Duration: 1 hour
Weighting: 25%
Paper 1 is based on the five themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization, sharing the planet.

This examination is externally set and externally assessed. Paper 1 consists of two required tasks (task A and task B) of equal weighting. Each task addresses a variety of audiences, contexts and purposes. For each task, students will be presented with a choice from three options, each based on a different theme from the syllabus. Teachers and students should expect that one of the two tasks will require the production of a personal text and that the other task will require the production of a professional or mass media text. The “Texts” section of this guide offers examples of these types of texts.

Task A: Students write a response of 84-180 words to one of the three options shown, choosing a text type from the box provided for task A.

Task B: Students write a response of 84-180 words to one of the three options shown, choosing a text type from the box provided for task B.

In order to fulfill the requirements of this assessment component, students need to show, through their use of text type, register and style, that they understand the concepts of audience, context, purpose, meaning and variation.

Assessment criteria:

Criterion A: Language

How successfully does the candidate command written language?

Criterion B: Message

To what extend does the candidate fulfill the tasks?

Criterion C: Conceptual understanding

To what extend does this candidate demonstrate conceptual understanding?

Duration: 7–10 minutes
Weighting: 25%
The individual oral assessment is based on the course themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization, sharing the planet.

Assessment criteria:

Criterion A: Language

How successfully does the candidate command spoken language?