The Successful Candidate
To pass the exam at any level, you need to score 60% of the total marks from all the tests taken, with a minimum of 40% in each individual test. That’s all you want to succeed. The most successful candidates may pass with Distinction, if they score 75% of the total marks, with a minimum of 60% in each test.
The Weight of a Test Score
- Most candidates choose the full exam with four tests, Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking, and the score for each of the four components is worth the same, no skill or test enjoys any special weight.
- The same is true for those candidates’ results, who decide - or manage - to take the Written exam (Reading+Writing) or the Spoken one (Listening+Speaking).
Objective Tasks
The majority of Reading and Listening tasks at all levels is based on correct vs. not correct answer system, where little debate can take place about the place of an X in a box. Very few tasks require you to write one or more words, and in such tasks it is the piece of information you must provide, and the language is less important. If the examiner finds the information needed, you will get the full point.
Marking Writing and Speaking Objectively
A grammatically and lexically well written sentence or paragraph may not necessarily communicate the intended message effectively, in the required styles, in the given context – similarly to the way language is used in real-life situations. This is the reason why the Euroexams developed its internationally recognised, task-oriented and global assessment system in line with global standards for the Writing and Speaking tests. Naturally, the exam preparation coursebooks and all the support materials, guides, tips reflect the same primary focus on communication.
Check the detailed Marking Schemes for both tests below. They present the examiners's expectations, thus help you during the practice and preparation process.
Euroexam Writing and Speaking Test Marking Schemes B1
Writing Level B1
In the case of Task One examiners work with a mark scheme, which focuses on Task Achievement, Grammatical Range and Accuracy and Lexical Range and Accuracy. For Task Two examiners use a mark scheme containing the following criteria: Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Grammatical Range and Accuracy and Lexical Range and Accuracy.
▶ Writing Marking Scheme Euroexam Level B1
Speaking Level B1
There will be one examiner in the exam room – the Interlocutor who is running the exam. Before the exam you have ten minutes preparation time in the preparation room. Here you receive your Mark Sheet and a Picture Sequence. You are allowed to use your non-electronic dictionary to prepare your story.
There are four main criteria in the speaking test at these levels: Range and Accuracy, Fluency and Coherence, Pronunciation and Communication Strategies. Twenty marks are given in total.