Use of English: Two Key-Word Transformations That Are 'Close Enough'
A candidate has 12 minutes to complete five key-word transformations. Item 4: 'I regret not taking the earlier train.' Given word: WISH. The instruction says: complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first, using the word given; do not change the word given; write between two and six words. The candidate writes: 'I wish I would have taken the earlier train.' Item 5: 'Despite the rain, the match continued.' Given word: EVEN. The candidate writes: 'Even though the rain, the match continued.' The teacher is marking with a colleague who says both answers are 'close enough' because the meaning is clear. The candidate has otherwise scored 8/10 in grammar and is anxious about time. The rubric says an incorrect structure earns 0 and there are no half marks.
1. Mark item 4. Is 'I wish I would have taken the earlier train' acceptable? Explain the grammar and the mark.
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Mark: 0.
After wish referring to the past, standard English uses the past perfect: I wish I had taken the earlier train. The form I wish I would have taken blends wish with a conditional perfect and is rejected in standard written English, even though it is heard informally in some varieties. The meaning is clear, but this item tests control of the regret structure, and the rubric gives no half marks. The word count is within the limit, so the only issue is the verb form - and that is sufficient to fail the item. A second correct option is I wish I had taken the train earlier, but the key point is had taken, not would have taken.
2. Mark item 5 and give two acceptable completions. Explain the grammatical difference between 'even though' and 'despite'.
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Mark: 0.
Even though is a subordinating conjunction and must introduce a finite clause: Even though it rained, the match continued. The candidate has followed it with a noun phrase (the rain), which is the pattern for despite: Despite the rain, the match continued. Two acceptable completions are: Even though it rained, the match continued. and Even though the rain was heavy, the match continued. Both contain a subject and a finite verb after the connector. The candidate has confused two concession markers that share meaning but not grammar; the item is designed to test exactly that difference.
3. How should the teacher answer the colleague who says the answers are 'close enough' because the meaning is clear?
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With a short, consistent policy statement: key-word transformations test control of a specific structure, not only communicative success. If 'close enough' earns the mark, the item stops distinguishing candidates who can produce the target form from those who cannot, and it rewards an error that will be penalised in writing. Meaning and form are marked together here because the rubric names a grammatical operation. If the department wants partial credit, it must be written into the rubric before marking, not invented during moderation. The same standard should then apply to all five items and to every candidate.