English Second Language·Writing skills · NSSCO 5.12
How your writing is marked (the marking grids)
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The examiner is not hiding a secret. When you write in Paper 1, your work is marked on just two things — Content and Language — using a simple grid. In this lesson we open up the grids for Task 5 (15 marks) and Task 6 (20 marks), see exactly how those marks split, watch a weak answer grow into a strong one, and build a checklist you can carry into every writing task so you write to score.
What you'll learn in this lesson
By the end you should be able to (NSSCO English Second Language 5.12):
- Explain that Paper 1 writing is marked on two areas: Content and Language
- State that Task 5 (guided writing, 100–150 words) is worth 15 marks, split into Content out of 8 and Language out of 7
- State that Task 6 (extended writing, 200–250 words) is worth 20 marks, split into Content out of 10 and Language out of 10
- Describe what earns Content marks: relevance (covering every prompt) and development of ideas, in the right format and length
- Describe what earns Language marks: style (suitable vocabulary, sentence structure and register) and accuracy (grammar, spelling, punctuation, paragraphs)
- Explain how examiners use bands, and that fewer errors and non-intrusive mistakes reach the top band
- Apply a practical checklist to improve a weak answer and gain marks
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