11.3 Analytic Scoring Rubric for Written Expression

Writing Is Rated Analytically and Holistically

The written test is worth 25 points and contains two responses: Task 1, 100–120 words, and Task 2, 130–150 words. Trained raters use 0–3 scales. The official guide describes a holistic and an analytic rating for each task; the final weighting is 40% holistic and 60% analytic, with equal weighting for the two tasks in the analytic component.

Do not confuse the 40/60 distinction with the two task numbers. Task 2 is longer, but that does not make it “60% of writing” under the published rule. Nor does a collection of attractive expressions earn an automatic band. The ratings describe the communicative performance as a whole and its component qualities.

Four Analytic Criteria

These are interacting dimensions. An appropriate greeting cannot replace the requested explanation; correct grammar cannot supply missing content. A longer word is not necessarily more precise, and a complex structure used incorrectly can make a simple message harder to follow.

Task and Genre Adequacy

Start by describing the assignment in one sentence: I am replying to a friend to explain why I cannot attend and propose another date. Read your response and ask whether the recipient could act on it. If no alternative date appears, the text has not completed that part of the communicative job.

Use all guiding points as a checklist and develop them enough for the reader to understand. In the published genre-adequacy scale, Band 3 develops all the requested points effectively. Band 2 allows clear development of the great majority, even if one is absent or inadequately treated. Band 1 describes insufficient development of only some points. A single omission therefore does not impose an automatic Band 1 cap or an overall examination failure.

The Band 0 genre-adequacy descriptor specifically lists texts below 70 words in Task 1 or 90 words in Task 2 among its severe deficiencies. These figures are not target lengths or permission to ignore the requested 100–120 and 130–150 words. Ratings in a criterion and the final group-based pass decision are distinct.

Respect the requested length. No universal ±10% exemption or fixed stopping rule is established here. If short, add relevant content; if long, remove repetition. A greeting belongs in a letter but not necessarily in every diary entry or composition. Choose tú, usted or another appropriate standard form consistently for the actual audience.

Coherence: Make Relationships Visible

A coherent response has an order that the reader can follow. A story may move from setting to event to outcome; an inquiry may move from purpose to specific questions to closing. Paragraphs help when they group meaningful units. They do not need to have identical lengths.

Compare Fui al pueblo. Llovía. Perdí el autobús. Mi amiga vino. The facts are present, but their relationship is uncertain. Como perdí el último autobús y llovía mucho, llamé a mi amiga. Poco después vino a recogerme explains the sequence and cause.

Use pronouns only when the reference is clear. In Mi hermana habló con Ana cuando ella llegó, the reader may not know who arrived. Repeating the name is better than avoiding repetition at the expense of meaning. Similarly, por eso needs a reason in the surrounding text and sin embargo needs a contrast. There is no required quota of four connectors.

Correction: Diagnose Patterns

Look for recurring errors rather than treating every slip as a fixed point deduction. If a response repeatedly writes la gente son, practice singular agreement with a new sentence: La gente de mi barrio es amable. If it writes ayer he ido in a context requiring a closed-past narrative for the variety being used, review temporal reference and regional usage rather than imposing a blanket rule on every Spanish speaker.

Check high-frequency verb forms, noun-adjective agreement, object pronouns, governed prepositions and written accents. Compare me lo dijo with lo me dijo, and me acuerdo de la fecha with me acuerdo la fecha. Read the entire corrected sentence to ensure that grammar and intended meaning both work.

B1 does not require error-free native writing. The official descriptors distinguish degrees of control and communicative clarity. One missing accent does not automatically determine the band, just as one correct subjunctive does not guarantee the highest rating.

Range: Express the Intended Idea

Range concerns the resources you can use to communicate. Specific vocabulary can help: organizamos una cena de despedida gives more information than hicimos una cosa. But tener problemas and poner una queja are normal expressions; replacing them with unnecessarily bureaucratic synonyms does not automatically improve an email to a friend.

When you do not know a word, paraphrase accurately. El lugar donde guardamos las maletas can communicate a luggage-storage idea. Then add consigna to your vocabulary log after the exercise. Reuse it in a new sentence later, so it becomes an available resource rather than a word copied once from a model.

Vary sentence types only when they serve the task. Description may need hay and estar; a request may need quisiera saber; a reaction may need me alegra que. Matching resources to communicative needs is more useful than forcing a passive construction into every response.

Holistic Judgment and Score Illustration

After the analytic review, read the response as a recipient. Does it work as a message? Can you identify its purpose and follow its meaning without reconstructing missing links? This overall judgment complements the four analytic dimensions; it is not a fifth independent vocabulary checklist.

For an illustration of the weighting, suppose the relevant holistic and analytic averages are both 2 on the 0–3 scale. The weighted mean is 0.40 × 2 + 0.60 × 2 = 2. Scaling gives 2 × 25 ÷ 3 = 16.67 points. This is a mathematical example, not a predicted official result for an unassessed script.

Writing combines with Reading in Grupo 1, whose minimum is 30/50. Listening combines with Speaking in Grupo 2, also requiring 30/50. You must pass both groups in the same session. There is no separate universal writing cutoff of 15 points and no way to transfer spare writing points to Grupo 2.

A Productive Feedback Cycle

Write a complete response under time conditions. Check its required points and word count, then review it against the four criteria and overall communicative success. Choose two changes that most improve meaning, produce a revised version and attempt a fresh prompt a few days later. Keep the first draft so that you can distinguish better language control from merely polishing one memorized text. Use the official scoring guide for the full descriptors; the explanations here are independent teaching summaries.