INTERNATIONAL

GCSE
ENGLISH AS A
SECOND LANGUAGE
(9820) Paper 1 Writing
Report on the examination
June 2018

Copyright © 2018 Oxford International AQA Examinations and its licensors. All rights reserved.
 INTERNATIONAL GCSE ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (9280) Paper 1 Writing Report on the examination

REPORT ON EXAMINATION: INTERNATIONAL GCSE ENGLISH AS A

SECOND LANGUAGE 9280 PAPER 1 WRITING JUNE 2018

The standard of responses to this year’s writing paper was, on the whole, very impressive. Examiners
reported marking many highly accurate and, on occasion, fascinating answers, especially in the longer
responses. It is clear that teachers have prepared their students well for the rigours of this paper, and
approached the various demands of this paper with professionalism. The students who sat this paper
had clearly spent much time perfecting their technical English, yet had also clearly engaged with the
themes, issues and ideas arising from the specification content.

For the most part, the tasks in the paper were attempted in full, yet it is worth noting that where tasks
have bullet-pointed guidance, it is essential that these cues for content are followed. One of the first
things examiners check is whether the student’s answer is relevant, so ensuring that the question is
answered in all its parts is essential. The order in which the bullet-pointed cues are tackled is
unimportant, but students should make sure that by the end of a response that all the cues given for
content have been addressed.

Word counts are given for each task for guidance only and there is no reduction in marks applied for
those who transgress these limits. However, it is worth noting that some of the very best answers were
produced by students whose command of written English was such that they produced detailed,
accurate responses which largely adhered to the word counts. There is little to be gained by writing 150
words for an answer which requires 30-50 words. In fact, over-writing can sometimes lead to greater
chance of error: clarity and accuracy are much better guides to success than length. Where students had
spent too long on tasks 1 and 2, the corollary was often an incomplete paper.

For the vast majority of students, this was a highly successful paper which revealed not only an excellent
command of written English, but also a desire to express ideas, construct arguments and use language
descriptively. It is worth noting that examiners do not have a predefined notion of the style of the content
students produce. For instance, some students can write with a real flair – a florid use of prose which
impresses with its vocabulary. Likewise, some students can write in a controlled, technical manner which
is equally impressive. This unit recognises both approaches to writing and rewards them equally: as
ever, it is the ideas, clarity and structure of a piece of writing which is most important in the context of
this exam.

QUESTION 01

In Task 1, students had to describe the content of a photograph. A variety of approaches were taken
here: some students imagined they were sitting in a cable car and offered not only comments on the
sights, but also focused on their own imagined emotional engagement with the scene; some students
produced a very precise account of the various objects in the picture and their spatial relationship to
each other; some students offered a more philosophical description of the combination of natural beauty
and man-made environment.

All of the above approaches are valid. From an examiner’s perspective, the level of detail and clarity in
the response was a determining factor, and this could be achieved in different ways. For instance,
several responses had focused on adjectival and prepositional detail, with the use of phrases such as ‘I
can see the beautiful azure sea in the distance’. Other students achieved detail by covering a range of

Copyright © 2018 Oxford International AQA Examinations and its licensors. All rights reserved. 2
 INTERNATIONAL GCSE ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (9280) Paper 1 Writing Report on the examination

objects in the picture. The other strand to the mark scheme is around technical accuracy, which for this
question is only concerned with spelling and punctuation. Therefore, students might consider whether it
is better to use words which they can spell accurately, rather than attempt to use ambitious vocabulary
which may be misspelled. As ever, accurate demarcation of sentences is essential.

QUESTION 02

Task 2 required students to write a letter inviting a friend to a family celebration. The intended audience
for the task allows for some informality and so a range of greetings and tones were used, with some
responses being lively and playful. Some students adopted a more formal tone, perhaps given the nature
of the genre (letter, rather than an email). Either style choice was deemed appropriate by examiners.

What distinguished better answers was not only technical accuracy, but content. In particular, those
bullet points which invited detail and justification (the ‘what’ and ‘why’ commands) seemed to be
determining factors in marks awarded. A range of interesting and quite touching reasons for the invitation
were given, but it was the quality of explanation which helped. For some students, not all bullet points
were dealt with (more often than not the ‘when’ and ‘where’ elements). In some excellent answers, the
writing felt authentic as well as accurate, with students writing invitations which seemed plausible and
genuine.

QUESTION 03

Students were required in Task 3 to write a blog entry about their plans once they’d finished school or
college. Perhaps because this was a topic of personal interest, this task was very successful for most
students. A mentioned above, addressing the bullet points in all of their details is a way to ensure access
to the full mark range. This task was explanatory in nature, so very often, the quality of justification often
determined the mark for content.

QUESTION 04

This was also true for Task 4, which required students to construct an argument alongside an account of
how they used technology to support their learning. The most successful students were able to offer
several strands to their argument, justifying their view by employing specific examples and situations
where technology had been useful. Some less successful responses took a while to get under way,
offering long introductory paragraphs which didn’t really do much in terms of constructing an argument.
While it is clearly necessary to have a segment which initiates an article, it is wise for students to make
sure they commence their specific answer at an early point in their article. For the most part, the
responses to Task 4 revealed the brilliance of many students: the phrasing, accuracy and sequencing of
the writing was of a very high standard.

In summary, the first sitting of the Writing paper provided examiners with some interesting and well-
constructed responses which were truly a pleasure to read. Teachers and students are to be
commended on their excellent preparation for this paper.

Copyright © 2018 Oxford International AQA Examinations and its licensors. All rights reserved. 3
 INTERNATIONAL GCSE ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (9280) Paper 1 Writing Report on the examination

GET HELP AND SUPPORT

Visit our website for information, guidance, support and resources at oxfordaqaexams.org.uk

OXFORD INTERNATIONAL AQA EXAMINATIONS

GREAT CLARENDON STREET, OXFORD, OX2 6DP
UNITED KINGDOM

enquiries@oxfordaqaexams.org.uk
oxfordaqaexams.org.uk

Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright-holders may have been
unsuccessful and Oxford International AQA Examinations will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any
queries please contact the Copyright Team, AQA, Stag Hill House, Guildford, GU2 7XJ.

Copyright © 2018 Oxford International AQA Examinations and its licensors. All rights reserved.