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Marking students’
work
You will probably be able to find a mark scheme for each section of
the examination on a website. If not, the following will help.
Be aware that levels describe achievement, not ultimate grades.
It is always helpful to let students mark each other’s work. They can
be much more honest in their comments than you might be!

Paper 1: Question A
Marking commentaries
Knowledge and Analysis of the effects Organization
understanding of language
Level There will be a clear, Text will be analysed with There will be a strong,
1 perceptive understanding discriminating awareness logical structure. Quotations
of the content and ideas of of how language creates and support will be fluently
the passage. Content will be effects. The discussion built into the arguments.
fluently linked to matters of will move with ease from
form, structure, genre, style, discussion of detail to the
purpose, and audience. wider issues and the effect of
There will be strong the passage as a whole.
awareness of the intentions
of the passage.
Level There will be sound Text is analysed with A strong structure will
2 understanding of content and awareness of the effects demonstrate commitment
ideas. Content will be related created. Details are related to a clear, developing
to matters of structure, style, to the whole through specific argument.
form, audience, purpose, examples of language use.
and the overall aims of the
passage.
Level Issues of content and There is thorough The structure of the discourse
3 ideas will be clearly and examination of the passage, will be clear and there will
consistently engaged with. and a range of features of be consistent focus on the
There will be general language are noted and precise demands of the
understanding of style, form, explored. There is clear question.
audience, purpose, genre, explanation of how these
and structure. features create effects within
the passage as a whole.

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Level There will be some
4 consideration of the ideas
in the passage and a
willingness – not fully
developed – to link this to
matters of structure, form,
audience, purpose, genre,
and style.
Level There will be some relevant
5 points about content
and there will be some
understanding of structure,
audience, form, purpose,
and genre. There will be
some failure to comment on
key features and/or some
misunderstanding.
Level Responses here will
6 concentrate on the content
of the passage and may
offer narrative summary.
There may be confusion
about aspects of the passage
because of the candidate’s
misunderstanding of words
or sentences in the original.
Appropriate points are
made, with some features
of language use noted.
There will be some ability to
explain how these features
create effects. The approach
may lack coherence.
Relevant points will be
made and there will be a
limited range of examples
of language in use. Some
of the examples may not
be explained fully. Some
examples may be listed
without being explored.
There will be a general, not
specific sense, of how the
passage achieves its effects.
There will be little that is
related to the language of
the passage. The writing
may be unclear.
5
There will be a clear
structure, but there may also
be a tendency to deal with
the passage line-by-line
rather than taking a strategic
view. At times, focus on the
issues will be lost.
There will be little discernible
structure, though some points
will be being made. Points
will accumulate, rather than
being integrated, into an
argument.
Expression may break down
here. Often work will be very
short and there will be little
sign that the work has been
planned.

We can simplify all of this out into a series of prompts that you need
to use each time you mark some work. Has the candidate?
●● communicated a secure knowledge of the text?
●● given relevant responses to key themes and ideas in the text?
●● produced coherent, accurate, and well-structured writing?
●● used the correct terminology?
●● analysed and shown an understanding of the form (shape) of
the text?
●● looked at the text’s structure?
●● analysed aspects of the text’s language?
●● supported your ideas with relevant, brief quotations?
●● checked for errors in expression and punctuation?

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Paper 1: Question B
Marking directed writing
Level 1 Work at this level will demonstrate perceptive understanding of matters of style, content,
and form, and there will be a good range of appropriate vocabulary and expression that
is carefully shaped to the task. The best work will be persuasive and confident, showing
close understanding of the original. It will be supported by consistent and personal
engagement with context and purpose. The writing will be fluent and consistent in its
imitation of the original, echoing and exploiting key features as relevant. There will be a
strong sense of audience.
Level 2 This will respond closely to the precise demands of the question, showing a clear
understanding of matters of style, form, context, and language. It will be relevant to the
task set throughout.
Level 3 Work here will show an attempt to deal with the particulars of the question asked, though
there may be unevenness in terms of style, form, language, and purpose.
Level 4 Work at this level will be just starting towards relevance. However, matters of style, form,
language, and purpose may not be appropriate.
Level 5 Here the work may well be confused, with the nature of the task not understood in
terms of context, purpose, form, and audience. The language and style will not reflect
the question asked. Work here will often be very brief or fragmented, and the range of
expression will be extremely limited.

Paper 2: Section A
Marking imaginative writing (narrative/descriptive)
Level 1 ●● Work will be imaginative and often original
●● The audience will be fully engaged
●● There will be a strong voice, suited to purpose
●● Structure will be tightly controlled for a specific purpose
●● Language will be used carefully in order to create specific effects on an audience
●● Expression will be fluent and mature, with few technical errors. There will be
complexity of effects
Level 2 ●● The task will be imaginatively tackled
●● The audience will be considered and engaged with
●● There will be a sense of a voice
●● There will be a clear sense of an appropriate structure to the piece
●● Language will create specific effects on an audience according to the narrative/
descriptive requirements of the question
●● Expression will be fluent, with few technical errors

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Level 3 ●● There will be steady focus on matters of form and content and a consistent narrative
voice or voices
●● There will be a clear, relevant structure
●● Some language effects will be attempted, showing awareness of the requirements of
narrative or descriptive writing
●● There will be clear expression, though some technical errors
Level 4 ●● There will be a willingness to focus on relevant matters of form and content, with some
imaginative touches, a sense of audience, and some sense of narrative voice
●● There will be a clear structure, although this may at times get buried and be uneven
●● There will be some attempts at appropriate language and expression, as appropriate
to the question
●● Expression will mainly be clear, though there may be a lack of variation or some
technical errors that go beyond spelling mistakes (errors of tense, agreement,
punctuation)
Level 5 ●● There will be some appropriate ideas in terms of content but it may not be fully
appropriate to the task. Narrative in particular may depend upon re-telling of the plots
of films. There may be some confusion about genre, with descriptive tasks answered in
narrative forms
●● The structure and form of the work will not be easily discernible
●● There will be some attempt at creating language effects
●● Expression will be mostly clear but there may be difficulties of fluency, with quite
frequent technical errors
Level 6 ●● There will be an attempt to focus on appropriate ideas; some pieces may be
reasonable but not entirely suitable for the title given. Work may well be derivative
●● There will be a limited sense of voice
●● The piece may lack structure and wander away from relevance
●● There will be occasional language effects
●● Communication/expression may be insecure with obvious technical and structural
errors
Level 7 ●● Work here will bear little relationship to the title given, may be confused or lacking
coherence, with little relevant form or content
●● There will be serious lapses of communication which makes the work hard to follow,
both in terms of organization and in terms of technical errors

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Paper 2: Section B
Marking writing for a specific audience (discursive/argumentative)
Level 1 ●● Lively approach, some originality, with a form that is specific to the question. Will have
a strong voice and will engage audience throughout
●● Tightly organized, logical development of ideas
●● Language will be entirely appropriate and flexibly used in order to effectively explain,
argue, or persuade
●● Expression will be fluent and careful, demonstrating high levels of technical accuracy
and an ability to argue about complex ideas
Level 2 ●● There will be an appropriate form, a strong sense of voice and the reader/listener’s
attention will be engaged throughout. Content will be thoughtful
●● Strong structure, clear development of arguments
●● Language effects will be used tellingly to explain, argue, or persuade
●● There will be fluid, thoughtful argument, with only occasional minor technical errors
Level 3 ●● Consistent approach and relevant form and content throughout; a consistent creation
of voice; the audience will be clearly in view
●● Sensible structure, sustained
●● Some language devices used to explain, argue, or persuade
●● Clear expression, a few technical inaccuracies
Level 4 ●● Form and content will be clear and there will be some sense of an audience and some
attempt to create a suitable voice
●● There will be an appropriate structure, though at times this may not be sustained, and
there may be some drift from the topic
●● There will be some attempt at using language to persuade, argue, or explain
●● Expression will be clear, perhaps slightly unvarying and with some technical
inaccuracies that impede the flow of the piece. Technical errors will go beyond matters
of spelling or punctuation and may include confusion of tenses, agreements, etc.
Level 5 ●● Relevant to the topic, with some sense of an audience and some attempt to create
a ‘voice’
●● Some sense of structure, though it may not be clear throughout; arguments may not be
fully thought through
●● There will be some effects of language in order to explain, argue, or persuade
●● Communication will be clear but there may be issues of fluency and a high number of
technical errors that impede expression

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Level 6 ●● Attempts to be relevant but perhaps not fully relevant to the task; some grasp of the
topic will be shown. There will be little attempt to present a ‘voice’
●● Little evidence of structure, with points unconnected and digression or deviation from
the topic
●● Occasional attempts to shape language to persuade, argue, or explain
●● Communication will be unclear at times with both technical and structuring problems
getting in the way of overall coherence and flow
Level 7 ●● Inappropriate work, with little sense of the topic, lacking coherence
●● Weakly organized, with a high level of technical inaccuracy so that the candidate’s
ideas are hard to follow

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