| Despite the widespread adoption of exemplars across various disciplines, there has been a noticeable gap in their integration within English language test preparations, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), which has been comparatively limited. Moreover, the majority of the exemplar research literature has predominantly centered on student perspectives, with limited attention given to educators' perspectives. In addition, employing classroom observations as a research method has also been suggested, as researchers can witness how exemplars are implemented and how students engage with them in an authentic setting. the present study explored the nuanced understanding of how exemplars are orchestrated in IELTS preparation classes and the perspectives of their implementation gathered from both students and teachers. The two research questions were addressed employing a qualitative case study research method with a convenient sampling approach. The study was conducted at a private business university in South Tangerang and utilised three primary instruments: a questionnaire, classroom observations, and follow-up interviews. The study used triangulation for data analysis to cross-verify data from the sources. The findings show that the exemplar delivery was significantly influenced by the teaching approaches employed by teachers. Findings reveal that a dichotomy emerged between ‘explicit’ and ‘social constructivist’ teaching methodologies among the cohort of teachers observed. This division shaped the manner in which exemplars were orchestrated. The teachers who utilized the ‘social constructivist’ teaching approach and mixed the approach with inductive, scaffolding and dialogic use of exemplars were able to make their students more involved in their learning process. The three teachers facilitated close interaction between their students and the given exemplars and thus made them more attentive, motivated, and invested in their learning experiences. Another finding was that exemplars could effectively serve four purposes, which are to help students recognize the nature of quality work, as a scaffold, to provide immediate feedback, to nurture independent and self-regulating learners. |