Preparing Students for GCSE Controlled Writing Assessments

Liz Garner

AST for Mandarin

Anglo European School

garnere@aesessex.co.uk

AQA/Edexcel controlled writing assessments

• 30% of total GCSE

• 2 pieces, 100-150 characters long

• Wide choice of theme

• Should not overlap in content

• Tasks to change every two years

• Externally assessed

Marking Criteria

Marking Criteria compared Edexcel

Communication & Content (15 marks)

“very detailed and fully relevant” “clear ability to narrate, describe, express opinions and expand” “no ambiguity” “excellent linking” “coherent”

Knowledge & Application of Language (10 marks)

“wide range of vocabulary and structures” “little or no repetition” “confident use of more complex structures, such as comparatives, negatives and causal clauses” “clear ability to manipulate language”

Accuracy (5 marks)

“high level of accuracy”

AQA Content (15 marks)

“fully relevant and detailed response to the task” “sound ability to convey information clearly, express and explain ideas and points of view” “well organised structure”

Range of Language (10 marks)

“wide range of appropriate vocabulary and structures” “complex sentence are handled with confidence and time expressions are used successfully”

Accuracy (5 marks)

“largely accurate”

Successful students understand

• how to complete the task

• what language they need to use

Planning for the tasks

Plan ahead …

• How many assessments?

• When?

• On which topics?

When?

• Summer term Year 10 – “practise” speaking and listening

• Autumn Year 11 – one speaking and one writing tasks

• Spring Year 11 – one speaking and one writing tasks

• Summer 11 – “extra” tasks if required (using revision topics)

GCSE Scheme of Work- based on Edexcel GCSE Chinese

Year 1 Summer Term : Where I live Describing people’s homes My town and local area Finding the way Year 2 Autumn Term 1: Holidays: Weather Transport Holiday experiences Holiday plans Booking a hotel Making travel arrangements Year 2 Autumn Term 2: Food Opinions on Food School Meals Eating at a restaurant Healthy eating Food and festival

At what point should students prepare for task? What vocabulary and structures does it involve?

Speaking assessment

Writing assessment

Creating a task

Creating your own task

Look at the examiner’s report/information provided by your exam board

Title/bullet points should be:

• Different from other tasks

• Relevant

Edexcel suggested writing task You are looking for a summer job abroad.

Write a letter of application to the manager

of a (German/Chinese) employment agency.

You could mention

• Your personal details

• Which languages you can speak

• The type of work you are looking for and why

• Your previous experience of work and your opinion of it

• What you are going to do next year

Creating your own task

Title/bullet points should be:

• Different from other tasks

• Relevant

• Appropriate

• Elicit complex language (time frames, comparisons, justifications)

• “Could” and “should”

Hotel report for travel magazine

You have just returned from staying at a hotel in China and you are

asked by a travel magazine to give some feedback about the quality of

the accommodation and services provided. Write a report about the hotel.

You could mention:

• when and why you were visiting China

• why you chose that particular hotel

• your opinion of the hotel room and other aspects of the hotel

• any problems you had

• how the hotel could improve its facilities

GCSE Scheme of Work- based on Edexcel GCSE Chinese

Year 1 Summer Term : Where I live Describing people’s homes My town and local area Finding the way Year 2 Autumn Term 1: Holidays: Weather Transport Holiday experiences Holiday plans Booking a hotel Travel arrangements Year 2 Autumn Term 2 Opinions on Food Eating at a restaurant Healthy eating Food and festivals

Staying in a Hotel Booking a room Describing a hotel My hotel nightmare Eating at a restaurant

•why you are visiting China •why you chose that particular hotel •your opinion of the hotel room and other aspects of the hotel •any problems you had •How the hotel could improve its facilities

Vocabulary and structures

Hotel room vocab/paying bills

用。。付钱 roleplays

Vocab for hotel facilities, 房间有。/没有-可以。。 adverbial qualifiers (非常，特别, etc. )不但。。。而且 Opinions (我因为。。所以，虽然。。可是）比。。没有

Problems 坏了， 应该 letter of complaint， 不喜欢，因为..

Food & Drink vocab, regional food , verb-adjs to describe food， 喜欢/不喜欢因为太。。了， roleplays

Staying in a Hotel

Booking a room

Describing a hotel

Eating at a restaurant

My hotel nightmare

Vocabulary

在市中心，离故宫和天安门很近 每个房间都有洗澡间, 电话， 电视, 和空调

设施 有西餐厅，中国餐厅和日本餐厅

有健身房- 每天从早上六点到晚上十二点都开放 有酒吧和卡拉OK歌舞厅

服务台的服务员都会说英文，日文和西班牙文

欢迎您来北京饭店！

在北京的郊区（每个小时有旅游车送您到市中心） 很安静，风景很漂亮 我们的单人房和双人房 都有电风扇 我们的服务台会讲英文！ 四川餐厅和北京餐厅 你喜欢运动吗? 我们的网球场，保领馆， 室内的游泳池和新的健身房都是都欢迎您来欣赏！

香山饭店

Sentence structures

Why are structures so important?

• Structures create meaning

• Structures enable creativity

• Which structures?

Which structures? • Simple Time and place expressions

• Negatives qualifiers ( 不，非常，比较，不太。。Etc.)

• Aspect markers (正在/了/是。。的 )

• Modal verbs 想/要/得/必须/应该/会/能/可以

• Opinions: 觉得/认为

• Connectives

– 因为。。。所以 虽然。。。可是

– 要是。。。就 不但。。。而且

– 除了。。。以外 又。。。又

– 一边。。。一边

• Comparing: 比/没有

• Complex time connectives:

– 以前/以后

– 先。。然后

– 。。的时候

Tying in structures with topics

weather 天气好的时候。。

要是明天天气好

Holiday 想/要/会/打算/计划 + verb

plans

Holiday 了 & 是。。的, verb +过 time duration

experiences 觉得。。 因为。。。

先。。然后， 。。以前/。。以后

Transport 坐汽车去 又便宜又健康

虽然坐飞机很贵，但是。。。

Internalizing structures

Battleships

房间不但。。而且。。

有沙发 有电视 有浴室 有冰箱 有网络

很舒服

很安静

很漂亮

很干净

很大

很美

X

X

X

Running word order

很舒服

挺好

很脏

非常亲切

房间

花园

设施

浴室

不但

而且

虽然

但是

舞厅

餐厅

游泳池

服务台

饭店

电视

很漂亮

很贵

很干净

比较难看

坏了

没有

很好看

不贵

健身房

Although the garden was pretty the room was dirty

Not only was the TV broken but there was no hot water

热水

Not only were the facilities good but the room wasn’t expensive

非常

比较

脏

亲切

房间

花园

设施

浴室

不但

而且

虽然

但是

舞厅

餐厅

游泳池

服务台

饭店

经理

漂亮

舒服

有点儿

不

好看 贵

健身房

Not only were the staff very polite but the room was extremely clean

挺

很

干净

服务员

有礼貌

Guess the answer

早上 上午 下午 白天 晚上 夜里 在餐厅

在酒吧

在游泳池

在歌舞厅

在健身房

在服务台

吃晚饭

唱卡拉ok

喝啤酒

锻炼身体

睡觉

晒太阳

我们。。。。

Practising writing skills

Modelling paragraphs

Paragraph on a weekend in a hotel

• With who? Setting the scene

• How?

• First morning? 第一天。。先

• Lunch？ 然后

• Opinion of lunch? 我觉得

• Evening? 晚上

• Opinion of hotel? 我很喜欢。因为。。而且

Providing feedback

Associated writing tasks

• Describe a hotel you have stayed in. What was you opinion of it and why?

• Last weekend you went on a mini-break to a luxury hotel. Describe what you did.

• Write a letter complaining about a hotel you stayed in recently.

• Describe your trip to a restaurant last weekend. What did you think of the food and why?

Marking work

• Provide positive feedback

• Tick good sentences, underline errors

• Suggest ways to improve

• Look at common errors together

Example feedback

“Good level of accuracy with quite a good range of structures and vocabulary. You could use “if” or make a comparison. The writing reads fluently, apart from the ending, which seems unfinished – no real conclusion. “

Peer and self-marking

Have I included?

opinions 我觉得

我认为

Future time reference 想

要

Past time reference 了。。。。

是。。。的

reasons 因为。。所以

contrasts 虽然。。但是

Conditional sentences 要是。。。就

Apart from 除了。。。以外

Complex time

expressions

以前/以后

的时候

先。。然后

一边。。一边

Comparison 比

没有

How many different

structures did you use?

Consolidation

I stayed in a four star

hotel

I ordered a double

room

The weather was very

hot

In the room there was a

tv a telephone and

aircon

The hotel had a big

swimming pool

The scenery was very

beautiful

The staff at the

reception couldn’t

speak English

The hotel should have a

gym

The dishes in the

restaurant were all very

tasty

Task taking

Final advice

• Talk to the students about the task

• Using dictionaries

• Planning/notes form

Any questions?