How far can the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) be used for assessment? Why a greater focus on genre related elements is useful when testiing writing at B1 level.

This article examines both self assessment and formal assessment, showing some ways in which the work done in the Common European Framework (CEFR) now forms a valuable bedrock on which assessment practices can be built. In particular it looks at various ways in which general B1 level learners may learn to assess their own performance and suggests that genre related features, when introduced and assessed in the writing of English as a foreign language, such as an awareness of register, could breathe a breath of fresh air into learners' approach to writing tasks, fostering an awareness of their audience which makes for more natural written production. These features also, of course, need to be considered in the assessment criteria used to rate performance. The article finally provides a modified assessment criteria grid which could take such features into account.