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Writing Skills and Written Answer

Questions

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Teacher’s notes included in the Notes Page

Flash activity. These activities are not editable. Web addresses

Icons key: For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation

Functional Skills check

Student task accompanies this slide Printable activity

This lesson will cover:

Writing long-answer questions.

A walkthrough of answering a sample question.

Quality of written communication.

Vocabulary and proofreading.

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Writing skills

Many of the questions in your exam paper will be short-answer questions requiring one word answers, or very short sentences. These are usually worth one or two marks.

Other questions will be long-answer questions. These can be worth around 8-12 marks and make up a sizeable proportion of your final exam mark.

These usually require you to construct a logical argumentand give evidence to back up your answer.

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Sample question

Read this exam question and discuss any relevant features.

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Sample answer

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Remember the examiner

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Analysing the question

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Multimedia files – large file sizes

Removable media

+ can have very large capacity- More expensive than memory stick- Bigger than memory stick or CD to carryCD-R

Memory stick

+ Easy to carry- Can only record once so cannot save updated version

+ Can overwrite data files+ Can have large capacity+ Very small to carry- Easy to lose

Portable hard disk

Reasons for storage

Initial file on hard disk

Backup copies to keep data safe

+ Can transfer files using attachments- May not accept large file sizes- College may not allow downloads

Email Laptop + Files always available- Heavy to carry- More expensive than desktop machine

This is an example of a student’s sketch plan for the answer:

How might this help the student answer the question?

Sketch plan

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The revised plan

By creating a draft plan for his answer, the student can identify the points he wants to make and construct his argument in a logical and well-structured fashion. This is important as marks may be given for the quality of written communication.

The plan covers:

some reasons for storing datathe fact that multimedia files are large and require large storage capacityexamples of suitable storage media with advantages and disadvantagesother methods of transferring data.

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The improved answer

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Command words

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Quality of written communication

In certain sections of your exam, you need to be aware that you will be assessed on more than just the points you make:

The quality of written communication refers to the way you write your answer. Here you can gain marks for:

writing clearlyspelling correctlyusing the correct grammar

structuring your answerusing specialist vocabularyorganizing information.

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Quality of written communication

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Proofing

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Keywords