CAE WRITING

TASKS
1.- Compulsory Essay
■ 220 – 260 words
■ CAP
■ Content:
– write about what you are asked to write
■ Communicative achievement
– Right tone and level of formality (audience)
■ Organization
– Cohesion
– coherence
■ Language
– Range of grammatical structures (relative clauses, modal verbs,etc.)
– Range of vocabulary (collocations, fixed expressions)
Time management
■ 90 minutes to write 2 tasks
■ Suggestion:
– Planning: 10 minutes
– Writing: 25 minutes
– Checking: 10 minutes
■ Master the Writing process
– Pre-writing
– Drafting
– Revising
– Editing
Writing Process
■ Pre-writing
– CAP
– Brainstorming
– Organization
■ Drafting
– Length and complexity of sentences
– Passive forms, inversions, CAE level vocabulary.
– Paragraphs (Nº and cohesive devices) – Introduction &
Conclusion
– Hook / Thesis statement/ topic sentences/ supporting
sentences.
Writing Process cont.
■ Revising - RUBRIC
– Ideas
– Organization
– Word choice
– Sentence fluency
– Voice
■ Editing
– Mechanics
■ Spelling
■ Capitalization
■ punctuation
– Grammar and Vocabulary
■ TENSES (Variety and agreement)
■ CONNECTORS (cohesive devices, conjuctions, linking words.
Pre-writing
■ Prepare
– Topic
– Audience
– Purpose
■ Generate ideas
– Think
– Brainstorm
– Research
■ Organize
– Writing frames
– Strategies
– Think sheets
– Graphic organizers
Drafting
■Transcribe
– Take ideas and transcribe them into:
■COMPLETE SENTENCES that vary in
length and complexity
■WELL ORGANIZED PARAGRAPHS with
topic sentences and supportive details
and facts.
■LONGER WRITTEN PRODUCTS with
coherent beginnings and endings
REVISING AND EDITING
■ Revise to improve writing based on the rubric
and/or the traits that have been emphasized:
– Ideas
– Organization
– Word choice
– Sentence Fluency

■ Edit writing for CONVENTIONS including:

– Spelling - Capitalization
– Punctuation - Grammar
– Voice
Let’s practise

■ In CLASSROOM you will find 9 paragraphs about a topic.

■ Using what we have discussed so far, analyse them to see whether
they CLEARLY show the aspects studied so far.
Off to work
■ Using the guidelines discussed write an essay on
the topic given.
■ Try not to spend more than 45 minutes. (10 – 25 –
10)
■ Read the instructions
■ What are you asked to do?
■ Think about HOW you are going to do it. You
might consider useful to brainstorm ideas before
writing your draft.
■ Follow the “Writing Process” steps.
AUTONOMOUS WORK
■If you are interested in getting more
information about this, visit the following
link:
https://owl.excelsior.edu/writing-process/
■For information on the assessment criteria:
https://c.studentlanguages.com/cae-writing-
marking-criteria/
 WRITING:
COMPULSORY
ESSAY
session 2
Flash test

■ How many tasks does the WRITING Part of CAE have?

■ How much time do you have for the WRITING Part?
■ How long is the compulsory essay?
■ How much time are you supposed to spend on Task 1?
■ Which are some of the important features you have to keep in mind
when starting to write?
■ How many paragraphs is the minimun you need to write? Which ones?
■ Which are the 3 important parts of the Introduction?
Let’s see: This essay has been corrected, explain the corrections
Comments
■ Collocations
■ Word choice
■ Nouns / verbs
■ Passive / Active voice
■ Development of ideas
■ Modal verbs
■ Register
 Now on your own… Do the same with
- this essay…
It is often said that the government provides just a few resources on facilities which people frequently use, but this time local
authorities have decided that a couple of facilities would receive money to improve their quality and encourage people to
make a better use of these. The big debate is in which of these facilities will the money be invested, whether museums,
sports centres or public gardens.

- First of all, investing money on sports centres may generate a safe place for people who want to exercise. Nowadays, there
are lots of people who want to play sports but do not have a proper place to do it, they even play basketball or football in an
awful ground, so it should be a wise decision to improve these places to make sports more attractive. Besides, it will increase
the value of the city in terms of competitiveness, because if sports centres focus on making teams of certain sports, these
teams would represent the city and invite more and more people to join to practice many interesting sports suitable for all
ages.

- Finally, to complement the change in sport centres and achieve the interest of people, investing resources in public gardens
will create the ideal environment for everyone to enjoy going outside. Runners will be in a great mood while running along
plenty of green areas, and the elderly could breathe a healthier air while playing chess or walking.

- In my opinion, sport centres and public gardens are the best options to invest money in if you want to make an enjoyable
city.