School-assessed Coursework: Unit 3
What the task demands
Unit 3 coursework assesses your ability to communicate in Chinese across the three outcomes, typically through an oral assessment and written tasks such as listening, reading and writing. It is assessed by your school against published criteria, so understanding those criteria is as important as knowing the language. Outcomes generally require you to exchange information and ideas, and to analyse and respond to texts in Chinese.
Concepts to master
- Outcome statements: read them precisely - they tell you what evidence the teacher needs.
- Criteria vocabulary: relevance, range, accuracy, coherence, appropriateness, cultural knowledge.
- Text types: personal and informative writing, interviews, discussions, responses to aural and written texts.
- Preparation habits: vocabulary logs, error journals, timed practice under exam conditions.
- Drafting and feedback: use teacher comments to target specific weaknesses, not to rewrite everything.
Common traps
- Studying content only, ignoring the format the task specifies.
- Not checking the criteria - students lose easy marks on structure and appropriateness.
- Cramming vocabulary without using it in sentences; active use is what is assessed.
- Ignoring feedback and repeating the same error.
- Poor time management in timed tasks, leaving no proofreading time.
Rule of thumb
Before each assessment, convert the outcome and criteria into a three-item checklist (for example: relevant content, varied grammar, correct format) and self-assess one practice piece against it. This turns abstract criteria into concrete targets.