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FCE Practice
PART II : Writing
2021-2022
Ms. Beghin – Ms. D’Alù

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FCE Practice Part II: Writing skill
Typically, the FCE’s writing instructions are similar from one year to the other: part 1 is an essay, part
2 is a chosen writing type among several propositions.

Scoring

Each of the two writing parts are marked out of 20. There are five marks for each of the following:

 Content;
 Communicative Achievement;
 Organisation;
 Language.

Each part is 140-190 words long.

You have little choice in the subject of the essay, but for the second part, you can choose from 3
different type of text. Whatever you choose, you need to think and plan before writing.

Here are some pointers:

 Choose a question that you are interested in. You will write better if you know the subject.
(This applies mainly to the second part).
 Read the instructions carefully before you start. Make sure you include all the
points from the instructions in your writing.
 Make a plan before you start writing. Decide what information to put in each paragraph.
 Think about who you are writing to and use an appropriate style of language.
 Try to use a range of complex language.

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FCE Practice Part II: Writing skill
 PART 1: WRITING AN ESSAY

Golden Rules of what you must and mustn’t do in an essay

Organising ideas

Whether you’ve been asked to write an essay, a review, an article, etc. TWO important elements
MUST appear in your writing task: an introduction and a conclusion.

Here are basic steps to follow to nail your essay:

1. Plan the essay, BRAINSTORM ideas

2. Organise your ideas in the best way possible to convey your point
3. Write an introduction and a conclusion
4. Read your work through and make corrections
5. Check for spelling and grammar mistakes.

The introduction is important as it is the first thing we read. A good intro has TWO main elements:

 A restatement of the question or prompt

 An exposure/overview of what will be discussed in the essay

Grammar and vocabulary:

Pay attention to the sentence structures in your essay and make sure you VARY them.

Take a look at this fragment:

The benefits of living in London and how can they be solved.

→you can change the verb construction (gerund) to a noun construction

The benefits of life in London and how can they be solved.

→you can change the passive voice to an active voice

The benefits of living in London and how we can solve them.

As far as vocabulary is concerned, focus on meaningful keywords in the prompts to better grasp the
meaning of the question. Then, think of synonyms that would work in the given context. The richer
and the more diversified the vocabulary, the better.

The FCE task

For the first part of the test, you will be given a prompt you need to react to by using THREE
arguments or counterarguments showing your opinion. Two of those topic of argument are given to
you and you’ll need to come up with the third. You will be asked to write a total of 140-190 words.

Example:

Prompt: Around the world, people are living and staying healthy for longer and longer. What
changes does this bring to today’s society? Are these changes good or bad?

 ARGUMENT 1: caring for the elderly

 ARGUMENT 2: jobs
 ARGUMENT 3 (your own idea)

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FCE Practice Part II: Writing skill
 PART 1: WRITING AN ESSAY

How to write the perfect argumentative paragraph

Think of your paragraph as a hamburger where each sentence is an element of that delicious treat.

Your topic sentence (the top bun) is your statement

You need AT LEAST one supporting sentence

(supporting sentence 1; the cheese, sauce or vegetables)
that develops the topic sentence and AT LEAST one
concrete illustration (supporting sentence 2; the meat).

Then you give another supporting sentence that further

develops the illustration (supporting sentence 3; the
cheese, sauce or vegetables) and you end with a
concluding sentence that sums up the message even if
it means stating the obvious (the bottom bun)

If we take our first example with the 1st argument:

Around the world, people are living and staying healthy for longer and longer. What changes
does this bring to today’s society? Are these changes good or bad?

 ARGUMENT 1: caring for the elderly

The ever-growing life expectancy of elderly people as a negative impact on the quality of
caregiving facilities. In fact, said facilities are overflowing with tenants whose quality of life is
being reduced by the rising number of people needing assistance. A recent study published
in the Times, found that residents in nursing home have expressed their regret of having
received less quality care than needed, or even necessary. The more people you have in a
same place, the less quality time you can devote to each and every one of them. Therefore,
we can assert that the quality of care in nursing facilities for elderly people has been
seriously impacted by the rising of life expectancy.

Try and identify the different parts in the example.

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FCE Practice Part II: Writing skill
An argumentative essay generally contains various communicating intentions. What do you want
your essay to do? Is it convey an idea? Is it to persuade? The following exercise gives you some
example of intention and written statements.

Match the functions on the left with the sentences on the right.

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FCE Practice Part II: Writing skill
 PART 2: WRITING SKILL

Writing a review.

A review is a text that gives factual information about a piece you would recommend or suggest. This
information is accompanied by a personal opinion.

Let’s the easiest type of review: a film review.

A good film review contains various important elements:

 Information about the film → (title, genre, lead actors, date of release, awards, etc.)
 Plot → (briefly describe the story WITHOUT telling the end, obviously)
 Opinion → (This part is where you give your honest opinion on the film. You can recommend
it to readers or not. It may base itself on any previous elements. You can say the plot was too
predictable, but the end was surprising; that the lead actor was garbage but the secondary
actors gave life and emotion to their characters; etc.)

Obviously, these elements come in a certain order.

Put the following parts in order.

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FCE Practice Part II: Writing skill
 Your turn!

Write 140-190 words in an appropriate style.

You see this announcement in a Film and TV Magazine.
Film / TV show reviews wanted
Next month is National Science month. In next month’s issue, we want to celebrate films and TV
shows that promote science.
Do you know any shows or film which promote science?  Write us a review, explaining what it is
about, why you enjoy it and why it encouraged you to learn about science.
The best reviews will be published in our next issue.
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FCE Practice Part II: Writing skill
 PART 2: WRITING SKILL

Writing an email.

An email is a direct form of communication as it is send from one person to another. Generally, an
email prompts an answer, so we may assume that there is a form of interaction to a certain extent.

To write an excellent email, you need:

 An “envoyee” and addressee’s email address

 An object/subject
 Greetings
 An opening formula: introductory statement that develops your object
 A body that fulfils the object
 A closing formula

Keep in mind that even if you are sending an email to ask questions, you need to pay attention to
whom you’re writing and adapt your register.

If you’re writing to a friend, you might ask direct questions; if you’re writing to a teacher, you might
want to use indirect questions.

Your turn!

You are keen to study English in London. Read the school advertisement and the notes from your
teacher. Then write an email to Mr Williams at the Big Ben Language School asking for details.
Language courses in London at the Big Ben School of When you write to the school make sure you
English find out:
Our well-equipped school offers English language
 how many students there will be in
courses in the heart of London.
the school and in each class
The school has a friendly atmosphere and organises a
 what qualifications the teachers have
full range of sporting and social activities as well as
 what resources the school has
excursions out of London.
 what is included in the price
The school is conveniently located near the museums
 what amenities there are in the area
and the river. Accommodation can be arranged with
carefully selected British families.
Contact Jim Williams by email
(jw@bigbenschool.org.uk) for further details.
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FCE Practice Part II: Writing skill
 PART 2: WRITING SKILL

Writing a report.

A report is usually an objective summary: this is what happened, or this is what this (book, movie,
etc.) is about. The report lacks the subjectivity and opinion of a review.

A report can contain some opinion as long as it is a summary. For example: you are designated to
write the report for the student council and this week you’ll be discussing the creation of a school
choir. In this meeting, various people will give their opinion and your job will be to take notes of
those opinion in the report.

E.g. “Friday seems to be the favourite day for future choir meetings however some are concerned
about lack of attendance just before the weekend; in the general opinion, this shouldn’t constitute a
fair argument to not consider Friday as a potential meeting day.”

Take a look at this report, can you identify any type of structure or organisation of ideas?

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FCE Practice Part II: Writing skill
 Your turn!
Write 140-190 words in an appropriate style.
A report about sports facilities
Your local tourist office has asked you to write a report on the sports facilities in your area to give out
to English-speaking visitors.

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 PART 2: WRITING SKILL

Writing an article.

An article is a piece of text that aims to inform readers on various subjects. It can take different forms
as you can just list pros and cons on a given subject or add you opinion to it.

The most important thing you have to take into account before writing your article is to think about
your audience.

Who are you writing the article for?

Typically, your audience will be teenagers so your register and style should be adapted to
them.

You were asked to find the best article for the next issue. Read the task then read an article a
reader sent. Does she check all the boxes?

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Your turn!
Write 140-190 words in an appropriate style.
Articles wanted for our new page on family life.
Are you an only child or do you have brothers and sisters?
Are you the oldest, the youngest or a middle child?
What are the advantages of being in your place in the family? What are the disadvantages?
Do you wish you had fewer or more siblings? Have you always felt this way?

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