An examiner is using the marking scheme to check essay type test items in…

Essay-type answers can be scored in two broad ways. In the point (analytical) method, the examiner first prepares a marking scheme or scoring key that breaks the ideal answer into specific content points, and marks are then awarded by matching the features actually written by a student against those key features, point by point. In the rating (holistic) method, by contrast, the examiner reads the whole response and assigns one overall quality rating on a scale, without matching individual content points to a key.

Here, the examiner is comparing the features written by the student against the features of the answer given in the scoring key, and assigning marks on that basis — this feature-by-feature matching against a pre-set scoring key is exactly the point method.

Checking the other offered methods against this description:

• The rating method rests on an overall impression-based rating rather than matching listed content points to a key, so it does not fit a scenario built around feature comparison with a scoring key.

• The grading method converts a final score into a grade category, such as a letter or division, a step applied after scoring is already complete, not a technique for comparing response content to a key.

• The percentage method expresses a score as a proportion of the maximum marks, a way of reporting a result rather than a technique for comparing response content to a key.

Since the scenario describes exactly this feature-by-feature comparison against a scoring key, the method being used is the point method.