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National 5 Spanish Writing

Hi everyone!

I and possibly many of you are sitting the Spanish exam in just over two weeks, and I also know that there are people who sat the exam in previous National 5 years who could offer advice.

Essentially, having gained full marks in my speaking assessment (30/30) I feel very optimistic in pursuing a good grade in Spanish this year.

However, there is something holding me back from taking a potential A into consideration, that being the Writing. The first four bullet points are absolutely no problem to me however what has worried me a lot is the last two unpredictable bullet points.

I'd love 16 or 20 in my writing as I typically don't do very well in listening assessments and so id like to ensure I give myself the best opportunity at succeeding greatly as possible.

What is worrying me is how to prepare for the possible bullet points. I don't know what to do and and I want to go into the exam feeling confident in writing up this job application.

Can anyone please help me and offer advice in how to prepare for the bullet points in the Spanish writing?

Thank you!

Reply 1

anonymousebonita

Hi, I am also doing national 5 spanish this year and I have been consistently getting full marks on my writing throughout the year.
I have a list of the 'unpredictable' bullet points (i.e. the last 2) from other modern languages past papers and a few my teacher has given me. I just write these points down as headings with the spanish underneath. I try to remember them as that is all you can really do. Hope this helped and goodluck!

Reply 2

_LD4444

I'm in the exact same position. The way I'm looking at it (based on previous questions) the most challenging unknown bullet points appear to ask about either:
Skill knowledge or previous experience.

So, if you learn a few set phrases you can give yourself a start

Soy - I am
Estoy - I am
Puedo - I can
Sé _______ muy bien - I know how to _______ very well
Tengo experiencia previa de... - I have previous experorience of...
Tengo buenos conocimientis de ... - I have good knowledge of
Tengo buenas destrezas de... - I have good ______ skills

then you think about the type of people they could ask you if you have experience of working with

con niños - with children
con el público - with the public
con los bebés - with babies
con los jóvenes - With young people
con personas mayores - older people

Then you can always go on to say "porque el verano pasado trabajé en un:"
Then think of some jobs
el jardín de infancia - pre-school/nursery
hotel - hotel
retaurante - restaurant
tienda de ropa - clothes shop
club de la juventud - youth club
residencia de ancianos - old folks home/ Nursing home

also, make sure to comment on your plans for accommodation
Voy a vivir (con mis abuelos en España cerca del centro de la ciudad) - I am going to live (with my grandparents in Spain near the centre of the city)

also, perhaps bear in mind why you want to work in the named place eg. Madrid

Cada año voy de vaccaciones con mi Familia a madrid y me encantan la cultura y el estilo de vida - Every year I go on holidays with my family to Madrid and I love the culture and lifestyle

Podré practicar y mejorar mis idiomas - I will be able to practice and improve my language

That's just some ideas
hope it helps :smile:

Reply 3

Louise O'Brien

First of all, read the unpredictables and think about what Spanish you know to do with that topic.

Second of all, remember you have a dictionary on the desk so you can use that to translate any words you need.

Third of all, remember it only needs to roughly 15-20 words, which is only about 2 sentences.

But finally, remember to ATTEMPT BOTH undpredictables becuase if you miss any of them out you will drop down from say 20 to 16

Best of luck tomorrow, I'm sitting the exam as well x

Reply 4

_Matthew01_

How did everyone find the exam? I felt the reading was quite challenging but I feel good about the writing! The listening was alright also.

Reply 5

bethanyharris

I found the reading reaaaaaally hard!! The writing was fairly simple though :smile:

Listening was pretty average

Reply 6

_Matthew01_

Original post by bethanyharris

I found the reading reaaaaaally hard!! The writing was fairly simple though :smile:

Listening was pretty average

That reading paper wasn't as easy as any of the model papers or past papers I had attempted. Hopefully I've done better than I thought.

Reply 7

_Matthew01_

Original post by anonymousebonita

How did you find the exam?

Reply 8

anonymousebonita

Original post by _Matthew01_

That reading paper wasn't as easy as any of the model papers or past papers I had attempted. Hopefully I've done better than I thought.

yeah the reading was really difficult!! did anyone else notice that there were no multiple choice boxes and the majority of the questions said "state 2 things" rather than "state ANY 2 things" ?

Reply 9

_Matthew01_

Original post by anonymousebonita

yeah the reading was really difficult!! did anyone else notice that there were no multiple choice boxes and the majority of the questions said "state 2 things" rather than "state ANY 2 things" ?