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How to approach the Written Examination
Section I: Response to prescribed text
General examination specifications for Section I
Response to prescribed text (Part A)
Response to prescribed text (Part B)
General examination specifications for Section I
Section I relates to Objective 2 and is designed to assess your knowledge and understanding of the prescribed text and the relationship of the text to the issues, as well as your ability to respond to the prescribed text through the production of an original text.
| Objective | Outcomes |
|---|---|
| The student will: 2 evaluate, analyse and respond to text that is in Spanish and that reflects the culture of Spanish-speaking communities |
The student: 2.1 evaluates and responds to text personally, creatively and critically 2.2 analyses how meaning is conveyed 2.3 analyses the social, political, cultural and/or literary contexts of text that is in Spanish |
© Board of Studies, Spanish Extension Stage 6 Syllabus, updated July 2008
Response to prescribed text: Part A
Examination specifications: Part A
Part A will be worth 15 marks.
This part is designed to assess your ability to respond critically to the prescribed text.
You will be required to analyse and evaluate aspects of the prescribed text and demonstrate knowledge and understanding of language features, content, context, how meaning is conveyed, and the relationship between the prescribed text and issues.
You will be given a short extract from the prescribed text. There will be 4-6 questions on the text. Questions will be phrased in English, for responses in English.
Criteria for judging performance
In your answers you will be assessed on how well you:
- respond critically to the prescribed text
- analyse how meaning is conveyed
- demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the prescribed text and prescribed issues.
You may be required, for example, to:
- identify and explain the plight of a character
- analyse a character
- evaluate the impact of events on one or more of the characters
- comment on a character’s ability to deal with a situation
- comment on the significance of particular linguistic features
- comment on the relationship between an aspect of the text and the prescribed issues
- analyse a character's involvement in an incident in the text
- show an understanding of the linguistic features and film techniques employed by the film maker and their impact on the viewer
- comment on the style and structure of the text
- comment on a quote(s) from the text
- evaluate the significance of a character’s words and/or actions
- identify and comment on symbolism within the text
- express and support a point of view
- describe how characters deal with situations
- identify and describe a mood or atmosphere
- comment on the attitude of a character
- show an understanding of how humour is employed
- compare and contrast aspects of one or more extracts of the prescribed text
- comment on the effectiveness of the text in delivering its message
- comment on the messages conveyed in the text
- comment on the impact of the title
- discuss how mood, etc. is conveyed through language
- compare and/or contrast the way an issue is dealt with in the text.
Before the examination
You should have a thorough understanding of the prescribed text The Motorcycles Diaries. You should familiarise yourself with the content and issues, and consider the message the director wishes to convey.
The following are among the questions which may assist you in gaining an insightful understanding of the prescribed text.
For example:
- How do the prescribed issues relate to the prescribed text?
- How do the film techniques, language features and structure of the prescribed text help to deliver the message?
- How are the characters similar or different?
- What is the nature of the relationship between each of the characters?
- Do you feel empathy towards the characters?
- What purpose did the director have in making the film? Has the message been effectively conveyed?
- What linguistic features/film techniques are used by the director?
- How effective are they?
- Why has the title been chosen?
- How would you describe each of the characters?
- How do the characters react to the situations in which they find themselves?
- Is there any character development in the protagonists? Is the development (or lack of it) significant?
- If you could ask each character five questions, what would they be?
- Does the film have a climax? Is it effective?
- Are any issues left unresolved at the end of the film?
- Has the film made an impact on you?
- Does the message have a moral?
- Do the characters live on for you, now that you know the story?
During the examination
During the 10 minutes reading time, you should familiarise yourself with the questions and estimate how much time you will need to give full responses.
Read each question carefully to ensure your answer is relevant. Be certain to establish whether the question refers to the excerpt, or to the text as a whole. Highlighting or underlining key-words may be useful in ensuring your response correctly targets the question.
The questions may require you to show an in-depth understanding which is more than a simple re-telling of events. Remember that the text has a message and you will need to show that you have formed an interpretation or opinion you can discuss and support.
If you are asked a question related to the use of language features you should comment on their impact, rather than simply listing them without any explanation.
Use the number of lines as a guide – this is intended to indicate to you the length of a complete response, succinctly expressed. It is important that valuable time is not wasted by repeating the question or giving responses which are longer and more involved than necessary. However, if you do need to write more than the lines allow, you can use the remaining space on the paper or ask for an additional examination booklet.
In determining the depth of your response, you should consider the number of marks allocated to the question. A question worth 5 or 6 marks is likely to require a more perceptive and insightful response, with supporting evidence from the text.
It is important to remember that this part of the examination must be answered in English. You should take time to review your answers to ensure they are unambiguous and your intention is clear. It is not usually necessary to supply extensive quotes from the text, unless specifically required by the question. If the question asks you to comment on a quote, you should show that you have a clear understanding of its meaning, e.g. by translating or paraphrasing it, or including its meaning in your response. This will ensure your response is clear and to the point, rather than vague and general.
Response to prescribed text: Part B
Examination specifications: Part B
Part B will be worth 10 marks.
This part is designed to assess your ability to respond personally and creatively in Spanish to the prescribed text.
You will be given a short extract from the prescribed text. The extract will be different from the extract provided in Part A. You will be required to respond to an aspect of the prescribed text by, for example:
- taking the role of a character in the prescribed text
- imagining a hypothetical situation in relation to the prescribed text
- writing a description of an event in the prescribed text from a different perspective.
You will be expected to write a letter, diary entry, narrative account or the script of a conversation, speech, monologue or interview of approximately 200 words in Spanish.
The task will be phrased in English and Spanish, for a response in Spanish.
Remember, you may use monolingual and/or bilingual print dictionaries in the written examination.
Criteria for judging performance
In your answer you will be assessed on how well you:
- demonstrate an understanding of the prescribed text
- write in Spanish for a specific context.
A high level response will demonstrate a perceptive understanding of the prescribed text. The approach taken will demonstrate flair and creativity and will not be a simple re-telling of the story. The response will demonstrate the ability to manipulate language authentically and creatively to meet the requirements of the task.
Before the examination
You should:
- familiarise yourself with the aspects of the prescribed text, the issues raised and the message the director wishes to convey.
The response to this question requires you to demonstrate a sound understanding of the prescribed text. A response which is purely creative and does not relate to events in the extract will not fulfil all the criteria.
- consider the viewpoint which could be taken by different characters in response to a variety of situations. In responding to a hypothetical situation, it is important to ensure that this remains consistent with the personalities and actions in the text.
- practise writing a variety of text types. For example, a narrative account might be used to write an alternative ending to a story, a diary entry might allow for the reflections of one of the characters, the script of a talk might allow for an outsider to comment on what he/she has seen or experienced, a report may be used to present the viewpoint from an onlooker, etc.
- attempt as many practice questions as possible. This should increase your confidence and enable you to cope with any question in the examination. Thorough preparation is the key to success.
During the examination
You should:
- read the question carefully and plan your response to ensure that you directly address the question.
- remember that, although this question requires creative writing, your response must also reflect a good understanding of the story and the characters involved.
- ensure that your response flows logically and does not use lengthy quotations from the original text.
- write on alternate lines (this is not mandatory, but allows you to review and amend your work legibly).
- avoid the temptation to re-word the question into another question you would prefer. You must address the question as printed on the paper. This will allow you to respond personally and creatively, as long as you remain relevant to the question. It is important to avoid including slabs of pre-learned material which may not be relevant and are unlikely to fit with your level of Spanish. Doing so can often result in a response which is disjointed and difficult to understand.
- allow sufficient time to review what you have written. This is an important part of the writing process and enables errors to be corrected and additions to be made.
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