Ten Minutes on Task One
In a timed mock A2 Access Writing paper, candidate Hassan has 30 minutes for two tasks. Task 1 asks for a 30–40 word message inviting a friend to a football match. Task 2 asks for 40–50 words about a favourite hobby. Hassan spends 18 minutes on Task 1 and writes 55 words with good detail and only minor errors. He then has 12 minutes for Task 2 but produces only: 'My favourite hobby is football. I like it.' He stops when time is called. He did not plan either task and did not check the word limits. The teacher sees that his language is generally stronger than his exam technique. The next mock is in two weeks, and Hassan wants to know why his score was low when his English is 'good'.
1. What do the word counts and time allocation reveal about Hassan's performance?
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Task 1 is over-length (55 words against 30–40) and absorbed 18 of 30 minutes, leaving too little time for Task 2. Task 2 is far under-length (8 words against 40–50), so it cannot provide enough evidence of A2 writing. The pattern suggests he did not monitor time or word limits and may have over-invested in a task he found easy. His language in Task 1 is not the main problem; the main problem is task management. A low score is therefore explainable without saying his English is weak. The teacher should separate language ability from exam behaviour and show him the arithmetic: 30 minutes for two tasks means roughly 15 minutes each, including planning and checking.
2. Should feedback focus on language or exam technique? Justify your choice.
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Feedback should focus mainly on exam technique, with only light language correction. The evidence shows Hassan can produce over 50 words with minor errors, so his A2 language is not the bottleneck. The bottleneck is allocating time and meeting task requirements. If the teacher spends the lesson on grammar, Hassan may improve accuracy but still lose marks for an incomplete Task 2. The priority is a repeatable routine: read both tasks first, note word limits, spend about 15 minutes per task, and leave two minutes to check. Language feedback should be limited to two high-frequency errors from Task 1, so it does not distract from the timing issue.
3. What specific plan would you set for the next mock?
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Plan: (1) Before writing, Hassan underlines the word limit and three content points for each task; (2) Timing: 3 minutes planning, 9 minutes writing, 3 minutes checking per task, with a visible clock; (3) Word-count discipline: aim for the middle of the range, e.g. 35 words for Task 1 and 45 for Task 2; (4) If over-running, stop at the time limit even if unfinished, because Task 2 carries equal weight. In the next mock, review only two questions: Did he attempt both tasks? Were both within or near the word limit? If yes, then return to language accuracy.