How do you secure the technical accuracy marks and the proofreading task in WJEC writing?
Technical accuracy and proofreading: using accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar and a range of vocabulary and sentence structures, and completing the proofreading task, for half the writing marks (AO6).
How to secure the technical accuracy marks in WJEC GCSE English Language writing: using accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, a range of vocabulary and sentence structures, and completing the Unit 2 proofreading task, for half the writing marks (AO6).
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What this dot point is asking
In each WJEC writing section, half the marks reward technical accuracy (AO6): spelling, punctuation, grammar, and a range of vocabulary and sentence structures. Unit 2 also includes a short proofreading task focused on accuracy. This dot point covers securing that half across your writing and in the proofreading task.
Accuracy is half the writing mark
The accuracy half is worth as much as the ideas, so it deserves real attention and time.
Punctuate and spell accurately
Accuracy covers the full range of punctuation and spelling, not just the obvious.
Use a range of vocabulary and sentences
AO6 also rewards range: varied, ambitious vocabulary and varied sentence structures.
Reach for precise, ambitious words, but only ones you can spell and use correctly; a misused long word costs more than a plain correct one. Vary sentence length and openings, mixing short emphatic sentences with longer developed ones, to show control.
Proofread systematically
Proofreading recovers accuracy marks, both in your own writing and in the Unit 2 proofreading task. The reason a systematic sweep works better than a single read is that different error types hide from each other: when you are checking spelling, you skim past a missing comma, and when you are checking sense, you skim past a misspelling. Reading once for each type, spelling, then punctuation, then grammar and sentence boundaries, catches far more than one nervous read-through. The same discipline applies to the planted errors in the proofreading task, where the marks come from spotting the punctuation and grammar slips, not just the obvious spelling ones.
How technical accuracy is marked
Technical accuracy is half the mark on every writing task, set against communication and organisation as the other half, and it is also the focus of the short proofreading task in Unit 2. The examiners reward accuracy sustained across the whole piece, not just a clean opening, together with a genuine range of vocabulary and sentence structures. This is why ambition must be matched to control: a varied, accurate piece scores, but a misused long word or an over-reached sentence costs more than a plain correct one. The two habits that secure the mark are writing with control as you go, punctuating and varying sentences deliberately, and reserving a few minutes at the end to proofread systematically. Both are entirely within your control, which makes accuracy one of the most recoverable parts of the writing mark.
Try this
Q1. What does AO6 reward in writing? [3 marks]
- Cue. Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, and a range of vocabulary and sentence structures.
Q2. Why should you reserve time to proofread? [2 marks]
- Cue. Accuracy is half the writing mark, so proofreading directly recovers marks that errors would cost.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC Unit 220 marksWhat does the 'writing accurately' half of the writing marks reward, and how do you secure it?Show worked answer →
Half the writing marks reward technical accuracy (AO6): spelling, punctuation, grammar, and a range of vocabulary and sentence structures.
Secure it by writing in controlled, varied sentences, punctuating accurately (including apostrophes, commas and full stops), choosing ambitious but correct vocabulary, and reserving time to proofread. Accuracy across the whole piece, not just the opening, is what scores.
Markers reward sustained accuracy and range; a piece that starts well but grows careless, or uses only simple sentences and basic words, loses this half.
WJEC Unit 28 marksThere is a proofreading task in the writing section. How should you approach it?Show worked answer →
The Unit 2 proofreading task focuses on writing accurately (AO6) by having you find and correct errors in a short piece.
Read carefully and systematically, checking spelling, punctuation (apostrophes, commas, capitals, full stops) and grammar (agreement, tense, sentence boundaries). Correct the genuine errors precisely, without rewriting good sentences.
The trap is rushing and catching only obvious spelling slips while missing punctuation and grammar errors that also carry marks.
Related dot points
- Communication and organisation: communicating clearly and imaginatively and organising writing with paragraphing, cohesion and structure across the writing tasks, for half the writing marks (AO5).
How to score for communication and organisation in the WJEC GCSE English Language writing tasks: communicating clearly and imaginatively, organising ideas with planning, paragraphing, cohesion and structure, and shaping openings and endings, for half the writing marks (AO5).
- Matching form, purpose and audience: adapting tone, style, register and conventions to the form, purpose and audience set in the writing tasks (AO5).
How to match form, purpose and audience in the WJEC GCSE English Language writing tasks: reading the task for its form, purpose and audience, and adapting tone, style, register and conventions to suit a letter, article, speech, report or review (AO5).
- Editing at word, sentence and text level: demonstrating understanding of a short text by correcting and improving it for accuracy and clarity in the editing task (AO4).
How to tackle the WJEC GCSE English Language editing task in Unit 2: demonstrating understanding of a short text at word, sentence and text level by correcting spelling, punctuation and grammar and improving clarity for accuracy marks (AO4).
- Description writing: crafting vivid descriptive writing of setting, atmosphere and detail for the Unit 2 writing task, controlling imagery, the senses and structure for effect (AO5 and AO6).
How to write a top-band descriptive piece for the WJEC GCSE English Language Unit 2 writing task: building vivid setting, atmosphere and sensory detail, controlling imagery and structure for effect, and matching the writing to purpose and audience (AO5 and AO6).
- Argumentation writing: constructing a reasoned, balanced argument on an issue for the Unit 3 writing task, using logical structure, evidence and counter-argument, written accurately (AO5 and AO6).
How to write a reasoned argument for the WJEC GCSE English Language Unit 3 writing task: building a logical, balanced case on an issue, using evidence and counter-argument, reaching a clear position, and writing accurately for purpose and audience (AO5 and AO6).
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCSE English Language (3700) specification (Wales) — WJEC (2015)