Writing tasks
The 50, 90 and 150-word tasks: covering every bullet with range and accuracy.
Learn
Writing tasks, 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 the writing tasks at each tier
With AQA, at Foundation you write about 50 words on five bullet points (10 marks) and about 90 words on three bullets (15 marks); at Higher, the same 90-word task and about 150 words on two bullets (25 marks). With Edexcel, at Foundation you write 40 to 50 words in a formal context on three bullets (14 marks) and 80 to 90 words in an informal one on four (18); at Higher, the same 80 to 90-word task and 130 to 150 words in a formal context on four bullets (22). For each of the longer tasks you choose one of two. The word counts are a guide: examiners mark everything you write.
Cover every bullet point
Every bullet is compulsory. They need not be covered equally, but leaving one out caps the marks for content: in AQA's 90-word task, only an answer that covers all three can reach the top two bands, and Edexcel's grids hold back the top marks in the same way. Tick each bullet off as you write about it.
Spot the time frame each bullet asks for
Bullets often point to a tense: 'what you did last summer' wants the perfect (ich bin ... gefahren, ich habe ... besucht), 'your plans' wants the future (ich werde ...) and 'what you usually do' wants the present. In the 80 to 90-word task, with either board, the top language marks need references to all three time frames.
Write the short task simply and accurately (Foundation)
Write one or two short sentences per bullet, in language you are sure of: Mein Haus ist klein, aber schön. In AQA's 50-word task half of the 10 marks are for covering the bullets and half for the variety and accuracy of your language; Edexcel's 40 to 50-word task is formal, so write to the reader with Sie and a polite opening such as Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren.
Develop your ideas with opinions, reasons and detail
Turn a bare fact into a developed one: Ich spiele Basketball becomes Am Samstag spiele ich mit meinem Bruder Basketball, weil es Spaß macht. An opinion with a reason is the quickest development there is.
Add range with word order and linking words
The language mark rewards variety and attempts at complexity. Start some sentences with a time word, so the verb comes before the subject (Gestern habe ich ...), join ideas with weil, dass, wenn and obwohl (verb to the end), and use um ... zu, modal verbs and ich möchte. Vary how sentences start, so the writing never reads as a list.
Tackle the 150-word task with depth and complexityHigher only
AQA's 150-word task has two bullets and 25 marks: 15 for content and 10 for language; cover both bullets, because writing about only one limits the content mark. Edexcel's 130 to 150-word task is formal, with four bullets and 22 marks. Show complex language you control: wenn ich ... hätte, würde ich ..., seit with the present, two verbs at the end of a subordinate clause, relative clauses, and the simple past in a narrative.
Plan first, then check your work
Spend a few minutes planning a sentence or two for each bullet and the tenses you will use. At the end, check the verb position in every clause, capitals on nouns, umlauts, the case after each preposition and adjective endings. A simpler sentence written well is worth more than a complex one that loses its meaning.
Writing tasks key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Bullet point
- One of the prompts in a writing task. Every bullet is compulsory, though they need not be covered equally.
- Time frame
- Past, present or future. The top language mark for the 80 to 90-word task needs all three, used mainly successfully.
- Development
- Adding to an idea with a reason, an example, an opinion or extra detail, so it says more than a bare fact.
- Subordinating conjunction
- A linking word such as weil, dass, wenn or obwohl, which sends the verb to the end and adds range.
- Inversion
- Starting with a time phrase so the verb comes before the subject: Am Wochenende spiele ich. It is an easy way to vary sentences.
- Accuracy
- How free the writing is of errors. A major error gets in the way of the meaning; a minor one does not.
- meiner Meinung nach
- In my opinion: followed straight by the verb, as in Meiner Meinung nach ist Sport wichtig.
- Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren
- Dear Sir or Madam: the opening of a formal letter or email.
Common mistakes in Writing tasks
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Leaving out a bullet point, or writing so little on it that it is hardly covered.
Every bullet is compulsory, and missing one caps your content mark. Plan at least two sentences for each bullet before you start writing.
Writing everything in the present tense when a bullet asks about the past or the future.
Read each bullet for its time frame and answer in it: the perfect for the past, werden for the future.
Leaving the verb second after weil or dass.
After weil, dass, wenn and obwohl, the verb goes to the end: weil ich müde bin.
Attempting complex structures you are unsure of, so the meaning gets lost.
Complex language only earns credit when it mostly works. Use a few structures you have practised, and keep the rest simple and accurate.
Skipping the final check of capitals, umlauts and endings.
Save a few minutes to reread: a capital on every noun, the umlauts in place, the case after each preposition and adjective endings.