Mark Scheme for Paper 1 Set 1

Marking Scheme ( 35 marks)

Award marks as follows:

Content - 15 marks
Language - 20 marks
___________________
Total 35 marks
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Detailed Marking for Content (15 marks)

Format (formal letter) - 3 marks (Salutation, title, ending salutation)
Content - 10 marks
Elaboration - 2 marks
__________________________
Total - 15 marks
__________________________

1. Award 1 mark for each of the following content ( 1 x 10 marks = 10 marks)

C1 - Take up a hobby

C2 - Be involved in games

C3 - Take up a course

C4 - Join a uniformed body

C5 - Join a voluntary organisation

C6 - Be active in a school society

C7 - Take up a part-time job

C8 - Go for tuition classes

C9 - Choose friends carefully

C10 - Spend quality time with family members

2. Award up to the maximum of 2 marks for the elaboration of any two points mentioned.

Language (20 Marks) – refer to Appendix 1

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 Appendix 1

BAND SCALE FOR LANGUAGE: CRITERIA FOR MARKING LANGUAGE

Description of Criteria
Mark Range

 The language is accurate apart from occasional first draft

slips.
 Sentence structure is varied and shows that the candidate
is able to use sentence length and type to achieve an
intended effect.
 Vocabulary shows some sophistication and is used with
A
precision.

19 – 20
Punctuation is accurate and helpful to the reader.
 Spelling is accurate across the full range of vocabulary
used.
 Paragraphs have unity and are appropriately linked.
 The style is formal, informative and concise.
 The tone is polite and courteous.

 The language is almost always accurate but there may be

more minor or first draft slips.
 Errors may also arise from more ambitious structures
which are imperfectly understood.
 Sentences show some variation, length and type, including
the confident use of complex sentences.
 Punctuation is almost always accurate and generally
B helpful to the reader.
 Vocabulary is wide enough to convey intended shades of
16 - 18 meaning with some precision.
 Spelling is nearly always accurate.
 It is written in paragraphs and shows some unity and is
usually linked appropriately.
 The style is formal and avoids digression.
 The tone is polite enough and generally appropriate and
informative.

 The language is largely accurate to communicate meaning

C
clearly to the reader.
13 - 15  Simple structures are used without error; mistakes may
occur when more sophisticated structures are attempted.

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  Vocabulary is adequate to convey intended meaning
although it may not be sufficiently developed to achieve
precision.
 Sentences show some variety of length and structure
although there is a tendency to repeat some sentence
types, giving it a monotonous effect.
 Punctuation is generally accurate although errors may
occur in more complex uses.
 It is written in paragraphs which show some unity,
although links may be absent or in appropriate.
 The style shows some understanding of the need to be
formal.
 There may be occasional lapses in the tone but an attempt
to be polite and informative is evident.

 The language is sufficiently accurate.

 There will be patches of clarity particularly when simple
structures are used.
 Mistakes will occur when more complex sentences are
attempted.
 There may be some variety of sentence length and type
but this may not be successful in enhancing meaning or
arousing interest.
 Vocabulary is adequate but lacks precision.
 Simple words are spelt correctly, but errors may occur
D
when unfamiliar words are used.

10 – 12
Punctuation is generally correct but does not enhance or
clarify meaning.
 Sentence separation errors may occur.
 It is written in paragraphs which may show some unity in
topic.
 The style shows an attempt has been made to achieve
formality but this may not be sustained.
 The tone is not always appropriate although it is evident
that the candidate has some understanding of what is
required.

 Meaning is never in doubt but single word errors

sufficiently frequent and serious to hamper precision and
speed of reading.
 Some simple structures will be accurate but accuracy is
not sustained for long.

E
Vocabulary is limited and either too simple to convey
7–9
precise meaning or are imperfectly understood.
 Simple words will usually be spelt accurately but mistakes
will occur when more difficult words are used.
 It will have paragraphs but these lack unity and links are
incorrectly used or it may not be paragraphed at all.
 There may be errors of sentence separation and

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 punctuation.
 The style may fail to achieve the requirement of this task.
 The tone may inappropriate for a formal piece of writing.

 Meaning is usually fairly clear.

 The reader feels that the correction of ‘single word’ errors
may produce a piece of fairly accurate English but the
incidence of errors is high and will definitely impede the
reading.
 A few simple structures are used accurately.
 Vocabulary may not extend beyond a simple range of
words that are inadequate to express intended shades of
meaning.
 Punctuation will sometimes be used correctly but sentence
U (i)
separation errors may occur.
4–6  Paragraphs may not be used, or if used, show a lack of
planning.
 There may be frequent spelling errors.
 The style may not be accurate or if it is, may not show
understanding of the detailed requirements of the task.
 The tone is inappropriate.

 Some sense will usually be decipherable but some of the

errors will be multiple, requiring the reader to re-read and
re-organise before meaning becomes clear.
U (ii)  Whole sections make little or no sense.
 There are unlikely to be more than one or two accurate
2–3 sentences.
 The content is comprehensible but its tone and style are
hidden by the density of errors.

 Scripts in this category are almost entirely impossible to

recognise as pieces of English.
 Whole sections may make no sense at all or are copied
U (iii)
from the task.
0–1  Award ‘1’ mark if some sense can be obtained.
 The mark ‘0’ should only be awarded if it makes no sense
at all from beginning to end.

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Continuous Writing
Question 3

The continuous writing is basically assessed by *general impression*. However, the

following levels can be noted:

Category Marks Allocated Remarks / Description

Excellent 46-50  Hardly any mistakes in grammar (including spelling
and punctuation).
 Effective use of varied sentence structures
 Wide vocabulary, used precisely and expressively
 Good and relevant points
 Coherence in paragraphing
 Well-organised points
 Essay is very interesting and shows originality.

Good 40-45  Few mistakes in grammar. Mistakes arise from

unusual or complex language use.
 Some variety in sentence structures
 Some width in vocabulary – can convey shades of
meaning.
 Relevant points
 Some coherence in paragraphing
 Points are organised in paragraphs
 Essay is interesting

satisfactory 34-39  Some mistakes in grammar but language use is

mainly accurate
 Some variety in sentence structures. However,
generally, repetitive sentence type are found.
 Mainly basic vocabulary. Errors in use of more
ambitious vocabulary.
 Relevant points
 Some coherence in paragraphing
 Not very well organised points
 Essay is slightly interesting

Passable 24-33  Many mistakes in grammar but the meaning is still

clear. Patches of accurate language use occur.
 Little variety in sentence structure. Simple structure
dominates the composition.
 Only basic vocabulary. Errors in use of more

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 ambitious vocabulary
 Points are mostly relevant; some illogical /
irrelevant points
 Little coherence in paragraphing
 Not very well organised points
 Essay is not interesting

Unsatisfactory 16-23  Many serious mistakes in grammar but the

meaning is fairly clear. A few simple structures may
be corrected
 Little variety in sentence structures
 Only basic vocabulary. Errors in use of more
ambitious vocabulary.
 Topic is not well discussed
 Disorganized points
 Little coherence in paragraphing
 Essay is not interesting

Poor 10-15  Many serious mistakes in grammar and the

meaning is not very clear
 Only simple sentence structures
 Very basic vocabulary; many errors in use of words
 Poor treatment of topic due to poor linguistic ability
 Hardly any organization; probably no paragraphing

6-9  Very frequent and serious errors in grammar and

vocabulary make the meaning barely
comprehensible

0-5  Almost unrecognisable as English

 Almost no sense can be made of it all