Bremen Abitur English cheat sheet

English (Abitur subject) - Bremen

• Bremen Abitur English is assessed in four competence areas: Hörverstehen/Hörsehverstehen, Leseverstehen, Schreiben (including mediation), and Sprachmittlung; speaking is typically examined orally in a separate component or integrated into the written course requirements.

• Written Abitur tasks are built on the three Anforderungsbereiche: AFB I reproduction (describe, summarize, name), AFB II reorganization and transfer (analyse, compare, explain), and AFB III evaluation and creation (evaluate, comment, discuss, create). Weighting shifts toward AFB II and III in the Abitur.

• The standard three-part written task structure is: comprehension/summary of the material, analysis (of language, form, argumentation, character), and evaluation/comment/creative response (Stellungnahme). Each part must address the operative verb precisely.

• Operative verbs (Operatoren) carry fixed expectations: describe = factual account without judgment; analyse = methodical examination with evidence; compare = similarities and differences with criteria; evaluate = reasoned judgment with criteria; discuss = present and weigh multiple positions.

• Sprachmittlung (mediation) requires situational, addressee-oriented transfer between German and English - not literal translation. Criteria: capture all relevant information, adapt register and tone to the target reader, and use appropriate conventions (e.g., email, letter, summary).

• Text analysis vocabulary for prose: narrative perspective (first/third person, limited/omniscient), narrative situation, characterisation (direct/indirect), setting, atmosphere, imagery, symbolism, tone, diction, syntax, rhetorical devices.

• Rhetorical devices to name and interpret: metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, understatement, irony, allusion, anaphora, rhetorical question, parallelism, antithesis, alliteration, and the effect each produces on the reader.

• Non-fiction and media analysis focuses on argument structure: thesis, supporting arguments, evidence types (statistics, examples, expert opinion), counterarguments, rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos), and the writer's intention and target audience.

• Essay and comment writing requires a clear thesis, structured body paragraphs with topic sentences, textual evidence, and a conclusion that answers the question; linking words (however, therefore, moreover, nevertheless) signal argumentative structure.