Guidelines for Writing your essay on the UNIcert II exam

What the examiners take account of ("Bewertungskriterien")

Acccording to the examination regulations, the following are to be assessed:

• Content (sachliche Richtigkeit)
• Language (sprachliche Richtigkeit)
• Appropriateness (Angemessenheit).

Please look at each of these carefully, because they are all important for the final mark.

More generally, there are certain formal requirements:

• Length: Your essay must be between 250 and 350 words. An essay which is shorter or longer will receive a lower grade. If the essay is significantly shorter, it will receive a grade of '5'.
• Paragraphs : The essay must contain contain clearly divided paragraphs. This is particularly important for structure: if the reader cannot see the paragraphs it is much harder to follow the logic and argument. Paragraphs must be indicated by indentation ("Einzug") or a full clear line space (an "empty line"). For more detail on paragraphs, see Content.
• Sentences: Only use complete sentences - this is usual in academic writing:
  -->  A complete sentence needs a verb: E.g."All of them" is incomplete.
  -->  A complete sentence needs a main clause ("Hauptsatz"):"Because this was not allowed" is incomplete because the main clause  is missing. "He never smoked in the classroom because this was not allowed." is a complete senten e.

For more details on the general requirements for the exam, you should read the Examination Regulations (Prüfungsordnung)