Assessment Criteria
Your group is recorded and graded on four equally-weighted domains. Each is marked on a 6-band scale (0 = absent, 6 = excellent). Read this page once, then revisit it every time you practise — these are the only words the examiner will be ticking on the rubric.
The four domains
| # | Domain | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| I | Pronunciation & Delivery | Voice, clarity, stress, intonation, pace, audibility |
| II | Communication Strategies | Listening, responding, turn-taking, inviting, paraphrasing |
| III | Vocabulary & Language Patterns | Range, accuracy, varied structures, self-correction |
| IV | Ideas & Organisation | Depth, relevance, examples, logical sequence (P.E.E.L) |
The four scores are then added and converted into your SBA mark for this task.
I. Pronunciation & Delivery
What full marks looks like
"A wide range of pronunciation features used accurately and effectively. Voice is clear, well-paced and expressive. Stress and intonation support meaning."
Concrete behaviours
- ✅ Pronounce character names correctly: Macbeth (mək-BETH), Banquo (BANG-kwoh), Mercutio (mer-KYOO-shee-oh), Portia (POR-shə), Shylock (SHY-lock), Bassanio (bə-SAH-nee-oh).
- ✅ Stress the content word in a sentence: "Macbeth was driven by AMBITION, not by FATE."
- ✅ Use rising intonation for questions, falling for statements.
- ✅ Pause between ideas (not in the middle of sentences).
What loses you marks
- ❌ Mumbling, looking down at notes the whole time.
- ❌ Speaking in a single flat monotone.
- ❌ Mispronouncing names (especially repeating the wrong pronunciation).
- ❌ Speaking too softly to be picked up by the recorder.
Quick fix (today)
Use Word's "Read Aloud" feature, or PDF's text-to-speech, on the three story names and your top 10 vocabulary words. Listen twice, then repeat after.
→ Full deep dive: Pronunciation & Delivery
II. Communication Strategies
What full marks looks like
"Listens attentively, responds naturally, builds on others' ideas, paraphrases sensitively, and invites quieter members into the discussion."
Concrete behaviours
- ✅ Acknowledge before adding: "I really like your point about Macbeth's guilt, Aisha…"
- ✅ Build: "…and I'd add that the guilt actually shows he still has a conscience."
- ✅ Paraphrase: "So you're saying Romeo acts impulsively — yes, exactly, and I think…"
- ✅ Invite: "Wai-Ming, you've been listening — what do you think?"
- ✅ Concede politely: "That's a really good point — I hadn't thought of it that way."
What loses you marks
- ❌ Long monologues with no eye contact.
- ❌ "I agree." (full stop — no extension).
- ❌ Cutting people off.
- ❌ Talking about a groupmate instead of to them ("She said something about…" instead of "You said…").
Mock-SBA observation (from the Midsummer Night's Dream feedback)
Student B's response is what examiners want to hear: "I agree! They really didn't have a choice because of that scary law in Athens. Running into the woods shows how much they trust each other. They didn't just give up; they took a huge risk to protect their love."
Notice the formula: agreement → reason → extension → reframing.
→ Full deep dive: Communication Strategies
III. Vocabulary & Language Patterns
What full marks looks like
"A wide range of vocabulary used appropriately; varied and accurate language patterns; able to self-correct errors that occur."
Concrete behaviours
- ✅ Theme vocabulary (ambition, fate, remorse, mercy, justice, prejudice, loyalty, betrayal).
- ✅ Synonyms instead of repetition: don't say "bad" 5 times — try cruel, malicious, ruthless, immoral, tragic.
- ✅ Varied sentence openers: not every sentence starts with "I think". Use "From my perspective…", "What strikes me is…", "It seems to me that…", "Personally, I'd argue…".
- ✅ Hedging to sound mature: "It could be argued that…", "Perhaps…", "To some extent…".
- ✅ Self-correction: "Macbeth was killed by Macduff — sorry, I mean, defeated by Macduff."
What loses you marks
- ❌ Repeating "things", "stuff", "very" 20 times.
- ❌ Using only present simple tense.
- ❌ Errors that stop the listener from understanding (a minor slip is OK; a confusing sentence is not).
- ❌ Reading from notes (drops you to 3) or reading the whole answer (drops you to 2) — the rubric says so explicitly.
Quick wins (memorise 10 of these)
| Theme | Power words |
|---|---|
| Ambition / desire | aspiration, drive, hunger, obsession, ruthlessness |
| Guilt / regret | remorse, conscience, haunted, tormented, repentance |
| Love | infatuation, devotion, passion, longing, doomed |
| Justice / mercy | impartial, lenient, compassionate, retribution, fair |
| Conflict | feud, rivalry, animosity, betrayal, reconciliation |
→ Full deep dive: Vocabulary & Language
IV. Ideas & Organisation
What full marks looks like
"Ideas are insightful, well-developed and reflectively linked to the world beyond the text. Organised using P.E.E.L or equivalent structure."
The P.E.E.L formula (memorise this!)
Point → Explanation → Example → Link
Example (Mock SBA on parental control in Midsummer):
| Step | Sample line |
|---|---|
| Point | "Another crucial message is that parents shouldn't force their children into choices they don't want." |
| Explanation | "When parents give zero freedom, it causes anxiety and rebellion." |
| Example | "Hermia's father uses a cruel law to force her to marry Demetrius — she has to run away at night." |
| Link | "This is exactly like Hong Kong teenagers today pressured into specific university degrees. Parents who force don't gain respect — they lose trust." |
What loses you marks
- ❌ "Plot summary" answers: "First Macbeth meets witches, then he kills the king, then…"
- ❌ Repeating the question.
- ❌ Generic statements ("Love is important.") with no example.
- ❌ Examples that are inaccurate (e.g. saying Lady Macbeth killed Duncan herself — she didn't).
- ❌ No Link — the most common mistake. Always ask: "So what? Why does it matter today?"
Score booster: "Reflective links"
These are the sentences that push you from 4 to 5–6:
- "This is exactly like Hong Kong students today pressured into…"
- "We can see the same dynamic in modern social media when…"
- "If Shakespeare wrote this play in 2026, he might set it in…"
- "What strikes me is that 400 years later, humans haven't changed much…"
→ Full deep dive: Ideas & Organisation and P.E.E.L Framework
The mark band shortcut
| Mark | Pronunciation | Communication | Vocabulary | Ideas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Wide range, accurate, expressive | Listens attentively, builds, invites | Wide range, varied, self-corrects | Insightful, reflective links |
| 5 | Generally clear, mostly accurate | Responds appropriately, some building | Range with minor errors | Well-developed ideas |
| 4 | Sometimes unclear stress/intonation | Responds but rarely builds | Adequate, some repetition | Some development, weak links |
| 3 | Some mispronunciation, reads from notes | Mostly turn-taking, little listening | Limited range | Mostly plot summary |
| 2 | Hard to follow, wholly from notes | Doesn't respond to others | Very basic | Off-topic / incoherent |
| 1 | Largely unintelligible | Doesn't engage | Almost no English range | Almost no relevant ideas |
| 0 | Did not attempt | — | — | — |
The single biggest drop-off is reading from notes in Vocabulary/Language. Bullets only, please.
Self-evaluation checklist (use after every practice)
- [ ] Did I pronounce character names correctly?
- [ ] Did I respond to what my groupmate said (not just say "I agree")?
- [ ] Did I use at least 5 theme-specific vocabulary words?
- [ ] Did I structure at least one answer with full P.E.E.L?
- [ ] Did I make at least one Link to modern life?
- [ ] Did I keep eye contact and put the notecard down for >50% of the time?
- [ ] Did I invite a quieter groupmate at least once?
Tick all 7 → you're at 5+ across the board.