Writing tasks
The 50, 90 and 150-word tasks: covering every bullet with range and accuracy.
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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. Edexcel marks every task for what you communicate (AO2) and for the range and accuracy of your Spanish (AO3). The word counts are a guide: examiners mark everything you write, and meeting the criteria matters more than the count.
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 past (fui, visité), 'your plans' wants the future (voy a, iré) 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: Mi casa es pequeña pero bonita. In AQA's 50-word task half of the 10 marks are for covering the bullets clearly 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 usted and a polite opening such as Estimado señor. A varied set of simple, correct sentences does best.
Develop your ideas with opinions, reasons and detail
The top content band for the 90-word task asks for ideas that are regularly developed. Turn a bare fact into a developed one: Juego al baloncesto becomes Juego al baloncesto los sábados con mi hermano porque es divertido. An opinion with a reason is the quickest development there is.
Add range with connectives and more complex structures
The language mark rewards variety and attempts at complexity. Join ideas with porque, pero, también, sin embargo and cuando, and use structures such as me gustaría, se puede, tengo que and lo mejor es que. 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, split between range and accuracy; cover both bullets, because writing about only one limits the content mark to 12 out of 15. Edexcel's 130 to 150-word task is formal, with four bullets and 22 marks. Show complex language you control, such as the subjunctive after cuando (cuando sea mayor), desde hace, acabo de and the conditional.
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 verb endings, adjective agreement, accents and the gender of each noun. 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 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.
- Connective
- A linking word such as porque, pero, además or sin embargo, which joins ideas into longer sentences.
- Complex language
- Structures beyond simple sentences, such as me gustaría or se puede, and at Higher lo que más me gusta es or cuando sea mayor.
- Accuracy
- How free the writing is of errors. A major error gets in the way of the meaning; a minor one does not.
- En mi opinión
- In my opinion: a clear way to open an opinion, usually followed by a reason with porque.
- Lo mejor fue
- The best thing was: a neat way to give an opinion about the past, as in lo mejor fue la comida.
- Cuando sea mayorHigher only
- When I am older: cuando about the future takes the subjunctive, so it is sea, not soy.
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: el año pasado fui for the past, voy a or iré for the future. The top language mark in the 90-word task needs all three time frames.
Writing out a memorised answer that does not match the bullets you were set.
Content marks go on answering the bullets in front of you. Learn flexible phrases rather than whole essays, and shape them to each bullet.
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 of your writing simple and accurate.
Skipping the final check of verb endings, agreements and accents.
Save a few minutes to reread. Check that each verb matches its subject, adjectives agree with their nouns (una ciudad bonita) and accents are in place (está, también, fútbol).