From the Accreditation Board
Last month we reported on the overall 2024 exam results and the Knowledge-part results. In this month’s article, we take a deep dive into the results for the Manuscript and Language parts.
Manuscript-part results
The Manuscript (M) part of the exam is a practical copyediting exercise using MS Word files and has three components:
- a short extract for editing with Track Changes turned on
- author queries made using the Comments function
- a style sheet to record editorial style decisions for the extract.
For the 2024 exam, candidates were required to pass all three components by achieving at least 65% in each one (which would result in a pass for the part overall). In previous exams, candidates only needed to achieve at least 65% for the part as a whole to pass it, which meant some passing candidates could have failed the author queries or style sheet components (or both).
In the 2024 exam, all 58 candidates attempted each component of M part – unlike in previous exams, in which some candidates submitted empty style sheets or failed to ask queries.
Of the 58 candidates who sat the exam:
- 34 (59%) achieved at least 80% for M part (of these, 31 passed and 3 failed the exam overall)
- 11 (19%) achieved at least 65% but less than 80% for M part (of these, 7 passed and 4 failed the exam overall)
- 13 (22%) achieved less than 65% for M part and therefore failed this component (and the exam overall).
From this analysis, the Accreditation Board (AB) concluded that passing M part, including passing all three components, was achievable for most candidates. More than three-quarters (78%) achieved the minimum of 65% needed to pass the part, and more than half were able to achieve 80% or more.
Figure 1 shows the minimum, maximum and average marks (as percentages) for each component of M part and for the part overall.
Figure 1 shows that the average scores in the 2024 exam are all very close to, and in the case of author queries exceed, the overall exam pass mark of 80%. For comparison, Figure 2 shows the marks for M part in the 2022 exam.
Figure 2: Accreditation exam 2022 – marks for M-part components and overall
Although the average for M part overall was almost the same in both exams (78.50% in 2024 and 78.58% in 2022), the 2024 candidates performed significantly better in the author queries component on average (87.00% in 2024 compared with 78.90% in 2022). On the other hand, the 2022 candidates performed a few percentage points better on average in the style sheet component (81.65% in 2022 compared with 77.50% in 2024). However, the minimum marks for each component in 2022 are much lower than those for the 2024 exam.
Based on this analysis, the AB is confident that the new pass requirements for M part are fair and appropriate. They may also have contributed to the improved results for the author queries component and the higher minimum marks achieved for all components compared with 2022. The pass requirements will remain in place for the next exam in 2026.
Language-part results
The Language (L) part consists of 24 questions (each worth 1 mark), of which candidates must answer at least 20. No matter how many questions a candidate answers, the maximum mark they can achieve for this part is 20.
Of the 58 candidates who sat the 2024 exam:
- 48 (83%) achieved at least 80% for L part, including 23 (40%) who achieved 100% for the part (of the 48, 38 passed and 10 failed the exam overall)
- 8 (14%) achieved at least 65% but less than 80% (all of whom failed the exam overall)
- 2 (3%) achieved less than 65% and therefore failed this component (and the exam overall).
Table 1 shows the minimum, maximum and average marks (as percentages) for L part in both the 2022 and 2024 exams.
Table 1: L-part results for 2022 and 2024 exams – minimum, maximum and average marks as percentages
| Year | Min. (%) | Max. (%) | Avg. (%) |
| 2022 (n = 60) | 0.00 | 100.00 | 76.75 |
| 2024 (n = 58) | 0.00 | 100.00 | 89.75 |
The average mark for L part in the 2024 exam was significantly higher than for the 2022 exam.
Having thoroughly analysed the 2024 exam results and compared them with earlier sets of results, especially the 2022 exam, the AB is satisfied that the updated format, requiring passes in all aspects of the exam (except the four elective questions in K part), is reasonable. Candidates in 2024 performed better in L part and equally well in M part, with the inclusion of the compulsory pass apparently improving the minimum performance standards for the style sheet and author queries. Thus, we intend to continue with the current format for the next exam.
2026 accreditation exam date
We are pleased to announce the date of the next accreditation exam: Monday 24 August 2026. See the Exam registration page of the IPEd website for more details, which will be updated closer to the exam date.