Cambridge IGCSE Spanish 0530/42 is the May/June 2026 Paper 4 (Writing), variant 2. It lasts 1 hour, is worth 45 marks and every 0530 candidate sits it. You answer three questions: a short form, an 80 to 90 word piece and one 130 to 140 word task from a choice of two. That last task, either an email about your future job or a blog about a restaurant visit, is worth 28 marks on its own. This guide goes through each task and explains how the official mark scheme shares out the marks. The paper and its mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of all the 0530 papers from this series, see IGCSE Spanish 0530 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

0530/42 at a glance

Question	Task	Words	How it is marked	Marks
1	Complete a school-exchange form	Single words	1 mark per gap	5
2	El transporte: four bullet points	80–90	One grid out of 12	12
3(a)	Email to a Spanish friend about your future job: five bullet points	130–140	Task completion 10, Range 10, Accuracy 8	28
3(b)	Blog about a restaurant visit last weekend: five bullet points	130–140	Task completion 10, Range 10, Accuracy 8	28
	Total (Questions 1, 2 and one of 3(a) or 3(b))			45

Rubric: answer Question 1, Question 2, and either Question 3(a) or 3(b). If you attempt both parts of Question 3, the examiner marks both and keeps the better mark, but you will have spent time on writing that can’t score.

Task-by-task walkthrough

Question 1: the exchange form (5 marks)

You fill in a form for a school exchange. Some details (a name, phone number and number of rooms) are already filled in, and you complete five gaps in Spanish: another family member who lives with you, another pet, two favourite hobbies and another place near your home.

• One mark per gap. Any genuine family member, pet, hobby or place scores, for example padre, gato, natación or playa.
• Don’t repeat what’s printed. The form already says Mi madre y mi…, Pez y… and Restaurante y…, so madre, pez and restaurante were refused.
• Spelling is marked for communication. If it sounds or looks like the right word and a native speaker would understand it, it scores. A misspelling that turns it into a different word is refused. Singular and plural are both accepted where a noun is usually one or the other.
• Countries should be known in Spanish, but any spelling of a town, city or village is accepted.
• An item written in the wrong place still scores as long as it is clear which part of the form it belongs to.

Question 2: El transporte (12 marks)

Write 80 to 90 words in Spanish answering four questions: how you get to school, your favourite means of transport and why, what you do to pass the time on a long journey, and when you will next go on a trip.

The four bullets call for different time frames: the present for the first three, the future for the last. The mark scheme says that an answer in the wrong time frame doesn’t count as completing that task in the required detail, so “next trip” needs a future form (for example voy a… or a future tense).

How the 12 marks work. The examiner reads the whole piece and places it in one of five bands (10–12, 7–9, 4–6, 1–3 and 0). In summary:

• 10–12 needs all four tasks done in the required detail, relevant information and opinions throughout, clear meaning even with some slips, straightforward vocabulary, and a range of simple connectors (y, o, pero, porque, luego). In this band and the next, “opinions” includes reasons and explanations, so the ¿Por qué? in bullet 2 matters.
• 7–9 needs most tasks done, mostly clear meaning, and some linking. The guidance for this band says at least one task must be fully completed and looks for two connectors.
• 4–6 is some tasks with some detail, basic vocabulary with frequent repetition and repetitive linking.
• 1–3 is little relevant detail and isolated words or phrases.

An answer that completes most rather than all tasks can still reach the bottom of the 10–12 band if it fits that band in every other way. The word count is guidance only: examiners mark everything you write.

Question 3(a): Tu futuro trabajo (28 marks)

An email to a Spanish friend sharing your plans for your future job, in 130 to 140 words. The five bullets:

1. your dream job;
2. the subjects you have studied to prepare for it (a perfect tense question);
3. whether you prefer working alone or in a team, and why;
4. your opinion of working abroad;
5. what you will buy with your first wage (a future question).

Bullet 3 has two parts, a preference and a reason. The mark scheme treats a task as complete only when every element of the bullet is attempted reasonably successfully, so a preference without a reason is not complete.

Question 3(b): Una visita a un restaurante (28 marks)

A blog about a restaurant you went to last weekend, in 130 to 140 words. The five bullets:

1. the kind of food the restaurant serves;
2. why you decided to eat there (past);
3. your opinion of the decor;
4. something surprising that happened there (past narrative);
5. why you will or won’t go back (future, with a reason).

This option mixes present description, past narration and a future decision in one piece, so plan the tense for each bullet before you start. The mark scheme’s own example is an opinion question answered with one flat sentence, such as saying only that something was interesting, which doesn’t meet the top Task completion descriptor. For the decor bullet, give a detail and a reason.

How Question 3 is marked (both options)

The examiner reads the whole answer and gives a mark from each of three grids, then adds them up. For each grid they start at the bottom and work up to the band that fits best, then award the top, middle or bottom mark of that band depending on how convincingly the work fits.

Grid	Marks	What the top band asks for (summarised)
Task completion	10	Every task done, with detailed information, opinions and explanations, all relevant
Range	10	Frequent extended, well-linked sentences; a wide range of simple and complex structures from the syllabus; wide, task-appropriate vocabulary
Accuracy	8	Accurate spelling and grammar, not necessarily faultless; occasional errors don’t impede communication

Notes from the mark scheme that change the mark:

• Range is read as “uses successfully”. Attempted complex structures that don’t work don’t count as range.
• There is no fixed list of complex structures. Examiners judge them by normal classroom expectations at this level and the context of your writing. A Range mark of 3–4 describes simple structures with no attempt at complex ones.
• Gender errors count under Accuracy.
• A very short answer with no errors can’t get more than 4 for Accuracy, because it shows only some accurate language.
• An error in one sentence doesn’t sink a bullet. If the first sentence of a bullet has a wrong tense but the next is completely accurate, the examiner marks holistically.
• Irrelevant material is ignored. A completely irrelevant answer gets 0 in all three grids. If you misunderstand the task, Range is capped at 4.

Where the marks are on 0530/42

Skill	Where	Marks
Single-word vocabulary	Question 1	5
Short continuous writing (one combined grid)	Question 2	12
Task completion	Question 3	10
Range of language	Question 3	10
Accuracy	Question 3	8
Total		45

• Covering every bullet is worth more than any other single habit. Task completion is a separate 10 marks in Question 3 and the main test of the Question 2 bands.
• Range (10) is worth more than Accuracy (8). Playing safe doesn’t protect you either: a very short answer with no errors is capped at 4 for Accuracy.
• Question 3 is 62% of the paper (28 of 45 marks), so it deserves more than half your time.

How to self-mark 0530/42 with the mark scheme

1. Question 1: one mark per gap. Strike any answer that repeats madre, pez or restaurante, and any word that a Spanish speaker would read as something else.
2. Question 2: tick each of the four bullets you answered, check each is in the right time frame, and count your connectors and opinions with reasons. Then place the piece in a band, starting from 1–3 and working up.
3. Question 3, Task completion: number the five bullets in your answer. A bullet with two parts (a preference and a reason, or will/won’t and why) only counts when both are there.
4. Question 3, Range: highlight the extended sentences and the structures beyond the present tense (perfect, preterite, future, conditional, subordinate clauses). No attempt at complex structures fits 3–4, some attempts fit 5–6, and a range including some successful complex structures fits 7–8 or above.
5. Question 3, Accuracy: underline errors, including gender agreement, and ask whether they make the meaning unclear. Occasional errors that don’t affect meaning sit in 7–8.
6. Add the three Question 3 marks, then add Questions 1 and 2, for a total out of 45.

Sit 0530/42 as a timed mock

You have 60 minutes for 45 marks.

Block	Marks	Time
Question 1	5	3 minutes
Question 2: plan, write, check	12	17 minutes
Question 3: choose and plan bullet by bullet	28	5 minutes
Question 3: write	–	27 minutes
Check verb endings, agreements and accents	–	8 minutes

When you choose in Question 3, pick the option where you can answer all five bullets with detail and the right tense, not the one with the more appealing topic. Note the tense each bullet needs in the margin before you write.

Other May/June 2026 0530 papers

• 0530 Paper 12 (Listening)
• 0530 Paper 22 (Reading)

Practise and download

• Download 0530/42 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 0530 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free IGCSE Spanish quiz

Need help with a 0530 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an IGCSE Spanish tutor →

Frequently asked questions

What were the tasks on 0530 Paper 42 May/June 2026? +

Question 1 was a form for a school exchange (5 marks). Question 2 was 80 to 90 words on transport (12 marks). Question 3 was a choice of 130 to 140 words: an email to a Spanish friend about your future job, or a blog about a restaurant you visited last weekend (28 marks).

How many marks is 0530/42 and how long is it? +

It is out of 45 marks and lasts 1 hour. You answer Questions 1 and 2, then either 3(a) or 3(b). Question 3 alone is worth 28 marks.

How is 0530/42 Question 3 marked? +

With three separate grids added together: Task completion out of 10, Range out of 10 and Accuracy out of 8. The examiner finds the best-fit band in each grid, starting from the bottom.

What happens if I go over the word count on 0530/42? +

The mark scheme says the word counts are for guidance only and examiners mark everything you write. Writing much more doesn't earn extra marks, though, and it gives you more chances to make errors that count under Accuracy.

What could I write on the 0530/42 Question 1 form? +

Any real family member, pet, hobby and place near your home. The only refusals were the words already printed on the form: madre, pez and restaurante.

Where can I download 0530/42 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

Both are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge IGCSE Spanish 0530 past papers page.

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