Teaching Resources > BEC > BEC Higher > Writing > Checking Advice for Students

Activities List

Checking Advice for Students

When marking the BEC Higher Writing exam, examiners will read each piece of writing twice, focusing on different aspects each time they read. In preparing for the exam YOU can do this too.

First check

Look at the text as a whole:

• Does it look like a piece of business correspondence, a report or a proposal?
  
  
• Does it look well organised?
  
  
• Can you read it?

Read your writing to yourself.

Ask yourself:

• Is it easy to read?
  
  
• Is the information in a logical order?
  
  
• Have you included all the necessary information?
  
  
• Have you included any unnecessary information?
  
  
• Is the style consistent?
  
  
• Is there an introduction and a conclusion?
  
  
• Have you divided your writing into clear paragraphs?

Second check

Check your grammar

• Are the tenses consistently used?
  
  
• Are all the sentences complete?
  
  
• Do the verbs and their subjects agree?
  
  
• Do sentences and clauses link together?

Check your vocabulary

• Make sure you haven't used a mixture of formal and informal words.
  
  
• Have you used business vocabulary?
  
  
• Make sure you are not using the same words or phrases again and again.

Check your spelling

• Check for words you usually misspell.
  
  
• Check your punctuation.
  
  
• Do all sentences and proper nouns start with a capital letter?
  
  
• Does each sentence end with the correct punctuation?
  
  
• Are there too many commas?

Checking and editing: the key points

Check each piece of written work twice.