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Monday, 1 April 2013

Writing preparation and revision - a walk through the mark scheme



So, the writing exam is around the corner.  You've got the question and you've been working hard in lessons.  You need to make sure that you remember to produce French/German/Spanish which is designed to help you to access your grade of best fit.  Remember that it is important to use the mark scheme to help you.  If you need it, it is on pages 14-15 of the specification (it doesn't matter whether you study French, German or Spanish - the mark scheme is the same for all languages) - the specification can be found by clicking here.

Remember that the marks are awarded for the following reasons:
  • Content
  • Range of Language
  • Accuracy
The whole thing is marked out of 30.  Half of the marks available are for 'content'.  You need to think about what you are trying to say, and the message that you give across.  Your answer needs to be relevant - that means that it needs to answer the question/scenario set out in the task.  You need to give lots of information.  Anyone who forgets to include opinions and points of view will be throwing away marks.  Remember that ideas such as 'My house is big' is information, that 'I like my house, because it is modern' is an opinion, and that 'I am of the opinion that mu ideal house would be better than my current house, because it would have ...' is a point of view.  Remember that, just as you PEE in English, you need to POJ - Point, Opinion, Justification, in MFL - this will secure you at least more than the minimum marks.

You need to remember that the range of language is important - if you can use a wider range of vocabulary, do!  There is no point using interesting to describe everything that you talk about, because you are not demonstrating a broad range of vocabulary.  When I was younger, my primary school teacher told us that we couldn't use 'said' - we had to use a range of vocabulary (and I was only 7!) - we were told to use more interesting verbs, such as: told, described, demanded, explained, shared, asked, spoke, shouted, whispered, mentioned etc.  If you're aiming for higher grades, I would suggest that you ban yourselves from using the adjectives kind, nice, interesting, great - use more challenging, more exciting vocabulary ... and try to use any adjective only once - that way you will demonstrate that you 'know stuff'.

Accuracy is exactly what it says ... it is about being accurate with your language - note how this is worth 5/30 - it is far more important to share your message than it is to do it in perfect French, German, or Spanish.  You need to be accurate with verbs to access at least 3/5 of the marks available to you here.

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