CAE READING & USE OF ENGLISH: Format and

Tips
8 parts to do in 90 minutes.
Every reading text has a title. Always read the title so you have an idea of what
you are about to read.
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Part 1: UOE Multiple Choice

A short text with 8 gaps and 4 possible words to choose from.

This part tests your:

vocabulary skills
similar words – do you know the difference between see, look, watch,
and stare?
knowledge of idioms
lend a hand, get out of hand, like the back of my hand
phrasal verbs
break down, break in, break up, break out, or break off
word collocations – capable of, dependent on, famous for, relevant to
grammar - Learn your prepositions.

Tips:
Read the gapped sentences one by one.
Read the words before and after the gap.
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Part 2: UOE Open Cloze

A short text with 8 gaps.
You need to write one word for each gap.

This part tests your knowledge of:

grammar
Articles (a, an, the)
Auxiliary or modal verbs (am, is, are, can, will)
Pronouns (we, us)
Conjunctions (and, although, because)
Possessive adjectives (my, our)
Prepositions (at, in, with)
fixed phrases (by mistake, in a hurry, on purpose, all of a sudden)
phrasal verbs (go along with, call off, check it out)

Tips:
Correct spelling is important.
When you have finished, read through the completed text to make sure
that it makes sense and is grammatically correct.
Part 3: UOE Word Formation
Another short text with 8 gaps.
Next to each gap, you find a word which you need to transform to make
it fit the grammatical context.
Knowing your prefixes and suffixes is key to success here.

Tips:
 Decide what type of word you need (noun, adjective, etc.)
 Think about how you should change the word to form the word you
need.
- Does it need a prefix or suffix?
- Does it need a negative prefix (un, in, dis, etc)?
- If the word is a noun, should it be singular or plural?
- If it is a verb, what form is needed (-ed, or -ing)?
 Correct spelling is important.
 When you have finished, read through the completed text to make
sure that it makes sense and is grammatically correct.
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Part 4: UOE Key Word Transformation

Part 4 is one of the trickiest parts as it covers a wide range of grammar
that many candidates struggle, especially under time pressure.
You are presented with 6 pairs of sentences.
The first sentence is the lead-in sentence.
The second sentence contains a gap.
You need to fill in the gap with between 3 and 6 words, including the
keyword without changing it.
Contractions count as two words.

Tips:
Read the question and decide what grammar and vocabulary you need.
Think about:
- whether you need an expression, e.g. it’s not worth, there’s no point.
- whether you need a phrasal verb, e.g. turn out, go ahead.
- whether you need to change a verb from active to passive
- whether you need to put something into reported speech
- whether you need to use a verb + ing.

When you have finished, read through the completed text to make sure
that it makes sense and is grammatically correct.
Part 5: Reading Multiple Choice
6 questions with four possible answers

Tips:
 Read the text quickly to get a general idea of it’s about.
 Read the first question, find the answer and underline it.
 Read each of the options A-D and choose the one which matches the
meaning of the text.
 The questions are answered in the same order in the text.
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Part 6: Reading Cross-Text Multiple Matching

In part 6, you read 4 shorter texts and answer 4 questions which are
designed in a way that you have to read all the texts in order to find your
answer.

Tips:
 Pay particular attention to the attitudes and opinions expressed.
 Identify any similarities and differences of opinions which are
immediately obvious.
 Read the questions one at a time and identify which aspect of the
topic it is focused on.
 To answer the questions, you need to keep the topic in mind and then
scan the text as often as necessary, looking for the similarities and
differences of opinion.
 You will always have to compare all the texts with one another to find
the correct answer.
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Part 7: Reading Gapped Text

You read a longer text from which 6 paragraphs have been removed.
You have to decide which paragraph fits in each gap.
There is one extra paragraph which does not fit into any of the gaps.

Tips:
 First read the text carefully, looking at the subject of each paragraph and the
information before and after each gap.
 Then read each of the missing paragraphs one by one, paying close attention
to the content.
 Pay close attention to the words and phrases in the missing paragraphs which
may refer to something in the text.
 When you have finished, quickly read the text again to check your answers.
Part 8: Reading Multiple Matching
In Part 8, you always get the questions first.
You read several short texts and you get ten questions/statements.
You have to match each question or statement to a part of the text.
Each part might contain the answer to more than one question.
This task tests your ability to locate specific information quickly.

Tips:
 Read the questions/statements first.
 Underline the main idea.
 Answer the easy and obvious questions first.
 Many of the sections say similar things, so you will have to read
carefully to decide which section answers the question exactly.
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