Criteria for Assessing Writing

Select a level to explore the detailed writing assessment criteria across all five competency areas.

Points	Formal Accuracy Morphology and Syntax	Written Accuracy Paragraphing, Punctuation and Spelling	Vocabulary Range and Activation	Style Pragmatic / Sociolinguistic Aspects	Communicative Effectiveness Appropriate Task Completion
5	Correct use of simple grammatical structures required at this level.* Despite typical minor morphological and syntactic errors, the message is clear.	Adequate paragraphing. The minimal number of mistakes in spelling and punctuation rarely hinders comprehension.	Appropriate use of the vocabulary relevant to the topic. Only occasional lexical deficiencies.	Mostly logical organisation of content. Correct use of the most common conjunctives to connect the simplest forms and sentences. Knowledge and correct use of the relevant style.	Adequate elaboration and coverage of all the bullet points.
4	If the quality of written communication exceeds the performance described under point 3 but worse than what is described under point 5, a score of 4 should be given.
3	Mostly adequate use of the simple grammatical structures required at this level. Basic grammatical errors may occur occasionally, but they rarely impair comprehension.	Paragraphing generally follows the content. Spelling and punctuation is not perfect but acceptable. The errors rarely impair comprehension.	Adequate vocabulary to satisfy simple and basic communication needs. The repetition of words and mistakes may slightly impair comprehension.	Adequate organisation of content. Appropriate use of conjunctives. The style mostly satisfies the relevant genre.	Adequate elaboration and coverage of two bullet points, and partial elaboration of the other two. Irrelevant parts may appear, but the overall text is mostly satisfactory.
2	If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 3, but exceeds what is described by point 1, a score of 2 should be given.
1	Makes several mistakes when using the simple grammatical structures required at this level. Their message is difficult to follow and may frequently be misinterpreted.	As a result of incorrect paragraphing the content can hardly be followed. Punctuation is inconsistent; many spelling mistakes, most of which hinder comprehension.	Narrow range of vocabulary used in a highly restricted way. The high number of lexical mistakes makes comprehension impossible.	Inappropriate organisation of text, the sequence of sentences is accidental. Rare use of conjunctives, inappropriate style.	Incomplete task. Partial misinterpretation of task. Many irrelevant parts. Elaboration of at least one bullet point.
0	If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 1 and the writing cannot be assessed (no elaboration of any of the bullet points, inappropriate content), or it is impossible to follow or irrelevant, a score of 0 should be given. If a score of 0 is given for communicative effectiveness, the entire grade for the task should be 0.

Points	Formal Accuracy Morphology, Syntax	Written Accuracy Paragraphing, Punctuation and Spelling	Vocabulary Range and Activation	Style Pragmatic / Sociolinguistic Aspects	Communicative Effectiveness Appropriate Task Completion
5	Varied and correct use of the grammatical structures required at this level.* The minor morphological and syntactic errors do not hinder comprehension.	Adequate paragraphing, correct punctuation, no spelling mistakes.	Effective and correct use of the vocabulary relevant to the topic. In case of topics unknown, circumlocution may still occur.	Well organized and logical text. Adequate use of conjunctives, appropriate style.	Adequate elaboration and coverage of all the bullet points. Effective elaboration of thoughts and opinion relevant to the topic.
4	If the quality of written communication exceeds the performance described under point 3 but worse than what is described under point 5, a score of 4 should be given.
3	The candidate uses the grammatical structures required at this level with acceptable level of correctness. Morphological and syntactic errors may still occur, however, these slightly affect understanding.	The organisation of text, spelling and punctuation is correct enough to follow most of the content. Mistakes rarely impair comprehension.	Adequate range of vocabulary for completing the task. Some circumlocutions and erroneous choice of items but overall comprehension not impaired.	Mostly adequate organisation of content. Generally correct use of conjunctives, acceptable style.	Adequate elaboration and coverage of two bullet points, and partial elaboration of the other two. Irrelevant parts may appear, but the overall text is mostly satisfactory.
2	If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 3, but exceeds what is described by point 1, a score of 2 should be given.
1	Restricted use of the grammatical structures required at this level with frequent mistakes. The unacceptable number of inaccuracies hinders communication.	Inadequate paragraphing, the incorrect spelling and punctuation frequently hinder comprehension.	Limited range of vocabulary, inadequate choice of words for the topic. The erroneous choice of items and frequent repetition greatly impair comprehension.	The organisation of content is accidental. Hardly any use of cohesive devices, frequently inappropriate conjunctives.	Incomplete task. Partial misinterpretation of task. Many irrelevant parts. Elaboration of at least one bullet point.
0	If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 1 and the writing cannot be assessed (no elaboration of any of the bullet points, inappropriate content), or it is impossible to follow or irrelevant, a score of 0 should be given. If a score of 0 is given for communicative effectiveness, the entire grade for the task should be 0.

Points	Formal Accuracy Morphology, Syntax	Written Accuracy Paragraphing, Punctuation and Spelling	Vocabulary Range and Activation	Style Pragmatic / Sociolinguistic Aspects	Communicative Effectiveness Appropriate Task Completion
5	Confident and varied use of the grammatical structures required at this level.* Almost no inaccuracies (syntactical errors).	Appropriate organization of text and paragraphing. Some mistakes with spelling and punctuation that are never confusing.	Precise use of a wide range of and well-chosen vocabulary relevant to the topic. Avoids repetitions and uses some idiomatic expressions.	All ideas are organized in a clear and coherent way following the characteristics of the given genre. Effective use of cohesive devices.	Adequate elaboration and coverage of all the bullet points. Effective elaboration of thoughts and opinion relevant to the topic.
4	If the quality of written communication exceeds the performance described under point 3 but worse than what is described under point 5, a score of 4 should be given.
3	Adequate use of complex grammatical structures required at this level. Some inaccuracies in morphology and syntax, but this does not hinder comprehension.	Partially adequate paragraphing. Several spelling and punctuation mistakes, however, these do not impair comprehension.	The lexical accuracy of the candidate’s vocabulary is generally precise, although circumlocutions may sometimes be necessary. Incorrect choice of words at times, however, this does not hinder comprehension.	Ideas are generally organized appropriately, mostly adequate use of cohesive devices. Clear organization of text. Appropriate style.	Adequate elaboration and coverage of two bullet points, and partial elaboration of the other two. Irrelevant parts may appear, but the overall text is mostly satisfactory.
2	If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 3, but exceeds what is described by point 1, a score of 2 should be given.
1	Restricted use of the grammatical structures required at this level. Several morphological and syntactic errors that impair comprehension.	Inadequate paragraphing. Inconsistent punctuation. A remarkably high number of spelling mistakes that frequently impair comprehension.	Fairly limited range of vocabulary. Relatively frequent use of incorrect words and/or unnecessary repetition. The obvious circumlocutions and semantic errors frequently hinder comprehension.	Ideas are not connected in a logical way, therefore it is difficult to follow content. Lack of cohesive devices. Inappropriate style.	Incomplete task. Partial misinterpretation of task. Many irrelevant parts. Elaboration of at least one bullet point.
0	If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 1 and the writing cannot be assessed (no elaboration of any of the bullet points, inappropriate content), or it is impossible to follow or irrelevant, a score of 0 should be given. If a score of 0 is given for communicative effectiveness, the entire grade for the task should be 0.

Points	Formal Accuracy Morphology, Syntax	Written Accuracy Paragraphing, Punctuation and Spelling	Vocabulary Range and Activation	Style Pragmatic / Sociolinguistic Aspects	Communicative Effectiveness Appropriate Task Completion
5	Sophisticated and effective use of a wide variety of grammatical structures.* Very rare minor mistakes.	High-level meaningful sentence construction and paragraphing (consistent punctuation); some small spelling mistakes possible.	Sophisticated use of a wide range of and well-chosen vocabulary relevant to the topic. Appropriate use of idiomatic expressions, collocations and colloquialisms. Smoothly avoids repetitions with the help of synonyms.	Ideas and sub-topics are organized effectively. Clear and logical organization of thoughts. Coherent text and appropriate style.	Adequate elaboration and coverage of all the bullet points. Effective elaboration of thoughts and opinion relevant to the topic.
4	If the quality of written communication exceeds the performance described under point 3 but worse than what is described under point 5, a score of 4 should be given.
3	Correct and varied use of grammatical structures in general. Some minor morphological inaccuracies without impairing comprehension.	Occasional inconsistencies in sentence construction and paragraphing (punctuation); some minor spelling mistakes.	Has a wide vocabulary relevant to the topic, lexical inaccuracies are easily overcome with the help of circumlocution. Satisfactory use of idiomatic expressions, collocations.	Adequate organization of content. Appropriate use of conjunctives and cohesive devices. Clear structure of text with some minor insufficiencies in cohesion.	Adequate elaboration and coverage of two bullet points, and partial elaboration of the other two. Irrelevant parts may appear, but the overall text is mostly satisfactory.
2	If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 3, but exceeds what is described by point 1, a score of 2 should be given.
1	Restricted and frequently incorrect use of grammatical structures. The violation of linguistic norms often hinder comprehension.	Sentence construction and paragraphing that jeopardise comprehension (inadequate punctuation); several serious spelling mistakes.	Limited range of vocabulary as compared to the relevant topic. Frequent repetition of words and/or lexical errors impairing comprehension.	Inadequate organisation of content, sentences are not connected to one another. Several inappropriate conjunctives.	Incomplete task. Partial misinterpretation of task. Many irrelevant parts. Elaboration of at least one bullet point.
0	If the quality of written communication does not match the performance described by point 1 and the writing cannot be assessed (no elaboration of any of the bullet points, inappropriate content), or it is impossible to follow or irrelevant, a score of 0 should be given. If a score of 0 is given for communicative effectiveness, the entire grade for the task should be 0.

* As defined in the Specifications