VCE Punjabi cheat sheet

The oral examination is conducted in Punjabi and is divided into a Conversation section and a Discussion section; the Discussion is based on the Detailed Study the student has prepared in advance.

The Conversation section lasts approximately seven minutes and is worth 10 marks; it tests the student's capacity to exchange information, opinions and experiences on familiar topics.

The Discussion section lasts approximately eight minutes and is worth 15 marks; the first part is a brief statement by the student on the Detailed Study, followed by questions from the assessors.

The Detailed Study must be based on a focus of study drawn from one of the prescribed themes (for example the Punjabi-speaking communities, or the world around us) and must not be a general topic.

The Detailed Study must refer to at least two Punjabi-language texts or resources, and the student submits a written outline of no more than 100 words before the examination.

Marks for the Discussion reward the ability to present and support a point of view, to justify opinions, and to respond to questions with detail and relevance rather than with memorised script.

Assessment criteria for both sections include communication, content, range of vocabulary and grammar, and pronunciation and intonation; accuracy in tense and gender agreement affects the language criterion.

Assessors may ask questions outside the prepared material in the Conversation; students are expected to initiate as well as respond, since initiative is part of the communication criterion.

The written examination is three hours in duration and is divided into three sections: Listening and Responding, Reading and Responding, and Writing.

Section 1 (Listening and Responding) is worth approximately 25 per cent of the written examination and requires responses in English and in Punjabi to spoken texts played more than once.

Section 2 (Reading and Responding) is worth approximately 30 per cent and includes responses to two or more Punjabi texts, with at least one response requiring extended writing in Punjabi.

Section 3 (Writing) is worth approximately 30 per cent and requires the production of two texts in Punjabi for different purposes and audiences, such as a letter, article, review or diary entry.

The remaining marks in the written examination come from the assessed Detailed Study-related or text-analysis items; the precise allocation is set out in the examination specifications for the year.

Punjabi is written in the Gurmukhi script; correct use of the script, including vowel signs and conjunct consonants, is part of the assessment of written language.

In the Writing section, students must demonstrate knowledge of register and text type conventions, for example formal address (tusīṁ) versus informal address (tūṁ).

Texts used in Listening and Reading sections are drawn from the prescribed themes and may include notices, advertisements, personal letters, articles and narratives.