This is completely imaginary blah blah blah.
Hi Pete,
Thanks for agreeing to write the official practice exams for the Test Of English Within Academic, Research, and Technical Settings (TOEWARTS), 2025 specification.
As you know, endorsed exam practice resources like these are big sellers… for about two weeks, until someone adds pirated versions to Z-lib, Libgen or Scribd. We hope you enjoy working on this project, and that you look forward to ranting in online author forums upon discovering that a pirated pdf of your work is doing the rounds.
Authoring of the 24 practice exam papers will start next week (w/c 19th August). Remember that your writing must follow the guidelines outlined in the 2025 final test specification as closely as possible.
The 2025 test specification is currently in the early draft stages. The final test specification from the exams team should be available by 7th November.
Happy writing!
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Thanks for the email. I just wanted to check something before we get started.
You mentioned that the writing will start next week. However, the final test specification is not available until November. How will I know what to include in each practice paper without having a clear test spec?
Hi Pete,
Yes, that may prove tricky. Don’t worry, a first draft of the 2025 test spec is attached – hot off the press! This should make things clearer!
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
The doc you attached, titled ‘TOEWARTS Specification 2025’, looks a bit sparse. There’s the title, then subheadings for each of the four skills. Under each subheading it just reads ‘TBC’.
Pete
Hi Pete
That’s right. The exams team are working on the test specification as we speak. Final deadline: November 7.
Bruce
Hi,
I get that the test spec is a work in progress. However, there is literally nothing in the first draft. What exactly should I include in each practice paper?!
Pete
Hi Pete,
I can see your predicament. My apologies. It is clear that more guidance is needed. I have a meeting with the exams team in two weeks time and I will push for further guidance from them. In the meantime, just stick to the dates on the deliverables doc as best you can.
Bruce
Hi,
The date to submit paper 1 and 2 first drafts is the end of w/c 19th August. When exactly is your meeting with the exams team?
Pete
We are meeting on August 27. Fingers crossed for some guidance from them.
B
(28 August)
Hi Pete,
Great news! I met with the exams team yesterday. Lovely bunch.
The team were unable to make any big decisions regarding the test spec during the meeting, as there were four team members away at an exams conference. That just left Mike (Senior TOEWARTS examiner), Graham (TOEWARTS owner), and I. Nevertheless, I’ve managed to get some further guidance for you:
MCQ tasks
The exams team can confirm that multiple choice questions will feature in the new test specification. There was a long debate between Mike and Graham about whether we should include three or four possible options for each test item. The debate spilled over into the bar afterwards. We were close to a decision, until Mike and Graham started arguing about something called a discrimination index. I lost interest as both the big screen football and the fruit machine in the bar were distractors.
No further discussions were had once Mike stormed out of the bar after Graham said he no longer considered them ‘EAQUALS’.
In short: please do use MCQ tasks in your practice papers. Only include one MC task in each, but hold fire re: the number of options.
Happy writing!
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
It’s a shame I couldn’t attend that post-work meetup myself. Sounds riveting.
So, the entire guidance from the exams team at this stage is ‘include MC tasks, with caveats’? Okay, I’ll try my best to work with that.
Just out of interest, do you know when there might be further guidance from the exams team?
Pete
Hi Pete,
The exams team are planning to meet again in October. In the meantime, just stick to the dates on the deliverables doc as best you can.
Hi Pete,
Just a quick update. Mike has now left the exams team after it was revealed that item number 3 on one of his placement tests actually had a facility index of 12. A huge shock, I think you’ll agree. Therefore, I can confirm that you can go with Graham’s preference of using four multiple choice options.
WBW
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Terrible news.
While you’re there, a quick question. Do you think this item might work in a practice paper?
Q: Working in an exams team for a publisher sounds about as fun as…
a) plucking my eyes out with a fork
b) replacing my eyeballs and repeating option a)
c) watching live Olympic dressage
Hi Pete,
Yes, with some formatting that would be a solid item – assuming that multiple choice sentence completion is approved by the exams team. Remember – you need four possible options.
The next exams team meeting will be covered on our expenses. Would you like to attend?
B
Hi Bruce,
Could the expenses stretch to 20 quid for the fruit machine?
P.
Categories: General, materials writing
ELT Planning 
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