This post explains the system you’re being marked by, which is crucial for maximising your final English mark. The DBE’s own marking guidelines (issued to every marker before marking begins) reveal exactly what separates a 3/3 from a 1/3 — and it isn’t about having the ‘right’ idea. Here is what markers are explicitly instructed to do:
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Marking is holistic, not a checklist of magic words
The guidelines tell markers your response must be ‘considered on merit’ and assessed ‘holistically’ — meaning a well-argued answer in your own words, even if phrased differently from the memo, earns full marks. This is good news: you are not hunting for one exact sentence. But it cuts both ways — a vague answer that merely echoes the question back will not earn marks just because it’s ‘on topic’.
The single biggest silent killer: lifting
‘Lifting’ means copying words or phrases straight from the passage instead of expressing the idea in your own words. The marking guidelines are explicit that a lifted answer is capped — even when the content is completely correct, a purely lifted response earns only partial credit (often just 1 mark on a 2-mark question), never full marks. If a 2-mark question asks for two reasons and you copy both reasons word-for-word from the text, you are instructed by the memo’s own rule to be marked down. This is worth internalising: full marks requires proof that you understood the text, not proof that you found the right lines.
Zero-credit answers: yes/no, true/false, agree/disagree — alone
For any open-ended question (‘Do you think…’, ‘Do you agree…’), the guidelines state explicitly that no marks are awarded for the YES/NO or AGREE/DISAGREE itself. The entire mark allocation sits in the motivation that follows. Candidates who write ‘No, I do not agree’ and stop, or who under-develop the justification, lose every mark on that question regardless of which side they chose.
‘Award marks only if…’ — the phrase that decides everything
Scan any real marking guideline and you’ll see this instruction attached to almost every 3-mark question: ‘Award 3 marks only if a comment/discussion/critical discussion is included.’ This means naming the correct technique or idea is worth nothing on its own — full marks are reserved for candidates who explain the effect, significance, or reasoning behind it. This single rule is why so many technically-correct answers still lose marks: identification without explanation is treated as an incomplete answer, not a correct one.
Language errors are not usually the problem
Markers are instructed not to penalise spelling or language errors in comprehension answers unless the error changes the meaning of the answer. This means the marks you lose are almost never about handwriting or grammar — they are about precision of thought and whether you answered in your own words, at the depth the mark allocation demands.
The real formula markers are using
Full marks = correct idea + your own words (not lifted) + explained/developed to the depth the mark value demands.
Partial marks = correct idea, but lifted, OR under-explained, OR only one idea where two/three were required.
Zero marks = a stance (yes/no/agree) with no reasoning, OR an answer that doesn’t address the specific paragraph/line referenced in the question.
