Do examiners work by deducting marks rather than adding marks? - Merspi

Do examiners work by deducting marks rather than adding marks?

2010-01-21T05:26:22Z

Question moved from this thread.

Do examiners work by 'deducting marks' rather than 'adding marks'?

If you wrote a perfect piece without flaws, but simplistic and nothing exceptional or that stood out, could you get perfect marks? Or, would it be better to risk more eloquent writing that might also be bordering on b/s?

Answer by asa.hoshi for Do examiners work by deducting marks rather than adding marks?

2010-01-24T02:09:11Z

I don't think it would matter =/

Since in the end, either way you are going to reach the "total" i.e. if I removed 5 marks from an essay worth 10 marks, I would end up scoring 5/10.

If I added added 5 marks from an essay worth 10, I would still get 5/10.

My point is, nobody would be able to provide an answer since it really depends on the examiner I think, and not something to worry about ><

One thing which sort of is related to your question, I have heard that in the English exam, examiners quickly glance at all your pages, skim through the first paragraph or two, and are then able to estimate what your piece would be worth, does that make sense? Because many high-scoring responses tend to maintain the same level of skill and ideas throughout the essay, it's what makes a good writer!

Then again, many people tend to start off terrible (hence make a bad first impression), and then once they get into the flesh of their essay and conclusion, they write very solidly/well, yet that first impression would have dented your overall marks slightly e.g. a 8/10 instead of a 10/10.

English is subjective in regards to your latter question. Different people can get away with both.

I have never seen a "simplistic" essay in the examiners reports, but I have seen essays which are no better than what I already write in SACs, (making them simplistic??).

Answer by Lex for Do examiners work by deducting marks rather than adding marks?

2010-02-28T01:50:11Z

My English teacher is an assessor. She says it's pretty much content, structure and expression. You are marked subjectively on how well you did without any solid marking plan.

Answer by MrBates for Do examiners work by deducting marks rather than adding marks?

2010-03-08T21:32:44Z

It would be better to attempt something with more flair. Technically perfect writing with no creativity is not as impressive as original and engaging content that has the odd spelling mistake or grammatical hiccup.

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar make up a small portion of any marking scheme. You will also be assessed on the way you deal with the prompt - a technically perfect response that doesn't ANSWER the question will also receive fewer marks than one that does answer the question but has the same hiccups.

Hope this helps.