English Language Exam

[Leane]

I've just done my English Language exam and chose the argue question in which I had to write a letter; I am worried that I will get marked down for not putting a "Dear Editor" at the start or having a complimentary close as it was supposed to be a letter. I wrote the best that I could and just want to know how many marks, if any, will I lose because I forgot to put things like the address?

Bah, stupid me

[Tdol]

It depends on the exam- some don't want an address, especially if there is a word limit. However, they will deduct some marks for not putting a salutation and closing because it is supposed to be a letter. Again, without knowing the exam, it is not possible to know how many marks would be deducted, and many exam boards don't reveal such detailed information, but it is the body of the letter that is the most important part, so the deduction should be fairly small. It might be a fixed deduction of marks, or it might be something like not being able to get a grade A, of it is graded by letter. In itself, it wouldn't be enough to fail.

[Leane]

Thank you for replying... I'm supposed to be getting an A*, and if I do say so myself- I'm good at English. Very good. I can't believe I've made this stupid, STUPID mistake! Argh! Well... thank you for replying anyway. It hasn't made me feel better but at least you're being honest,

[Tdol]

Which exam was it?

[Leane]

Language Paper 1, Section B.

But not to worry; I also failed Paper 2 today.

I seem to be getting worse and it's worrying me.

[Tdol]

Which board?

How do you know you failed? Is that a self-assessment?

[Leane]

The board was AQA... and I don't know for certain that I've failed, it's just I didn't do as well in the exams as I thought I should. Doesn't look like there's much else to do now except wait for the results day... thank you ever so much for taking the time to reply. You helped to put my mind at rest when I was panicking! Ah well, that's exams for you. It wouldn't be the same if I wasn't worrying

[Tdol]

I have had a look through some of the marking schemes on the AQA site. I am not sure exactly which exam you took, but the general pattern for the English exams seems to be to use descriptors. In this system of marking, the examiner chooses the band that best describes the student and givesd a mark within the parameters. With this, then you are unlikely to lose much as the emphasis is on the degree of skill with which the task has been handled. If the contents are good, you should be OK.

Good luck