ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT
Skill Check assessment criteria
Below you will find assessment criteria for all of the Skill Checks you’ll do in each of our key skills, both essay/analysis skills and creative writing skills. These are just intended as a concise guide for what you need to do in your Skill Checks. You should look at the full guides in our Skills area to revise the skills properly.
Essay writing skills
Creative writing skills
Essay writing skills
minus
any of these things
Doesn’t address the question
Doesn’t mention the writer
Uses the phrase “presents ideas about” in a theme question
equals
all of these things
Addresses the question directly
Uses the writer’s name
Uses ‘presents’ or ‘suggests’ wording, or another suitable equivalent
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Makes an interesting, thoughtful or detailed point
minus
any of these things
No evidence written down
Only poor evidence written down, which would make for poor analysis
All the evidence written down is too long to use in a quotation (more than about 10 words)
equals
all of these things
All the evidence written down is relevant to the question and allows for inferences to be made, or [for Year 8 onwards] methods to be analysed
At least one piece of evidence is of a reasonable length (no more than about 10 words)
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
All the evidence is of a reasonable length
[For year 8 onwards] All the evidence contains at least one method for analysis
At least one piece of evidence is one of the best choices in the extract
minus
any of these things
Not the actual evidence part of a paragraph (e.g. includes analysis or repeats the point)
No attempt at providing context or embedding the quotation
Uses the phrase “it says” to introduce quotation
equals
all of these things
Just the evidence part of a PEA paragraph (e.g. no analysis wrongly added)
They provide some kind of context, even if it’s not especially clear
The quotation is embedded, though not necessarily seamlessly
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Clear context provided
Quotations are seamlessly embedded, with grammatical agreement
Uses square brackets to make alterations, if required
minus
any of these things
The PEA structure has not been used
It is not the analysis part of the paragraph (e.g. repeats evidence, etc)
It does not link the evidence to the point
No reasoning is provided for why the evidence proves the point
equals
all of these things
Uses the PEA structure
Some reasoning provided, with a recognisable link back to the point
Analysis does not need to be hugely long, but should be longer than the evidence
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Reasoning is explained clearly, with a clear link to the point and some detail offered
The analysis is noticeably longer than the evidence, without lots of unnecessary waffle to pad it out
minus
any of these things
It’s not the analysis part of the paragraph (e.g. repeats evidence, etc)
Does not mention a method in the analysis
Mentions a method but does not explain how it adds meaning to the text
Gets the effect of the method completely wrong
equals
all of these things
Mentions a method with (roughly) correct terminology
Attempts to explain what extra meaning the method creates and how it creates that meaning, though it does not necessarily do so as clearly or in as much detail as it could
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Explains what the effect of the method is in a thoughtful, interesting or detailed way that connects clearly to the point - it will often do this by zooming in and analysing different parts of the method, though this is not essential
Clearly explains how the method creates the effect(s) described
minus
any of these things
It’s not the analysis part of the paragraph (e.g. repeats evidence, etc)
Only writes about what the quotation tells us about the characters/plot – doesn’t go outside the text into big ideas
equals
all of these things
Is the analysis part of a PEA paragraph and explains the evidence adequately and appropriately
Analysis goes outside of the text and connects to big ideas – even in a small way
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Provides some thoughtful, interesting or detailed links to big ideas from the quotation
Links clearly to the point
minus
any of these things
No links made to the context or the writer’s perspective
Links made are factually incorrect (wrong time period or cultural information, wrong intentions, etc)
equals
all of these things
At least one factually accurate link made to the context or the writer’s perspective
Links made are at least somewhat relevant to the argument in the paragraph
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Links made are well expressed and flow naturally within the paragraph
Link(s) made are at least somewhat interesting or detailed
minus
any of these things
No thesis or a thesis that doesn’t address the question
No points in the paragraph plan
Paragraph points are wrongly worded – not proper points that address the question
equals
all of these things
Clear thesis that addresses the question
2 or more correctly worded paragraph points that relate to the thesis
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Interesting or sophisticated thesis that is clearly conceptualised
Paragraph points that break the thesis down into chunks and create an overall argument that builds and develops
Creative writing skills
minus
any of these things
Very little written
Very poor written expression, or lots of accuracy errors
Simply tells who the character is (name, age, physical description) but doesn’t fit it into any kind of narrative action
The character has no thoughts, feelings or personality
equals
all of these things
Reasonable written expression and accuracy
Starts the telling of some kind of story while introducing the character
Conveys the core details about the character (name, age, gender)
Gives the character some thoughts, feelings or personality – more than just the core details
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
General writing style is somewhat effective
Creates a character with some personality through thoughts and feelings – not just a totally generic stereotype
Doesn’t pointlessly describe the character’s physical appearance in lots of detail (e.g. her shimmering hair)
minus
any of these things
Very little written
Very poor written expression, with too many mistakes
Does not describe the setting
Does not provide any vivid details
equals
all of these things
Reasonable written expression and accuracy
Describes the setting competently, including establishing where we are
Provides at least one vivid detail in the description
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
General writing style is somewhat effective
Provides several vivid details that ‘show’ some aspect of the story (environmental storytelling)
minus
any of these things
Not written as direct speech
Gets the direct speech punctuation wrong in even one place
Changes the words spoken by the characters in the speech
equals
all of these things
Direct speech is accurately punctuated – it is acceptable if other punctuation is wrong in the piece, but the direct speech punctuation must be correct
Speech declarations are used appropriately throughout
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Uses sensible speech verbs (ideally ‘said’ and ‘asked’) and not silly ones like ‘questioned’ or ‘declared’
Embeds speech declarations in longer pieces of speech (3 sentences or more)
Adds at least one extra detail into a speech declaration (thoughts, actions, description, etc)
minus
any of these things
Uses 1st or 2nd person narrative voice
Includes the thoughts/feelings of two or more characters
Lots of accuracy errors in the transcription of the text
Makes unnecessary content changes to the supplied text
equals
all of these things
Uses 3rd person narrative voice throughout
Limits the thoughts/feelings to one character
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Shows the thoughts/feelings of the other characters in a well-written and effective way
Successfully uses free indirect narration at some point in the response
minus
any of these things
Hardly anything written
Very poor accuracy or written expression
Gets the tense wrong if there is a timeshift required
Fails to convey the amount of time required, if an amount of time is specified
equals
all of these things
Suitable amount written with reasonable written expression
Switches to past perfect tense at the start of any required timeshift
Keeps time sufficiently slow or fast in order to convey the time, if an amount of time is specified.
Moves time forwards competently
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
General writing style is effective
Move time forwards/backwards effectively
minus
any of these things
No plan provided
Does not go from start to the end, or is incredibly short
Does not address the question
No sense of structure
No directions to the writer (e.g. create tension, slow time, etc)
equals
all of these things
An actual plan that goes from the start to the end
Some kind of character or plot development outlined
Reaches a resolution of some kind
Includes at least one direction to the writer (e.g. create tension, slow time, etc)
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
A good structure
Includes some crafting in terms of structural features like timeshift
Includes several directions to the writer
Reaches a satisfying resolution, ideally with some kind of circular structure (though not essential)
minus
any of these things
Very poor accuracy or written expression
If a type is specified, the opening doesn’t match the type
Opening not linked to the question
No closing provided
equals
all of these things
Reasonable accuracy and written expression
If a type is specified, the opening clearly matches that type
Opening content clearly relates to the question
Closing links back to the opening to create a circular structure
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Writing is somewhat sophisticated, ideally with at least one persuasive technique used
Opening effectively ‘shows’ something that is relevant to the question
Closing both provides summative comments and links back to the opening
minus
any of these things
Very poor accuracy or written expression
If a type is specified, the writing style does NOT match the type
Paragraph content does not relate to the question
equals
all of these things
Reasonable accuracy and written expression
If a type is specified, the writing style matches that type
Paragraph content clearly relates to the question
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
Writing is somewhat sophisticated, with persuasive techniques clearly evident
Paragraph includes some ideas that are thoughtful or original or interesting
minus
any of these things
No plan provided
Does not go from start to the end, or is incredibly short
Does not address the question
Does not use the codes for the paragraph types
equals
all of these things
An actual plan that goes from the start to the end of the article
Uses the codes for the paragraph types, including the opening and closing
Has enough detail to make sense - doesn’t have to be massively detailed, though it may feel like they’ve quite thought out each paragraph completed
plus
all of these things
All the = criteria
At least 3 paragraphs planned in the body
Clear link back to opening in the closing to create a circular structure
Clear argument is evident through the piece – it should feel as if the main thinking has been done