How do I score the top marks in the translation section?

The translation part of the exam, regardless of the exam board, is always crucial to boosting your marks. The first tip is to always learn and revise the key structures, that are almost certain to come up. For instance, imperfect subjunctive plus conditional, present subjunctive and what triggers it, and all the vocabulary learned throughout the course (e.g. for topics such as environment, law, and order, etc.). The second step is best done from an early stage, which is to read articles from Spanish newspapers. They could be random or specialized topics (e.g. environment), depending on what you study. Note down any new words, as there is a chance they might come up; you do not have to read more than 1 article a day, but if you start these months before your exam, you will find that the words you encounter in past papers, you have almost always seen in the articles. The next tip is to complete all past papers, and go through the mark scheme; do not just focus on your exam board. Although the content is different, the translation skills are applicable, therefore, go to the translation section of AQA, Edexcel and OCR and complete it as extra revision. When in the exam, read the text a couple of times before starting. It is crucial to consider individual words, but also look at them in the context of the sentence- that is to say, do not translate word for word literally; always bear in mind what follows, and re-read at least twice to check if it sounds natural. If you encounter a word you do not know, try to say it in a different way, do not leave blanks, as examiners sometimes encounter a word a student has used, they consider it acceptable, and it is added to the mark scheme choices. Finally, check that all verbs and conjugations are correct, as this is where it has to be exactly right to score the marks; whereas, with connectives or certain words, mark schemes are more flexible.