The Guided Writing Task That Overruns Its Word Limit
The writing paper has two parts. Part 1 is a guided email of 60-80 words with four content points: greet, explain why you cannot come, suggest an alternative date, close. Part 2 is a free composition of 120-150 words. A candidate writes 140 words for Part 1 - a vivid account of a family problem with two subordinate clauses and an idiom - and 95 words for Part 2. Total time is 50 minutes; he spends 35 on Part 1. He believes Part 1 is his strongest work and expects it to compensate for the short Part 2. His Part 1 covers all four points but the alternative date is buried in a long final sentence.
1. Evaluate the candidate's time and length decisions against what each part is likely to reward.
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Both decisions are misjudged, and for the same reason: he has optimised for display rather than for task completion.
Length. Part 1 is a guided task with a stated range of 60-80 words and four content points. At 140 words he has doubled the upper limit. In a guided task, length beyond the range is not neutral: it usually means the candidate has added material that was not asked for, which can count as partial failure to follow the rubric, and it certainly does not earn credit. Part 2, at 95 words against 120-150, is under length - a clearer problem, because under-length free production typically means underdeveloped content and is penalised directly.
Time. 35 of 50 minutes on the smaller task left 15 for the larger one. That is the wrong allocation by any measure: Part 2 carries more marks and requires more composition.
Content. All four points are covered, but the alternative date is buried. A marker scanning for content points can miss it. Coverage that is not visible coverage is a risk he does not need to take.
So his belief that Part 1 will 'compensate' is unfounded: the part he polished is the part where extra effort has the least return.
2. Give him a concrete plan for the 50 minutes and a rule for the guided email that prevents the same overrun.
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Time plan (50 minutes):
- 3 min: read both prompts, underline the content points in Part 1 and the genre/register in Part 2.
- 5 min: plan Part 2 - three or four bullet ideas in Italian, plus the opening and closing formulae.
- 15 min: write Part 2 (aim 130-140 words; write to the middle of the range, not the edge).
- 12 min: write Part 1 (aim 70 words).
- 8 min: check both - verb endings, agreement, tense consistency, and whether each Part 1 content point is visible.
- 7 min: buffer for overruns.
Note the order: Part 2 first, because it is the longer, higher-value task and it is the one that suffers when time runs short.
Rule for the guided email - one point, one sentence:
- Greeting (3-5 words).
- Point 1: why you cannot come (one sentence).
- Point 2: the alternative date (one sentence, near the start, not buried).
- Point 3: a closing courtesy (one sentence).
- Sign-off.
That structure lands at roughly 60-75 words and makes every content point unmissable. The vivid family story is not required by the rubric; if he wants to display range, he should do it in Part 2, where there is room and where range is actually rewarded.