Writing MOT 2014

You will now be receiving your writing MOT that evaluates the skills you have shown in coursework drafts and classwork. Below are the criteria for accessing each grade so you can reference this as you work through your re-drafts.

The key academic language referenced in the vocabulary section is found here

Below E Grade

Spelling - Your work contains frequent errors in simple spelling.

Punctuation - You often use commas where you should use full stops and may miss out capital letters in proper nouns or at the beginning of sentences. 

Vocabulary - You mostly use informal language in your work. You are able to recognise and use fewer than 100 common academic words. 

Sentence Structures - Your sentences are rarely broken up with punctuation.

Devices - Your work sometimes contains adjectives / adverbs to add detail. 

Paragraphs - You often forget to paragraph.


Grammar - You write the way you would speak without modifying your work. You might use informal words like 'kinda' or 'gonna' and sometimes your work doesn't make grammatical sense 'leaving the house.'.

E Grade

Spelling - You make regular errors with simple words and often make mistakes with homophones such as 'their, there and there'.

Punctuation - You use simple punctuation in your work but often use commas where you should use full stops and may miss out capital letters in proper nouns or at the beginning of sentences. You may miss out question marks in questions.

Vocabulary - You use everyday words consistently but often use some informal language in your work. You are able to recognise and use 100 - 134 common academic words

Sentence Structures - Your sentences are mostly simple or compound and you don't always punctuate your longer sentences accurately. Your complex sentences mostly have subordinate clauses at the end of the sentence.

Devices - Your work will contain adjectives / adverbs to add detail. You do not use devices for effect.

Paragraphs - You break your work into even sized chunks of text without organising your work into paragraphs of similar topics. Paragraphs are often single sentences that need breaking up with punctuation.


Grammar- You write the way you would speak without modifying your work. You might use informal words like 'kinda' or 'gonna' and you often mix your tenses without meaning to.

D Grade

Spelling - You can spell most simple words correctly and sometimes make mistakes with homophones such as 'their, there and there'.

Punctuation - You use simple punctuation in your work but often use commas where you should use full stops and may miss out capital letters in proper nouns or at the beginning of sentences.

Vocabulary - You use everyday words consistently but don't always consider the effect of the words you use. You are able to recognise and use between 135 - 174 common academic words.

Sentence Structures - Your sentences are mostly accurate but you don't think about the effect of the sentences you choose. Your complex sentences mostly rely on subordinate clauses at the beginning of your sentences.

Devices - Your work will contain adjectives / adverbs for effect and you may use some similes / rhetorical questions. You do not use devices for effect.

Paragraphs - You break your work into logical blocks but these are not always correct.


Grammar - Your writing is mostly informal and you might make mistakes with agreement such as 'we was' instead of 'we were'.

C Grade

Spelling - Your spelling across all common words and words with increasingly complex patterns is accurate. When your spelling is incorrect it is close.

Punctuation - You use a range of punctuation accurately but have errors in your use of semi-colons, colons, dashes.

Vocabulary - You use everyday words consistently and use vocabulary to achieve effects. You are able to recognise and use 175 - 214 common academic words.

Sentence Structures - You write using a range of sentence types and lengths and strive to create effects with your use of sentences which you often achieve. You can create sentences with subordinate, adverbial and embedded clauses.

Devices - You understand which devices are appropriate for the purpose of your text and often use these for effect.

Paragraphs - Paragraphs have clear topic sentences and are split into logical blocks though not always accurately.

Grammar - Your writing is more formal. You are able to use the correct form of the verb for the subject of your sentence but often write in a colloquial way e.g. 'Any things identified will be removed.' rather than  'Any objects that are identified will be removed.'


'There was this man' rather than 'There was a man.'

B Grade

Spelling - Your spelling is always accurate including words with complex patterns. Your only errors are more unusual words.

Punctuation - You use a full range of punctuation in your work accurately and often for effect.

Vocabulary - You your vocabulary is always used for effect and you are using some more complex vocabulary. You are able to recognise and use 215 - 254 common academic words.

Sentence Structures - Your sentences structures are always accurate and mostly used for effect. You are able to use longer and shorter sentences to create tension / indicate tone. You are able to create complex compound sentences.

Devices - Your are able to use a range of devices and match these to the purpose of tasks to consistently create effects. You may use devices such as oxymoron, hyperbole, triadic structure confidently for effect.

Paragraphs - Paragraphs have clear topic sentences and are mostly accurate with attempts to vary length for effect.


Grammar - Your writing is formal and confident. You may make errors in nouns / verbs such as 'practice / practise' 'effect / affect' 'advice / advise'.

A Grade

Spelling - Your spelling is always accurate including words with complex patterns. You often spell unusual words accurately.

Punctuation - You use a full range of punctuation accurately and for effect.

Vocabulary - You are able to use a range of high level vocabulary for effect but the construction of the word might not be appropriate in the context of the sentence. You are able to recognise and use 255 - 299 common academic words.

Sentence Structures - Your sentences are well chosen, varied and used for specific effects. You are able to develop multi-clause complex compound sentences.

Devices - Your work will contains a range of more sophisticated devices that are appropriate to the purpose of the task. These may include extended metaphors, semantic field and paradox.

Paragraphs - Paragraphs are always accurate with clearly signaled arguments and variation in length for effect. You may use your paragraphs to juxtapose content.


Grammar - Your writing is always in a formal tone. You may make mistakes such as 'could of' instead of 'could have' or mix up fewer and less.

A* Grade

Spelling - Your spelling is always accurate including high level sophisticated vocabulary

Punctuation - You use a full range of punctuation accurately creating subtle / sophisticated effects.

Vocabulary - You are able to use a range of high level vocabulary for effect which is always used appropriately and for effect. You are able to recognise and use more than 300 common academic words.

Sentence Structures - Your sentences are well chosen, varied and used for specific effects. You are able to create multi clause complex compound sentences. You achieve sophisticated effects with the construction of your sentences often juxtaposing ideas or using structural devices such as anaphora or parison.

Devices - Your work will contains a range of more sophisticated devices that are appropriate to the purpose of the task. These may include extended metaphors, semantic field and paradox. You are able to subtly vary the tone of your work with your choices.

Paragraphs - Paragraphs are always accurate with clearly signaled arguments, variation in length and juxtaposition of paragraphs for deliberate effect.


Grammar - Your are able to write effectively in a formal register but have the ability to use an informal register to vary tone and pathos for sophisticated effects.