Directed writing: register, borrowing and an inverted ranking
The task is directed writing: a formal letter of complaint to the Regional Director of Education about the shortage of Khoekhoegowab reading material at the school. The limit is 150–180 words and the letter carries 12 marks - content 4, organisation and format 4, language 4. There are 30 scripts. Candidate A has strong, specific content: three concrete shortages and a clear request. But the letter opens with 'Matisa' and closes with 'Aios', and drops in the English phrase 'as soon as possible' and the Afrikaans word 'rapport'. Candidate B is perfectly formatted, addresses the Director correctly and uses no borrowed words, but gives one vague reason and asks for nothing specific. Candidate C writes 260 words, half of it about the school's sports field. The marker is inclined to give A 8, B 9 and C 6.
1. Mark A, B and C criterion by criterion, and say whether the marker's ranking survives.
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A: content 4/4 - three concrete shortages and a clear request. Organisation and format 2/4 - 'Matisa' and 'Aios' belong to conversation, not to a letter to a Director, and the framing of salutation and closing is wrong for the register. Language 2/4 - the code-switched English phrase counts once; the Afrikaans item counts only if it is not a listed loan. Total 8/12.
B: content 1/4 - one vague reason and no request, so the letter would not achieve its purpose. Organisation 4/4. Language 4/4. Total 9/12.
C: content 1/4, organisation 2/4 (over length and half off topic), language 2/4. Total 5/12, not 6.
The ranking does not survive scrutiny. B outscoring A means format has been allowed to outweigh purpose: a well-dressed letter that asks for nothing should not beat one that would actually get results. Justify the reversal in writing so the second marker follows it.
2. Rule on the loanwords and the greetings: what counts as an error, under which criterion, and how often?
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Three separate questions are hidden in one. First, register: 'Matisa' and 'Aios' are correct Khoekhoegowab but wrong for a formal letter. That is a format and organisation fault, deducted there once, not a language fault. Second, borrowing: Khoekhoegowab has borrowed from Afrikaans for two centuries and standard dictionaries list many loans as integrated. An established, listed loan is not an error; an ad hoc switch into English mid-sentence is. So 'rapport' and 'as soon as possible' cannot be lumped together - check both against the prescribed dictionary before marking. Third, counting: an error type is penalised once under language, not once per occurrence, or a single habit wipes out a whole criterion.
Write the ruling down so that every marker applies it identically, and reteach the formal letter frame - salutation, opening, request, closing - as a fixed pattern rather than as general advice.