GENERAL TIPS

1. Always start by READING THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST. You need to know

what to do so don’t skip reading the instructions

2. Never leave an answer blank. In the FCE you don’t lose marks for wrong
answers.

**READING**
GENERAL TIPS
● READ THE TEXT FIRST. Except for part 7. Before answering the
questions, read the text quickly to get a general understanding of it.
● Remember that you’re not expected to understand every single word in
the text. Where possible, try to quickly work out the meaning of
unfamiliar words from the context, but don’t waste time.
● Be careful of distractors – words or phrases that might lead you to
choose the wrong answer.

**LISTENING**
GENERAL TIPS
● READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

● Don't get cocky - you might be 100% sure that your answer is right and think
you don't have to listen when the tape is played the second time. DON’T LOSE
FOCUS AND DOUBLE CHECK YOUR ANSWERS!

● Use whatever time you have to read the questions, underline keywords, and
PREDICT possible answers.

● Be careful of distractors: they will mention ALL the possible answers

**WRITING**
The examiners give you a grade based on 4 things, SO MIND THEM:

● Content - Did you write what you were asked to write?

● Communicative achievement - Was your writing too formal, too informal, or just
right?
● Organisation - Did you link paragraphs and sentences? Is there a logical flow
from start to finish?
● Language - Did you show off your sparkling vocabulary or did you use basic
words? Did you make lots of grammar and spelling mistakes?
EXAM PARTS AND SPECIFIC TIPS

RUE

RUE PART 1 (Multiple-choice cloze)

This tests vocabulary, including phrasal

verbs, collocations, linking words,
dependent prepositions…

● Read the text first, ignoring the gaps, in

order to have a general understanding of it.
● Pay close attention to the words before
and after the gaps.
● When you’ve finished, read through the
text with your answers to check that it
makes good sense.

RUE PART 2 (Open cloze)

This part tests grammar, so the words you

need to fill the gaps will be prepositions,
auxiliary and modal verbs, conjunctions,
articles, quantifiers, pronouns and so on.
Follow the same steps as in part 1.
RUE PART 3 (Word formation)
This tests vocabulary
● Read the whole text through first to get
a general understanding of it.

● Work out which part of speech you need

of the gap (e.g., adjective, adverb)

● Bear in mind that you might need to

make more than one change. For example:
He’s so rude and _____________.
FRIEND > unfriendly

RUE PART 4 (Key word transformations)

This tests your ability to paraphrase

● don’t change the key word

● only use between 2 and 5 words

● make sure you keep the meaning of

the sentence. Also try to use the same
verbs as much as possible.

Remember, correct spelling is important

in this part of the exam.
RUE PART 5 (Text with multiple-choice questions)

● Read the text first.

● When you read the questions don’t

read the options given. First try to
answer in your own words and then look
at the options to find the one most similar
to your answer.

RUE PART 6 (Text with sentences missing)

● Read the text first.

● The most important sentences

are the ones before and after each
gap - read these very closely.

● You don't have to fill in the

answers in order - start with the one
you think is easiest and when you
get to the most difficult one there will
only be 2 answers left.
RUE PART 7 (Multiple matching)

● Read the questions first.

● Underline the key words and

phrases in the question.

● Find synonyms - if a word is in

both the text and a question it is
probably NOT the answer. That would
be much too easy, wouldn't it?

LISTENING
LISTENING PART 1 (8 conversations multiple-choice)

● Use the time given before the

recording starts to read the questions, but
ignore the a,b,c answers.

● Underline the key words in the

questions, keep ignoring the a, b, c
answers.

● To avoid 'distractors', I suggest

covering the a,b,c options until you have
listened to the passage. Then, after
listening and still not looking at the options,
decide what you think might be the answer
to the question. Then look at the a,b,c
options and see if one option is similar to
what you thought.
LISTENING PART 2 (Complete gapped sentences)

● Remember, the trick in this part is that

the sentences MUST MAKE SENSE.

● Think what type of word you need.Ex:

number, noun, adjective and write it next to
the gap.

LISTENING PART 3 (Multiple matching)

● READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. You will

know what to look for when you read the
instructions.

● Read the sentences and underline the

key words

● Do the exam TWICE. On the second

time the recording is played, start from scratch.
(After the second time you listen, you might
realise you have written 'A/C' next to
speaker 1 and just 'A' next to speaker 2. If
you have not written 'C' next to any other
speaker, it would make sense to choose 'C'
for speaker 1.)
LISTENING PART 4 (Long recording multiple-choice)

FOLLOW THE SAME METHOD AS

PART 1

WRITING
WRITING PART 1 (Opinion essay)

● FORMAL LANGUAGE (NO

contractions, NO direct language)
● STRUCTURE= Intro + 3 paragraphs
(one for idea) + conclusion
● Make sure you include all the points
in the instructions.
● Don’t repeat the task question for
the intro. Use your own words!
● Obey the word limit!
● Remember to give arguments for
each “idea”
WRITING PART 2

● You have to write one of the

following: a formal or an informal
letter/email, a review, a report or a
short story. Each of these is a distinct
kind of text and will require a particular
kind of language, so bear in mind:

1. who you are writing to (a friend, a

company, a magazine etc.)

2. what you are trying to do (get

information, tell a story, express your
opinions, etc.)

3. STRUCTURE (for example, emails

and letters use set phrases, stories need
an introduction, a body and a conclusion,
etc.)

4. which register you need (formal,

informal, descriptive, factual etc.)

● Make sure you include all the points in the instructions.

● Obey the word limit!

SPEAKING
The speaking paper has 4 parts and is done with another candidate.
Part 1 (Interview) – Here you answer simple questions about your job or studies,
your hometown, your hobbies and so on. Make sure you extend your answers,
don’t worry, they will stop you when it’s time.
Part 2 (Picture comparison) – Here you are given two pictures and asked to
contrast them (Don’t describe them!) and answer a question about them. Don’t
forget to answer the question on the paper. After your partner does their part you
will have to answer a question related to their pictures.
Part 3 (collaborative task) – Here both candidates are given a task and some
written prompts (e.g. showing live football, having an international food menu and so
on). It’s important to interact well with your partner, making sure you work together
to complete the task using language to express opinions, respond to
suggestions, show agreement and disagreement etc.
Part 4 (Discussion) – Here you will have the chance to show that you can discuss
the issues and ideas from Part 3 in more depth. Make sure you give full, extensive
answers to the examiner’s questions.