Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. Introduction
You have 80 minutes to write two texts. The first text will always be an essay and
should be 140-190 words long. The second text can be an article, informal email
or letter, a formal email or letter, a report, or a review and should be 140-190
words.
Your first step should be to read this article and get the free tool it mentions:
Is it possible to write better without a teacher looking over your shoulder? What if there was an app that could help?
Would you try it for free? If yes, you need to read this article!
2. Time management
The two texts are worth equal points and have the same word lengths, so you
should spend equal time on them. That gives you 40 minutes per text. Spend
some of that time planning and some checking. For example:
Planning - 10 minutes
Writing - 25 minutes
Checking - 5 minutes
You might think that's too long for the planning stage, but the more you plan the
fewer problems you will have later.
So, take a deep breath, think about what you have to write, what you want to
write, and how you can write it.
You can even start to think about good words you know, and advanced sentences
that you can include.
Example: Before I started writing this page I listed all the sub-headings. I knew
how I would start, and how I would finish. It's much easier to write with the
structure already prepared.
4. Content
Now let's look at what Cambridge cares about in your writing. The first point is the
content itself. If you are asked to write a letter to your friend and you write a
poem - well, it doesn't matter how good that poem is. Maybe you can write the
best poem in the history of the world - the examiner will be impressed, and then
give you zero points.
Here's a sample FCE writing task:
You have to write about pollution and the environment, and you have to include 3
points. 2 of those points must be transport, and rivers and seas. If you don't
include transport you can't get full marks in the exam. If you don't write about
damage to the environment, you can't get full marks.
5. Communicative Achievement
The next thing Cambridge wants is for you to show that you understand about
tone. In the previous example, you were asked to write an essay for your English
teacher. How formal should that be? You're not writing to a lawyer so you don't
have to be super formal, but you aren't writing to your best friend, so you
shouldn't be too casual.
For that essay, you should use a neutral or slightly formal style.
That means you need to study how to write in different ways. Spot the difference
in tone in this extracts from letters:
1.
Yo, John,
Guess what? I bunked off school and tramped up and down the beach all day.
Great fun! I found some nearly-fresh muffins in a box, so that was lunch sorted.
Free food! Niiiiiice.
2.
In short, try to make sure that what you write is appropriate for the person you are
writing to.
6. Organisation
Cambridge love when you link sentences together with words like 'whereas' and
'however', and link paragraphs with phrases like 'Firstly, secondly'.
You must learn how to use these phrases if you want a good grade.
One easy way to get a higher score in 'organisation' is to ask a question, and then
answer it.
7. Language
Your writing will be more interesting and you'll get a better grade if you can use a
wide variety of language. Use high-level vocabulary when you know it; don't
repeat the same word too many times; don't make too many mistakes; try to use
a variety of grammar (not just 'subject verb object' all the time).
You will be rewarded if you learn (and use) some appropriate phrasal verbs,
idioms, and collocations. Compare these sentences:
1. The food was good and the service was good and we had a good time.
2. The food was delicious, while the service was faultless. Did we have a good
time? Absolutely!
I hope you agree that the second is much nicer to read. Is it much harder to write?
Not really. And if you don't know the word 'faultless' you might know a different
word that would fit. Even if you said 'good' again, the sentence would get you a
much better score in FCE because the 'while' connects the first two parts and the
question connects the last two.
8. FCE Essays
You have to write an essay, so this is the first thing you should learn to write.
Essays are about giving information and your opinions, comparing and
contrasting.
Title: Use a title at the top of your essay. The title should be interesting so that
someone would want to read the article. Imagine two friends share a link on
Facebook. Which are you more likely to click on?
1.
2.
Most people would click on the second one! You don't have to be so provocative
in your essay, but do try to make it interesting.
Structure: Use the task as the structure. In the example from question 4, you
could have these paragraphs:
Introduction
The Transport Pollution Problem
Pollution in Rivers and Seas
Pollution at Home
Conclusion
- Try to connect the title you have chosen with the conclusion. If you call your
essay 'Climate Change is Fake!' you should end by saying 'and that's why climate
change is not real.'
- You should write in a balanced way - don't only say that something is good or
bad. Example:
'It's clear that pollution from cars is a big problem that should be looked at. The air
in some cities is not fit for humans. But the car isn't totally a villain - it's also a
symbol of freedom for many people. So we need a solution that lets people drive
their cars, but without being too harmful. For example, electric cars let people get
to work but are cleaner than diesel engines.'
This article will help you write great essays in the FCE writing exam.
Read More →
9. FCE Reports
Often, you'll be able to choose to write a report in part 2. The reader will usually
be your teacher or a group you belong to. You have to give facts and make
recommendations.
Example:
A group of English students is coming to your college. Your English teacher has
asked you to write a report on one local tourist attraction. In your report you
should
describe the attraction
say what you can do there
explain why you think students would enjoy visiting it
The main skills you need are: describing things, explaining, and giving your
opinions.
IMPORTANT - You are allowed to lie in the exam! I personally hate the movie
Titanic, but I remember quite a lot about it. If I had the task of reviewing a movie I
love, maybe I would choose Titanic. The story is clear in my head, I remember the
names of the actors, the director and the theme song... I can pretend to like it if it
helps me pass the exam...
- Like in the essay task, I encourage my students to use an interesting title. 'Titanic
- Their Hearts Will Go On'.
Do you want to know how to write a review for FCE? This is the website you need!
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I give feedback on an article written by a student, then show an improved, rewritten version.
Read More →
A - You aren't expected to be perfect, but if a mistake stops the reader from
understanding what you want to say, that's quite bad.
Q - How important is the word count? What happens if I write too many words?
A - If you do the task properly you will write the correct number of words. You
won't lose marks if you write 5 words too many. Focus on writing what you have
to write, and the word count will take care of itself.
Don't waste time in the exam counting how many words you have written!
A - Just make sure a human can read it - if you are very messy, write a little bit
slower. If you usually end up with lots of things crossed out - you need to plan
better!