Extended writing
Writing to bullet points, from about 75 characters at Foundation to as many as 180 at Higher, with opinions, reasons and more than one time frame.
Learn
Extended writing, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know AQA's writing tasks
AQA's structured task is Question 4 at Foundation and Question 1 at Higher. You choose one of two, write about 75 characters on four bullet points, and earn up to 16 marks: 10 for content and 6 for the quality of your language. At Higher, Question 2 is the open-ended task: one of two again, about 125 characters on two bullet points, worth 32 marks, with 15 for content, 12 for range of language and 5 for accuracy. Every bullet must be covered, though not equally.
Know Pearson Edexcel's writing tasks
Pearson Edexcel's informal piece is Question 3 at Foundation and Question 1 at Higher: one of two tasks, about 80 to 110 characters for a friend or someone your age on four bullets, worth 20 marks, 12 for communication and content and 8 for accuracy. At Higher, Question 2 is a formal piece: one of two, about 130 to 180 characters on four bullets, worth 28 marks, 16 and 12. The top band needs all four bullets, and you can write more or fewer characters than suggested without losing marks.
Plan around the bullets
Read each bullet for exactly what it asks. If it asks how you travel, where you went misses it, and if it asks about one weekend, your usual weekend misses it too. Plan a sentence or two for each bullet, mark which time frame each one needs, and tick them off as you write.
Show the past, the present and the future
Chinese verbs don't change, so time comes from the words around them. For the past, a time word with 了 or 过: 上个周末我去了北京。 我去过中国。 For the present, 现在, 每天 or 常常. For the future, 要, 会, 想 or 打算 with a time word: 明年我打算学法文。 The top marks for language at both boards look for all three.
Give opinions with real reasons
Use 我觉得, 我喜欢 or 我希望 and back each opinion with 因为: 我觉得学中文很有用，因为以后我想在中国工作。 Two or three opinions, each with a reason of your own, earn more than one.
Link sentences to show range
Join ideas with 因为……所以……, 虽然……但是……, 如果……就……, 先……然后……, ……的时候, 比 and 最. 虽然学校很远，但是我每天走路去。 放学的时候，我常常去图书馆。 Linked sentences show the range both boards reward.
Show the Higher structuresHigher only
At Higher, the marks for range reward more complex language. Use a few of 不但……而且……, 除了……以外，还……, 越来越, 一……就…… and 为了 where they fit: 我不但喜欢看中国电影，而且喜欢听中国音乐。 为了学好中文，我每天学习两个小时。
Match the register and check your work
For a friend, write 你 with a friendly opening and close, such as 你好！ and 再见！; for a formal piece, 您, 您好！ and 谢谢！ and no slang. Write in characters: AQA's examiners have said pinyin can still get a message across but earns nothing for your language, so use it only where you would otherwise leave a gap. Then read your piece for time words before verbs, 了 on finished actions only, and characters that sound alike.
Extended writing key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Bullet point
- One of the things a task asks you to cover: four in most tasks, two in AQA's open-ended one.
- Time frame
- Past, present or future, shown in Chinese by time words and markers like 了 and 要.
- Opinion
- What you think about something, such as 我觉得很有意思.
- Justify
- Give the reason for an opinion, usually after 因为.
- Complex structure
- A pattern beyond a simple sentence, such as 虽然……但是…….
- Register
- How formal your writing is: friendly for a friend, polite for an adult or an official.
- Character count
- The suggested length in characters: about 75 or 125 with AQA, 80 to 110 or 130 to 180 with Edexcel.
- Connective
- A linking word, such as 因为, 所以, 可是 or 然后.
Common mistakes in Extended writing
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Leaving out one of the bullet points.
Both boards hold back the top marks until every bullet is covered. Plan a sentence for each before you start.
Putting 了 on a future plan, or leaving out the time word altogether.
Without a time word, 我去中国 could be any time. Write 去年我去了中国。 for the past and 明年我要去中国。 for the future.
Joining two verbs or two sentences with 和, as in 我喜欢游泳和我喜欢跑步.
和 joins nouns. Write 我喜欢游泳，也喜欢跑步。, or list the activities after one verb, as in 我喜欢游泳和跑步。, which works too.
Writing 作 for 做, or the other way round.
Both are said zuò. 做 is to do or to make, as in 做饭 and 做作业, while 作 turns up in words like 工作.
Answering a different question from the one the bullet asks.
Underline the key words in each bullet. If it asks what kind of food you like, a list of restaurants misses it.