WRITING

2 pieces of writing.

• The first piece is compulsory and

will be an essay of 140–190 words.

• For the second, they can choose

from an article, email/letter,
review, essay or story of 140–190
words.

• 1 hour 20’ (40’ each)

CONTENT:
Did you write what you were asked to write?

COMMUNICATIVE ACHIEVEMENT:
Was your writing too formal, too informal, or just right?

ORGANISATION:
Are the ideas logical and ordered? Have you used
paragraphs and linking words?

LANGUAGE:
Did you show off your sparkling vocabulary or did you
use basic words? Did you make lots of grammar and
spelling mistakes?
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.
CONTENT
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.
CONTENT
 COMUNICATIVE ACHIEVEMENT
You need to study how to write in different ways. Spot the difference in tone in this
extracts from letters:

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.

Dear Mr and Mrs Biggins,

I regret to inform you that we have taken the decision to suspend Jack from school
for the next week. Not only did he fail to come to school today, but we received a
call that he had stolen a container of confectionery from a local business.

In short, try to make sure that what you write is appropriate for the person you are
writing to.
 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.
 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!