Academic Writing: How are bandscores awarded for Academic Writing?
Scripts are assessed on the following criteria. Examiners use a set of very detailed assessment criteria for these areas.
This criterion assesses how appropriate, accurate and relevant the response is, in fulfilling the requirements set out in the task.
Task 1: Task Achievement
Academic Writing Task 1 has a defined input and a largely predictable output. It is an information-transfer task that related narrowly to the factual content of the input data or diagram and not to speculated explanations that lie outside the provided diagram or data. This task requires a minimum of 150 words in length.
Task 2: Task response
In both Academic and General Training Writing tests, Task 2 requires the test takers to formulate and develop a position in relation to a given prompt in the form of a question or statement. Ideas should be supported by evidence and examples may be drawn from from the test takers' own experience. Test takers are penalized if they don't cover all of the points in the question. Responses must be at least 250 words in length.
This criterion is concerned with the overall clarity and fluency of the message: how the response organises and links information, ideas and language.
- Coherence refers to the linking of ideas through logical sequencing.
- Cohesion refers to the varied and appropriate use of cohesive devices (for example, logical connectors, pronouns and conjunctions) to assist in making the conceptual and referential relationships between and within sentences clear.
This criterion refers to the range of vocabulary the test taker has used and the accuracy and appropriacy of that use in terms of the specific task.