SEC.5 - MELS EXAM

Secondary 4-Enriched English

The competencies

• The MELS exam evaluates competencies 1 and 3 (Interacting orally in English and Writing and producing texts.)• Competency 2 (reinvesting understanding of

texts) will comprise of some of the evaluations you completed for Much Ado About Nothing and most of the evaluations you completed for Of Mice and Men.

The dates

• The C1 evaluation takes place at the end of May. You will be pulled out of class, in teams of four, and you will have to discuss a given topic.• The C3 evaluation takes place on June

5th, 2013 from 9:00-11:00 (2 hours)

The preparation

• You will get a preparation booklet, a few days before the oral evaluation. It will contain texts and questions that will help you prepare for the exam.• This booklet must be filled out but it

will not be evaluated.

The speaking evaluation

The written production

• Your written production will be an opinion text.• The MELS requests a word-count of 225

words.• You may produce a longer text but any

text shorter than the minimum word-count of 225 is an automatic fail.

The opinion text – the structure

The introduction:

Starts with a general statement to bring up the topic.

States the problematic situation.

States the writer’s opinion (thesis statement).

States the aspects on which the writer will base his/her arguments. – OPTIONAL IN A SHORTER TEXT

The body:

Each argument must be supported by facts and/or details (based on the articles in the preparation booklet OR based on other RELEVANT facts or examples), reasons, arguments, examples and personal experience.

The body should have one or two paragraphs (one per argument) depending on length of text.

The conclusion:

In the conclusion, the writer should sum up his/her main reasons for his/her opinion.

The writer can also finish with one last argument to strengthen his/her point. This last argument does not need to be supported like in the body of the text (the argument should be strong enough to stand on its own).

The written production – Opinion text

The practice

Read the following article:

The practice

• In pairs, write a strong introduction paragraph on the following topic:

Based on recent young drivers statistics, should the government impose an 11 o’clock driving curfew for drivers aged 16 to 24?

The practice

• Finish the text individually (body and conclusion).

Based on recent young drivers statistics, should the government impose an 11 o’clock driving curfew for drivers aged 16 to 24?