SL Written task
Weighting: 20%
A written task demonstrates the student’s ability to choose an imaginative way of exploring an aspect of the material studied in the course. It must show a critical engagement with an aspect of a text or a topic.
Students complete at least three written tasks, one of which is submitted for external assessment.
Formal requirements
The content of each task must relate to a different part of the course. Therefore, at least one task must relate to part 1 or part 2, and at least one task must be based on a literary text from part 3 or part 4.
Once students have decided on their area of study and their particular title, they are free to produce any text type that is appropriate to the task. For example, a written task discussing the representation of an aspect of gender from part 1 could be written as a newspaper editorial (see the example in the following table). Another example might be an imagined journal entry from a character in one of the novels studied.
The task, not including the rationale, must be 800–1,000 words in length. The rationale should be 200–300 words in length. If the word limit is exceeded, the assessment of the combined task and rationale will be based on the first 1,300 words.
Supervision and teacher assistance
As part of the learning process, teachers can give advice to students on a first draft of the task. This advice should be in terms of the way in which the work could be improved, but this first draft must not be annotated or edited by the teacher. After making general comments on the first draft, teachers should not provide any further assistance.
Note: A formal essay is not an acceptable text type. Students are required to write an essay in Paper 2.
Rationale
The rationale is not included in the word count (800–1,000 words) for the written task and should be 200– 300 words in length. Text titles or topics recorded on the rationale are expected to match those recorded on the coversheet.
In their rationale students must explain:
• how the content of the task is linked to a particular part of the course
• how the task is intended to explore particular aspects of the course
• the nature of the task chosen
• information about audience, purpose and the varying contexts in which the task is set.
The rationale should not only include knowledge about the text or topic studied, but also about the formal conventions of the text type produced and how they relate to the aims of the task.
Practical requirements
On the coversheet that precedes the task, students must include:
• student details
• examination session details
• the course summary (including details of each of the four parts studied)
• the total number of words for the task.
Both the student and teacher must sign the coversheet as a declaration that the task is the authentic work of the student. The task must be written in the language A studied.
Students must acknowledge all sources used. Where appropriate—for example, when the task relies on the reader referring to stimulus material such as a key passage in a literary text, or an illustration, in order to understand what the student is attempting to do—the source material must be clearly referenced in a bibliography. These documents may be referred to by the examiner but will not be taken account of in the assessment; nevertheless they are important information for the assessor. In addition, this promotes good academic practice on the part of the student.
The role of the teacher
• Provide guidance to students on the selection of the task, its development and level of challenge.
• Discuss the relationship between the written task and the stimulus material.
• Ensure that the topic is of an appropriate level of challenge and suitable to the length and focus of the task.
Students may include illustrations in support of their work where this is appropriate. These must always be electronically embedded, not separately reproduced and physically attached. Written tasks submitted for assessment must be word processed and the electronic files must not exceed a maximum size, including any images, of 2 MB.
Examples of written tasks
The following are examples of possible types of written tasks. These are intended for guidance only and are neither exhaustive nor compulsory.
• A newspaper article in which are shown the dangers of stereotyping particular social groups
• An additional episode that takes place before the beginning of a novel and provides context for the opening sequence
• A letter from one fictional character to another, which reveals a change in the relationship between the two characters
• An opinion column that emphasizes the pervasiveness of advertising and how certain brands are promoted for the purpose of raising company profits
Weighting: 20%
A written task demonstrates the student’s ability to choose an imaginative way of exploring an aspect of the material studied in the course. It must show a critical engagement with an aspect of a text or a topic.
Students complete at least three written tasks, one of which is submitted for external assessment.
Formal requirements
The content of each task must relate to a different part of the course. Therefore, at least one task must relate to part 1 or part 2, and at least one task must be based on a literary text from part 3 or part 4.
Once students have decided on their area of study and their particular title, they are free to produce any text type that is appropriate to the task. For example, a written task discussing the representation of an aspect of gender from part 1 could be written as a newspaper editorial (see the example in the following table). Another example might be an imagined journal entry from a character in one of the novels studied.
The task, not including the rationale, must be 800–1,000 words in length. The rationale should be 200–300 words in length. If the word limit is exceeded, the assessment of the combined task and rationale will be based on the first 1,300 words.
Supervision and teacher assistance
As part of the learning process, teachers can give advice to students on a first draft of the task. This advice should be in terms of the way in which the work could be improved, but this first draft must not be annotated or edited by the teacher. After making general comments on the first draft, teachers should not provide any further assistance.
Note: A formal essay is not an acceptable text type. Students are required to write an essay in Paper 2.
Rationale
The rationale is not included in the word count (800–1,000 words) for the written task and should be 200– 300 words in length. Text titles or topics recorded on the rationale are expected to match those recorded on the coversheet.
In their rationale students must explain:
• how the content of the task is linked to a particular part of the course
• how the task is intended to explore particular aspects of the course
• the nature of the task chosen
• information about audience, purpose and the varying contexts in which the task is set.
The rationale should not only include knowledge about the text or topic studied, but also about the formal conventions of the text type produced and how they relate to the aims of the task.
Practical requirements
On the coversheet that precedes the task, students must include:
• student details
• examination session details
• the course summary (including details of each of the four parts studied)
• the total number of words for the task.
Both the student and teacher must sign the coversheet as a declaration that the task is the authentic work of the student. The task must be written in the language A studied.
Students must acknowledge all sources used. Where appropriate—for example, when the task relies on the reader referring to stimulus material such as a key passage in a literary text, or an illustration, in order to understand what the student is attempting to do—the source material must be clearly referenced in a bibliography. These documents may be referred to by the examiner but will not be taken account of in the assessment; nevertheless they are important information for the assessor. In addition, this promotes good academic practice on the part of the student.
The role of the teacher
• Provide guidance to students on the selection of the task, its development and level of challenge.
• Discuss the relationship between the written task and the stimulus material.
• Ensure that the topic is of an appropriate level of challenge and suitable to the length and focus of the task.
Students may include illustrations in support of their work where this is appropriate. These must always be electronically embedded, not separately reproduced and physically attached. Written tasks submitted for assessment must be word processed and the electronic files must not exceed a maximum size, including any images, of 2 MB.
Examples of written tasks
The following are examples of possible types of written tasks. These are intended for guidance only and are neither exhaustive nor compulsory.
• A newspaper article in which are shown the dangers of stereotyping particular social groups
• An additional episode that takes place before the beginning of a novel and provides context for the opening sequence
• A letter from one fictional character to another, which reveals a change in the relationship between the two characters
• An opinion column that emphasizes the pervasiveness of advertising and how certain brands are promoted for the purpose of raising company profits