ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE PAPER 3
GRADE 12
NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE
MEMORANDUM
SEPTEMBER 2018
INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION
This memorandum must be used in conjunction with the attached English FAL assessment rubrics for SECTIONS A, B and C.
NOTE: All pieces of writing should be read at least TWICE during assessment, once for content and once for language respectively. Errors have to be indicated in your second reading.
SECTION A: ESSAY
QUESTION 1
INSTRUCTIONS TO MARKERS:
- Candidates are required to write on ONE topic only.
- The ideas listed below the topics are only some ways in which the topics can be interpreted.
- Full credit must be given for the candidates’ own interpretation.
- Marking must be objective. Give credit for relevant ideas.
- Use the 50-mark grid to mark the essays. The texts produced by candidates must be assessed according to the following criteria:
- Content and planning (30 marks)
- Language, style and editing (15 marks)
- Structure (5 marks)
NOTE:
- Adhere to the length of 250–300 words as prescribed in the CAPS document. However, should the maximum word count be reached midsentence, read to the end of that sentence.
- No additional penalties may be imposed as the rubric itself imposes penalties.
1.1 Who am I?
Narrative/Descriptive/Reflective essay
- If narrative, a storyline illustrating the statement must be evident in which a series of events are shown. There must be a logical sequence of tense.
- If descriptive, there must be a vivid description of an experience/incident.
- If reflective, there must be a personal account of thought processes and feelings/emotions.
NOTE: A candidate may write an essay which contains elements of more than one type of essay/any other essay type. [50]
1.2 That was it and I just …
Narrative/Descriptive/Reflective essay
- If narrative, the essay must have a strong storyline and an interesting ending. There must be a logical sequence of tense.
- If descriptive, there must be a vivid description of an incident/experience to illustrate the statement.
- If reflective, there must be a personal account of thought processes and feelings/emotions.
NOTE: A candidate may write an essay which contains elements of more than one type of essay/any other essay type. [50]
1.3 Being irresponsible makes people lose out in life.
Argumentative/Discursive/Reflective/Descriptive essay
- If argumentative, the essay must reflect a specific argument or viewpoint for or against the topic. The candidate should give a range of arguments to support and substantiate his/her view.
- If discursive, the candidate may come to a particular conclusion at the end of the essay but the arguments for or against must be well-balanced and clearly analysed in the course of the essay.
- If reflective, the essay should convey emotional reactions and feelings the learner experiences/experienced.
- If descriptive, the learner should create the picture in words, trying to use as many senses as possible to make the description clear.
NOTE: A candidate may write an essay which contains elements of more than one type of essay/any other essay type. [50]
1.4 The beauty of believing in yourself
Narrative/Descriptive/Reflective essay
- If narrative, a strong storyline illustrating the statement must be evident in which a series of events are shown. There must be a logical sequence of tense.
- If descriptive, there must be a vivid description of an incident/experience to illustrate the statement.
- If reflective, there must be a personal account of thought processes and feelings/emotions.
NOTE: A candidate may write an essay which contains elements of more than one type of essay/any other essay type. [50]
1.5 ‘Nothing worth having in life comes without effort.’ – John C Maxwell
Discursive/Reflective/Argumentative/Descriptive essay
- If discursive, the candidate may come to a particular conclusion at the end of the essay but the arguments for or against must be well-balanced and clearly analysed in the course of the essay.
- If reflective, the essay should reflect emotional reactions and feelings experienced by the candidate.
- If argumentative, the essay must reflect a specific argument or viewpoint for or against the topic. The learner should give a range of arguments to support and substantiate his/her view. The conclusion should be a strong, clear and convincing statement of the candidate’s opinion.
- If descriptive, the learner should create a picture in words, trying to use as many senses as possible to make the description clear.
NOTE: A candidate may write an essay which contains elements of more than one type of essay/any other essay type. [50]
1.6 An amazing achievement
Narrative/Descriptive/Reflective Essay
- If narrative, a strong storyline illustrating the statement must be evident in which a series of events are shown. There must be a logical sequence of tense.
- If descriptive, there must be a vivid description of an incident/experience to illustrate the statement.
- If reflective, there must be a personal account of thought processes and feelings/emotions.
NOTE: A candidate may write an essay which contains elements of more than one type of essay/any other essay type. [50]
1.7 Interpretation of pictures
- The candidate may interpret the picture in any way.
- The candidate may choose to write any type of essay.
- The interpretation must be linked to the pictures.
- The candidate should give the essay a suitable title.
- The candidate may write in any appropriate tense.
- The following ideas, among others, may be explored in response to the pictures:
1.7.1 A picture of stairs
- Literal interpretations: e.g. climbing up, going down, ascending to success etc.
- Abstract interpretations: e.g. rising from the ashes, achieving success, retrogression etc. [50]
1.7.2 A picture of a zebra
- Literal interpretations: e.g. wildlife, the big five, the animal kingdom etc.
- Abstract interpretations: e.g. beauty of nature, the environment, animal welfare etc. [50]
TOTAL SECTION A: 50
SECTION B: LONGER TRANSACTIONAL TEXT
QUESTION 2
INSTRUCTIONS TO MARKERS:
- Learners are required to answer ONE question.
- Marking must be objective. Give credit for relevant ideas.
- Use the 30-mark assessment rubric to mark the responses in this section. The texts produced by learners must be assessed according to the following criteria as set out in the assessment rubric:
- Content, planning and format (18 marks)
- Language, style and editing (12 marks)
NOTE:
Related Items
- Adhere to the length of 120–150 words as prescribed in the CAPS document. However, should the maximum word count be reached mid-sentence, read to the end of that sentence.
- No additional penalties may be imposed as the rubric itself imposes penalties.
2.1 FORMAL LETTER TO THE PRESS
A letter expressing concerns about environmental destruction
- Acceptable variations of format must be allowed.
- The letter should be addressed to the editor of the Daily Dispatch.
- The tone and register of the letter should be formal.
- The following aspects of format should be included:
- Address of sender
- Date
- Recipient (editor of Daily Dispatch)
- Address of Daily Dispatch
- Salutation
- Subject line
- Suitable ending
- Signature
- Name of sender [30]
2.2 CURRICULUM VITAE (CV) AND COVERING LETTER
A covering letter for a job application
- The curriculum vitae (CV) should be short and relevant to the job applied for.
- The letter should be addressed to the manager of a marketing company.
- The tone and register of the letter should be formal.
- The following aspects of format should be included:
- Address of sender
- Date
- Recipient (Manager of marketing company)
- Address of recipient
- Salutation
- Subject line
- Suitable ending
- Signature
- Name of sender [30]
2.3 INFORMAL REPORT
A report about the successes and challenges of the women and child abuse
awareness campaign
- The report must have:
- A topic
- A sender
- Date
- The format is informal but the language should be formal.
- Slang or colloquial language is unacceptable.
2.4 SPEECH
A speech to wish a learner well for a sports competition
- The speech should be written using a suitable salutation/greeting.
- The tone and register should be appropriate for the audience.
- The speech must include the following:
- An introduction that attracts attention
- Well-developed points
- A conclusion
[30]
TOTAL SECTION B: 30
SECTION C: SHORTER TRANSACTIONAL TEXT
QUESTION 3
INSTRUCTIONS TO MARKERS:
- Learners are required to answer ONE question.
- Marking must be objective. Give credit for relevant ideas.
- Use the 20-mark assessment rubric to mark the responses in this section. The texts produced by learners must be assessed according to the following criteria as set out in the assessment rubric:
- Content, planning and format (12 marks)
- Language, style and editing (8 marks)
NOTE:
- Adhere to the length of 80–100 words as prescribed in the CAPS document. However, should the maximum word count be reached mid-sentence, read to the end of that sentence.
- No additional penalties may be imposed as the rubric itself imposes penalties.
3.1 INVITATION CARD
An invitation to honour the elderly people
- The following aspects of format must be included:
- The name of the occasion
- Date, venue and time
- Type of function should be clear
- Language should be formal and suitable for the context.
- Full sentences are not necessary.
- Do not award marks for drawings and illustrations. [20]
3.2 DIARY ENTRY
The learner’s feelings before and after the interview
- There should be TWO entries.
- The entries should be written in the first person.
- Each entry must bear a date/time.
- The tone must be personal. [20]
3.3 INSTRUCTIONS
Instructions on protective measures against social networking crimes/cyber crime
- Instructions may be in point or paragraph form.
- Numbers or bullets may be used to indicate each new instruction.
- The language should be clear and instructive.
- Complete sentences are not necessary.
- Instructions should be logical. [20]
TOTAL SECTION C: 20
GRAND TOTAL: 100
SECTION A: RUBRIC FOR ASSESSING ESSAY – ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE [50 MARKS]
- Always use the rubric when marking the creative essay (Paper 3, SECTION A).
- The marks from 0–50 have been divided into 5 major level descriptors.
- In the Content, Language and Style criteria, each of the five level descriptors is divided into an upper and a lower level sub-category with the applicable mark range and descriptors.
- Structure is not affected by the upper level and lower level division.
ASSESSMENT RUBRIC FOR ESSAY – FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE [50 MARKS]
Criteria | | Exceptional | Skilful | Moderate | Elementary | Inadequate |
CONTENT & PLANNING (Response and ideas) Organisation of ideas for planning; Awareness of purpose, audience and context 30 MARKS | Upper level | 28–30 | 22–24 | 16–18 | 10–12 | 4–6 |
- Outstanding/Striking response beyond normal expectations
- Intelligent, thought-provoking and mature ideas
- Exceptionally well organised and coherent, including introduction, body and conclusion
| - Very well-crafted response
- Fully relevant and interesting ideas with evidence of maturity
- Very well organised and coherent, including
introduction, body and conclusion
| - Satisfactory response -Ideas are reasonably coherent and convincing
- Reasonably organised and coherent, including introduction, body and conclusion
| - Inconsistently coherent response
- Unclear ideas and unoriginal
- Little evidence of organisation and coherence
| - Totally irrelevant response
- Confused and unfocused ideas
- Vague and repetitive
- Unorganised and incoherent
|
Lower level | 25–27 | 19–21 | 13–15 | 7–9 | 0–3 |
- Excellent response but lacks the exceptionally striking qualities of the outstanding essay
- Mature and intelligent ideas
- Skilfully organised and coherent, including introduction, body and conclusion
| - Well-crafted response
- Relevant and interesting ideas
- Well organised and coherent, including
introduction, body and conclusion
| - Satisfactory response but some lapses in clarity
- Ideas are fairly coherent and convincing
- Some degree of organisation and coherence, including introduction, body and conclusion
| - Largely irrelevant response
- Ideas tend to be disconnected and confusing
- Hardly any evidence of organisation and coherence
| - No attempt to respond to the topicCompletely irrelevant and inappropriate
- Unfocused and muddled
|
LANGUAGE, STYLE & EDITING Tone, register, style, vocabulary appropriate to purpose/effect and context; Word choice; Language use and conventions, punctuation, grammar, spelling 15 MARKS | Upper level | 14–15 | 11–12 | 8–9 | 5–6 | 0-3 |
- Tone, register, style and vocabulary highly appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Exceptionally impressive use of language,
- Compelling and rhetorically effective in tone
- Virtually error-free in grammar and spelling
- Very skilfully crafted
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary very appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Language is effective and a consistently appropriate tone is used
- Largely error-free in grammar and spelling
- Very well crafted
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Appropriate use of language to convey meaning
- Rhetorical devices used to enhance content
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary less appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Very basic use of language
- Diction is inappropriate
- Very limited vocabulary
| - Language incomprehensible
- Tone, register, style and vocabulary not appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Vocabulary limitations so extreme as to make comprehension impossible
|
Lower level | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | |
- Language excellent and rhetorically effective in tone
- Virtually error-free in grammar and spelling
- Skilfully crafted
| - Language engaging and generally effective
- Appropriate and effective tone
- Few errors in grammar and spelling
- Well-crafted
| - Adequate use of language with some inconsistencies
- Tone generally appropriate and limited use of rhetorical devices
| - Inadequate use of language
- Little or no variety in sentences
- Exceptionally limited vocabulary
| |
STRUCTURE Features of text; Paragraph development and sentence construction 5 MARKS | | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0-1 |
- Excellent development of topic
- Exceptional detail
- Sentences, paragraphs exceptionally well-constructed
| - Logical development of details
- Coherent
- Sentences, paragraphs logical, varied
| - Relevant details developed
- Sentences, paragraphs well-constructed
- Essay still makes sense
| - Some valid points
- Sentences and paragraphs faulty
- Essay still makes some sense
| - Necessary point lacking
- Sentences an paragraphs faulty
|
SECTION B: ASSESSMENT RUBRIC FOR LONGER TRANSACTIONAL TEXT – FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE [30 MARKS]
Criteria | Exceptional | Skilful | Moderate | Elementary | Inadequate |
CONTENT, PLANNING & FORMAT Response and ideas; Organisation of ideas for planning; Purpose, audience, features/conventions and context 18MARKS | 15-18 | 11-14 | 8-10 | 5-7 | 0-4 |
- Outstanding response beyond normal expectations
- Intelligent and mature ideas
- xtensive knowledge of features of the type of text
- Writing maintains focus
- Coherence in content and ideas
- Highly elaborated and all details support the topic
- Appropriate and accurate format
| - Very good response demonstrating good knowledge of features of the type of text
- Maintains focus – no digressions
- Coherent in content and ideas, very well elaborated and details support topic
- Appropriate format with minor inaccuracies
| - Adequate response demonstrating knowledge of features of the type of text
- Not completely focused – some digressions
- Reasonably coherent in content and ideas
- Some details support the topic
- Generally appropriate format but with some inaccuracies
| - Basic response demonstrating some knowledge of features of the type of text
- Some focus but writing digresses
- Not always coherent in content and ideas Few details support the topic
- Has vaguely applied necessary rules of format
- Some critical oversights
| - Response reveals no knowledge of features of the type of text
- Meaning is obscure with major digressions
- Not coherent in content and ideas
- Very few details support the topic
- Has not applied necessary rules of format
|
LANGUAGE, STYLE & EDITING Tone, register, style, purpose/effect, audience and context; Language use and conventions; Word choice; Punctuation and spelling 12 MARKS | 10-12 | 8-9 | 6-7 | 4-5 | 0–3 |
- Tone, register, style and vocabulary highly appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Grammatically accurate and well-constructed
- Virtually error-free
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary very appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Generally grammatically accurate and well-constructed
- Very good vocabulary
- Mostly free of errors
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Some grammatical errors
- Adequate vocabulary
- Errors do not impede meaning
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary less appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Inaccurate grammar with numerous errors
- Limited vocabulary
- Meaning obscured
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary do not correspond to purpose, audience and context
- Error-ridden and confused
- Vocabulary not suitable for purpose
- Meaning seriously impaired
|
MARK RANGE | 25-30 | 19-23 | 14-17 | 9-12 | 0-7 |
SECTION C: ASSESSMENT RUBRIC FOR SHORTER TRANSACTIONAL TEXT – FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE [20 MARKS]
Criteria | Exceptional | Skilful | Moderate | Elementary | Inadequate |
CONTENT, PLANNING & FORMAT Response and ideas; Organisation of ideas for planning; Purpose, audience, features/conventions and context 12MARKS | 10-12 | 8-9 | 6-7 | 4-5 | 0-3 |
- Outstanding response beyond normal expectations
- Intelligent and mature ideas
- Extensive knowledge of features of the type of text
- Writing maintains focus
- Coherence in content and ideas
- Highly elaborated and all details support the topic
- Appropriate and accurate format
| - Very good response demonstrating good knowledge of features of the type of text
- Maintains focus – no digressions
- Coherent in content and ideas, very well elaborated and details support topic
- Appropriate format with minor inaccuracies
| - Adequate response demonstrating knowledge of features of the type of text
- Not completely focused – some digressions
- Reasonably coherent in content and ideas
- Some details support the topic
- Generally appropriate format but with some inaccuracies
| - Basic response demonstrating some knowledge of features of the type of text
- Some focus but writing digresses
- Not always coherent in content and ideas Few details support the topic
- Has vaguely applied necessary rules of format
- Some critical oversights
| - Response reveals no knowledge of features of the type of text
- Meaning is obscure with major digressions
- Not coherent in content and ideas
- Very few details support the topic
- Has not applied necessary rules of format
|
LANGUAGE, STYLE & EDITING Tone, register, style, purpose/effect, audience and context; Language use and conventions; Word choice; Punctuation and spelling 8 MARKS | 7-8 | 5-6 | 4 | 3 | 0–2 |
- Tone, register, style and vocabulary highly appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Grammatically accurate and well-constructed
- Virtually error-free
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary very appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Generally grammatically accurate and well-constructed
- Very good vocabulary
- Mostly free of errors
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Some grammatical errors
- Adequate vocabulary
- Errors do not impede meaning
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary less appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Inaccurate grammar with numerous errors
- Limited vocabulary
- Meaning obscured
| - Tone, register, style and vocabulary do not correspond to purpose, audience and context
- Error-ridden and confused
- Vocabulary not suitable for purpose
- Meaning seriously impaired
|
MARK RANGE | 17-20 | 13-15 | 10-11 | 7-8 | 0-5 |