The language itself

Structural and lexical range and Structural and lexical accuracy, Range and Accuracy from here on, are ten of the twenty points for the written part, and both marks are given on the sentences themselves. The content can be worked out and spread across the task points already, and those ten points are still not earned.

A paragraph that has already been marked

Here is the post being answered. It is the only one in this article, and you will keep coming back to it.

"The best song I never heard", by Ruth Okonjo ("ruthlistens"), 09/11/2024

I stood at the back of a small club last Friday and counted eleven phones held above the crowd during one song. Eleven bright rectangles between me and the stage. I asked two of the people afterwards whether they would ever watch the video, and both of them laughed and said probably not. I am not against phones. I am against the habit of proving we were somewhere instead of being there. Am I the only one?

And here is the opening paragraph of somebody's answer to it. The whole comment runs to 240 words, all three content points are covered, the rest of it is written exactly like this paragraph, and a marker would put it around Accuracy 5 out of 5, Range 2 out of 5.

martin_hs, 11/11/2024

It is frequently argued that mobile telephones have a detrimental effect on the concert experience. The present author shares this view to a considerable extent. It has been shown that the recording of live performances reduces the attention of the audience. Furthermore, such recordings are seldom viewed afterwards. In conclusion, a reconsideration of this practice would be desirable.

The five for Accuracy is not a courtesy: there really is not a single error in the paragraph. The two for Range sits next to it and does not explain itself.

There is not one error in martin\_hs's paragraph, and Accuracy confirms it. Range comes out around 2 out of 5. What in this paragraph costs him the points?

Exam level

it is under 110 words, and such texts are not assessed at allthere is not a single I and not a single you in itit copies phrasings out of Ruth’s postthe same word is repeated in it five times

What the Range descriptor actually says

Range counts three things inside one mark, and register, meaning how far the text sounds like a conversation rather than a report, is one of them. Which is why a text that is impeccable on grammar and written like a school essay loses points neither for the grammar nor for the content, but here.

Structural and lexical range, 5 points. The bands of the scale, compressed:

Points	What it says
5	very good variety of vocabulary and structures; no signs of limitations of expression; appropriate and convincing blogging style
4	good variety of vocabulary and structures; almost no signs of limitations; largely appropriate blogging style
3	sufficient range of vocabulary and structures; some signs of limitation, awkward expressions and repetitions; some prompt lifting; blogging style clearly distinguishable
2	insufficient range of vocabulary and structures; apparent limitations, lots of repetition and awkward expressions; phrases lifted from the prompt; blogging style largely inappropriate
1	hardly any structural or lexical range; frequent repetition or lifting of phrases from the prompt; inappropriate blogging style
0	fails to display any structural or lexical range

Three things in one line: vocabulary, structures, register. Every band names all three, so a text strong on two and weak on the third does not match the higher band's description.

In practice register means the first person and direct address: I, a direct you, a question to the reader, a contraction such as don't, a hedge such as I think. The exam's own description of the text type asks for the reader to be addressed directly, through questions, the pronoun you, question tags and an invitation to comment back.

A whole text in the wrong register is rare and easy to spot. More often the register slips in a single sentence, and that is harder to notice when everything around it is done right.

Which of these five sentences would sit better in a school essay than under a blog post?

Exam level

I was at that gig too, and honestly I stopped counting the phones after six.What do you actually do with your concert videos?My friend filmed the whole encore and has never opened the file since.It may be argued that the documentation of live events serves a legitimate archival purpose.But I don't think that is what most of us are doing with our cameras.

Register is about something missing from the text. The next comment breaks the opposite way: there is too much in it of what is already on the page.

The second way to lose Range

Another answer to the same post. No errors, blogging register, the reader gets addressed.

Which of these five sentences was not written by this commenter at all?

Exam level

Eleven phones in one room is a number I am going to remember.I am against the habit of proving we were somewhere instead of being there.I go to about one gig a month and it gets worse every time.My own rule is one photo before the first song and nothing after that.Do you ever go back and watch the clips you filmed?

The logic behind it is plain and unpleasant: a sentence taken from the task shows nothing of your language at all. It shows the language of whoever wrote the post. Which is why it counts as a sign of shortage rather than a sign of attention.

Between taking a phrase and saying something of your own lies a middle zone, and that is where most of the points go.

You agree with the post's closing thought and want to say so in your comment. Which of the four versions shows the marker the most of your own language?

Exam level

I am against the modern habit of proving that we were present at a place instead of actually being present in it.I am against the habit of proving we were somewhere instead of being there.Phones at concerts are bad.I have done it myself: I filmed a whole song for nobody and missed it while it happened.

Register and borrowed words are about how a text sounds. The third part of the same mark is given for what the text is built out of, and here most people have a habit that feels safe.

What variety of structure is made of

First two texts of the same length, before any rule.

Two comments of 240 words, both without errors and both in a blogging register. A is 24 sentences of about ten words each, every one built subject, verb, object. B is 10 sentences: two of five words, one of forty, and most of the rest held together by because, when or that. What does the Range descriptor see between them?

Below exam level

nothing: the same number of words and no errors, so the same bandA is ahead: more sentences means more structures on the pageB is ahead: one pattern twenty-four times is a limitation of expression, and B shows a variety of structuresA is ahead: short sentences are safer, and the descriptor rewards safety

A long sentence does not hold itself up on commas. It holds itself up on a subordinate clause, meaning a part of a sentence with its own subject and its own verb that cannot stand alone: when the encore started, that nobody ever watches, because the room was too small. A short sentence beside one of those lands like a punch, but only beside one.

A paragraph out of somebody's draft: "I was at that gig. The room was small. Eleven people filmed the encore. I could not see the stage. It made me angry." No errors, blogging register, 24 words. Which single change lifts Range the most?

Exam level

join three of the middle sentences with a subordinate clausereplace four ordinary words with rarer synonyms out of a dictionaryadd a question to the reader at the end of the paragraphwrite the full forms instead of the contractions

Those three things together are what the five for Range is given on. The other five are counted differently, and the easiest way to see it is with two scripts side by side.

Two scripts with errors in them

Two comments on Ruth's post. Both 240 words, both covering all three content points, both in a blogging register. The first has nine errors in it: a missing article, two wrong prepositions, a dropped -s, a wrong past form and four more of the same size, and everywhere it is clear what was meant. The second has three errors, but two of them make it impossible to tell who did what. Whose Accuracy is higher?

Exam level

the second: three errors against nine, and the scale counts errorslevel: both have errors, and the scale does not distinguish sizes of errorthe second: errors that leave a sentence unclear count once, however much of it they hidethe first: nine errors, but none of them hides what was meant

Structural and lexical accuracy, 5 points. The bands of the scale, compressed:

Points	What it says
5	very good control of frequent structures, basic vocabulary and punctuation; errors never impede understanding
4	good control; errors rarely impede communication
3	sufficient control; errors impede only where a complex idea is being expressed
2	severe lapses in control; errors occur even in basic ideas; the reader has to make an effort to understand sections
1	mistakes repeatedly cause misunderstanding; elementary errors; the reader frequently has to stop and re-read
0	errors cause a breakdown of communication throughout the text

No line gives a number of errors. Two things run through every band: how well the frequent, basic structures are controlled, and how much the errors get in the way of understanding.

From which follows an order that runs against the usual instinct. An error you can see and an error that costs a point are two different things, and of the second kind a text usually holds only a handful.

In which of these five sentences does the mistake make it impossible to tell what actually happened?

Above exam level

I am going to concerts since I am fifteen.My brother he films everything, even the support act.Last month I stopped my friend to film the whole show.We was standing near the door because the room were full.The video what she made is still on her phone.

What to take away

Five points of Range and five of Accuracy on one page:

What the marker sees	What it costs
a text without errors but without `I` and without address	Range held down by register, and a five for Accuracy does not cover it
a sentence from the post, passed off as your own	Range: lifting is named only in bands 3, 2 and 1
ten short sentences on one pattern	Range: limitations of expression, named from band 3 down
nine small errors, the sense intact throughout	Accuracy around band 3, perhaps 4: control sufficient, nothing impedes
three errors, two leaving it unclear who did what	Accuracy pulled towards band 2: errors even in basic ideas

If five minutes are left for checking and the words are already counted, the language goes in this order: first find the sentence that can be read two ways, then the phrasing taken from the post, and then join a pair of neighbouring short sentences. Swapping words for rarer ones is not on that list.

The task as a whole: what gets checked before the language Words that travel in pairs: where lexical variety comes from

0/8

drills solved