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1. FIRST PART: Write an essay, 140-190 words, 40 min. Essays are about giving
information and your opinions, comparing and contrasting.
2. SECOND PART: Write an article, informal email, formal email, a report or a
review, 140-190 words, 40 min.
3. TIME MANAGEMENT: Planning (10 min), writing (25 min) and checking (5 min).
4. LINKERS:
. Moreover, furthermore, in addition, besides, what’s more, likewise, as well, in
addition to: Además.
. However, nevertheless, nonetheless, even so, otherwise, on the contrary,
whereas, unlike: Sin embargo.
. Albeit: Aunque (formal). Although: Aunque (informal).
. In spite of, despite: A pesar (before a noun or a gerund).
. On the one hand, on the other hand: Por un lado.
. In contrast to, contrary to, by contrast: Contrastar información.
. Still, yet: Todavía.
. On account of, owing to, in order to, given that: Debido a.
. Thus, hence, therefore: Por lo tanto.
. Thereby, accordingly, consequently: Por consecuencia.
. As a result: Como resultado.
. At times (a veces), “frequently”, “daily”, “constantly” (frecuentemente),
occasionally (ocasionalmente), “once in a while” or “once in a blue moon” (de
vez en cuando).
. For instance, such as, namely, this means that, that is to say: Para ejemplos.
. Such + adjetivo + sustantivo, “tal, tal como”, rather, quite, pretty (bastante),
highly (extremadamente), by any chance (por casualidad), might (puede que),
perhaps (quizá), possibly (posiblemente), to be (un)likely to (es probable que),
 there is a high likelihood (hay una probabilidad alta), I stand a chance (apuesto
a que).
5. ORDER LINKERS:
. To start (1st paragraph): At first sight, first, first of all, in the first place, to start
with.
. To continue (2nd-3rd paragraphs): In the second place, second, secondly,
third, thirdly.
. To finish (4rd paragraph): Finally, in conclusion, lastly, and eventually.
6. FACT LINKERS:
. Actually (en realidad), as a matter of fact (de hecho), in fact (de hecho), as far
as I am concerned (por lo que a mí respecta), from my point of view (desde mi
punto de vista), I agree (estoy de acuerdo), I disagree (no estoy de acuerdo), in
my opinion (en mi opinión), in my view (según lo veo), I think that (creo que), it
is true that (es verdad que), personally (personalmente), to be honest (para ser
honesto), to tell the truth (a decir verdad).
7. EXPLANATION LINKERS:
. In other words (en otras palabras), in short: (en resumen), above all (sobre
todo), all in all (en general), at least (al menos), basically (básicamente),
especially (especialmente), essentially (esencialmente), in general (en general),
in particular (en particular), more or less (más o menos), on the whole (en
general), to a certain extent (hasta cierto punto).
S P E A K I N G: kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

1. PART 1:
. The examiner asks you a question. You reply to the examiner. You don't have
to talk to your partner in this part of the exam. It will take about 2 minutes.
Questions are normally on these topics: Your hobbies, your work or education,
things you like and things you don't like, friends and family, holidays, sports or
future plans.
2. PART 2:
. The examiner will give you two photos to each person. The photos are always
different but the process is always the same. The examiner will ask you to
compare the photos and say something about them.
3. PART 3:
. In part 3 you are given a spider web with five keywords linking to a question.
You get about 15 seconds to read everything, then you have to discuss it with
your partner for 2 minutes. When the 2 minutes are over, the examiner will
stop you and he will ask another question. You discuss that question for
another minute. You have 2 minutes to explore the 5 topics, and then another
minute to decide which is most important or the best. Useful language:
. Getting Started: “Which one shall we start with?”, “What do
you think, Bob?”, “Bob, I think you know a lot about [topic].
What's your opinion on it?”
. Moving to the Next Item: Shall we move onto [topic] now?; So what
about [topic]?; I wonder if we can compare [current topic] to [new
topic]?; What about this one? [pointing to topic]; What do you think
about this idea?; How do you feel about that one?; We're running out
of time, so let's move on.; We still need to discuss [topic].; Ah, that
 connects with the next topic.; [Topic] is pretty similar to the last one -
maybe we can skip it for now?.
. Ending your turn: What do you think?; Don't you agree?; Do you have
anything to say about that?; Do you have anything to add to that?; Did I
forget anything?.
. Interrupting: Sorry to interrupt but…; Just a second…
. Agreeing: Right; Good point; I fully agree; I was just thinking that!; I
was just going to say that!; That's just what I was thinking; I couldn't
agree more; You're totally right.
. Disagreeing (with reasons): Maybe, but what about...?; I think it
would be better to…; I'm not so keen on that; I don't really agree with
you there; Weeeeeell maybe, but…; Yeah, but, the thing is…; The
problem with what you said is…; For one thing...[reason 1] And for
another... [reason 2].
. Reaching a Decision: Well, I think it's definitely not [topic]; We can
eliminate [topic] right away. Don't you think?; So then, what do you
think is the best one?; I guess you think we should choose [topic]?; Are
we both in favour of [topic]?; Okay, so we agree.; I don't think we're
going to agree on this!; Let's agree to disagree!
4. PART 4:
. In this part of the test you have about 4 minutes to talk about the topics from
part 3 in more detail. You are tested on your ability to give opinions, give
reasons for your opinions, and your ability to politely discuss things with your
partner. The examiner asks you a question. You answer it. But it's not the same
as part 1. It's more like part 3 - you should respond to your partner's answers,
and you should ask for their opinions.
. Typical topics: Travel, where you live, history, life and leisure, shopping, tv and
films…
BUYING TIME GIVING YOUR GIVING ADDING
OPINION REASONS FOR REASONS
YOUR OPINIONS

I've never really What I think is ... because .... Another thing
thought about that... is...
that, but... ... so it's obvious
In my opinion, ... that... Apart from that,
What a good ...
question! It's clear to me ... That means...
that.. As well as that,
That's a good ...
question. One thing I'm
sure of is... There's also the
That's an fact that...
interesting I might be wrong
question. but ... And don't
forget...
Oh! Let me I'm no expert
think. Well, ... but...

ASKING YOUR INTERRUPTING TRYING TO

SPEAKING POLITELY CHANGE AN
PARTNER OPINION

What do you Do you mind if I Yes, but isn't it

think, Jack? add something? true that...

Do you have I'd like to Okay, but on the

anything to say comment on other hand...
about that? that.
Maybe there's
Jack, do you If I could just another way to
have anything to make a point. think about it.
add to that?
You're partly
Did I forget right, but...
anything?
L I S T E N I N G: kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

1. PART 1: The first part of the exam is quite easy, as long as you pay attention and
don't get fooled by the distractors. You hear 8 texts (monologues or dialogues)
and there's no connection between them. Each question is worth one point.
This part of the listening exam tests if you can understand what the speaker's
purpose or opinion is. It's also sometimes about understanding the gist of a
speech or picking up on details.
2. PART 2: This is a task called sentence completion. On your answer paper is a
text with ten gaps. You listen to a monologue for about 3 minutes and you have
to put the missing words (or numbers) into the text. Tips:
. Never write more than 3 words. If the answer is a number, you can
write the number. 300 (or you can write three hundred), 1918, etc.
. Be careful to read the whole sentence to make sure your answer fits
grammatically.
. The second question always comes after the first question. There is
normally one 'paragraph' for each question - if you look at some
transcripts from past papers you'll see what I mean. The first question
is answered in the first paragraph - on the recording the speaker leaves
a slight pause - then the next question is answered in the next section.
. The sentences on your paper are different from what you hear on the
recording. But the words you write should be exactly the same as what
you hear.
. Spelling isn't super-important in this part of the exam, though if you
spell something really incorrectly you could miss a point. Basically if it's
clear that you heard and understood the word, you should get a point.
The only way to be REALLY sure of getting a point is to spell it properly!
3. PART 3: In part 3 of the listening test you hear 5 short clips, each from a
different speaker, on the same topic. There are 8 options and you have to
match the options to the speakers. Obviously that leaves 3 options that don't
match any of the speakers.
4. PART 4: You hear an interview or conversation (about 3 minutes long) and have
to answer 7 multiple choice questions. By this time, you might be quite tired
from concentrating so this will be a challenge even if you’re normally quite
good at this kind of task. Like in the rest of the listening test, you have to ignore
distractors, listen for linking words, and understand the meaning of what the
people are saying.