Question 1

What is NCEA AS 91323 about?

Accepted Answer

This standard asks you to create a substantial collection of printmaking work (across two large panels) that demonstrates you understand how printmaking works and what ideas you're exploring. Your portfolio should show your decision-making process—how and why you made choices about your subject matter, techniques, and visual style—while displaying technical skill in your chosen print medium.

Question 2

What do students need to do for AS 91323?

Accepted Answer

1. Create a connected body of printmaking work across two A1 panels that explores a visual theme or idea 2. Demonstrate understanding of printmaking conventions (such as how different printing processes work, layers, mark-making, and how the medium shapes what you can express) 3. Show evidence of planning, experimentation, and decision-making—not just finished prints but some record of how your ideas developed 4. Make deliberate technical choices that connect to your ideas (e.g. which printing process you use, colour decisions, repetition, or composition choices) 5. Present your work with clear selection and editing, showing you understand which pieces advance your concept

Question 3

What's the difference between Achieved, Merit, and Excellence for AS 91323?

Accepted Answer

Achieved: Your portfolio shows a recognisable theme or subject, includes multiple prints made using printmaking techniques, and demonstrates some understanding of how printmaking conventions connect to your ideas. Merit: You show purposeful decision-making through clear process documentation, technically competent prints, and evidence of making-reflecting-reforming cycles where your reflections shaped what you made next. Excellence: You demonstrate strong ownership of your concept from the start, extract clear themes or imagery, refine these through technically accomplished prints, and show early enough thinking space to make informed decisions about new directions in your work.

Question 4

What mistakes do students typically make in AS 91323?

Accepted Answer

1. Treating individual high-level prints as standalone outcomes rather than connecting them to a sustained idea or theme—examiners want to see how prints build on and develop each other, not just impressive single works 2. Showing insufficient volume of work or incomplete panels; two A1 panels is the expectation, and underestimating the workload required means underdeveloped ideas 3. Using photocopies or paint on print boards instead of engaging with actual printmaking processes (like relief, intaglio, or screen printing), which suggests misunderstanding what printmaking conventions are

Printmaking body of work

Your assessment resources

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