THE WRITING PAPER

The writing test consists of two tasks: a transactional letter or email of between 175 and 200 words, and a
non-transactional piece of writing (report, article or review) which can be descriptive, narrative or
discursive, of between 200 and 250 words. Both tasks are compulsory.

The writing tasks will be evaluated by two assessors using the following criteria:

a) overall impression, register and task completion/achievement;

b) vocabulary range and control;

c) grammatical range and control and

d) coherence, cohesion, fluency and organisation.

The writing test lasts 90 minutes.

GENERAL TIPS and ADVICE

Read the Instructions

Make sure you know what to do - always start by reading the instructions first!

Keep an eye on word count

Bear in mind that you will be penalised for very long or very short scripts.

In the case of very long scripts, (more than 225 words for Task 1 and more than 275 for Task 2),
the score for overall impression, register and task achievement will be lowered 1 point.

In the case of very short texts (less than 150 words for Task 1, and less than 175 words for Task
2), the score for overall impression, register and task achievement will be lowered 1 point.

Keep an eye on the clock

Don’t run out of time! You know you have 90 minutes to do 2 writing tasks so you should spend
about 45 minutes on each task. You should leave yourself time at the end to check the grammar
and vocabulary in each task. Make sure you have written your final copy on the answer sheets
provided. There won’t be extra time at the end for this.

Bullet Points

In each piece of writing you will be given three bullet points which indicate what information should
be included in your answer. Always make sure you have addressed ALL the bullet points as well
as including an introductory paragraph, a conclusion and a title if required.
Task 1: EMAIL/LETTER

Overview

An email or letter is a transactional piece of writing. This means that the purpose of the writing is to
give or receive information. It could be a formal or informal communication. It depends on who you
are writing to.

Always plan before you start writing. This will save you time later when you begin your letter/email
as you will have all the details you want to include. Make sure your paragraphs are clearly
organized.

Remember you should address the three bullet points you have in the question. So check that
you follow the instructions.

The first thing you must decide is if you are going to write a formal or informal letter. To know
this, check who you are writing to. Your style should be appropriate for the intended reader.

Formal letters and emails

 Always begin with Dear Sir/Madam, if you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to, or
their name if you do.

 Start your letter by explaining why you are writing e.g. to apply for a job, to ask for information
about a course, to complain about an experience you have had. You should do this in the opening
paragraph.

 Don’t use contractions, e.g. don’t, can’t, … do not, cannot

 Use complex structures, e.g. sentences with more than one clause, to express your ideas.

Informal letters and emails

An informal letter or email is written to a friend or someone you know. Although the letter is informal
you still need to use grammar accurately. Moreover, an informal email or letter is not like a message
on your phone, so don’t use acronyms like OMG or LOL, or words like cos, instead of because or
gonna instead of going to.

 Always begin with Dear/ Hi/ Hello + the name of the person you are writing to.

 Start your letter by explaining why you are writing. This helps the reader understand why they have
received the letter or email.

 Use contractions. Contractions like I’ve or We’ve show the examiner that you understand the
features of informal language.
 Use colloquial language (e.g. cool, that’s great!)
 Use active verbs rather than passive (e.g. We should do something instead of Something should
be done)
LAY OUT

1 Greeting

2 Opening

3 Body

4 Closing

5 Goodbye

6 Signature

Useful language for informal letters/emails

1. GREETING

Greet the other person (i.e. say “hi” or “hello”).

Hi (Sue), Hello (Sue), Hi there, Dear Sue,
Notice how “hi” is less formal than “hello” or “dear”.
Also, don’t forget to write a comma (,).
After greeting the addressee (i.e. the person who will read the letter), you must start the
opening paragraph in a new line.

2. OPENING

In this part of the email you can:

React to the other person’s news

I’m glad to hear your news.
I’m excited about… (your news.) It’s great to hear that…
I’m sorry to hear that… / I’m really sorry to read your news.

Thank the person for their last email.

It’s nice / great / good to hear from you / to read your email.
Thanks a lot for writing! It was good to receive your letter.

Ask them about recent events in their lives.

I hope you are doing well. How’s everything going?

Apologise for your delay in writing or answering back

I received your email this morning. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch for a long time.
 I apologise for not getting in contact with you before.

State the reason why you are writing

I’m writing to say / to thank you / to ask/ to let you know that / …

I’m writing about…

Give information

I’m really happy to tell you...

I’m really sorry to say that…

Ask your friend or relative how they are feeling, which you can do like this:
Hope you are doing well. How’s it going?
How are you (doing)? How are things (going)?

3. BODY
The main body is divided into 3 paragraphs; each deals with a separate topic as requested in the rubric.
Ideas should be linked with appropriate linking words and phrases.
For the main paragraphs, there aren’t any fixed expressions which you must use, as it depends mostly on
what you have to write about.

4. CLOSING
In this part of the email you can:
State the reason why you have to end this email
Anyway, I have to go now because …
Request the person to reply soon
I really hope to hear from you soon. Make sure you write back soon.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Write back and tell me about you.
Express a wish or a desire
I hope to see you soon anyway. I’m looking forward to meeting up.
Send greetings to their family/friends
Say hello to your family and friends.

Also, if you still have to write more words, you can add a question. This question should be related to the
topic of your piece of writing.

5. GOODBYE
Use a short expression to say goodbye.
Take care, Regards, Best wishes, All my love, See you soon,
Bye (for now), Best wishes to …,
Notice how there is a comma (,) after each of the phrases.

6. SIGNATURE
Sign the email with your name.
Useful language for formal letters/emails

1. GREETING

Greet the other person

Dear title + surname e.g. Dear Mr./ Ms./Dr./ Prof. Johnson,
If you do not know their name you should use: Dear Sir/ Madam,
2. OPENING

In this part of the email you should:

State the reason why you are writing

I am writing to say / to thank you / to ask/ to let you know that / to apply/ to complain…
I am writing in connection to … In reply to your email,

Give information

I am delighted to tell you...

We regret to inform you that…

3. BODY
The main body is divided into 3 paragraphs; each deals with a separate topic as requested in the rubric.
Ideas should be linked with appropriate linking words and phrases.

4. CLOSING
In this part of the email you can:
Thank the person for their attention
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Request the person to reply soon
I look forward to hearing from you.

5. GOODBYE
Use a short expression to say goodbye.
Yours sincerely, (when you know the name of the person)

Yours faithfully, (when you don’t know their name and have used Dear Sir/ Madam)

Regards, Best wishes, (when you wish to be more friendly and a little less formal)

6. SIGNATURE
Sign the email with your full name.

ATTACHMENTS
Please find attached my CV / report

I am sending you my CV / the report (as a pdf file).

More useful language

INFORMAL EMAIL/LETTER
To ask for advice
What do you think I should do if …
I’m having a problem deciding what to do …
I really don’t know what to do about …
Any ideas/ suggestions how I could ….
To give advice
Why don’t you …?
You should …
Have you thought about / considered …?
The best advice I can give you is to …
If I were you / in your shoes, I’d / I wouldn’t …
To show result
Then, /This way …
If you do this,
By doing this,…
FORMAL EMAIL/LETTER
To complain
I wish to make a serious complaint regarding …
I would like to complain about …
I demand a full refund …
I am writing in connection with …
I am writing to express my total dissatisfaction with …
Indirect questions
Could you tell me / let me know…
I am interested in finding out …
I would really appreciate if you could …
I would like to know…
I would be grateful if you could tell me …
To show result
This will / would mean that …
The result of this could / would be …
To give advice
I think the best thing would be to …
One / Another suggestion is to …
It would be a good idea to / if …
 Complete the model informal letter with useful phrases
from above
1)______ Jean, Complete the model formal letter with useful phrases
from above
2)________ from you
again.
1) 3)__________
______ Mr. Jones,doing
well.
POSSIBLE CLASS EXERCISES See UPSTREAM pages 18-22 &
I am 2)___________for 56-60
I'm
the glad you asked me
programmer
about the party I planned
position advertised in
for my mother's birthday.
the Times Union. 3)
Well, I have to say it was
__________a completed
a fantastic success. I told
job application,
my mother we were my Task 2: REPORT
certification,
taking her out my
for aCV,
quiet
and three
meal references.
at a local restaurant Overview
with just the family, but
The opportunity
in fact I'd hired a large A report consists of THREE clearly distinct parts; an introduction,
presented in the
room in a hotel and development (main body) and conclusion. Before you start writing
invited all her oldisfriends!
advertisement very your report, plan what you are going to write in each part. Always
interesting, and I remember to include all 3 bullet points in your answer.
Anyway,
believe my I picked my
strong Introduction
mother up and told
technical experience her
I'd
and education will We
changed my mind. It must clearly state the subject, the purpose and the content of the
were going to have a report; that is, the reasons for writing the report and its basic
make me a very
meal in a hotel. You structure e.g. what you are going to do and how you are going to
competitive candidate
should have seen her
for this position. The do it. Otherwise, you will get a lower mark for “Overall impression
face when she walked and task achievement”.
key
into the room and I
strengths that
possess
everyonefor success
cheered! Shein Development (Main body)
this position include:
just couldn't believe it
and burst into tears.
Be sure to write a heading for each bullet point, but make sure you
Then use your own words, not the exact words from the text.
 the party got going
I have
and it didn't finish until
successfully You should link your ideas with appropriate linking words and
four in the morning. We phrases.
designed,
were absolutely
developed
exhausted, but my and This part of the text responds to the bullet points and the situation
mothersupported
had had a great
live they describe. You may also have a graph or other information to
time. explain.
use applications
Evaluate the possible reasons for the situation you are describing.
4)_________-
 I work I've got for
hard to go
to college. For example, you have a graph showing student satisfaction with
continued this university. You should make reference to this information and
excellence
5)__________from you .
give your ideas or reasons for the statistics that you have been
presented with.
 I provide Conclusion
exceptional
You need to summarise the information provided, and include
customer
6)__________,
suggestions or recommendations for the future, which should be
service for all introduced with a new subheading or a new paragraph. It should
Tania customers
not include any new material.

With a degree in
Computer OTHER ISSUES TO CONSIDER
Programming, I have
Grammar and Vocabulary range and control:
an excellent
understanding of the  Use of present tenses when introducing generalisations.
full life cycle of a  Use of reporting verbs such as state, indicate, agree, claim,
software development show, illustrate, etc.
project. I also have  Use of expressions such as thirty per cent of, a large
experience in internet proportion of, a minority of, one in ten, etc. when reporting,
security. if necessary.
 Contractions should not be used.
Please see my CV for
additional information
  Reports should not contain categorical statements (e.g., I’m sure that, I’m positive, etc.). It
is better to use modals or expressions like it seems, the results seem to indicate that…
Register:
Reports must be written in a (semi-)formal style (complex sentences, non-colloquial English,
frequent use of the passive, linking words/phrases)
Organisation:
Reports must include an appropriate subject title and subheadings
Task achievement:
The information may be presented in the form of facts (e.g., numbers, percentages and
proportions), or generalisations (e.g., This indicates/suggests/implies…)
Reports should be written in an impersonal style and all points made should be factual, without
including personal opinions or feelings, except for the conclusion, in which the writer can make
suggestions or recommendations.

LAY OUT

You should organize and divide your writing into different parts.
These parts are the:
Introduction
The introduction opens the essay.
It is a short paragraph - one or two sentences.
Body or Development
The body or development is the main part of the essay.
It is usually divided into three paragraphs.
Each paragraph in the body is between three and seven sentences long.
Conclusion
The conclusion is the end of the essay.
It is a short paragraph - one or two sentences.

0. Title If required

1. Introduction

2. Body Bullet Point 1

Bullet Point 2 3 paragraphs (one per bullet point)

Bullet Point 3

3. Conclusion
Useful language

Phrases you can use in the introduction

This report is intended to show / discuss / outline …
The aim / purpose of this report is to …
The report is based on…
I have divided this report into X sections.
The report will discuss / consider / describe/ analyse / review …

Findings
The findings / figures / results / chart shows that
It appears that ….

Signposts
As can be seen in table 1 / chart …
As mentioned above
… and I will discuss this in more detail below / in section …

Suggesting additional ideas

Another option would be to … I would also suggest …
Another point to consider is that … Apart from this / In addition to this

Making recommendations
I would strongly / highly recommend … It would be (highly) advisable to …
My first / second recommendation would be to ... The best solution / ideas would seem to be …

Reporting findings
It appears that the majority of … The only problem is that … .
Most …(students seem) … . Not surprisingly, …

In the conclusion you can:

  give the recommendations
 generalise
 express opinions impersonally
Phrases you can use:
Concluding and making recommendations
All things considered,…
We have no hesitation in recommending… .

LINKING WORDS and PHRASES

To list points
Firstly … / In the first place… / To begin with …
Secondly … / Then … / Furthermore …
Finally … / Last …

To add emphasis
Especially In particular / particularly

To make suggestions
I would strongly suggest / recommend If we did this/were to do this ,,,,
One solution / suggestion would be to

To express cause and effect

By (doing this), we could / would Doing this, would solve the problem….
In this way, we could … In order to … So that … As a result ….

Report - Model

You have been asked you to write a report on where people can eat out in your area.
You should:
 summarise the views of visitors and local people
 comment on any recent trends and dissatisfaction
 make a recommendation.

Lo
cal
eat
ing
pla
Task 2: NARRATIVE / PERSONAL
ce
s EXPERIENCE
The main purpose of this Overview
report is to give an
overview of the town's
 A narrative text describes a series of events that happened to the narrator. It is a story. It is usually
told in a time sequence with a definite beginning, middle and end, which must be connected by
means of transitions. Transitional expressions (e.g., time expressions, cause and effect
connectors, connectors of addition, connectors of contrast, etc.) help the reader to follow the
development of the story as they move from one idea to the next.

Narratives can be written either in the first person (I/we) or in the third person (he/she/it). They may
be accounts of real events that happened to us or somebody we know, or imaginary stories.

Before we start writing the story, we should decide on the plot line – that is, the events which make
up the story.

A narrative should consist of:

 A catchy title in order to attract reader’s attention, especially if it is for a magazine or a

competition.
 An introduction in which the scene is set - that is when, and where the story took place,
who the people in the story were and what happened first. An interesting beginning is
important. We can start our story by:

Using the senses to set the scene and describe the weather, atmosphere, surroundings or
people’s actions to create mystery and suspense.

 A main body of three paragraphs (one per bullet point) where the story is developed.
 A conclusion which may include what happened at the end of the story, or people’s
feelings, final comments or reactions, or a twist – that is, a surprising ending.

Below are some tips to help you organise and structure your narrative text in a way that will make it
more interesting and dynamic to readers:

A Plot with a Conflict/Climax

Narratives are stories about a series of events that happened (in the past), are happening (in the
present), or will happen (in the future).

Organisation & structure:

 You can decide to tell your story in chronological order. This means that you tell the story “in
time” according to the order the events took place one after the other.

 A story can also be told using a non-linear (“flashback”) technique, in which events are
interrupted by a memory of something that happened in the past or by an event that will happen in
the future. Sometimes the story or paragraph starts right “in media res” (i.e., in the middle of an
event) and then backtracks to explain how the story reached that point.

 Many stories are told using the narrative tenses. These are the past simple, past continuous, past
perfect and past perfect continuous. These tenses help you to order past events clearly.
A Setting

Narrative texts are set in a specific time and place. These setting details (e.g., when, where, who is
involved in the events) are usually identified in the introduction.

Character(s)

A story usually features a main character that the story follows. Describe this person in detail.

The end of the story

Remember to create a sense of closure by providing a conclusion that follows from the narrated
sequence of events.

Useful language

When writing a narrative it is important to use a wide variety of

 Verb tenses
 Adjectives both with positive and negative meaning
 Adverbs to detail manner, time or degree
 Linkers to show the sequence of events

VERB TENSES - Narrative tenses: Meaning and use

We use narrative tenses to talk about the past. We can use them to tell a story or to describe past
events, including personal anecdotes.
The narrative tenses are the past simple, past continuous, past perfect and past perfect
continuous.
We were walking as usual one day, when all of a sudden, Bonnie shot off. She started to bark
furiously. I saw a man sleeping face down on the sand. Bonnie continued to bark, but the man
didn’t wake up. He wasn’t sleeping; he was dead. It was clear that the storm had washed up
the body.
Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 after Germany had attacked Poland two
days earlier. Britain had been trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement.

Past simple
We can use the past simple for actions that started and finished in the past, for example a series of
events in someone’s life.
Nelson Mandela was born in 1918. He became the first black President of South Africa.

Past continuous
We use the past continuous for background information and to describe a scene or situation that
continued for some time.
At 6 o’clock that evening Dan was still missing. Bobby was feeling worried.

Past simple and past continuous

We often use the past simple and past continuous together when one action interrupts another.
I was strolling along the beach one day when suddenly, Bonnie ran off.
 Past simple and past perfect
We can use the past perfect with the past simple together in a sentence to describe an action that
happened before another past action.
I quickly realised that the storm the previous night had washed up the body.

Past perfect continuous.

We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until
another time in the past. " They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.

She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.

ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS

To make a narrative more interesting to the reader, we should relate the character’s moods and feelings.
This can be done by using a variety of adjectives such as fascinating, delightful, colourful or
instead of simplistic ones such as good or nice.
This can be done by using a variety of adverbs such as gratefully, anxiously, angrily.

LINKERS

Narration or an event sequence

First of all At first To begin with In the beginning
Then Next
Before After/ After that
Soon Immediately
Once Suddenly
As soon as
Finally Eventually At the end In the end

To add
In addition Moreover
Furthermore What’s more

Summing up
To sum up In short
In summary To summarize
In conclusion In a nutshell (more informal)

Expressing Effect
So Therefore
Consequently As a result

Expressing Purpose
So as to In order to So that
 Reason
Because Because of
Due to Owning to
Since As

Narrative – Model
You have been discussing the topic of unforgettable holidays in your English class. Your teacher
has asked you to write about one you have experienced as a narrative.

You should:
 describe the background to the holiday story
 narrate the events of your story
 explain what made it such an unforgettable holiday
and give your story a title

An unforgettable holiday
I'm a great fan of northern Countries, like Norway, Sweden and Denmark. What is
more, I'm lucky because I share this special liking with two of my best friends. Every
summer we go to one of these countries.
Last summer we were in Sweden, where we rented a little wooden house near a
lake, hired a car and travelled over the whole southern part of Sweden. We visited
Stockholm, Goetheburg, a little village called Vaxio, which the Swedish people call
the town of the red-white sweets, and many more beautiful cities and landscapes. I
like Sweden because of its strong colours and the wild countryside.
One day though, we had an unexpected experience. We were driving through a
forest, when suddenly the car in front of us braked sharply. In the middle of the road
stood an Elk, and it didn't want to move. I'd never seen such an impressive animal
as this; it was so near, you could nearly touch it. Normally, they are really shy, but it
didn’t seem afraid at all! It just stood and stared at us for what seemed like quite a
long time. Finally, when the driver of the other car opened the door, it ran away.
The holiday was made particularly memorable by this surprise meeting and I am
sure I will never forget it!

POSSIBLE CLASS EXERCISES See UPSTREAM pages 108 – 114 and 132-136

Task 2: ARTICLE

Overview

An article is a piece of writing which expresses the opinion of the writer about a specific topic. It
should be written in a way that holds the readers interest and attention all the way through. Articles
are written in a neutral register.
 As with all kinds of writing, it is important to take time to plan your article before writing. This will
help you to include all your ideas. Remember to refer to the 3 bullet points to ensure you include
them all in your article. This is vital for you to score well on task achievement.

Organisation & structure

 You want to get the attention of your reader from the start, so begin with something
interesting. There are many ways of doing this. You could start with a provocative statement, e.g.
Internet has destroyed family life. Or you can use a rhetorical question, e.g. Have you ever thought
about living abroad? Will we all be vegetarian in the future?

 Use topic sentences. A topic sentence is the most important sentence in a paragraph. It is also
called focus sentence. This sentence helps organize the paragraph by summarizing the
information in the paragraph. In formal writing, the topic sentence is usually the first sentence in a
paragraph (although it doesn't have to be).

A topic sentence essentially tells readers what the rest of the paragraph is about. All sentences
after it have to give more information about that sentence, prove it by offering facts about it, or
describe it in more detail. For example, if the topic sentence concerns the types of endangered
species that live in the ocean, then every sentence after that needs to expound on that
subject. These sentences are called supporting sentences.

 You need to keep your article interesting, so use anecdotes, real or imagined, to do this. The
more personal it is the better. E.g. Sitting having a beer in a bar with friends on Saturday night I
realised each one of us was looking at our mobile screens instead of each other…

 A good article is easy to read. Your style should be chatty, but your ideas should be clear at the
same time. Remember to take time to plan before writing so that you can state all your points and
opinions while avoiding repetition. You need to use paragraphs effectively to develop your ideas.

 The ending is important. You might want to finish with a question or by making reference back to
the beginning of the article, e.g. So, are mobile phones killing conversation? The ending can be
open, leaving the reader to decide what he or she thinks, or you can be persuasive and try to get
the reader to see the issue from your point of view.

 Give your opinion in this last paragraph and/or a balanced summary of the contents of the article.
Do not include opinion words (I believe, I think, …) in the introduction or in the body.

To make the ending of your article more effective, you can use one of the following techniques:

 State a personal opinion

  Give the reader something to consider
 Use a quotation or a rhetorical question

Useful language

1. INTRODUCTION

Addressing the reader

Have you ever…
You absolutely must …
Can you imagine …
I’m sure you’d agree
I must tell you about …
You wouldn’t believe …

2. BODY

Giving a strong opinion

It’s absolutely stunning / terrible (strong adjective).
It took my breath away.
I will never forget it.
There’s nothing in the world like it.

Adding and developing ideas

For a start Secondly Thirdly Finally
And then there’s the fact that
On top of that Apart from that
I must also mention As if this wasn’t enough,

Introducing or listing (dis)advantages

The first / main / most important (dis)advantage of … is …
One / another/ an additional (dis)advantage is …
One point of view in favour / against is …
It is often suggested/ believed / argued that …
Some / many people suggest / feel / argue that …

Giving examples
such as particularly like

Showing contrast
Nonetheless Nevertheless Although Despite / In spite of

For and Against

To begin with As a result particularly Another negative effect
All things considered On the one hand On the other hand

3. CONCLUSION
 Giving a personal response
For me, To me
Personally, I think / find / believe
It seems to me In my view
I’ll never forget One thing I love / remember

General Point of View

It is thought that Some people say that
It is considered It is generally accepted that

Expressing your opinion

In my opinion, Speaking personally,
From my point of view,

Introducing a conclusion
In conclusion To conclude / sum up All in all
All things considered Taking everything into account / consideration

Article - Model

In your English class, you have been discussing the importance of learning languages nowadays. Now
your teacher has asked you to write an article with the following title: “How important is it to speak a
foreign language in the current world?”

You should

 discuss the advantages that languages give you

 recommend the best ways to learn languages
 predict the future of language learning

POSSIBLE CLASS EXERCISES See UPSTREAM pages 94 -98

“How
Opinion articles pages 148 - 152
important is it to speak a
foreign language in the
current world?”
Understanding the Writing Criteria
Learning foreign
languages is necessary
nowadays because the
world works as an There are four marking criteria:
international community  Overall impression, register and task achievement
and it is important to know
 Cohesion, fluency and organization
how to communicate with
each other. I come from  Vocabulary range and control
Brazil and I speak  Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Portuguese as my native Each of these is worth 25% of your total mark.
language. However, I
consider it important to
know some Spanish as Overall impression, register and task achievement
well as English in order to
be more international.
 Overall impression refers to the effect your writing has on the person reading it. Careful planning,
use of paragraphs and well developed ideas are evaluated here.

Register. You need to decide who you are writing to. This well help you decide if your writing
needs to be formal, informal or neutral in register. This is one of the first things you decide as it
affects the style of your writing and the types of structure you choose to use.

Task Achievement refers to your ability to answer the question properly. You have to do all the
things the question asks you to do, including addressing the bullet points, and write a clear, well
developed answer.

Cohesion, fluency and organization

Cohesion refers to the connection of ideas at sentence and paragraph level. Are your sentences
and ideas linked together?

You will get a higher score for cohesion if you:

 Use a range of linking words when appropriate.

 Use linking words accurately.
 Do not over-use linking words.
Fluency refers to how well you can communicate meaning rather than how many mistakes you
make. You might be fluent (make your meaning clear) but not accurate (make a lot of mistakes).

Organization refers to your ability to connect your main ideas together so that they make sense
and are easy to understand. This is mostly done at paragraph level. Are your paragraphs in a
logical order? Is there one clear main idea in every paragraph? Is it easy to understand the main
idea of each paragraph?

You will get a higher score for if you:

 Separate your ideas into paragraphs.
 Having very clear ideas in your overview.
 Making it clear what each paragraph is about.

Vocabulary range and control

Vocabulary range and control refers to your ability to use vocabulary both accurately and
appropriately.

You will get a higher score for vocabulary if you:

 Vary your vocabulary using synonyms
 Avoid vocabulary mistakes
 Spell words correctly
 Use a range of vocabulary

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

 You are assessed on two things:

1. Your ability to produce grammatically accurate sentences;

2. Your ability to use a wide range of grammar structures.
Grammar is often the area that students struggle with the most and it can easily bring a student’s
scores down.

Accuracy of grammar

Examiners look for how many ‘error free’ sentences you have. You therefore need to make sure each
sentence has no errors. Even a small mistake like an article in the wrong place or misplaced plural
counts towards this.

This is why it is so important to check your work after you finish writing. Always try to leave yourself
two minutes at the end to check your work. Simple errors, which could be fixed with a quick check, will
really bring your marks down in this area.

Range of grammar

A good answer will have a range of appropriate structures and tenses. Many students try to insert
complex sentences and tenses in to their answers. This is not how to do it and will result in your
answers looking unnatural and you making mistakes.

If you write a good answer, complex sentences, such as conditional and relative clauses will flow
naturally. You will get a higher score if you:

 Make as few errors as possible.

 Use a range of appropriate tenses.
 Use a range of appropriate structures.
 Use both simple and complex sentences.

Check Look for

Depth of coverage
Overall  Which content/bullet points  Bullets points elaborated with most detail or
impression, are covered? just mentioned briefly
task  Which content/bullet points  Relevant details/irrelevant parts that do not
are elaborated? belong to the text
achievemen
t and Text type requirements
register.
 Are the text-specific  Formal / informal language use
conventions observed?  Layout convections of the text type

Organization and linking of ideas  Logical organization of ideas/whether the

ideas follow one another logically
Cohesion,  Is the script coherent?
 Clear/correct marking of the relationship
fluency and  Is the script cohesive?
between sentences and their parts
organization  Variety and appropriateness of linking
devices (at B1 level connecting words
expressing cause and effect, contrast, …
Linkers expressing sequential past time)

Paragraphing  Organisation of ideas developing one sub-

topic into one paragraph
 Does the script need to be
 Proper indication of paragraph: block or
and is it divided into
indented
paragraph?
 Clear/correct marking of the relationship
between paragraphs

Punctuation  Correct use of punctuation

Lexical range
Vocabulary  Is there a range of vocabulary  Variety of words and expressions used
range and items?
control
Lexical accuracy
 Is the vocabulary used  Words used accurately/inaccurately
accurately? (meaning and spelling)

Lexical relevance
 Is the vocabulary relevant to  Relevant vocabulary/irrelevant vocabulary
the topics specified in the  Ratio of words and expressions not lifted/
task? lifted from the task

Grammatical range
Grammatica  Is there a range of  Variety of grammatical features (tense,
l grammatical structures? structures, modals, auxiliaries, etc.) used

range and Grammatical accuracy  Proportion of accurate /inaccurate sentences

accuracy and clauses
 Is the grammar correct?
 The occurrence and reoccurrence of specific
mistakes
 Bad grammar leading to unclear meaning