(a) Using smartphones - a response that would score in the top band:
I use my phone most for messaging. My closest friends live on the other side of town, so a few minutes of typing each evening keeps us close in a way that meeting once a month never could. That use matters to me because friendship needs small, regular contact rather than grand occasions. My phone was genuinely useful last winter, when my bus was cancelled and I found another route home in the dark. Adults worry because they see us looking down and assume nothing of value is happening, and sometimes they are right, because an hour can vanish without my noticing it. I would like to spend a little less time on mine, though not much less. The problem is not the phone itself. It is the hour I never chose to give it.
135 words.
(b) A night camping - a response that would score in the top band:
Hi Sam, I finally went camping last weekend. We pitched the tent in the field behind my uncle's farm, just my cousin Ada and me, with the hills going dark around us. The best part of the night came after the fire burned down. Everything went quiet and the sky filled with more stars than I knew existed, so we lay on our backs and said nothing for twenty minutes. Not all of it went to plan. I packed the pegs and forgot the mallet, so we hammered them in with a rock and bent one badly. In the morning I was stiff, cold and strangely happy, and everything we owned smelled of woodsmoke. I would camp again, although next time I am bringing a thicker mat. Write soon, Adaeze
130 words.
Mark the chosen option only. Award a mark from each of the three scales and add them up, out of 28.
Task completion (out of 10)
| Marks | Band | Descriptor |
|---|
| 9-10 | Band 5 | Covers the whole task. Gives detailed information, reactions and reasons. The writing keeps a steady focus and suits the reader it is aimed at. |
| 7-8 | Band 4 | Covers the task, with detail on most points. Mostly holds its focus and its sense of audience. |
| 5-6 | Band 3 | Covers much of the task, though some points are bare. Focus wanders in places and the sense of audience comes and goes. |
| 3-4 | Band 2 | Covers part of the task. Points are listed rather than developed and the intended reader is barely in view. |
| 1-2 | Band 1 | Touches on the task only. Very little is developed. |
Range (out of 10)
| Marks | Band | Descriptor |
|---|
| 9-10 | Band 5 | Uses a wide range of words and structures, and uses them by choice rather than by chance. Sentences are varied and joined smoothly. |
| 7-8 | Band 4 | Uses a good range of words and structures with some variety in sentence length and shape. |
| 5-6 | Band 3 | Uses everyday words and mostly simple structures, with occasional reaching for something more ambitious. |
| 3-4 | Band 2 | Uses a narrow range of words and repeats the same few structures. |
| 1-2 | Band 1 | Uses very limited language, often repeating the words of the task. |
Accuracy (out of 8)
| Marks | Band | Descriptor |
|---|
| 7-8 | Band 5 | Grammar, spelling and punctuation are secure. Errors are rare and never obscure the meaning. |
| 5-6 | Band 4 | Mostly accurate. Errors appear in more ambitious sentences but the meaning stays clear. |
| 3-4 | Band 3 | Errors are frequent, though the meaning is usually recoverable. |
| 1-2 | Band 2 | Errors are heavy and the reader often has to reread. |
| 0 | Band 1 | Errors prevent the meaning from coming through. |
