Hi, in today’s lesson you will be learning about the Cambridge First Certificate writing exam.
What it involves and how to get the best grade you can.
This is the first in a series of how to improve your writing, so look out for more lessons to come!
So firstly, the Cambridge FCE writing exam is in 2 parts.
Part 1 is a compulsory essay and part 2 is where you get a choice to write either
an article, a letter or email, a report, a review or a story.
The exam is 1h 20 mins long, so that gives you 40 minutes for each part.
The questions are written in a booklet and the answers are written in a separate booklet with lined pages.
You have 2 pages for answer one and for part 2 you must put the number of the question
you are answering in the box.
Here. Here. You can see here.
So, let’s look at this paper in more detail.
Firstly, part one is the essay.
OK, this is the compulsory part, you must write an essay.
Here is an example of an FCE part one question.
As you can see, you have to write between 140 and 190 words.
Writing the right number of words is really important.
If you write less, it might mean that you have not successfully answered the question
and if you write too much it may mean that you have either included irrelevant information,
or repeated ideas or you have poor organisation.
Both writing too little and too much will reduce your mark.
It is also stated that it should be “in an appropriate style.”
This means that it is written in the correct register.
Should it be formal English or informal English?
This will affect the language you use.
And for an essay you should write in formal or neutral style.
Your vocabulary and grammar should reflect this.
In this case, the subject of education is introduced and you are told who you are writing for.
Your teacher.
Whenever you write, it is really important to know who will be reading your writing.
In this case the essay.
Who is your reader?
Then the question is stated and you are given 2 prompts to give you ideas
and you must introduce a third distinct idea of your own.
It is really important that you clearly write about all 3 ideas.
What are the examiners looking for?
Firstly, remember to answer the question.
Do you agree or disagree with the question?
Sometimes I see students who write brilliantly about the prompts but don’t answer the question.
You can either answer it in the first paragraph or maybe in your conclusion.
But remember, answer the question!
Give your opinion on a question, give information or explanations.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a topic,
Compare and contrast ideas and opinions, and always support your ideas with reasons and examples
and then finally draw a conclusion.
The examiners are looking for you to engage the reader
and express your ideas in a clear and logical way
that it is well organised.
So, now let’s look at part 2.
Here is an example part 2 question.
So again, we see the same word count of 140-190 words
and written in the appropriate style.
Should this be formal or informal?
Part 2 often gives you more opportunity to write informal English.
Again, ask yourself, who is my reader and choose the appropriate register.
Question 2 is asking you to write a review.
Question 3, in this example, is asking to write an article
and question 4 is asking you to write an email.
So, what are the examiners looking for in part 2?
In this part of the exam, examiners are giving you the chance to show your range of English
your range of language
. to use a variety of grammatical structures and new vocabulary and expressions.
Write in the correct register, is it formal or informal?
If it’s informal you can use, things like phrasal verbs and more informal structures and vocabulary.
So now let’s look at the choice of writing tasks you have for part 2 of the writing exam.
So, you have an article which is usually written for an English-language magazine or newsletter
ad the reader is assumed to have similar interests to you.
The main purpose is to interest and engage the reader,
so there should be some opinion or comment.
Then you have an email or letter
and this is written in response to the situation outlined in the question.
It, again, must be written in the appropriate register and tone for the target reader.
Letters and emails are often informal to an English-speaking friend or colleague,
but should be more formal to a potential employer, a college principal or a magazine editor.
A report is usually written for a superior, for example, a teacher,
or a peer group, maybe members of an English club.
You are expected to give some factual information and make suggestions or recommendations.
A report should be clearly organised and may include headings.
A review is usually written for an English-language magazine, newspaper or website.
The main purpose is to describe and express a personal opinion about something which you have experienced
maybe a film, a holiday, a product, or a website
and your aim is to give the reader a clear impression of what the item discussed is like.
Description and explanation are important for this task
and a review will normally include a recommendation.
And finally, a story which is normally written for an English-language magazine or website.
Its purpose is to engage the interest of the reader.
and those that score highest show a clear storyline
which links coherently with the first given sentence.
It uses the 2 given prompts successfully
and demonstrates a good use of the narrative tenses.
And I have a lesson on that up here, so do check it out!
OK so now let’s talk about marking
Each part is marked out of 20,
so the total mark for the writing part is 40.
There are 4 different areas of marking.
Firstly, content.
Here they are looking to see if you discussed all three points for the essay
including your own idea
and if the content was relevant.
Secondly, they are looking for communicative achievement
Now, what does that mean?
It means - did you communicate effectively?
Did you use the appropriate register?
Did you use informal language when it was for a friend?
or did you use formal language if it was somebody more senior?
And do you communicate your ideas effectively?
So, the more complex the ideas which are successfully communicated gain higher marks.
And examiners will always give credit for you trying more complex ideas and structures even if you make mistakes.
So, be ambitious, don’t stick to simple English because that is safe.
We are looking for B2 language.
and also does it hold the reader’s attention?
OK, also organisation – is your writing clearly organised?
Do you use linking devices to link ideas?
If you want more on this, click the link above for a lesson just on this. So up there.
OK, so, lastly it's language. What is the level of vocabulary and grammar used?
Do you use a wide range of vocabulary or are you just using everyday words?
One tip is to not repeat words but find a different way of saying things.
If you keep repeating, for example, the word, effective, many times it doesn’t add anything to your writing,
Whereas if you use different words such as, powerful or successful, it shows you have a wide range of vocabulary.
So remember, don't repeat words!
Also, you can vary the length of sentences which gives different impact,
you can use direct and indirect questions, and a variety of structures and vocabulary.
So remember B2 English. Not simple. We need more sophisticated English for this level.
Finally, here are some of my recommendations to do well in the FCE writing exam.
For good marks in organisation, I would recommend you write in clear, distinct paragraphs.
A new paragraph for a new idea.
For example, in part 1, writing the essay, write an introduction, 3 distinct paragraphs for each prompt and a conclusion.
It is also a really good idea to underline the most important parts of the question before you begin, so you don’t miss anything.
Write a plan of what you want to say and look for opportunities to show your range of language.
So, plan to use certain structures.
I'm going to use this B2 structure in my essay.
Where can I put it?
This is what we are looking for.
So, for example, you could say, I'm going to use a second conditional
and I'm going to say, "If I was a teacher, I would encourage my students."
So you need to actually plan to use language.
Don’t count your words.
it can lead to clumsy alterations to what you have written.
Practice writing this length of work.
Guesstimate the number, 19 lines with 10 words a line is 190 words.
The examiner won’t count the words.
Be aware of spelling and punctuation.
Although spelling and bad punctuation are not specifically marked,
it can cause difficulties with understanding and can affect your grade.
and also it gives just a bad impression.
If you use American spelling that's fine but stick to it.
So if you start using American spelling you should stick to it and not mix throughout your writing.
Finally, write clearly.
Examiners are only human and marking writing that is difficult to read is not easy.
Although, it shouldn’t affect your mark, it still doesn’t give the positive impression you want to give.
So try and write as clearly as you can.
Make an effort, guys, it's worth it!
So that’s it for today. I hope you feel more confident for the Cambridge FCE writing exam.
Remember to like this lesson is you found it useful,
and share it with your friends and colleagues taking the Cambridge FCE exam
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Keep an eye out also for new videos in the writing series, so there's more to come.
Take Care and see you very soon! Bye, bye!