Unit 12 — Klausur: Composition and Comment

Track E · Klasse 12 · Niveau E (Basisfach / Leistungsfach)

Template: Activate → Input → Practise → Produce → Reflect.
Niveau: E. Klausur (assessment) at Niveau E (90 BE).
Course tagging: basic course (Basisfach, E-BF) and advanced course (Leistungsfach, E-LF).

Learning objectives Link to heading

  • I can complete a Klausur Composition section (~18 BE) — argument or creative response — under timed conditions.
  • I can complete a Klausur Mediation section (~30 BE) for a named English-speaking addressee.
  • I can manage time across the second half of the Klausur.

curriculum framework (“Bildungsplan”) alignment Link to heading

  • 3.4.1 / 3.5.1 Soziokulturelles Orientierungswissen / Themen
  • 3.4.3.5 / 3.5.3.5 Schreiben
  • 3.4.3.6 / 3.5.3.6 Sprachmittlung
  • 3.4.4 / 3.5.4 Text- und Medienkompetenz

(Sources: https://www.bildungsplaene-bw.de/,Lde/LS/BP2016BW/ALLG/GYM/E1/IK/11-12-LF / https://www.bildungsplaene-bw.de/,Lde/LS/BP2016BW/ALLG/GYM/E1/IK/11-12-BF)

Lead-in story Link to heading

Second of two Klausur-prep Units. Today’s focus: Composition + Mediation — the two sections most reliant on producing original text under time pressure. The class is using the same source as Unit 11 to build a complete 90-BE Klausur experience across the two Units.

1. Activate Link to heading

Composition-vs.-Mediation budget scan. Of the remaining ~110 min, how do you split 18 BE (Composition) vs. 30 BE (“Mediation”)?

2. Input Link to heading

Composition section — pattern Link to heading

Typical Composition tasks:

  1. Discuss / comment — 250-300 words, your own argument grounded in the source.
  2. Creative response — letter, diary entry, speech: shifts genre but keeps the source’s argumentative weight.

Sprache check: clear thesis in first 2 sentences, evidence + counter, conclusion. Academic discourse markers + cleft + 1 integrated quote.

Mediation section — pattern Link to heading

Typical Mediation tasks:

  1. For a named English-speaking addressee, mediate the German source in ~250 words / 12-15 sentences.
  2. Sprache check: preserve hedges + modal nuance; drop ceremony; use 7+ reporting verbs; add cultural notes where needed.

Mediation is Inhalt-weighted but Sprache-checked. Both axes count.

3. Practise Link to heading

Niveau E — controlled Link to heading

  1. Match Composition task → likely word count: discuss / comment → 250-300 words; creative response → 250-300 words.
  2. T or F: Mediation rewards literal translation; Composition rewards original argument.

Niveau E — productive Link to heading

  1. Outline a 250-word Composition response to a comment on the writer’s central claim prompt.
Answer key

Controlled. 1. all true. 2. F (Mediation rewards addressee-fit + register, not literal translation), T.

Productive. 3. Open.

4. Produce Link to heading

Klausur sections, timed. 110 minutes total. 50 min Composition (18 BE) + 50 min Mediation (30 BE) + 10 min review. Submit. Class debriefs collectively with focus on production speed under time.

Sample Link to heading

(See Reflection on the rehearsal — the production task is the timed sections themselves.)

5. Reflect Link to heading

  • I can complete a Composition section under timed conditions.
  • I can complete a Mediation section for a named addressee.
  • I can manage time across the second half of the Klausur.

One thing in your notebook: Write one sentence using something you learned in this Unit.

Exam example Link to heading

Klausur (assessment) — Niveau E (full paper, 90 BE)
Time. 4 hours including 20 minutes of breaks (220 active minutes). Total. 90 BE.
Inhalt / Sprache split. Basisfach (basic course): 50/50. Leistungsfach (advanced course): 40/60.

Part A — Comprehension (~24 BE) Link to heading

Composition prompt: Discuss the writer’s central claim about attention economies in 280 words. Use 1 integrated quote + 4 academic discourse markers + 1 cleft + 2 hedges.

Part B — Analysis (~18 BE) Link to heading

Mediation prompt: For an English-speaking media-policy researcher, mediate a 250-word German Bundestags-Anhörung extract on attention regulation (Aufmerksamkeitsregulierung). Use 8 reporting verbs + 2 cultural-note brackets. (Source provided in class.)

Part C — Composition (~18 BE) Link to heading

Time-budget exercise. Allocate 110 minutes: ___ min Composition; ___ min Mediation; ___ min review. Justify in 2 sentences.

Mediation (~30 BE) Link to heading

Reflection prompt: In 200 words, reflect on your full 90-BE Klausur experience across Units 11 and 12. Which section did you handle best? Which needs the most rehearsal before Klasse 13?

Expected-answer profile (Erwartungshorizont) — sample
Comprehension. Reward thesis + integrated quote + 4 markers + 1 cleft + 2 hedges + clear structure. Analysis. Reward addressee-fit + register + 8 reporting verbs + 2 cultural notes + preserved hedges + appropriate modal mapping. Time budget. Suggested: 50 min Composition / 50 min Mediation / 10 min review. Reflection. Open.
grading scale (Notenschlüssel) (von 90 BE)
| 86–90 | 1+ | 81–85 | 1 | 76–80 | 1- | | 71–75 | 2+ | 66–70 | 2 | 61–65 | 2- | | 56–60 | 3+ | 51–55 | 3 | 46–50 | 3- | | 41–45 | 4+ | 36–40 | 4 | 30–35 | 4- | | 22–29 | 5 | 0–21 | 6 | | |

Downloads Link to heading

**Slide deck timing.** 90 minutes total (Doppelstunde). Lead-in 6 min · Activate 8 min · Input 25 min · Practise 15 min · Produce 30 min · Reflect 6 min.

Differentiation. Basisfach (basic course): tighter argument, clearer moves. Leistungsfach (advanced course): sustained analysis, integrated quotation, complex thesis.

Common pitfalls Link to heading

  • Spending 70 min on Composition because it feels more creative — Mediation is 30 BE, not 18.
  • Carrying source language directly into Composition (plagiarism risk).
  • Dropping reporting-verb variety in Mediation under time pressure.

Further reading / listening Link to heading

  • Bildungsplan-aligned Klausur collections.
  • Goethe-Institut Sprachmittlungs-Beispielaufgaben Oberstufe.

Downloads

Presentation thumbnail for Unit 12 — Klausur: Composition and Comment
Presentation
Download .pptx
Worksheet thumbnail for Unit 12 — Klausur: Composition and Comment
Worksheet
Download .pdf