DIRECTED WRITING BAND DESCRIPTORS

MARK
DESCRIPTION OF CRITERIA
RANGE

 The language is entirely accurate apart from very occasional first draft
slips.
 Sentence structure is varied and shows that the candidate is able to
use various types of sentences to achieve a particular effect.
 Vocabulary is wide and is used with precision.
A
 Punctuation is accurate and helpful to the reader.

 Spelling is accurate across the full range of vocabulary used.

19 – 20
 Paragraphs are well-planned, have unity and are linked.

 The topic is addressed with consistent relevance.

 The interest of the reader is aroused and sustained throughout the

writing.
 The tone is appropriate for a report

 The language is accurate; occasional errors are either minor or first

draft slips.
 Vocabulary is wide enough to convey intended shades of meaning
with some precision.
 Sentences show some variation of length and type, including some
complex sentences.

B  Punctuation is almost always accurate and generally helpful.

 Spelling is nearly always accurate.
16 - 18  Paragraphs show some evidence of planning, have unity and are
usually appropriately linked.
 The piece of writing is relevant to the topic and the interest of the
reader is aroused and sustained throughout most of the composition.
 The composition is written in paragraphs which show some unity and
are usually linked appropriately.
 The tone is appropriate for a report

C  The language is largely accurate.

  Simple structures are used without error; mistakes may occur when
13 - 15 more sophisticated structures are attempted.
 Vocabulary is wide enough to convey intended meaning but may lack
precision.
 Sentences may show some variety of structure and length but there is a
tendency to use one type of structure, giving it a monotonous effect.
 Punctuation of simple structures is accurate on the whole but errors
may occur in more complex uses.
 Simple words may be spelt correctly but errors may occur when more
sophisticated words are used.
 The composition is written in paragraphs which may show some
unity, although links may be absent or inappropriate.
 The writing is relevant but may lack originally and planning. Some
interest is aroused but not sustained.
 The composition is written in paragraphs which show some unity,
although links may be absent or inappropriate.
 The tone is mostly appropriate.

MARK
DESCRIPTION OF CRITERIA
RANGE
 The language is sufficiently accurate to communicate meaning clearly
to the reader.
 There will be patches of clear language, particularly when simple
vocabulary and structures are used.
 There is some variety of sentence type and length but the purpose is
D
not clearly seen.
 Punctuation is generally correct but does not clarify meaning.
10 - 12
 Vocabulary is usually adequate to show intended meaning but this is
not developed to show precision.
 Simple words will be spelt correctly but more spelling errors will
occur.
 Paragraphs are used but show lack of planning and unity.
  The topic is addressed with some relevance but the reader may find
composition at this level lacking in liveliness and interest value.
 The article is written in paragraphs which may show some unity in
topic.
 Lapses in tone may be a feature.
 Meaning is never in doubt, but single word errors are sufficiently
frequent and serious to hamper reading.
 Some simple structures may be accurate, but a script at this level is
unlikely to sustain accuracy for long.
 Vocabulary is limited–either too simple to convey precise meaning or
more ambitious but imperfectly understood.
E  Simple words will be spelt correctly but frequent mistakes in spelling
andpunctuation make reading the script difficult.
7-9  Paragraphs lack unity or are haphazardly arranged.
 The high incidence of linguistic errors is likely to distract the reader
from any merits of content that the composition may have.
 The article will have paragraphs but these lack unity and links are
incorrectly used or the article may not be paragraphed at all. There may
be errors of sentence separation and punctuation.
 The tonemay be inappropriate for a report.
 Meaning is fairly clear but high incidence of throughout the writing
 will definitely impede the reading.
 There will be many serious errors of various kinds throughout the
scriptbut they are mainly of the single word type, i.e. they could be
correctedwithout rewriting the whole sentence.
 A script at this level will have very few accurate sentences.
 Although communication is established, the frequent errors may cause
U (i)
blurring.

4- 6  Sentences will be simple and very often repetitive.

 Punctuation will sometimes be used correctly but sentence
separationerrors may occur.
 Paragraphs lack unity or there may not be any paragraphs at all.
 There may be frequent spelling errors.
 The tone may not be appropriate for a talk or, if it is, may not show
understanding of the detailed requirements of the task.
  The reader is able to get some sense out of the script but errors are
 multiple in nature, requiring the reader to read and re-read before being
able to understand.
 At this level, there may be only a few accurate but simple sentences.
 The content may be comprehensible, but the incidence of linguistic
U (ii)
error is so high as to make meaning blur.
 This type of script may also be far short of the required number of
2-3
words.
 Whole sections of the article may make little or no sense. There are
unlikely to be more than one or two accurate sentences.
 The content is comprehensible, but its tone is hidden by the density of
errors.
 Scripts in this category are almost entirely impossible to read.
 Whole sections of the article may make little or no sense at all or are
U (iii) copied from the task.
 Where occasional patches of clarity occur, marks should be awarded.
0-1  Award ‘1’ mark if some sense can be obtained.
 The mark ‘0’ should only be awarded if the report makes no sense at all
from beginning to end.

CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF CONTINUOUS WRITING

MARK
DESCRIPTION OF CRITERIA
RANGE
  The language isentirely accurate apart from very occasional first draft
slips.
 Sentence structure is varied and shows that the candidate is able to
use various types of sentences to achieve a particular effect.
 Vocabulary is wide and is used with precision.
A
 Punctuation is accurate and helpful to the reader.

44 - 50  Spelling is accurate across the full range of vocabulary used.

 Paragraphs are well-planned, have unity and are linked.
 The topic is addressed with consistent relevance.
 The interest of the reader is aroused and sustained throughout the
writing.

 The language is accurate; occasional errors are either minor or first

draft slips.
 Vocabulary is wide enough to convey intended shades of meaning
with some precision.
 Sentences show some variation of length and type, including some
B complex sentences.
 Punctuation is almost always accurate and generally helpful.
38 – 43
 Spelling is nearly always accurate.
 Paragraphs show some evidence of planning, have unity and are
usually appropriately linked.
 The piece of writing is relevant to the topic and the interest of the
reader is aroused and sustained through most of the composition.

 The language is largely accurate.

 Simple structures are used without error; mistakes may occur when
more sophisticated structures are attempted.
 Vocabulary is wide enough to convey intended meaning but may lack
C
precision.
 Sentences may show some variety of structure and length but there is a
32 - 37 tendency to use one type of structure, giving it a monotonous effect.
 Punctuation of simple structures is accurate on the whole but errors
may occur in more complex uses.
 Simple words may be spelt correctly but errors may occur when more
sophisticated words are used.
  The composition is written in paragraphs which may show some
unity,
although links may be absent or inappropriate. The writing is relevant
but may lack originality and planning.
 Some interest is aroused but not sustained.

 The language is sufficiently accurate to communicate meaning clearly

to the reader.
 There will be patches of clear, accurate language, particularly when
simple vocabulary and structures are used.
 There is some variety of sentence type and length but the purpose is
notclearly seen. Punctuation is generally correct but does not clarify
D meaning.
 Vocabulary is usually adequate to show intended meaning but this is
26 - 31 not developed to show precision.
 Simple words will be spelt correctly but more spelling errors will
occur.
 Paragraphs are used but show lack of planning or unity.
 The topic is addressed with some relevance but the reader may find
composition at this level lacking in liveliness and interest value

 Meaning is never in doubt, but single word errors are sufficiently

frequent and serious to hamper reading.
 Some simple structures may be accurate, but a script at this level is
unlikely to sustain accuracy for long.
E
 Vocabulary is limited - either too simple to convey precise meaning or
more ambitious but imperfectly understood.
20 - 25
 Simple words may be spelt correctly but frequent mistakes in spelling
andpunctuation make reading the script difficult.
 Paragraphs lack unity or are haphazardly arranged.
 The subject matter will show some relevance to the topic but only a
partial treatment is given.
  The high incidence of linguistic errors is likely to distract the reader
from any merits of content that the composition may have.

 Meaning is fairly clear but the high incidence of errors throughout the
writing will definitely impede the reading.
 There will be many serious errors of various kinds throughout the script
but they are mainly of the single word type, i.e. they could be corrected
without rewriting the whole sentence.
U (i)
 A script at this level will have very few accurate sentences.
 Although communication is established, the frequent errors may cause
14 - 19
MARK blurring.
DESCRIPTION OF CRITERIA
RANGE  Sentences will be simple and very often repetitive.
 Punctuation
The reader iswill
ablesometimes
to get some
besense out of thebut
used correctly script but errors
sentence are
separation
multiple
errors mayrequiring
occur. the reader to read and re-read before being able to
 understand.lack unity or there may not be any paragraphs at all.
Paragraphs
U (ii)
 At this level, there may be only a few accurate but simple sentences.
 The content may be comprehensible, but the incidence of linguistic
8 - 13
error is so high as to make meaning blur.
 This type of script may also be far short of the required number of
words.

 Scripts in this category are almost entirely impossible to read.

U (iii)
 Whole sections may make little or no sense at all.
 Where occasional patches of clarity occur, marks should be awarded
0-7
 The mark ‘0’ should only be given if the script makes no sense at all
from the beginning to end