WRITING SKILLS – MARKING CRITERIA - LEVEL 1 – Post A-Level
The criteria below give an indication of how examiners grade written proficiency in first-year language modules (Post A-Level). The criteria are cumulative (a higher grade
implies the possession of the skills described at lower grades, as well as the absence of deficiencies described at lower grades). At the same time, the grade profiles are
necessarily general and typical: a candidate need not fit all aspects of a profile to fall into that grade band. There may be elements that do not apply to every written
assessment task.
Cohesion & coherence
Content
Structure
Vocabulary, idiom and register
Grammar
Use of discourse strategies
Exceptional comprehension of
A critical, analytical and sophisticated
Exceptional use, wide & varied range
No grammar or spelling / character*
the question and sophisticated,
argument logically structured.
of expressions, technical vocabulary
errors. Very effective use of wide
nuanced and critical
Consistently accurate and idiomatic
and idiomatic language. Authentic
range of advanced grammatical
High 1st
understanding of the topic. Level
use of punctuation.
understanding and use of register
structures.
90-100
may be close to publishable
appropriate to the task.
standard.
* for non-European languages.
Outstanding text clearly
An accomplished and coherent
Outstanding use and wide range of
Virtually error-free with regards to
demonstrating independent and
argument precisely structured with
expressions, technical vocabulary and
grammar and spelling / character
Good
original thought and an ability to
outstanding use of logical and
idiomatic language. Highly effective
accuracy, demonstrating an
1st
1st
engage with material in a
chronological connectors. Generally no understanding of the register
outstanding use of grammatical
80-89
consistently critical and analytical errors in use of punctuation.
appropriate to the task.
structures.
manner.
Excellent text showing a detailed
An effective and coherent argument
Excellent ability to use a wide range of Consistently high level of accuracy in
analysis based on critical and
logically structured and demonstrating
appropriate topic-related vocabulary
grammar and spelling / use of
Low 1st independent thought, such as an
excellent use of wide-ranging logical
correctly which may include idiomatic
characters, with only few minor
70-79
ability to ‘see beyond the
and chronological connectors.
expressions. Excellent understanding
errors; grammatical structures
question’.
Consistently correct use of
of the register appropriate to the task.
supporting development of fluent
punctuation, with only minor errors.
style. Displays an excellent range of
complex structures.
Very good text demonstrating
Very good, clearly structured argument Very good ability to use a range of
Very good level of grammatical
general critical, analytical thought demonstrating a varied use of logical
appropriate vocabulary which may
accuracy with few significant
and a very good comprehension
and chronological connectors. Sound
include technical vocabulary and
grammatical or spelling / character
High 2:1 of the implications of the
structure overall. Very good use of
structures and/or idiomatic
errors. Displays a very good range of
65-69
question.
punctuation despite occasional errors.
expressions. High level of accuracy
structures overall. Few occasional
Very good capacity to synthesise
overall, with some minor errors. Very
slips or non-systematic errors.
rather than describe.
good choice of register appropriate to
the task.
2nd
Low 2:1
60-64
Good text in general with clear
critical analysis supported by
relevant examples and ideas
demonstrating a good
comprehension of the
implications of the question.
Good capacity to synthesise
Good and clear argument, which uses
a variety of logical and chronological
connectors showing link between
ideas. Good use of punctuation despite
some minor errors.
Good ability to use a range of suitable
vocabulary, expressions and
structures. Some inaccuracies occur,
but only few major errors. For the most
part choice of register appropriate to
the task. .
Good level of grammatical accuracy
and good range of grammatical
structures with relatively few major
errors. Occasional slips or nonsystematic errors. Minor and
relatively infrequent spelling /
character errors.
information.
High 2:2
55-59
Low 2:2
50-54
45-49
3rd
40-44
Fail
35-39
Appropriate text with some
attempts at analysis but a
tendency to be descriptive rather
than analytical. Slight confusion
as regards implication of the
question.
Appropriate and mostly clear argument
using logical and chronological
connectors. Use of punctuation not
always appropriate.
Appropriate range of expression with
satisfactory use of vocabulary and
structures, despite a few gaps..
Inaccuracies occur, some of them
major, but not overly affecting
comprehensibility. Reasonable choice
of register, but not always appropriate
to the task.
Adequate text but overly
descriptive. Tendency to assert /
state opinion rather than argue
on the basis of reason and
evidence, or argument is not
sustained by choice of examples.
Some confusion as regards the
implication of the question and
gaps in understanding are
evident.
Limited text in terms of ideas.
Evidence mentioned but used
inappropriately and little attempt
at analysis and a tendency
towards excessive description.
.
Adequate, but not always clearly,
chronologically or logically structured
argument showing use of small range
of simple connectors. Use of
punctuation shows some
inconsistencies.
Adequate lexical repertoire although
the range is limited both in terms of
expressions and structures.. Some
major inaccuracies, but not overly
affecting comprehensibility of text.
Choice of register at times
inappropriate to the task.
Basic argument showing limited use of
simple connectors making the overall
coherence and structure of the text
underdeveloped and often difficult to
follow. Limited mastery of punctuation.
Limited range of vocabulary and
structures. Frequent inaccuracies
affecting comprehensibility at times.
Mostly inappropriate register for the
text.
Text overwhelmingly descriptive
at a basic and / or subject level.
Often misses the point of the
question, asserts rather than
argues the case
Very basic argument with little attempt
to link ideas. Lack of clarity in
presentation, which makes the
structure difficult to follow. Basic and
sometimes inaccurate use of
punctuation.
Patchy or restricted use of vocabulary
and idioms. Relatively high level of
inaccuracies which affects
comprehensibility on a number of
occasions.
Inappropriate choice of register.
Inadequate text affected by
limited development of ideas and
Little or no argument lacking coherent
or logical structure. Evidence used
Inadequate range of expression
caused by restricted vocabulary.
Reasonable level of grammatical
accuracy, but with some significant
grammatical errors and a number of
spelling / character mistakes. Some
slips or systematic errors in
grammatical /sentence structure may
occur but without leading to
misunderstanding.
Possible interference from other
languages, but not a barrier to
communication.
Grammar and spelling / characters
have some inaccuracies but display
an adequate range of grammatical
structures. More frequent major slips
may occur and systematic errors
slightly affect readability. Some
interference from other languages
may slightly affect understanding.
Fair grasp of basic grammar, spelling
/ characters and grammatical
/sentence structure, though frequent
major errors and limited control of
syntax. Frequent spelling / character
mistakes. Many inconsistencies
affecting readability. Much
interference from other languages
impedes communication.
Grasp of basic grammar, spelling /
characters and grammatical /
sentence structure, but many
inaccuracies and very limited control
of syntax.
Very frequent spelling mistakes.
Major errors clearly affecting
readability. Substantial interference
from other languages impedes
communication.
Limited grasp of grammatical
principles and limited familiarity with
0-34
ability to illustrate those with
examples.
Lacking critical engagement with
issues, based on description or
opinion. Very little
comprehension of the implication
of the question.
Very limited, and seriously flawed
understanding of the question or
fails to address the question
entirely. Omissions and
inaccuracies make most of the
work impossible to understand.
inappropriately or incorrectly. Difficult
to convey the intended meaning due to
lack of connectors and discourse
markers. Inadequate use of
punctuation.
Frequent inaccuracies strongly
affecting comprehensibility. Language
not appropriate to the task.
spelling conventions / characters.
Constant slips and flaws in
grammatical / sentence structure still
occur which make understanding
difficult.
Deficient argument. No attempt to
construct an argument and incoherent
or illogical structure. Almost nonexistent use of connectors affecting
dramatically the structure and
cohesion of the text. Punctuation is
non-existent.
No awareness of lexical repertoire or
register. Many repetitions because of
the limitations in vocabulary. High
number of inaccuracies severely
affecting the comprehensibility of the
text.
Grammar and spelling / characters
are significantly inaccurate and very
limited. Severe flaws in grammatical /
sentence structure cause
misunderstanding and lack of
communication.