Paper 2: Translation into Portuguese and written response to works — Edexcel A-Level Portuguese
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Paper 2: Translation into Portuguese and written response to works explained
This criterion requires critical and analytical writing in Portuguese about works you have studied from the prescribed list in Appendix 1.
Read the full explanation
Choose works from that list and build detailed knowledge of content, character, structure, style and context. In an essay, answer the question directly with a clear argument, supporting each point with precise evidence from the work, such as a described incident, a structural feature or a short quotation where you can give its exact wording and location. Analyse how meaning is created rather than retelling the plot: explain the effect of a technique, a character's development or a thematic pattern. Write in accurate, varied Portuguese, using appropriate critical vocabulary and linking ideas coherently. Plan briefly, then develop a focused response with an introduction, ordered paragraphs and a conclusion that answers the question.
Your focus
- Write a critical and analytical response in Portuguese to a work from the prescribed list.
- Support analysis with accurate evidence from the work, including correctly quoted and located material where used.
- Organise a coherent argument and express it in accurate, appropriate Portuguese.
Paper 2: Translation into Portuguese and written response to works exam tips
Marking Points
- A direct, sustained response to the question that shows detailed knowledge of the chosen work from the prescribed list.
- Critical and analytical comment on content, character, theme, structure, style or context, explaining how effects are created rather than only describing events.
- Well-selected evidence from the work, accurately used, including quotations with correct wording and location where quoted.
- Coherent organisation and argument, with paragraphs that develop a line of reasoning and a conclusion that addresses the question.
- Accurate and varied Portuguese, including appropriate critical vocabulary, grammar, spelling and register.
- Understanding of the work as a whole, connecting specific details to broader patterns or concerns.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Underline the key words of the question and keep returning to them so every paragraph helps answer it.
- 💡Plan two or three main analytical points with the evidence you will use for each before you start writing.
- 💡Leave time to check Portuguese accuracy, especially verb forms, agreement and accents, and to confirm any quotation is exact.
Common Mistakes
- Retelling the plot instead of analysing: the error is narrating what happens; the correction is to make a point about how or why the work creates meaning and support it with evidence.
- Using a quotation with inaccurate wording or no location: the correction is to quote only what you can reproduce exactly and to state where it appears, or to make the point through precise description instead.
- Writing in English or mixing languages: the correction is to compose the whole response in Portuguese, checking that critical terms are the correct Portuguese ones.