Clarification details
Updated December 2019. This document addresses issues that have arisen from moderation.
Dictionary use (Guidance Information 8)
Learners may use a bilingual and/or a monolingual English dictionary, but not electronic devices, to help them read and understand the written texts. Monolingual dictionaries should be those designed for English language learners at level 3.
Abridged extended written texts (Guidance Information 11v)
Abridged versions of extended written texts could include graded readers used in an extensive reading programme. These are graded by vocabulary level. Readers with a vocabulary level of around 1800 – 2100 headwords would be appropriate for this level 3 standard. See the Graded Reader Equivalence Chart on the Extensive Reading Foundation website for guidance.
Go to the Extensive Reading Foundation site (external link)
Vocabulary levels (Guidance Information 11(vi))
The vocabulary of the text must be guided by the first 2500 words of the New General Service List (NGSL).
New General Service List (external link)
This means that most of the words will be within the first 2500 high frequency words. However, it is expected that texts will also include specialised vocabulary and academic words, such as those in the New Academic Word List (NAWL).
New Academic Word List (external link)
Assessors may find the NGSL/NAWL Vocabulary Profiler or English Profile Text Inspector tools useful for analysing the vocabulary level of texts to confirm suitability.