Criteria for Assessing Writing
Level A2
Points | FORMAL ACCURACY
(Morphology and Syntax) |
WRITTEN ACCURACY
(Paragraphing, Punctuation and Spelling) |
VOCABULARY
(Range and Activation) |
STYLE
(Pragmatic / Sociolinguistic Aspects) |
COMMUNICATIVE EFFECTIVENESS
(Appropriate Task Completion) |
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5 |
Correct use of simple grammatical structures required at this level.* Despite typical minor morphological and syntactic errors, the message is clear. | Adequate paragraphing. The minimal number of mistakes in spelling and punctuation rarely hinders comprehension.
|
Appropriate use of the vocabulary relevant to the topic. Only occasional lexical deficiencies. | Mostly logical organisation of content. Correct use of the most common conjunctives to connect the simplest forms and sentences. Knowledge and correct use of the relevant style. | Adequate elaboration and coverage of all the bullet points. | |||||
4 | If the quality of written communication exceeds the performance described under point 3 but worse than what is described under point 5, a score of 4 should be given. | |||||||||
3 |
Mostly adequate use of the simple grammatical structures required at this level. Basic grammatical errors may occur occasionally, but they rarely impair comprehension. | Paragraphing generally follows the content. Spelling and punctuation is not perfect but acceptable. The errors rarely impair comprehension.
.
|
Adequate vocabulary to satisfy simple and basic communication needs. The repetition of words and mistakes may slightly impair comprehension. | Adequate organisation of content. Appropriate use of conjunctives. The style mostly satisfies the relevant genre. | Adequate elaboration and coverage of two bullet points, and partial elaboration of the other two. Irrelevant parts may appear, but the overall text is mostly satisfactory. | |||||
2 | If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 3, but exceeds what is described by point 1, a score of 2 should be given. | |||||||||
1 |
Makes several mistakes when using the simple grammatical structures required at this level. Their message is difficult to follow and may frequently be misinterpreted. | As a result of incorrect paragraphing the content can hardly be followed. Punctuation is inconsistent; many spelling mistakes, most of which hinder comprehension. | Narrow range of vocabulary used in a highly restricted way. The high number of lexical mistakes makes comprehension impossible.
|
Inappropriate organisation of text, the sequence of sentences is accidental. Rare use of conjunctives, inappropriate style.
|
Incomplete task. Partial misinterpretation of task. Many irrelevant parts. Elaboration of at least one bullet point.
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0 | If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 1 and the writing cannot be assessed (no elaboration of any of the bullet points, inappropriate content), or it is impossible to follow or irrelevant, a score of 0 should be given. If a score of 0 is given for communicative effectiveness, the entire grade for the task should be 0. | |||||||||
* As defined in the Specifications
Criteria for Assessing Writing
Level B1
Points | FORMAL ACCURACY
(Morphology, Syntax) |
WRITTEN ACCURACY
(Paragraphing, Punctuation and Spelling) |
VOCABULARY
(Range and Activation)
|
STYLE
(Pragmatic / Sociolinguistic Aspects) |
COMMUNICATIVE EFFECTIVENESS
(Appropriate Task Completion) |
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5 |
Varied and correct use of the grammatical structures required at this level.* The minor morphological and syntactic errors do not hinder comprehension.
|
Adequate paragraphing, correct punctuation, no spelling mistakes.
|
Effective and correct use of the vocabulary relevant to the topic. In case of topics unknown, circumlocution may still occur.
|
Well organized and logical text.
Adequate use of conjunctives, appropriate style. |
Adequate elaboration and coverage of all the bullet points. Effective elaboration of thoughts and opinion relevant to the topic. | |||||
4 | If the quality of written communication exceeds the performance described under point 3 but worse than what is described under point 5, a score of 4 should be given. | |||||||||
3 |
The candidate uses the grammatical structures required at this level with acceptable level of correctness. Morphological and syntactic errors may still occur, however, these slightly affect understanding. | The organisation of text, spelling and punctuation is correct enough to follow most of the content. Mistakes rarely impair comprehension. | Adequate range of vocabulary for completing the task. Some circumlocutions and erroneous choice of items but overall comprehension not impaired. | Mostly adequate organisation of content. Generally correct use of conjunctives, acceptable style. | Adequate elaboration and coverage of two bullet points, and partial elaboration of the other two. Irrelevant parts may appear, but the overall text is mostly satisfactory. | |||||
2 | If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 3, but exceeds what is described by point 1, a score of 2 should be given. | |||||||||
1 |
Restricted use of the grammatical structures required at this level with frequent mistakes. The unacceptable number of inaccuracies hinders communication. | Inadequate paragraphing, the incorrect spelling and punctuation frequently hinder comprehension. | Limited range of vocabulary, inadequate choice of words for the topic. The erroneous choice of items and frequent repetition greatly impair comprehension. | The organisation of content is accidental.
Hardly any use of cohesive devices, frequently inappropriate conjunctives. |
Incomplete task. Partial misinterpretation of task. Many irrelevant parts. Elaboration of at least one bullet point. | |||||
0 | If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 1 and the writing cannot be assessed (no elaboration of any of the bullet points, inappropriate content), or it is impossible to follow or irrelevant, a score of 0 should be given. If a score of 0 is given for communicative effectiveness, the entire grade for the task should be 0. | |||||||||
* As defined in the Specifications
Criteria for Assessing Writing
Level B2
Points | FORMAL ACCURACY
Morphology, Syntax |
WRITTEN ACCURACY
(Paragraphing, Punctuation and Spelling) |
VOCABULARY
(Range and Activation)
|
STYLE
(Pragmatic / Sociolinguistic Aspects) |
COMMUNICATIVE EFFECTIVENESS
(Appropriate Task Completion) |
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5 |
Confident and varied
use of the grammatical structures required at this level.* Almost no inaccuracies (syntactical errors).
|
Appropriate organization of text and paragraphing. Some mistakes with spelling and punctuation that are never confusing.
|
Precise use of a wide range of and well-chosen vocabulary relevant to the topic. Avoids repetitions and uses some idiomatic expressions. |
All ideas are organized in a clear and coherent way following the characteristics of the given genre. Effective use of cohesive devices. | Adequate elaboration and coverage of all the bullet points. Effective elaboration of thoughts and opinion relevant to the topic. | ||||||
4 | If the quality of written communication exceeds the performance described under point 3 but worse than what is described under point 5, a score of 4 should be given. | ||||||||||
3 |
Adequate use of complex grammatical structures required at this level. Some inaccuracies in morphology and syntax, but this does not hinder comprehension.
|
Partially adequate paragraphing. Several spelling and punctuation mistakes, however, these do not impair comprehension.
|
The lexical accuracy of the candidate’s vocabulary is generally precise, although circumlocutions may sometimes be necessary. Incorrect choice of words at times, however, this does not hinder comprehension. |
Ideas are generally organized appropriately, mostly adequate use of cohesive devices. Clear organization of text. Appropriate style. |
Adequate elaboration and coverage of two bullet points, and partial elaboration of the other two. Irrelevant parts may appear, but the overall text is mostly satisfactory. |
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2 | If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 3, but exceeds what is described by point 1, a score of 2 should be given. | ||||||||||
1 |
Restricted use of the grammatical structures required at this level. Several morphological and syntactic errors that impair comprehension.
|
Inadequate paragraphing. Inconsistent punctuation. A remarkably high number of spelling mistakes that frequently impair comprehension.
|
Fairly limited range of vocabulary. Relatively frequent use of incorrect words and/or unnecessary repetition. The obvious circumlocutions and semantic errors frequently hinder comprehension. | Ideas are not connected in a logical way, therefore it is difficult to follow content. Lack of cohesive devices. Inappropriate style.
|
Incomplete task. Partial misinterpretation of task. Many irrelevant parts. Elaboration of at least one bullet point.
|
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0 | If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 1 and the writing cannot be assessed (no elaboration of any of the bullet points, inappropriate content), or it is impossible to follow or irrelevant, a score of 0 should be given. If a score of 0 is given for communicative effectiveness, the entire grade for the task should be 0. | ||||||||||
* As defined in the Specifications
Criteria for Assessing Writing
Level C1
Points | FORMAL ACCURACY
(Morphology, Syntax) |
WRITTEN ACCURACY
(Paragraphing, Punctuation and Spelling) |
VOCABULARY
(Range and Activation) |
STYLE
(Pragmatic / Sociolinguistic Aspects) |
COMMUNICATIVE EFFECTIVENESS
(Appropriate Task Completion) |
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5 |
Sophisticated and effective use of a wide variety of grammatical structures.* Very rare minor mistakes.
|
High-level meaningful sentence construction and paragraphing (consistent punctuation); some small spelling mistakes possible.
|
Sophisticated use of a wide range of and well-chosen vocabulary relevant to the topic. Appropriate use of idiomatic expressions, collocations and colloquialisms. Smoothly avoids repetitions with the help of synonyms. | Ideas and sub-topics are organized effectively. Clear and logical organization of thoughts. Coherent text and appropriate style.
|
Adequate elaboration and coverage of all the bullet points. Effective elaboration of thoughts and opinion relevant to the topic. | |||||
4 | If the quality of written communication exceeds the performance described under point 3 but worse than what is described under point 5, a score of 4 should be given. | |||||||||
3 |
Correct and varied use of grammatical structures in general. Some minor morphological inaccuracies without impairing comprehension. | Occasional inconsistencies in sentence construction and paragraphing (punctuation); some minor spelling mistakes.
|
Has a wide vocabulary relevant to the topic, lexical inaccuracies are easily overcome with the help of circumlocution. Satisfactory use of idiomatic expressions, collocations. | Adequate organization of content. Appropriate use of conjunctives and cohesive devices. Clear structure of text with some minor
insufficiencies in cohesion. |
Adequate elaboration and coverage of two bullet points, and partial elaboration of the other two. Irrelevant parts may appear, but the overall text is mostly satisfactory. | |||||
2 | If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 3, but exceeds what is described by point 1, a score of 2 should be given. | |||||||||
1 |
Restricted and frequently incorrect use of grammatical structures. The violation of linguistic norms often hinder comprehension. | Sentence construction and paragraphing that jeopardise comprehension (inadequate punctuation); several serious spelling mistakes. | Limited range of vocabulary as compared to the relevant topic. Frequent repetition of words and/or lexical errors impairing comprehension. | Inadequate organisation of content, sentences are not connected to one another. Several inappropriate conjunctives. | Incomplete task. Partial misinterpretation of task. Many irrelevant parts. Elaboration of at least one bullet point.
|
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0 | If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 1 and the writing cannot be assessed (no elaboration of any of the bullet points, inappropriate content), or it is impossible to follow or irrelevant, a score of 0 should be given. If a score of 0 is given for communicative effectiveness, the entire grade for the task should be 0. | |||||||||
* As defined in the Specifications