What is the Written Task?
The written task is an imaginative piece where the student analyzes the literature and writes
in a specific style and genre. The students will need to know the literature piece well in order
to complete this task. The students should write suitably for the piece they have chosen. For
example, if a student is writing a letter from the one of the character’s perspectives, he should
take on the language and ideas of the character. If a student chooses to write an alternate
ending to the story or play, she should continue to use the same structure, word choice, and
formatting of the piece.
Why the Written Task?
The written task allows a student to develop a strong understanding and relationship with the
piece of literature. It also helps the student to understand the importance and relevance of
language, style, and format. It gives autonomy to the student by allowing each student to pick
the literature and text type she feels she could best present. It weaves in language, writing,
knowledge, voice, and reflection into an assessment.
WT1 skills
The guide states that written task 1 is an 'imaginative piece'. Imagination, however, is not the skill that
is assessed when you look at the criteria. In fact there are other 'hard' skills that you can develop in
order to do well on the written task 1. For example you will have to write a certain type of text, and so
you will want to focus on the conventions for writing in a particular style or genre. Simply developing a
relevant idea for written task 1 is in itself a skill that you will want to develop. You can do this by
writing written task proposals. Writing the rationale for WT1 also requires certain skills. In this
section of the Subject Site, we offer several skill building exercises for written task 1. Written tasks
are between 800-1000 words.
Written Task 1
Before you write written tasks, you should look at the assessment criteria. This way you know what
the examiner is looking for. The best way to become familiar with the criteria is to use them regularly.
For each written task that is entered into the portfolio, there should be some form of self-assessment,
peer assessment and teacher assessment.
Remember: Teachers are not allowed to edit or annotate students' written tasks. This does not mean
that teachers cannot give feedback. Rather, teachers can and should tell students how they think they
will score according to the assessment criteria. What's more, teachers should be involved in guiding
students towards appropriate ideas for the written task.
Written task 1 - Rubric
Criterion A - Rationale - 2 marks
It is essential that students include a rationale before the actual task. The rationale must be no
fewer than 200 words and no longer than 300 words. The word count must be on the page (see
example). The rationale should shed light on the thought process behind the task. Furthermore, it
should explain how the task aims to meet one or more learning outcomes of the syllabus.
Remember: If the word count of the rationale exceeds 300 words, 1 mark will be deducted.
Criterion B - Task and content - 8 marks
The content of a task should lend itself well to the type of text that one chooses. The task should
demonstrate an understanding of the course work and topics studied. Finally, there should be
evidence that the student has understood the conventions of writing a particular text type. The
content should be 800-1000 words. The word count MUST be on the page (see example).
Criterion C - Organization - 5 marks
Each type of text has a different structure. Nevertheless, all types of texts have conventions and
organizing principles. Students must organize their tasks effectively and appropriately. There must be
a sense of coherence.
Criterion D - Language and style - 5 marks
The language of the task must be appropriate to the nature of the task. This means that students use
an appropriate and effective register and style. Whatever the nature of the task, ideas must be
communicated effectively.
WT1 Tips

The written task 1 can be tricky. With so much freedom, there can be many pitfalls. The requirements
ask you to imitate a writing style or construct a specific type of text. Here are some of the common
pitfalls that students often fall into, followed by three tips on how to avoid them.
The common pitfalls

The written task is not an essay writing assignment. Unfortunately, many 'opinion columns' and
'blogs' end up sounding like essays.

The context of the text is not clear. If you write an opinion column, ask yourself how it is
characteristic of an opinion column from a specific newspaper or magazine. Who does it target?

The content of the task has nothing to do with course content. For example, a brochure warning
against the health dangers of bulimia, does not reflect course work that explored the role of
advertising in shaping young women's sense of beauty.
The right ingredients
Although there is no one guaranteed recipe for a successful written task 1, you can avoid these
'pitfalls' by including all of the following ingredients:
1. Text type - If you write a speech, your speech should look and sound like a speech. If you write a
letter to the editor, it should look and sound like a letter to the editor. In other words, each type of
text has its own set of stylistic and structural conventions. Ask yourself what characteristics define
the type of text you plan to write. If you're not sure about these conventions, see the pages that
define text types in theresource section of this Subject Site.
2. Primary source - Your written task should be rooted in a primary source. If you are writing about
a literary work for Part 3 or 4, the poem, novel or play is the primary source. Your task should
reflect your understanding of it. For the non-literary parts of the syllabus, be sure you comment
on a primary text. If you looked at the representation of women in advertising, comment on an
actual ad. If you looked at a political campaign, focus on one ad, website or poster.
3. Secondary source - Since the written task is not an essay, you are not asked to give your
personal opinion on a subject matter or literary text. Instead, you are expected to be
knowledgeable on the subject matter or the literary text. Even the best opinion columns inform
readers to a great extent. You want to prove to the examiner that you have understood the course
work and you have done your homework! This can also be achieved through the rationale, where
applicable terms and concepts can be explained. Find secondary sources that comment on the
texts you have worked on. For example, if you read an article about John Fowles and
existentialism, this may inspire you to write a missing chapter to his novel, The Collector. If you
explored women in advertising, you will want to find some statistics or articles on the effects of
these ads on women.
Activity
Here is a draft of a written task 1 that a student wrote. It has multiple problems and requires help.
Answer the following questions before reading the feedback.
1. Which pitfalls has the student fallen into?
2. How could the 'three right ingredients' be used to steer this student in the right direction?
3. Look at the page on opinion columns in the reference section of this Subject Site. According to
this definition, there are six defining characteristics of an opinion column: voice, newsworthiness,
call to action, humor, hard facts and logos. Where do you see evidence of these in the column
below? How could these characteristics be added to the task to make it more successful?
Student Sample:
Column on the advantages of being fat
‘Don’t you want to lose weight some day’? Is the question I was asked about weekly. And then I
replied with my happiest voice; No! The they gave me this kind of look like, okay, you must be crazy.
And yes I am. There are so many advantages of being fat. Lets start by shopping. Sale. The thing I
like best, and so handy when you’re fat, because almost 70% of all the woman are skinny, at least
skinny to fit in the most common sizes. So all the big sizes are left over. How nice. So there I was,
standing at the H&M, at the sale-corner. Nothing but big sizes. So as a child in a toy shop I started
grabbing the things I liked and made my way to the fitting room. It was rather crowdie over there so I
accepted the fact that I had to wait for some minutes. I heard the sound of an opening door and saw a
skinny girl coming outside, at a glance she saw me and then continued looking in the mirror. Her
friend, waiting for her, said she looked pretty and the girl asked her friend ‘don’t I look fat in this
dress?’ No it’s lovely’ she replied. I laughed. I never had those kind of problems. For I already
accepted the fact that I was fat, and it would never disappoint me when shopping. When the girls left I
went in to the fitting room and started to change. This dress was lovely, I took another look in the
mirror, turned around and smiled. Shopping is great, after like half an hour I was ready, with about 9
dresses hanging over my arm I made my way to the pay desk. Only 50 pounds for 9 dresses. Good
job, I thought. As happy as I was I walked to the bus stop I realized I was just in time because the bus
was about to leave. I hastened myself to get inside the bus, and lucky as I was, there was one seat
left over, a seat for 2, just for me. The whole trip no one came to sit next to me, for they probably
thought they wouldn’t have enough space, sitting next to 1.5 person. Life is great, and so you see,
being fat is too! (:
Feedback
First of all, this written task falls into is the pitfall of not reflecting course content. It is not clear what
was studied in class from this piece. If the student studied obesity, its causes and effects, then this
needs to be made clear. Where does the statistic on the percentage of skinny women (70%) come
from? Are overweight people really happy for the reasons suggested in this column? If so, explain
where this is supported.
Secondly, this opinion column sounds very informal, using words such as 'like' and the emoticon '(:'.
Columns often contain something that is newsworthy and relevant to the target audience. The context
of this text is not self evident.
Finally, this text must refer to another text or texts. If the student read an article about obesity, then
she could explain its significance. It is suggested that this student start all over again with a
completely new idea and set of texts. She may want to see the lesson on anorexia and the sample
written task on the portrayal of women in the media.
Writing rationales
Although the rationale only counts for 2 of the 20 marks for the written task, the success of your
written task largely depends on it. On this page, we suggest which points to include in a rational. In
the activity you find a written task that lacks a rationale. Use the list of points below to write a
rationale for the task.
Be sure to include

The rationale must be between 200-300 words.

The purpose of writing a rationale is to place your written task 1 in a particular context, so that the
examiner understands its aims better.

This is best achieved by explaining the task's purpose and target audience.

You will have to explain your choice of text type.

Explain the connection between the task and your course content, i.e. topic or literary text.