The Written Task That Answers the Wrong Question
In a practice written examination, students must write a 200–250 word text in German responding to a prompt: Schreiben Sie einen Artikel für die Schülerzeitung über die Vor- und Nachteile von Handys in der Schule. Anna writes 240 words. Her German is accurate and her vocabulary is varied. However, she writes almost entirely about social media addiction among teenagers in general, mentions school only in the final sentence, and includes no explicit advantages. Her structure is a single block of text with no paragraphs. Her teacher is marking using the written examination criteria.
1. Assess Anna's likely performance across content, structure and language, and explain which criterion is most damaged.
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- Content: Most damaged. The task requires Vor- und Nachteile (advantages and disadvantages) of phones in school. Anna addresses neither the advantages nor the school context until the end. Length is met, but relevance is not.
- Structure: Weak. A single unparagraphed block makes the argument hard to follow; an article needs an introduction, developed points, and a conclusion.
- Language: A strength - accurate and varied - but language quality cannot compensate for content that does not answer the prompt.
The content criterion is most damaged because the text does not fulfil the communicative purpose, regardless of its linguistic quality.
2. Rewrite the opening two sentences Anna should have used, and explain how your version signals the required content and structure.
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Example opening:
Handys gehören heute zum Alltag der meisten Schülerinnen und Schüler, doch an vielen Schulen sind sie umstritten. In diesem Artikel möchte ich die wichtigsten Vorteile und Nachteile von Handys im Schulalltag gegenüberstellen.
This works because:
- It names the topic precisely (Handys im Schulalltag), anchoring the response to the prompt.
- It explicitly announces Vorteile und Nachteile, signalling the required two-sided structure.
- It sets up a clear article frame (In diesem Artikel...), which helps the structure criterion and guides the reader through the developed points that follow.