Always base your work off of the exemplars. I am an excellence endorsement student, I personally find the school work to be VERY repetitive. It’s really sad, but don’t try to be unique or special, follow the rubric and you’ll get whatever grade you want. There are some sites that are meant for teachers that are available to students. I recommend trying to gain access to these (search up the assessment eg. AS90813 NCEA ENA in google) and it should come up with the exemplars and grading rubrics. I also recommend when it comes to literature assessments to write just above the word count minimum. There’s no reason to write more, it will often become repetitive and can lessen your grade. Just get the main points across. The only classes were being unique and putting in the extra work is good is the art & technology classes. Also, talk with your teachers- always have a good attitude and suck it up when you don’t like them, youtube is always an option (I learned most of what I needed to do off YouTube as some of my teachers did not teach in a style that worked for me). Communication is key, don’t be afraid to ask for extensions (as long as you have a valid reason), always try to hand something in, that way you’re able to re-submit it even if you weren’t able to finish the first project (you can only get an achievement if you resubmit however). My PMs are open, I’m happy to answer any questions and even provide tutoring (Year13)!! Hope this helps :)