Answering Exam Tasks
The Norwegian Directorate of Education is responsible
for exams and offers documents to help you
understand the grading system. As in all examinations,
the basis for the English exam for this course is the
subject curriculum (læreplanen). All the questions will
be based on the goals in the subject curriculum for this
program subject. Therefore, this is the first document
that you should read carefully, and your teacher will of
course base the teaching on satisfying these goals. The other document that is important for helping you
to understand what is expected of you on the examination is called the Examination Guide
(eksamensveiledningen). In 2015 the Directorate also published sample pupil papers with grades and
grade explanations on their website to help both teachers and students to understand how exam papers
are marked by the examiners.
Subject curriculum
It is important to note that the subject curriculum is based on competence goals. In other words, on the
examination you are expected to show competence or skills in certain areas of language and content
which are defined by the goals. The curriculum is divided into three parts and you will be graded
according to your skills in all three areas:
Language and learning the language:
showing your ability to understand how language is used to
communicate in various ways and for various purposes
Communication:
how you use English to communicate, again for various
purposes and in various styles and genres
Culture, society and literature:
the content aspect
Examination guide
This document includes a table of grade descriptors (“Kjennetegn på måloppnåelse ved sluttvurdering”)
that show you what is expected of you at each grade level. The examiners will use this document when
assessing your grade. If you are wondering what you can do to raise your grade in this course, the table
will show you what the examiners use in their considerations of the grade level.
On the next page is the table from the Spring 2015 examination [it is in Norwegian here].
Kjennetegn på måloppnåelse for sentralt gitt skriftlig eksamen i SPR3010 (2015)
Hovedområder/
Kategorier
Språk og
språklæring
Kommunikasjon
Kultur,
samfunn og
litteratur
2
Besvarelsen
3-4
Besvarelsen
5-6
Besvarelsen
- inneholder enkle og
overflatiske svar på oppgavene, og deler av
eksamenssvaret kan være
noe på siden av oppgaveinstruksjonen
- inneholder relevante svar på
oppgavene i samsvar med
oppgaveinstruksjonen og viser
en viss grad av selvstendighet
- inneholder presise, fyldige og
relevante svar på oppgavene i
samsvar med oppgaveinstruksjonen og viser modenhet
og selvstendighet
- viser at eventuelle kilder er
brukt på en uselvstendig
måte, og tekster mangler
kildehenvisninger
- viser lite faglig innsikt eller
oversikt
- viser liten eller ingen
kjennskap til språklige
virkemidler og effekten av
dem
- viser at eventuelle kilder er
brukt på en redelig måte med
henvisning
- viser rimelig god faglig innsikt
og oversikt
- viser noe kjennskap til
språklige virkemidler og
effekten av dem
- gjør til en viss grad rede for
forholdet mellom form, innhold
og stil i samfunnsfaglige tekster
der det kreves
- gjør i liten grad rede for
forholdet mellom form,
innhold og stil der det
kreves
Tekststruktur
- består av tekster som har
svak og tilfeldig struktur og
enkle setninger, og som
preges av gjentakelser og
oppramsing
- viser liten bruk av
tekstbinding
- viser begrenset forståelse
av informasjon basert på
tallmateriell og statistikk
- viser liten
sjangerbevissthet
- viser at eventuelle kilder er brukt
på en redelig måte med
hensiktsmessig kildehenvisning
- viser meget god faglig innsikt og
oversikt
- inneholder analyse av språklige
virkemidler og effekten av dem der
det er relevant
- viser god forståelse av og gjør
tydelig rede for forholdet mellom
form, innhold og stil i samfunnsfaglige tekster der det kreves
- består av tekster med
forholdsvis logisk struktur, god
indre sammenheng og noe
variasjon i setningsbygning
- består av tekster med klar og
logisk struktur, god indre
sammenheng, god flyt og variert
setningsbygning
- har de mest vanlige former for
tekstbinding
- har variert og hensiktsmessig
tekstbinding
- viser forståelse av
informasjon basert på tallmateriell og statistikk, og
formidler formålet med slik
informasjon på en forståelig
måte
- viser god forståelse av
informasjon basert på tall-materiell
og statistikk, og formidler formålet
med slik informasjon på en
reflektert og logisk måte
- viser forståelse for noen
typiske sjangertrekk
- viser god sjangerforståelse
Språk
- viser et begrenset
ordforråd for å
kommunisere om
samfunnsfaglige emner
- er preget av språklige,
formelle svakheter, men er i
stor grad forståelig
- viser et tilstrekkelig ordforråd
for å kommunisere om
samfunnsfaglige emner
- formidler formålet med
teksten stort sett godt, selv om
en del språkfeil kan forekomme
- viser ordforråd som er variert,
nyansert og situasjonstilpasset og
behersker et relevant ordforråd for
å kommunisere om samfunnsfaglige emner
- har ingen kommunikasjonsforstyrrende språkfeil
Karakteren 1 uttrykker at besvarelsen viser lavere måloppnåelse enn det som står ovenfor.
The exam
Currently the exam for this course has two tasks. Tasks 1a and b, referred to as the short tasks, and task
2, the long task. All answers to the two tasks contribute to the grade which is assessed holistically (that
is: the overall impression you give).
When you write a test or mock exam in school, look at the table above and judge your answers on the
paper according to the grade level descriptors.
What is a good exam answer?
The Norwegian Directorate of Education makes the exams and chooses the format and types of
questions. Task 1a tends to focus on the first two parts of the curriculum (language and
communication), and task 1b tends to be related to task 1a in some way, covering both communication
and content. The questions in tasks 1a and 1b often ask the exam candidate to point out “language
features” and perhaps also “literary devices”, and to show their effects.
Task 2 specifically touches on some of the content goals in the third part of the curriculum, but of course
language and communication are important here as well.
Task 1a
“Language features” means aspects of style, grammar and structure. The problem many exam
candidates have is that when they look at the text they are to analyse and write about, they find
examples that refer more to interesting features that are really more about content than about
language. It is important to read the question carefully and to do what it asks you to do, and this will
normally mean finding interesting things to say about the effect of language and style.
Perhaps the question asks you for genre features. Then you have to find special language features in the
text that place it in a genre. Again you will have problems if your focus is too much on content rather
than language, literary and genre features.
Another problem when working on questions about language features is that students might not use
enough grammar terminology in their answers. For example, don’t say “the text uses elaborate words”,
or “the text uses descriptive words”, say instead something like “the message of the text is enhanced by
a heavy uses of adjectives”. Examiners will be looking for your use of terminology, meaning terms such
as adverbs, adjectives, nouns, verbs, prepositions, structure, repetition and so on. Typical literary
devices in texts include tone, metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration and imagery.
And remember, pointing out a language feature or literary device is one thing, but you also have to
write about the effect of the examples you have found. A text may say: “The man spoke in a raspy,
phlegmy voice and he interrupted what he was saying with a vile hacking cough.” There are four
adjectives in this sentence, but it is not enough to point them out or to identify them as adjectives if the
question asks for the effect of these adjectives. Here you can ask the question, what kind of impression
of the man who is talking do I get from the description and the use of all the adjectives? When you
answer this question, you are talking about effect.
Here is another example. Saying that the sentence below is full of adjectives and adverbs is not enough.
What effect do they have?
Sharon looked at George with a very long, devastating and withering look, and her keenly
burning eyes told him that the warm comforts of the cosy marital bed were just a very long and
distant dream, a dream with no soft promise for him.
The student writes:
The adjectives “devastating” and “withering” leave no doubt in the reader’s mind that George
has obviously upset Sharon (his wife, we discover through the adjective “marital” describing the
bed). Indeed, he has upset her so much that her look is described as “very long” the adjective and
the intensifying adverb “very” give a sense of one long stare of anger, perhaps hatred. The
description is powerful and unrelenting as Sharon’s eyes are not only “burning” (adjective), they
are burning “keenly” (adverb) which suggests that Sharon is putting all her effort into the
negative emotions she is expressing to George. Any hopes George has of conciliation are very
weak, not only a “dream”, but a “very long”, and “distant” dream where the alliteration of the d
sound suggests Sharon’s distain for George. And his dream is “cold”. All the adjectives and
adverbs set a very angry tone in the text, telling us that George should perhaps be thinking of
calling his divorce lawyer. The adjective “soft” provides a contrast with the adjective “cold”.
What he would like to have, a “soft dream”, is not going to happen; all he has is a “cold dream”,
the harsh sound of the two consonants is one more nail in George’s “marital coffin”.
For this type of task you can assess your progress using the table below:
Skill
Response
Have I done what the question
asked me to do?
Yes / No
Have I paid particular attention
to language features and if
asked for literary devices?
Yes / No
Have I used terminology?
Yes / No
What can I do to improve?
What examples of language
features have I found?
After reviewing the question in
class, what features did I miss?
Did I write well about the effect
of the language features and
literary devices?
Yes / No
Task 1b
This task is new. Previously there was a task 2 that has had many forms over recent years. Sometimes
task 2 has asked for a response to a text that has social-studies content. This might be a poem, speech,
personal text, article, picture and so on. This task was usually on a new theme not related to any other
part of the exam.
Now, instead of task 2, there is a task 1b which is in some way connected to task 1a. As with the old task
2, what is important to remember is to do exactly what the question asks you to do. If it asks you to
respond to the provided material within a social-studies context it is important to remember to 1)
respond to the provided material and 2) your response must be connected to the social-studies aspect
that has been given in the question. As this is a short answer it is important to keep your answer strictly
within the frame of what you have been asked to do. In the May 2015 exam task 1b involved
interpreting the message of a political cartoon that was related to the same theme as task 1a.
Task 2
Under task 2, students are usually asked to choose one question from four alternatives. The first tip is
simply to take your time and choose carefully. When you think you have found the right question, stop
and think. Are you sure you have enough to say for a good full text? Do you understand what the
question is asking you to do? Do you understand all parts of the question? Is it is asking you to do more
than one thing? Too many students start with a question that seems right at first glance, but half way
into their answer they run out of things to say and either “go general” (that is, try to write about general
things not directly related to the question), or just write what they want with no real focus on the
question. If you do either of these things, your grade will drop because you have not directly answered
the question.
Some examination candidates even go so far as to disregard the question and write whatever they want,
or perhaps try to use something they have worked on before and have on their computer, but which is
not directly related to the question. This will not make the grade as examiners will be looking for ontarget answers to the specific questions. If, for example, the question asks you to respond to some
specific and current pro and con statements about the British welfare state that are given on the exam,
you must respond to the statements provided. Using an essay on the history of the welfare state is not
answering the question. If the statements are from recent debates, for example, then the aim is
probably to look at the effects of recent cuts to welfare programmes. The question obviously has a
contemporary angle, what is happening to the welfare state now, so using a prepared essay on the
history of the welfare state or copying history from your textbook will not be on-topic in terms of the
question. Perhaps small parts could be used for background, but a full focus on this would not be
answering the question.
Another important thing to remember is that the exams often ask comparison questions. A question
might ask you to compare some aspect of the UK and the USA, for example their political systems. If the
question has a comparison aspect, it is important to make the comparison a primary factor in your
entire essay/text. For example, don’t simply talk about the UK in one block of text, then the US in
another block, and then tack on one “I think that …” paragraph at the end and call it your comparison.
Rather compare different points one by one, for example elections in the UK and elections in the US,
parliamentarianism versus republicanism, election campaigns in the UK and US etc. throughout the
essay. It might be a good idea to go through your essay point by point: Point 1 UK (e.g. UK election
campaigns short and intense, control on how much money is used), Point 1 US (elections are long drawn
out affairs, hugely expensive), Point 2 UK (e.g. minority government is possible), Point 2 US (it’s one
party or the other, but President may not control both house and senate, or either for that matter) etc.
But you could also block your texts UK first and US second, but introduce the comparative aspect on
each point in the UK section, for example: “But as we shall see below, this is quite a different way of
doing things than in the US …” The choice is of course yours, but the point is that the comparison aspect
must be present throughout your essay, not just in a final (often very short) summary paragraph.
The exam questions are often supported by some text, pictures, graphs, statistics, etc. placed either in
the appendix or in a box together with the question. If the question asks you to respond to the text,
pictures, graphs, etc. that are given, or to use them as a “point of departure”, or “starting point” for a
text, it is important to make use of the material in a coherent and well-developed way. It is not good to
only give this material passing reference, and your grade will suffer if you ignore the material completely
if the question has instructed you to use it.
According to the Directorate, you can choose the genre for your answer to task 2. The question does not
ask you to write in a specific genre. Whatever you choose, this will be your longest answer and it is
important that you show your language skills. If you are writing an essay for example, you must show
coherence, use linking words, vary your sentence style, develop your arguments, have good progress
and stay focused on the task.
Sometimes there is more than one part to the question. Make sure you have understood all parts of the
question and that you are prepared to do everything the question asks you to do.
For task 2 questions you can assess your progress using the table below:
How can I improve?
Have I answered the question
from start to finish?
Yes / No
Have I answered all parts of the
question?
Yes / No
Have I used the material
supplied with the question if
the question instructs me to do
so in any way?
Yes / No
Is my text coherent?
Yes / No
Have I used linking words and
varied my language so my text
has a good flow?
Yes / No
Do I have a consistent approach
(thread) through my text?
Yes / No
Have I checked spelling,
grammar and style?
Yes / No