Writing a WT1 rationale, from the guide

Although the rational is only awarded a small part of the overall marks, it is in fact far more important than this! It is your chance to point the examiner towards what you have done well: why your written task is a good one. For this you need to consider the mark scheme  and how you have fulfilled it.

Here is what the assessment crit says about the rationale (I have clarified some things in black and within brackets):

The task, not including the rationale, must be 800–1,000 words in length. The rationale should be 200–300 words in length. If the word limit is exceeded, the assessment of the combined task and rationale will be based on the first 1,300 words.

The rationale is not included in the word count (800–1,000 words) for the written task and should be 200–300 words in length. Text titles or topics recorded on the rationale are expected to match those recorded on the coversheet.

In their rationale students must explain:

• how the content of the task is linked to a particular part of the course (Part 1, 2, 3, or 4)

• how the task is intended to explore particular aspects of the course (From the learning objectives for a part of the course)

• the nature of the task chosen (Content and how it follows the conventions of the text)

• information about audience, purpose and the varying contexts in which the task is set.

The rationale should not only include knowledge about the text or topic studied, but also about the formal conventions of the text type produced and how they relate to the aims of the task.

 

And then Brad (Brad, Brad, he’s our man, if he can’t do it, none can!) also says the following:

Although the rationale only counts for 2 of the 20 marks for the written task, the success of your written task largely depends on it.  On this page, we suggest which points to include in a rational. In the activity you find a written task that lacks a rationale. Use the list of points below to write a rationale for the task.

Be sure to include

• The rationale must be between 200-300 words.
• The purpose of writing a rationale is to place your written task 1 in a particular context, so that the examiner understands its aims better.
• This is best achieved by explaining the task’s purpose and target audience.
• You will have to explain your choice of text type.
• Explain the connection between the task and your course content, i.e. topic or literary text.