·How Writing is scored
Aptis General, Writing: what scores and how to split your time. It is fifty minutes and four parts, and each one targets a different level. First, how it is scored. Then the recommended time split, the words for each task and what costs you the most marks. The facts come from the official British Council guide and the scoring descriptors; the advice is our reading.
1/4What scores in each part
Writing is scored holistically: the answer is marked as a whole for its language, grammar, vocabulary and cohesion features, and then the examiner decides whether the level holds up across the text. There is no official breakdown of marks by criterion: that is our own teaching approach. Each task targets a level. Part 1 targets A1 and is scored from zero to three. Part 2 targets A2, from zero to five. Part 3 targets B1, from zero to five. And Part 4 targets B2, from zero to six; it is the only one where a mark above B2 is possible.
2/4Splitting your time
The exam lasts fifty minutes and the guide recommends a time for each part. Part one, less than three minutes. Part two, less than seven. Part three, less than ten. And Part four gets the rest, that is, about thirty minutes. It is a sensible split because Part 4, with two emails, is the one that scores the most and the one that can give you C1. Do not spend that time on the first three. And a practical tip, which is our reading: if you finish one of the early parts ahead of time, do not just leave it, reread it, because the time you save here can be used later.
3/4How many words
Each task has its own word limit, and it pays to respect it. Part one: single words, one to five per answer; you do not write sentences. Part two: twenty to thirty words. Part three: three answers, thirty to forty words each. And part four: two emails, the informal one forty to fifty words and the formal one one hundred twenty to one hundred fifty. The most common mistake is in Part 2: going over thirty words and filling the text with errors. More words is not a better mark: every extra word is another chance to make a mistake.
4/4What costs you marks
The descriptors make it clear what loses the most. In Part 1, all that counts is whether the five answers can be understood: neither grammar nor spelling is assessed. In Part 3, the number of on-topic answers: three on topic, a four; two, a three; one, a one. In Part 2, writing a list of sentences with no linkers stays at a three; using some simple linker, a four. And in Part 4, failing to sustain the two registers: the informal one and the formal one must be clearly different within the same text. If you mix them, you drop.
·To practise
To practise, do a full Writing with the clock. Parts one, two and three within the recommended time, and leave the rest for Part four. Note down how long you take on each one and how many words you write, and check three things: whether you have answered everything, whether you have respected the limits and whether the two emails sound different. Afterwards you can get your feedback in the AptisBot bot.