Unseen passage: an inference key that over-reads the text
You are moderating a 10-mark unseen-passage section taken by 300 candidates. The 190-word passage describes a grandmother in Dharavi who keeps a notebook of Tamil proverbs and closes it whenever her granddaughter comes near; the text says only that she writes before leaving for work and that "மகள் வந்தால் மூடிவிடுவாள்". Question 2 (2 marks) asks why she hides the notebook. The draft key says: "She was shy about her handwriting." A candidate answers in English: "Because she thought her granddaughter would laugh at her village Tamil." Question 3 asks for the meaning of "மரபு"; the candidate writes "custom" while the key says "tradition". Question 5 asks for a suitable title; the candidate offers "மறைந்துவிட்ட மொழி" while the key allows only "பாட்டியின் குறிப்பேடு". One script spells பாட்டி as பாட்டீ. Raters have already marked 80 scripts.
1. Rule on Question 2: is the candidate's answer acceptable, and should the key be changed?
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Accept the answer for 2/2 and amend the key. The passage gives a behaviour (closing the notebook) but no stated motive; both "shy about handwriting" and "fear of being laughed at" are inferences. The candidate's inference is supported by the contrast between the grandmother's village Tamil and the granddaughter's city schooling, and it does not contradict any line. The draft key's version is not more textual; it is simply one reader's guess. The amended key should read: "Any reason consistent with hiding the notebook - shyness, fear of ridicule, privacy, lack of confidence - award 2 if the script refers to the closing/image of the notebook; award 1 if a reason is given with no textual anchor." Do not re-mark the 80 scripts unless they were marked against the old single answer; if they were, re-check only those where a plausible alternative was marked wrong.
2. Rule on Question 3 (மரபு = custom/tradition/history) and Question 5 (the title).
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Q3: Accept both "custom" and "tradition" for the full mark; they are near-synonyms in this context. Reject "history": it is too broad and does not fit the sentence's contrast between inherited practice and new habits. A candidate who writes "old story" shows a wrong sense, not a spelling slip, so 0.
Q5: Accept any title that is tied to the passage's central object or theme - "பாட்டியின் குறிப்பேடு", "மறைந்துவிட்ட மொழி", "பாட்டியின் மரபு" - provided the script can point to the notebook or to language loss. The draft key confused a house style with a correct answer. Marking note: award 2 for title plus one-line justification, 1 for a relevant title with no justification, 0 for a title unrelated to the passage (for example, "டெல்லி பயணம்"). Raters should not prefer a title merely because it echoes the opening sentence.
3. Set the policy for spelling and language of response that the remaining raters must follow.
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Separate comprehension from language accuracy. Spelling variants such as பாட்டீ for பாட்டி do not change meaning, so no mark is lost in this section; the same tolerance applies to obvious transliteration slips. If the answer is written in English or Marathi, award the content mark because the section tests reading, then record a language flag for the school's feedback file; do not zero a correct inference. The exception is a word-meaning question such as Q3, where the exact sense is the tested skill, so an answer that cannot be mapped to the Tamil word earns nothing. Apply this to the 220 unmarked scripts and re-check only the 80 where a correct inference or synonym was marked wrong. Record the policy in the key so appeals are decided on the same basis.