CAE Writing Test Tips1. Introduction

You have 90 minutes to write two texts. Each text should be about 220-260

words long. Part 1 is always an essay, while in part 2 you have a choice of 3

tasks (letter/email; proposal; report; review).

The examiners assess you on 4 elements:

Content - Did you do the task you were asked to do?

Communicative achievement - Did you use the right tone and level of

formality?

Organisation - Did you link paragraphs together? Is there a logical flow?

Language - Did you show off your sparkling vocabulary or did you merely

use First Certificate words? Did you make lots of grammar mistakes?

2. Time management

You have 90 minutes to write 2 texts. Both texts will be about the same length,

and are worth the same number of points. Obviously, you should spend the

same amount of time on each! Personally, I'd spend as much time planning as

possible, since it makes everything else easier. The exact time split will depend

on how fast you write, but try something like this:

Planning - 10 minutes (I've made a video about the planning process - it's

in section 8 below.)

Writing - 25 minutes

Checking- 10 minutes

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3. You can't cook without a recipe

A lot of students hate planning and think it's a waste of valuable exam time. But

do chefs walk into a kitchen and just start cooking? Of course not - they lay out

their ingredients, make sure their utensils are clean, and have their recipe

nearby.

Your plan is the recipe you'll use to cook up a great piece of writing. Think about

how many paragraphs you want then get some ideas about the content of each.

But even at this early stage you should start planning the language you want to

use. Ask yourself questions like:

Where can I use a passive form?

Where can I use an inversion?

What CAE-level vocabulary do I know about this topic, and where can I use

it?

How do I link from one paragraph to the next?

Thinking about solutions before you start writing is the easiest way to solve

problems!

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4. Content

PART 1

The first thing you're assessed on is your content. That basically means reading

the task carefully and doing what you are told to do! In part 1 you are given

three bullet points but are asked to talk about TWO of them. (You're also given

some opinions on the topic that you can use if you want, but you don't have to.)

Here's an example of the three bullet points and a task:

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If I were planning my answer, I'd probably choose 'giving rules' and 'setting an

example' as my two points because I feel like I have more to say about those

topics. (How much would I write about 'offering advice'? Nothing! Because I

should only write about two things!)

Another important point is to say which is more effective. I'd probably write

one paragraph about 'giving rules', and the next paragraph would be about

'setting an example' - I would be sure to give reasons why it was a more

effective way to influence younger people.

PART 2

What about part 2? Again, it's important to read the question carefully and make

sure you include everything it tells you to.

Here's the kind of task that will come up:

Here's an outline you could follow:

Intro

Evaluation of the programme

The most useful parts of the programme

Suggested changes for next year

Summary

Not very imaginative, but you'd be guaranteed to get full marks in terms

of content!

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5. Communicative Achievement

TONE

Which is better English:

1. Wasssssssup?!

or

2. Dear Sir or Madam

Well, it depends who you're talking to! If your task is to write a report for your

'serious' organisation you should use a formal tone. If you're writing a magazine

article for teenagers you can be more informal.

This is a HUGE topic and there's not enough space to go into it in detail here. I'll

list a few external resources that might help, but a good coursebook will give

you lots of guidance. (Did we mention that Ready for CAE is the best

coursebook? Take a look on Amazon!)

The main tip is to be consistent - students often write a report that is 95%

formal, and then throw in some exclamation points, slang, contractions, and

informal vocabulary. That's bad! It suggest you don't have control over your

tone.

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Learn more about formal vs informal English:

on the Antimoon website  (run by two Polish students who mastered

English)

on the EngVid site

from the BBC

TASK TYPES

You should invest some time making sure you know the difference between a

letter and an essay, and between a report and a proposal. Here are a few quick

tips:

Essay

You need to give your opinion in an interesting way. CAE essays are often

academic in tone, so practice of formal writing will be helpful.

Letter/email

Write an email with the same opening/closing as a letter. In these you write

about your personal experiences. Your writing will have a purpose, like

responding to a newspaper article you don't agree with.

Report/Proposal

Use headings for each paragraph. The task will tell you some of the content you

need to include and you'll be able to use your imagination to add some more

ideas. You may be asked to evaluate if some goal has been achieved and/or to

suggest alternative courses of action. A proposal will have more scope for

making suggestions and more need for polite persuasive language.

6. Organisation

Cambridge love linking words and cohesive devices. These are bits of text like

'firstly', 'whereas', 'in addition', 'however', and so on. Properly used, they will

make your writing flow and make your text easier to read. You can't do well in

CAE without using these phrases.

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Here's a great list of cohesive devices - try to include them in your writing.

7. Language

Organising a text, using linking words, and getting all the content points is a

great start, but for a high grade you'll need to use advanced vocabulary and

more difficult sentence structures.

In the planning stage of the exam think about which high-level words you know

for that topic and think in which paragraph you can use them. For example, if

the topic is about transport you might use phrases like 'mass transit system', 'to

commute', 'congestion,' and 'pressed for time'.

Then you need to use a variety of structures - passives, inversions, cleft

sentences, questions, sentences with semi-colons. The more variety the better!

So instead of writing like this:

A lot of politicians say they will improve bus and train services. Having trains is

good for people who have to go to work. It means they don't have to take the

car to work. It is probably faster. If everyone takes a train to work there won't be

any traffic jams.

You can produce this:

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Why do progressive politicians pledge to provide mass transit systems in their

cities? The answer is clear: Not only do pressed-for-time commuters benefit,

but there is also less pollution. Let congestion be a thing of the past; let

flowers bloom next to every tram stop.

In those three sentences there is one question; one colon; one semi-colon; one

'not only but also'; one imperative. Not bad, right? You can write like this if you

practice and if you're not afraid to make some mistakes along the way.

8. Videos about CAE Writing

9. Common Mistakes in CAE Writing

GRAMMAR MISTAKES

Most CAE students don't make obvious, basic mistakes like your/you're or its/it's.

But they do struggle with things like:

Relative clauses

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You need to learn the difference between defining and non-defining relative

clauses. Your non-defining clauses need commas, while your defining clauses

shouldn't have commas.

I had lunch with my grandfather, who is 90 years old. (The second half of the

sentence tells you more about my grandfather. It's bonus information, so there

has to be a comma.)

I had lunch with my friend who lives in Prague. (I am very cool and popular - I

have lots of friends. If I say 'I had lunch with my friend' you don't know which

friend I mean. So the 'who lives in Prague' clause gives you essential

information. Therefore, no comma!)

Note that non-defining pronouns cannot be changed to 'that', so you should

never write a comma followed by 'that'. (This is especially a problem for German

speakers because in German you HAVE to use a comma before 'that'.)

Gerund vs infinitive

Gerund means the -ing form of a verb. This is a tricky part of grammar because

there are no rules and you have to learn every verb one by one. English! Argh!

Anyway, make sure you know these structures:

I used to live in China (= I lived in China).

I'm using to hearing German (= hearing German is normal for me).

I look forward to meeting you.

I stopped smoking (= I quit).

I stopped to smoke (= I stopped what I was doing because I wanted to have a

cigarette).

I recommend buying new computer equipment. (Suggest and advise are also

followed by gerunds.)

I recommend you buy new computer equipment.

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Prepositions

So hard! So many prepositions! So many mistakes! Just learn as many as you

can and remember, every single student who has ever taken the CAE exam has

struggled with prepositions. You are not alone!

Conditionals

If I get the job I will move to Zurich. (The speaker is confident.)

If I got the job I would move to Zurich. (The speaker is not confident.)

If I had got the job I would have moved to Zurich. (But the speaker didn't get the

job and didn't move to Zurich.)

OTHER MISTAKES

Not taking risks 

A lot of students always write the same, safe, things they always write. To

master advanced vocabulary and structures you have to use advanced

vocabulary and structures! 

Being boring

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It's hard enough to produce a well-structured piece of writing with good

vocabulary that fits the content. But remember that the examiners read

hundreds and hundreds of essays and most of them are very boring! If you

make yours interesting (though the style, unexpectedly good vocabulary, maybe

even a joke or two) the examiners will be VERY happy and you will be

REWARDED.

10. Frequently Asked Questions

Q - Do I have to use British spelling?

A - No, it doesn't matter. But if you use American spelling, be consistent

throughout your writing.

Q - How important is spelling and punctuation?

A - It's pretty important - If you make a trivial mistake it won't be a big deal. If

the mistake stops the reader from understanding what you mean then you will

lose points.

Q - How important is the word count? What happens if I write too many words?

A - The word count is a guide, not a rule. But if you do the task properly

you will write about 220-260 words. If you write 300 words then you've

probably written lots of stuff you don't need. If you write 200 words you've

probably forgotten something.

DO NOT waste time in the exam counting how many words you have written!

And never add or remove words just because of the word count - it'll turn out

clumsy and weird.

Q - I know I need to use complex sentences to get a good grade, but I'm worried

about making mistakes. Is it better to have a simple text with no mistakes?

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A - Cambridge says that students who make mistakes while trying to use

complex structures will get credit for trying (as long as the mistake doesn't stop

the reader from understanding).

Q - My handwriting is terrible! No-one can read it! Will I lose points?

A - No. Your handwriting is not very important. Just make sure it can be read.

Also, you don't need to rewrite your text (and you don't have time to rewrite it) -

if it's got lots of bits crossed out, don't worry. Every student's writing looks the

same!

Is CAE hard? Buy some stuff to make it easier! Take a look at the Courses,

Products, Tools, page.

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