Written production - guided composition (coherence, cohesion, accuracy, range)
You choose one of two tasks and write 120–150 words. The marking criteria combine task achievement (every point of the prompt covered), coherence (paragraphing and logical order), cohesion (linkers used correctly), range (variety of structures and vocabulary) and accuracy. A simple, correct, well-organised text scores above an ambitious one full of broken sentences.
Plan before you write
- Spend two or three minutes deciding the format - opinion, for-and-against, narrative, description, informal email - and jot three ideas, one per paragraph.
- Structure: introduction stating the position, two body paragraphs (topic sentence + reason + concrete example each), conclusion restating the idea in different words.
- 120–150 words is roughly four or five sentences per body paragraph. A text well under the limit is penalised because it offers too little language to assess.
Cohesion without overloading
Use a small set of linkers you fully control: however, although, whereas, therefore, as a result, for instance, on the other hand, in conclusion. One at each boundary between ideas; three in a single sentence reads as memorised filler. Keep register consistent: contractions, «Hi …», «Best wishes» for an informal email; no contractions and full forms (do not, cannot) for an opinion piece.
Worked example
Prompt: «Write an opinion piece: should school uniforms be compulsory?» Plan: (1) position - yes, cheaper and fairer; (2) cost - one set instead of a whole wardrobe; (3) equality - less pressure over brands; conclusion - the benefits outweigh the loss of choice. Upgrade: «I think uniforms are good because they are cheap» → «Uniforms reduce costs for families, since parents no longer have to buy a separate wardrobe for school.» Reasoning: the rewrite names the mechanism (cost reduction), uses a subordinator (since) rather than a bare because, and replaces vague adjectives with precise vocabulary - range and accuracy both rise without extra risk.
Traps that cost marks
- Reproducing a memorised essay that only brushes the prompt: off-topic content earns nothing.
- Answering only the first half of a two-part prompt.
- One solid block of text with no paragraph breaks.
- False friends: actually ≠ actualmente, assist ≠ atender, library ≠ librería, embarrassed ≠ embarazada.
- Spanish syntax: «People is», missing subject («Is very important»), «I have 18 years».