IBO ASSESSMENT DETAILS
EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTWRITTEN COMPONENT
PAPER 1 TEXT HANDLING
Assesses the ability of the candidate in reading and handling information from a range of texts.
Paper 1: Text Handling General
• Externally set & assessed• Two sections
– Section A: Reading– Section B: Written Response
• Texts and questions in target language• Responses in target language• Dictionaries are not permitted
Paper 1: Text Handling Texts
• Written texts• Different communicative purposes• Different levels of difficulty• Final text for Section B only• Content, length and difficulty of texts reflects
linguistic and reading ability• At least one text is literary in nature
SECTION A: Reading SkillsQuestions assess
• Understanding overall meaning• Scanning texts for particular details• Understanding structural features
– Cross reference within text– Functioning in context
• Interpreting words and phrases• Identifying communicative purposes
SECTION A: Reading SkillsQuestions vary and may include
• Multiple choice• Choosing which number of sentences are true
according to text• Justifying and interpretation• Short answer questions• Chart filling exercises• Gap filling
• Matching – summary sentences
with different paragraphs
– ideas or sequences with pictures
– words and phrases
• Identifying – who says what– specific content
items– related ideas– precise references– clear inference– T/F explanation or
definition finding evidence
SECTION A: Reading SkillsQuestions vary and may include
Paper 2: Written Production
Assesses the candidates´ability to communicate accurately for a range of purposes.
Paper 2: Written Production
• Externally set and assessed• Written in target language• Dictionaries not permitted• Consists of 6 tasks• Requires candidate to
– answer using a specific type of text– Indentify
• communicative purpose• audience
– Use language appropriate to text type• Different from Paper 1• Candidates are expected to write 400 words• Quality y more important than quantity