WRITING STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

WRITING

TASK ACHIEVEMENT
STRENGTHS

 Word count: All the points required in the task are covered (within the minimum word count of 150 words)
 The learner achieves the task fully by describing a person he admires (his mother) and saying why he admires
her.g,description he says where she was born / what her background was / describes how she managed to get to
university / what she did once she had graduated ANDreasons he admires her because she has reached all her goals / she
has strong principles / a good sense of humour / a positive attitude/is hardworking / she has fought against troubles
 Task achievement: This piece of writing achieves the task. The learner introduces himself appropriately (I am a Japanese
student studying fine art…, line 4), states the purpose of the email (I am writing in reply to your advertisement, line 2)
and gives some relevant information about his experience (I have an experience that I worked at a local farm…, line 6)
and English language ability (I passed the first certificate for EFL last year, line 9).
 The learner has satisfied the requirements of the question by fulfilling the criteria: explain what happened – lines
2-5/eg/ describe your suitcase – brown, not big, etc/what was in it – papers, clothes/find out what they are.... – etc.
 This piece of writingachieves the task at a basic level. The learner introduces himself appropriately, state the purpose of
the letter and gives some relevant information about his experience and English language ability.His message is generally
clear. There are no parts which could be misunderstood.
 Task Achievement: Task is achieved in terms of content. Learner reviews the film effectively including outlining the plot
and the main character evaluating the film and giving a recommendation.
 Task Achievement - The learner speaks for an appropriate length of time on each of the two topics and makes his points
in a generally clear and ordered manner. Example of clear and ordered task achievement: …
 Main events in the narrative are expressed in sequence / the narrative is coherently told / the listener would be able
to follow the narrative e.g.The man goes into the shop, puts the radio in his bag, it turned on, he ran away, the police
caught him
 The learner describes the picture as required e.g. he describes the man he’s very sad, he confuse himself
 Task achievement: His message is generally clear. There are no parts which could be misunderstood.

WEAKNESSES

 the request for action istoo direct / inappropriate / abrupt, i.e.you have to find … which might result in the airline
beinguncooperative
 the ending of the letter is abrupt / there is no signing off, e.g. Yours faithfully
 style is inconsistent (possibly due to plagiarism) / final sentence is genre ofholiday reviews rather than
encyclopaedia,e.g. use of ‘huge’ in first sentence
 To be more effective the learnershould give further information about his experience and other qualities which would
make him suitable for the job, in particular addressing the requirements in the advertisement, such as flexibility and
experience with children. He doesn‟t say why he wants to work on the farm. He could also add that he isavailable for
interview. He does notmake full use of the recommendedword limit to dothese things
  Task Achievement / Genre: Task is not achieved because the text follows informal letter conventions rather than a
magazine review e.g. greeting: Dear fiona (line 1); signing off: Best wishes(line 20).
 Task Achievement. The learner has failed to answer the second part of the question in detail. He simple mentions the
word ‘holiday’ as part of a list without describing it in any detail.
 Although the learner generally achieves the task successfully, the last point about the ‘goals for that family’ is not
particularly clear. Example of unclear point about family goals: When you start family you also need to consider, I believe,
your goals for that family. Um, if it’s some kind of development, if it’s creating the best bond you can create between
each other. (lines 16-18)
 Task achievement: To be more effective the learner should give further information about his experience and other
qualities which would make him suitable for the job. He doesn’t say why he wants to work on the farm. He could also
add that he is available for interview. He does not make full use of the recommended word limit to do these things

EFFECT ON TARGET READER

STRENGTHS

 Reader is involved in the story and wants to find out what Louise decides in the end / involvement in Louise’s life
through nice interweaving of background personal information / sense of suspense achieved by not telling reader full
outcome of decision till very end e.g.she lived in a little house in the countryside, she was alone in the house, leaving
without her family, it was such a difficult decission to make, before she left
 the target reader will be informed,i.e. the learner explains what happens, describes their suitcase, says what was in it
and asks the airline for action.


WEAKNESSES

 Some confusion/distraction due to some unintegrated direct speech / overuse of exclamation marks e.g. YES! Why
not! I’m always so busy….

GENRE/STYLE
STRENGTHS

 Genre: Includes some structural features of the genre: summary of plot information about main character evaluative
comments and recommendation. (film review)
 Style: Neutral to informal e.g. it's a Hollywood film set in the 18th century( line 3) appropriate for genre/audience
personal comments (inspiring) use of contractions appropriate to informal style. (film review)
 Appropriacy of style and genre: The layout of the email follows some of the usual conventions in that he includes the
recipients’ names.
 Appropriacy of style and genre: He uses surnames and titles Mr. and Mrs. rather than Jim and Mary (line 1).
 Appropriacy of style and genre: He does not use contractions, except once, don’t (line 11).
 Appropriacy of style and genre: He uses some fixed expressions typical to the genre, I am writing in reply to your
advertisement on the… (line 1), Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need further information… (line 12)

WEAKNESSES

 The student has omitted his own name and fails to include any valediction (saying farewell)
ORGANISATION
STRENGTHS

 logical development / progression (letter), e.g.. introduction - background – situation – outcome required.
 Overall, the text is in a logical order (and follows the order of the rubric) e.g.History ➞important dates ➞economy
➞natural resources ➞places of interest ➞languages
 Logical sequence of ideas e.g.description of her personal situation➞ description of the holiday ➞ explanation of the
dilemma ➞the decision she made ➞the reasons for her decision ➞ her husband’s reaction to the news ➞ how she felt
just before she left.
 Logical/clear organization (report) e.g.for logical organisation title, statement of aims, introduction of the situation,
traditional food,factors for changes, conclusion
 Use of title / (sub-) headings / statement of aims / clear layout / paragraphs e.g. …
 structure of a report e.g. introduction - reporting the data -giving recommendations - conclusion
 Signposting devices (to ogranise the findings of the report) .e.g. There are anumber of reasons why there has been a fall
in numbers. The first has to do withrecreational factors
 Semi-formal style conventions (for starting a report)e.g. this report will outline the the reasons for the fall in students
taking part in sport
 The text is organised into logical paragraphs: he states the purpose of the email, introduces himself, gives information
about his experience and his English, discusses future contact, and closes the email.

WEAKNESSES

 No paragraphing to signpost his writing for the reader candidate needs to give an example of where a paragraph would
be inserted
 The layout of the letter follows some of the usualconventions in that he includes the recipients‟ names and address. He
uses surnames and titles Mr. and Mrs. rather than Jim and Mary (line 1). He does not use contractions, except once,
don’t (line 15).
 The learner needs to divide her writing into more paragraphs / there is a lack of paragraphinge.g.the text could be
divided into 3 paragraphs 1 description of the opportunity (lines 7); 2 consideration of the dilemma it posed & the decision
she made (lines 7-10); 3 the existing paragraph (lines 11-13) with how the story ended.
 Wrongly paragraphed conclusione.g. conclusion should begin at line 21-22
 Organising ideas - very generic point, does not refer to a language feature.e.g. information about the different ideas the
learner has
 paragraphing not under control e.g. information in the first paragraph is not in a logical order i.e. starts with the
geography of Mongolia, changes to the weather mid sentence, then discusses the language at the end of the same
paragraph / lack of sufficient paragraphing e.g. when beginning to describe places of interest and when talking about
language spoken

COHESION
STRENGTHS

 Good use of linkers / conjunctions / time markers / cohesive devices / discourse markers e.g.Although, when, So, so
that, Even thought, at that moment
 linking devices and phrases for cause and effecte.g. The fall in interest is due to the decrease in staff available
 Hedging devices(to give the writer’s opinion)e.g.it could be considered beneficial to include a selection of after-school
activities. (Specific to the text type (report – making recommendations – writer’s opinion).
 He avoids repetition of words.
 uses relative clauses to add information e.g. who came with his army (line 7);

 uses a defining relative clause to identify the noun 

 there is consistent use of accurate anaphoric referencing.
  Cohesion is achieved through the use of appropriate lexical sets in both parts of the task Examples of lexical sets aiding
cohesion: (take a) course (line 2), level of education (line 3), finish (a course) etc
 Good use of transition devices; e.g. cause transition (for this reason, because of) , effect transitions (as a result,
consequently), comparison transition (similarly, just like), contrast transitions (however, whereas)
 Transitions to show examples, order of importance, chronological order, list, addition, alternatives
 Substitution e.g. the graph on the left, the one on the right…, Drinking alcohol is banned, since doing so, can …
 Ellipsis
 Repeated words/ideas e.g. important information / key information

WEAKNESSES

 overuse (of coordinating conjunctions)which makes the text sound more spoken than written.He could use basic linkers
for contrast, e.g. although, however and addition, e.g. furthermore.
 He uses mostly simple sentences without any link words (only if). 10of the 12 sentences in the letterbegin with I
 The text would be more cohesive if the learner made more use of cohesive devices such as conjunctions and reference
devices.

ACCURACY AND RANGE OF GRAMMAR

STRENGTHS

 reasonable control/Good range / accurate use of modals in the present, e.g.can’t go, have to find, can you look, / should
be spend, had to answer, would loose, which should be spent, she could go
 Modality to maintain politenesse.g. it might be a good idea to install some new football pitches.
 range of tenses, e.g. present simple I come,present prefect I’ve been, past simple I stayed, past continuous I was
travelling /
 Accurate use of present perfect OR present perfect and past simplee.g. After she spent time teaching in the University
she had a great offer, ... she hasreached all her goals, ... and she has always followed
 range of forms e.g. questions Can you look for it?, negatives I can’t go
 some successful complex sentences (through use of conjunctions) e.g. … because ..., … so …
 attempts at longer clauses/complex sentences e.g. with ‘which’ and ‘whatever’ e.g. Ulaanbaater, which lies on the River
Tuul.’ ‘So, whatever your interest and wherever you come from
 Accurate use of present participles / participle clauses / sub-ordinating clauses / multi-clause sentences /complex
sentencese.g. telling her that she had won, including half-board, leaving her without her family
 Accurate use of complex clauses / use of linkers/discourse markers e.g. complex clauses Although it is known … (lines 6-
7), In order to have a good result … (lines 10-11), Even if the 80% of people still prefer … (lines 13-14), Although Italian
habits… (lines 21-22) e,g,linkers Although (line 6, 21), In order to (line 10), Even if (line 13), Another factor is (line
Moreover (line 18)
 linking devices / adverbials / conjunctions / discourse markerse.g. although, such as, however,
 Accurate use of passives e.g it is known (line 6), to be cooked (line 8), Preservatives and colourants are not used (line 9),
are fully taken (line 9), it has also been revieled (line 20)
 good use of reduced clauses and one or two fairly sophisticated compound sentences. Example of compound
sentence with reduced clauses: Having those, er, kids comes with a great responsibility of making sure, um, of making
sure you’re able to obviously provide for them, and if you’re able to help them grow the best they can, raise them to the
best of your abilities and be responsible whilst doing it (lines 13-16)
 self-corrects / fills pauses / uses compensation strategiese.g. .. er ..., about ...er...one radio...er...which
 Accurate use of past simple AND/OR past continuous tensese.g.he realised the man was trying
 Accurate use of articles e.g. a man with a jacket followed by man with the jacket
 Good use of relative clauses / subordinate time clausese.g. a shop where arrived a man, one radio which was at the
top ... when the owner was trying to take it, when the man started to run away
 Accurate use of linkerse.g.so, then, and, but
  Appropriate/accurate/good control of subject-verb agreement/ there is/aree.g. there is a man, there is a bag, There is a
place ... there is a guitar. There are twochairs.
 Good control of singular + plurals (nouns)e.g.bag, place, guitar, glass, keys, clothes, water
 Range and complexity of language: He refers to past, present and future events using appropriate tenses and verb forms

WEAKNESSES

 use of past simple (instead of bare infinitive) after auxiliaries (in thepast) e.g. don’t found, couldn’t found. There are a
lot of surface errors, possibly caused by a lack of proofreading.
 Use of past continuouse.g. Then, we was searching a job
 Use of articlese.g. finished the High School, the University, when she found the job
 Misuse of prepositionse.g. Study a degree, to pay the University
 Misuse of possessives / possessive adjectives / pronounse.g. with his three years old triplet daughters and his Husband,
when recived a telephone call, orwould loose everything, leaving her without her family
 Incorrect word ordere.g. are remarcably changing (line 7), It has been also reviled (line 20), grandparents do notteach
any more their traditional recipes (line 18)
 Some problems with the use of the passivee.g. was foundation, has located
 The language is simplistic for the level or slightly unnatural in places. Examples of simplistic or slightly unnatural
language: The extract I believe they should consider first of all who do they start the family with, …
 Overuse (of the reflexive himself) e.g.a man is very disturbed himself, he confuse himself
 Errors in verb patterns / verb structurese.g. start to singing, trying to stole
 The learner displays a narrow range of tenses and lack of more complex sentences. He uses mostly simple sentences
without any link words (only if). 10 of the 12 sentences in the email begin with I.
 A lack of complex noun phrases, and those that are attempted are inaccurate, e.g. the first certificate for EFL (line9), an
examination of advanced level (lines 9-10)
 The only form that he uses to refer to future plans is going to (lines 4 & 9). This might be considered too informal for
this genre. He could have used will or other expressions such as I am due to (take an examination).

ACCURACY OF SPELLING
WEAKNESSES

 many basic words misspelt e.g. trevlling, thay, spook, colore, thir, peper, airbot, friend, dgree, weels, please
 His punctuation is limited to full stops as he uses such simple sentences

RANGE AND ACCURACY OF LEXIS

STRENGTHS

 some sophisticated/appropriate vocabulary e.g. democratic revolution, dispersed, sparsely populated, average altitude,
natural resources
 Collocations/fixed expressions/lexical chunks/set phrases / food/topic related lexise.g. preservatives (line 9),
colourants (line 9), ingredients (line 10), a considerable amount (line 8), a totally different (line 14), get the message that
‘food is fun’ across to the people (line 15), allude to (line 16), due to (their job responsibilities) (line 17), traditional recipes
(line 18), I don’t totally agree with (line 22)
 Compound nouns related (to sporting sporting activities) (not relevant to the level: Advanced) e.g.swimming pools would
be a good addition.
 lexis specific (to writing reports)e.g. the report was conducted
 Lexis specific to the taske.g. after-school sports club
 Formulaic expressions (to justify opinions)e.g. one of the reasons why thefacilities are below-standard is the lack of
recreational areas
  Language to make recommendationse.g. a wide selection of DVDs should be made available for students to borrow
 Some good use of collocation and semi-fixed phrases Examples of collocation and semi-fixed phrases: comes
with a great responsibility (line 13), provide for them (kids) (line 14), raise them to the best of your abilities (line 15)
(the standard for is to the best of your ability but the plural form is increasingly heard)

WEAKNESSES

 Overuse/repetition (of after / after that) e.g. lines 10, 11, 13, 15
 Misuse of collocations/fixed expressions/lexical chunks/set phrasese.g. take pround of (line 6), to obtain for a totally
different option (line 14), thrown by bigcompanies (line 15), job responsibilities (line 17), the family lost its worth (lines 18-
19)
 Language to be more formal- super generic point,e.g.avoid at all costs!Example, It might be helpful to...- would have
made a good example for hedging
 uses linking devices inappropriately e.g. moreover, additionally
 The only form that he uses to refer to future plans is going to (lines 5 & 13). This might be considered too informal for
this genre. He could haveused will or other expressions such as Iam due to (take anexamination)
 Limited/inaccurate for level e.g.bag (briefcase), put on the button (switch it on), furniture (shelf), take it (get it down, lift
it down), singing (playing)
 Lack of synonyms (to refer to the man) / whilst it is usual in a spoken text torepeat lexis, the repeated use of (the man
with the jacket) creates a negative effect on the listenere.g. after the man with the jacket is first used in line 1, it is
repeated in lines 2, 5, 8, 9 /learner could use the robber, the thief
 Range and complexity of language: One would expect a learner at this level to be able to produce a wider range of lexis
and grammar to talk about his likes and dislikes and the skills that he possesses, e.g. I would be interested in working ..
rather than I would like to work (line 6), I enjoy working with animals rather than I like (lines 7-8)

PUNCTUATION
STRENGTH

 His punctuation is accurate

WEAKNESSES

 Capitalisation (of ordinary nouns and pronouns) e.g.the North-West of Spain, When my mother finished the High School
He wanted to Study a Degree
 Inaccurate use/omission of commas OR use of full stops instead of commase.g. The person that I particularly admire, is
my mother; In this place, the most part of thepeople; Then. We was searching; Now. She is; incredible person. no because
 His punctuation is limited to full stops as he uses such simple sentences
 Use of capitals is problematic and has a negative effect on the reader: few capitals to begin sentences e.g. it's a
Hollywood film (line 3) inconsistent use of capitals with title e.g. The Last samurai; proper nouns e.g. fiona(line 1)

PRONUNCIATION
STRENGTHS

 Word stress is accurate / sentence stress generally placed correctly on the content words, notfunction wordse.g.jacket,
owner, button, radio, furniture, mistake, away, arrived, policeman, opportunity
 Linking / elisione.g. the opportunity /ðiːjɑːpɔːt…/ and a /,/ənə/that the /ðætə/
 Linking / catenation / liaison (between final consonant and initial vowel) / intrusion/intrusive linking / linking
‘r’e.g.there is a, bag is open, here is a
 Good use of schwa / weak form / /W/ (in indefinite articles)e.g. a bread (machine), /Wbred/
  Good production of diphthongs /əʊ / and/or /ɔɪ /e.g. clothes, open and boiling
 With the exception of some weak forms and unvoiced final syllables that should be voiced, all sounds are accurate and
appropriate to a relatively standard British English accent (or at least one from the South East of the country). Examples
of accurate sounds: things (/θɪŋs/) (line 1), First of all (/’fɜːstəvɔːl/) (lines 1, 10), education (/ədjəˈkeɪʃən/) (line 3),
possibilities (/pɒsə’bɪlətiːs/) (line 5), pursuing (/pəˈsjuːɪŋ/) (line 6), responsibility (/rɪspɒnsəˈbɪlɪti/) (line 14)
 There are natural examples of assimilation and elision Examples of assimilation and elision: assimilation: have
to (/haftə/) (line 8), about family (/əbaʊʔfaməliː/) (line 13), about kids (/əbaʊʔkɪds/) (line 13), doing it
(/duːɪnɪt/) (line 16); elision: and obviously (/ən’ɒbvɪəsli/) (line 5), kind of (/kaɪndə/) (line 17)

WEAKNESSES

 Weak forms / not using schwae.g. to, was, at, and, arrived
 Inconsistent pronunciation of the (regular) past simple forms the/ -ed endings / tends to pronounce final
syllablee.g.arrived /æraɪvd/, realised /reɪəlaɪzɪd/
 Errors pronouncingdiphthongs / confusion between /eɪ/ and /e/ OR replaces /ɪə/ with/iː/ or /e/ OR confuses /eə/ with
/e/e.g. /eˆ/ and /e/ very /veɪrɪ/; place /ples/; bread /breɪd/; table /tebəl/
 Wrong word stress / equal stress on all syllables.eg. ‘con’fuse, ‘machine, ‘materials, arran’ged, clo’thes
 No contracted forms, especially with (there’s, there’re) e,g, there is a man, There are two chairs
 The learner consistently fails to voice the final ‘s’ in words, pronouncing them with /s/ rather than /z/. Examples of
unvoiced /s/ at the end of words: things (/θɪŋs/) (line 1), possibilities (/pɒsə’bɪlətiːs/), those (/dəʊs/), comes
(/kʌms/)
 Although weak forms are used, their use is inconsistent and tends to apply to some words but not others; the learner
often produces the full form of words that would normally be weak. Example of full forms instead of weak forms: are
(/ɑː/) (lines 1, 2, 10), you are (/jʊwɑː/) (line 2), of (/ɒv/) (lines 4, 13) – although the weak form of of is also used several
times, your (/jɔː/) (line 7), them (/dem/) (lines 8, 14, 15), at (/at/) (line 9), for (/fɔː/) (line 14)

WHICH WEAKNESS TO PRIORITISE, GIVE REASON

 the learner’s level
 the learner’s exams and future study needs
 the learner’s job needs
 fossilization of error
 transfer to other genres
 transfer to other skills
 specific to the learner’s context
 specific to the communicative purpose / success of the text (i.e. reference to genre in its own right)
 the effect on the reader
 easy to rectify, therefore motivating
 systematic error