with marking guidance where available.

Year	Study design	Official paper(s)	Marking guidance
2025 WACE English as an Additional Language or Dialect exam	Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)	Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗ · Recording transcript ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2024 WACE English as an Additional Language or Dialect exam	Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)	Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗ · Recording transcript ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2023 WACE English as an Additional Language or Dialect exam	Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)	Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗ · Recording transcript ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2022 WACE English as an Additional Language or Dialect exam	Previous examination format (Listening 30%, Reading and viewing 35%, Extended writing one from five 35%)	Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗ · Recording transcript ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2021 WACE English as an Additional Language or Dialect exam	Previous examination format (Listening 30%, Reading and viewing 35%, Extended writing one from five 35%)	Written examination ↗ · Ratified marking key ↗ · Recording transcript ↗	Marking guidance ↗

15 official papers across 5 years (2021–2025), 5 with marking guidance, published by WACE. These span more than one study design; the most recent is Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024). Earlier papers may cover material that has since changed.

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Listening (Section One) · 6 mapped questions

Lectures and speeches

2025Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section One Q1-615 marksText 1, a lecture to parents on how the traditional outdoor Australian childhood has changed: a one-mark multiple-choice item on how the speaker characterises that childhood, explaining a sound-based metaphor for change, listing two changes to play, explaining how safety fears changed play, outlining three consequences of less unstructured outdoor play and describing the speaker's three proposed solutions.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section One Q8-1318 marksText 2, a speech on the environmental impact of artificial intelligence: why the impact matters, an AI system's three priorities, a multiple-choice comparison of carbon emissions, a 6-mark initiative/benefit table, four ways to advocate and interpreting the closing sentence.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2023Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section One Q9-1513 marksText 2, a speech about a swimming program for refugees: its purpose, inspiring experiences, other benefits, interpreting a 'lifeblood' metaphor, activities offered, a multiple-choice item on skills taught and two wider positive outcomes.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Interviews

2025Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section One Q7-1414 marksText 2, an interview about a community group of older women teaching clothes mending: causes of textile waste, what a cited report reveals, a two-row problem/approach table, benefits for participants, an indicator of success, generational skill gaps for mothers and children, why a speaker thinks clothing is taken for granted (production versus consumer) and two community values needing 'mending'.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section One Q1-717 marksText 1, an interview with the head of a community refugee sponsorship organisation: the pilot program's purpose, a multiple-choice item on the order of joining steps, a 6-mark table of support before arrival, in the first month and longer term, advantages over professional services, defining 'opt-in', benefits to regional towns and reasons people join.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2023Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section One Q1-819 marksText 1, a radio interview with a celebrity chef about heritage and identity: early beliefs, another occupation, how she neglected her heritage, why cooking is an emotional journey, qualities she admires in Australian children, a table on her upbringing and responses, her passions with examples and a lesson from nature.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this topic: Multiple-choice and table items · Explaining meaning, metaphor and speaker purpose — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Reading and viewing (Section Two) · 7 mapped questions

Short-answer comprehension of prose texts

2024Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Two Q14-1913 marksOn an official submission about recognising Indigenous languages, an article about educators creating a bilingual Yawuru seasons book and a graph of schools teaching Indigenous languages by state: a benefit for each of four focus areas, how WA leads, the difference between seasonal calendars, why local-language books matter, benefits of showcasing local seasons and what the graph suggests about WA.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2023Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Two Q16-2118 marksOn an article about ageism across life stages, an article about an intergenerational television experiment and a population pyramid graph: experiences of ageism by life stage, a 6-mark stereotype table, why ageing is changing, positive effects of intergenerational contact, interpreting a quotation and two facts from the graph.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Fact, opinion and perspective

2025Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Two Q15-177 marksOn a podcast transcript about a Sydney primary school supporting Mongolian-speaking students: three actions the school took, two fact-or-opinion decisions (a census figure; a parents' belief) and two quotations supporting a stated positive perspective on the bilingual approach.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Persuasive devices

2025Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Two Q18-206 marksOn an article about a family making transliterated bilingual picture books: explaining how the books are transliterated, two reasons an academic's quotations persuade, then two findings from a graph comparing home-language speakers with schools teaching each language.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Synthesis of three texts

2025Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Two Q2115 marksSynthesise three main ideas about bilingual education across all three texts, in own words, with own knowledge and/or experience.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Two Q2015 marksSynthesise three main ideas about teaching Indigenous languages in Australia across all three texts, with own knowledge and experience.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2023Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Two Q2215 marksSynthesise three main ideas about changes in age and attitudes to ageism across all three texts; the report notes candidates who ignored 'changes' could not score highly.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this topic: Graphs and visual texts — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Extended writing: speech (Section Three Part A) · 3 mapped questions

Unit 3 speech: Australia as a cultural community

2025Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Three Part A Q22/Q2325 marksChoice of a speech to students on the importance of listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' stories today, or a speech encouraging migrants to take practical steps to maintain their first language.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2023Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Three Part A Q23/Q2425 marksChoice of a peer speech on what it means to be Australian, or a speech persuading national politicians to consider young people's opinions (Unit 4).Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Unit 4 speech: language and empowerment

2024Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Three Part A Q21/Q2225 marksChoice of a class speech on the changing role of social media in Australia (responding to a quoted claim), or a speech advising newcomers experiencing culture shock (Unit 3).Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Extended writing: essay (Section Three Part B) · 3 mapped questions

Unit 3 essay: Australia as a cultural community

2025Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Three Part B Q24/Q2525 marksChoice of an essay on how two studied texts represent multiculturalism in Australia, or on how two studied texts changed the candidate's attitude to a contemporary issue (Unit 4).Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Three Part B Q23/Q2425 marksChoice of an essay on how studied texts inspired the candidate to maintain connection with cultural heritage, or on why students should read texts featuring diverse cultural and linguistic communities; at least two studied texts.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Unit 4 essay: language and empowerment

2023Revised Year 12 syllabus and examination format (first examined 2023; current v9 effective 1 January 2024)Written examination Section Three Part B Q25/Q2625 marksChoice of an essay on the benefits to an individual of a multicultural life (Unit 3), or on how language is used to influence and/or persuade people; at least two studied texts.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

The rest of the syllabus

Question-level mapping for this area is still being verified. Every official paper covering them is in the year table above.

Language (all sections) — Grammar and punctuation · Vocabulary, register and spelling

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