Criterion A
The rationale seems to be a few words over the 200-300 word limit, clocking in at 303 words total; not that bad but it needs to stay within the word limit. The rationale also doesn't give a clear cut purpose as to why he is doing this. He does give some background information about why exactly he chose this exact topic for his written task, but he doesn't tell us what exactly he's trying to do and what the task is about. I get the feeling that the writer of this rationale is focusing too much on his personal experiences, and not on the context of the topic itself. While he does have some references to language and culture, he doesn't seem to talk about context, audience, or purpose. So while it does seem to have an argument and a thesis---trying to express his opinion to government officials--- he doesn't really go I depth about the three aims for the course or how it affects the context of the letter he's writing. As such, I will have to give the rationale a 1.
Criterion B
The task seems to show some understanding of the topic, and seems to know what he's talking about.
Unfortunately, the content in this piece is not appropriate in according to the task at hand. While the writer does make his opinion on Hiberno-English known, he never seems to back things up with concrete evidence to the text. Many references to personal experiences are shown which gives the letter a personal weight, but nothing from the text that be based his information on. The writer also doesn't seem to realize that the informal way in which he is writing his letter is highly inappropriate when talking to a high class government official, especially since he persists in speaking to his audience in a blunt and untactful manor. This type of letter would have not garnered the response he wanted had it been real, though he has managed style his task to his chosen context type. Overall, the student does show enough knowledge of the topic, but