CAE Writing

Writing will be the second part of your CAE exam. It is 90 minutes long, consisting of two separate tasks. In CAE
Writing Task 1 you have to read three points on a topic and then write an essay based on two of them. In your
answer you have to point out which of the two points is more important. Your essay has to be 220-260 words long.

CAE Writing Assessment Criteria

Writing Task 1 will be an ESSAY

You might want to read advice on basics of essay composition before moving to the exam tasks.

CAE Writing Assessment Criteria

Your Writing score depends on four different aspects:

Content. How well you is your writing at achieving the task. Have you developed all the points required by the task?

Communicative Achievement. How appropriate is your writing in terms of style. Have you used the right register
(formal/informal)? Does your writing fill the style requirements of your text type (report, review, essay, letter)? Do
you understand the purpose of the text youre writing?

Organisation. How logically you structure your text (introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion). How well you
connect your ideas in the text (cohesion).

Language. Your grammar and vocabulary. How diverse is your choice of grammar structure? How varied is your
vocabulary? How error-free are they?

Writing Task 1

We will use an example task as an illustration:

You have watched a TV programme about scholarship and who should get in in your country. You have made the
following notes:

Who should receive scholarship?

People with exceptional academic performance

Foreign exchange students
Members of low-income families
Some of the opinions expressed in the programme:

Students have to earn their right for free education.

Children of parents with low income are usually more diligent learners.

Students from abroad should feel welcomed in our country.

You should write an essay for your tutor discussing two groups of people that should get scholarship. You are free to
use any of the opinions from the programme if you like, but you should use your own words whenever possible.

Your introductory paragraph should state the topic of your essay and its purpose. It is recommended to make it clear
which two points (out of three) you will be writing about. Alternatively you may choose to state that in the first
sentence of each body paragraph. It is possible to use both approaches together then you will have to make sure
to paraphrase these statements. Avoid making your introduction too long 3-5 sentences is an optimal length for
your opening paragraph.

Body paragraphs are the tools by which you deliver the key message of your writing. As you will be writing about two
different points it is natural to dedicate one paragraph to each point. You are advised to keep body paragraphs
approximately the same size both points should be developed equally well. Some of the tasks require you to
choose which of the two aspects is more important, and to state the reason for it being more important. In that case
it is acceptable to make one of the paragraphs slightly bigger. This can be done both in the body paragraph and
conclusion.

Your conclusion is commonly the shortest of all paragraphs. Most students tend to write a slightly paraphrased
version of ideas already mentioned in introduction or body paragraphs. This is a valid technique and there is nothing
wrong about it. It is especially good when you have exhausted the topic and therefore you have nothing else to
contribute to the text. Another possible approach is to introduce extra ideas as shown in the example essay below.

Tuition fees have never been low on the contrary, only the chosen few can comfortably afford paying their
studying costs. To participate in a scholarship programme has always been every students aspiration. Not only does
the scholarship spare serious expenses, it also looks good on ones CV. In the paragraphs below I will explain my
opinion on why members of poor families and students with outstanding marks should be getting preferences for
scholarship programme participation.

Young people from families with insufficient means are generally unable to to pay for their education. Conversely,
children of financially-sound households are more likely to get into scholarship, as they usually have much better
secondary education not to mention their parents being well able to cover tuition fees. These facts eventually
lead to further widening of the wealth gap between the rich and the poor, entailing a number of social and economic
issues. Such opportunity inequality could be mitigated by lowering the scholarship requirements for the less wealthy.

Prospective students with impressive academic records should not be discouraged from continuing their education
by charging for it. Considering their mental aptitude and zeal, these young people are very likely to become highly-
qualified professionals, potentially making a appreciable contribution to the society. Therefore they ought to be
eligible for scholarship participation even if they do not meet other, non-academic requirements.

Provision of scholarship grants is not an easy task. The decision-making system should be fair and impartial, ensuring
that only the most worthy and needy have their academic expenses taken care of by the government. It is only then
we can ensure that the programme serves its initial purpose.

(272 words)
For CAE Writing Task 2 you are given three different assignments to choose from. Your work must be 220-260 words
long. Going over the limit is not penalized, but potentially leads to more mistakes. However if your text is under 220
you will have points deducted from your overall score.

Writing Task 2 Review Report Letter Proposal

CAE Review
Review task is about providing details on the task subject, giving your opinion and recommending (or not
recommending) to see/watch/read it. Your review can be on a variety of things such as books, movies, plays, events
and much more.
Your writing can be either formal or informal. It is clear from the task which register you are supposed to use.
Whichever you use, you should be consistent and stick to one register throughout the whole essay.

Suggested CAE Review Structure

Use the introductory paragraph to name what you are going to be reviewing, state its genre (i.e. a science fiction
novel, a horror movie, a vaudeville performance and so on). It is possible to write about authors other notable
works if there are any. To make your introduction more engaging, you may briefly state your general impression on
it. Make your introduction at least three sentences long.

Your first body paragraph should give a short summary of the reviewed material. Give a brief overview
plot, setting, actors, general idea. Avoid giving your opinion in this paragraph you will do this in the
following passages.
Second and third body paragraphs can be used to describe good and bad points respectively. Unlike CAE
Writing Task 1 your paragraphs dont have to be of same length if you liked the described thing then your
paragraph with good points will be naturally bigger than the other one. In the negative points paragraph you
can name things that could be changed to improve the quality of the product.
Conclusion will contain your general impression and your verdict. Use this paragraph to sum up the good
and bad points to make an objective assessment of the reviewed material. You may then recommend or
dissuade your readers from seeing/attending it.

An example task to illustrate this:

Your teacher of literature asked you to write a review of your favourite book which has a film adaptation. Your
teacher wants you to compare them and tell which do you like more and why.
(The task clearly stated that you will be writing to your tutor, which implies use of formal register.)

The title I am going to review is a rare example when the movie manages to trump the book it is based on. Today I
am reviewing Fight Club by an infamous American novelist Charles Palahniuk his most widely-known, universally
acclaimed work.

It is a daunting task to find a person unfamiliar with the movie. The plot engages you from the very start a young
professional finds his apartment destroyed by an explosion of unknown origin. Agitated, he phones his newfound
acquaintance Tyler whom he had met on the plane. They meet at a bar and the story becomes increasingly complex,
yet pleasantly effortless to follow. Through its narrative a number of problems are tackled self-identity, peer
pressure, middle-life crises and some other. The characters are likeable and easy to relate to. Both acting and
directing are superb. But what makes it better than the book?

The only objective fault I could find in the book was the order of events. It goes back and forth, which at times
proves to be confusing. The movie manages the sequencing much better. Other than that the book is brilliant
vigorous prose that manages to evoke strong images. Its that the movie is so good that the book tends to slightly
fade in all its glory. People tend to read the book after seeing the adaptation, thus coming with high expectations
that can be hard to meet.

To sum this up, I would recommend reading the book nonetheless. It may seem inferior in some respects, but it does
help to understand the main theme of Fight Club better. (266 words)
CAE Report

CAE Report task is about giving your opinion on a subject. The difference between CAE review and report is that your
report should be as objective as possible. Another important difference is that CAE report should have clear
headings for each paragraph. A report has to be written in formal English. Suggested CAE report structure
In your introductory paragraph you state the the subject your report will be about. It is usually done by paraphrasing
the information you are given in the task (see example report below). You may also state the main points of your
report to make it easier for your reader to navigate through it.
As it was mentioned before, each of your paragraphs should have a separate heading. For body paragraphs each
heading will be an aspect of the thing your report is about. For example, if your report is on a local school, your
headings can be:
Staff. This paragraph will be about the schools teachers and other personnel
Classrooms. Description of school premises and facilities
Curriculum. How the teaching process is organised.
Your heading names dont have to be that straightforward you can show some creativity there. Make sure that
the meaning of your headings is clear your reader should understand the content of the paragraph from the
heading.
Your conclusion sums up the points mentioned above and provides a general assessment. You can voice your
recommendations and suggestions if the task says you to do so.
To help you structure your report you can write out possible headings. A properly structured text is much easier to
write and more pleasant to follow. Use your draft paper to write up an outline plan, but do not spend too much time
on it 2-4 minutes are usually enough to come up with a solid heading structure.

EXAMPLE
You have completed your internship at a big company. As a part of your job placement programme you should write
a report to your employment counsellor. In your report you should describe the company you worked at, the
problems you encountered and propose any additional training you feel is necessary.

Introduction
For the past three months I had been working for Escom Limited, the biggest law firm in our town. I have
participated in real working environment, gained new skills and made acquaintances with people from the industry.
In this report I will sum up my experience in this company.

Escom Structure
The company has a well-defined tier system. Being an intern I started at the first tier with everybody except other
interns being my superiors. To get used to this strict hierarchy proved to be a serious challenge but eventually I
adapted to it. Such system has its merits as you move up the ranks you get access to more documents, legal tools
and get to interact with senior staff. Even though the system has its downsides it is nevertheless very effective and
efficient.

The Challenges
As an intern I had to perform a wide array of tasks. I had to interact with the companys clients, fill in various forms,
go through tomes of legal data and sort the mail. Unfortunately some of them had no relation to my field of study
whatsoever oftentimes I would get asked to bring in some take-away food or fix a malfunctioning computer.
Some of the tasks proved to be too daunting for me, but overall I think I did just fine.

Improving Myself
Having completed my internship I could finally see my professional shortcomings. There are many things to improve
on first and foremost I have to work on my social skills. I found it difficult to talk to clients that I see for the first
time and it is a must to make them feel comfortable. I should also study up on the recent law amendments at
times I found myself unaware of the latest developments in legal proceedings.

Conclusion
I have thoroughly enjoyed my brief stay with the company. Even though the system has its downsides it is
nevertheless very effective and efficient.

(274 words)
CAE Speaking

CAE Speaking consists of 4 parts and lasts for 15 minutes. The exam is usually administered in pairs, meaning that
you will have a speaking partner, a test-taker just like you. You are assessed by two CAE representatives one
interviewer and one observer. There are four speaking assessment criteria, each making up to 25% of your total
score.

As the exam has been revised, CAE 2015 has slightly different structure. Make sure to get acquainted with the new
format below.

Part 1. Examiner to student conversation (2 minutes)

Part 2. Individual long turn and second candidates response (2 minutes)
Part 3. Discussion between candidates and reaching an agreement (3 minutes)
Part 4. Continuation of Part 3 topic discussion (up to 5 minutes)

Part 1. Examiner to Student Conversation

The first part consists of general questions such as Why did you decide to take this exam?, How long have you
been studying English?, What do you think is the best about your country? and so forth. The questions then take
a widened scope, the candidates are asked about their life, hobbies, plans and so on. The examiner asks both test-
takers in turns. Test-takers do not get to answer the same questions. This task lasts for 2 minutes.

Part 2. Individual Long Turn

You are given a set of three pictures by the examiner. The examiner then asks you to look at the pictures and answer
a question he provides. The question can be something like What could this people be thinking about? with three
pictures of persons in different situations.You should choose two of the three pictures and state that you will be
using them for your answer. You are given 1 minute to answer the question.

Next your partner is going to answer a different question using the same pictures. This time he or she has to choose
only one picture and spend 30 seconds for the answer. After that you swap roles and your partner gets three new
pictures with a different question.

Remember that you should use Present Continuous when describing pictures (i.e. This picture shows people
hurrying to their work in the early morning hours). More on tenses in English.
Another tricky bit is the preposition. You should use in when talking about something shown by the picture (i.e. In
this picture we see a man strolling down the alley). See this short note on prepositions for more examples.
Part 3. Candidates Discussion
This part involves another set of three pictures, but this time both candidates participate at the same time. You are
given a question similar to the previous part and then have to decide who starts the discussion.

You and your partner are supposed to have different opinion on the matter. You try to maintain a discussion, asking
for other participants opinion and giving one of your own. Neither of you should dominate the talk. At the end you
are supposed to agree or disagree on the discussion topic.

You will spend about 2 minutes discussion the pictures and you have 1 minute to reach a conclusion, either agreeing
or disagreeing.

Part 4. Topic discussion

In this final part of CAE speaking you have an individual conersation with the examiner. This task is similar to the first
one, but the topic of discussion is taken from Part 3. You are encouraged to express and justify your opinion on the
subject as the examiner guides you, asking you related questions. You take turns answering examiners question, you
get different ones each time. This part of the exam lasts for up to 5 minutes.
CAE Listening

CAE Listening will be the last of four written sections of your CAE exam. It consists of four parts, 30 questions in total
and it lasts for about 40 minutes. We will take each type of task in detail with examples.

CAE Listening General Information

Part 1. Multiple Choice I (6 questions)
Part 2. Sentence Completion (8 questions)
Part 3. Multiple Choice II (6 questions)
Part 4. Multiple Matching (10 questions)

CAE Listening General Information

CAE Listening main peculiarity is that you listen to each track two times. This provides you with a number of
approaches to dealing with the tasks and allows you to listen closely to the parts youve had difficulties before.

The listening segments present a number of different characters, situations and accents. The last is especially
important as some accents tend to be more challenging to get used to particularly Australian pronunciation seems
to be especially challenging.

Part 1. Multiple Choice

You will listen to three short independent extracts. There are two questions for each extracts for a total of six
questions. You have to choose the right answer out of three given options.

Example:
1. What is the mans opinion of Nancys second album?

A He thinks it is very experimental.

B He appreciates the continuity of style.
C He wonders if she is lacking inspiration.

Your first and most powerful tool in CAE Listening is keywords. Question 1 keywords are mans opinion and
second album.

Part 2. Sentence Completion

You will listen to one long extract a monologue. You should fill the gaps with appropriate word from the
recording. A gap may contain up to two words. Note that you shouldnt change the words you hear. See below for
clarification.

Bruce says that (7) is the most important aspect of his work.
Before going on a trip, Bruce makes (8) of the photographs he hopes to take.

As before you have to underline the keywords. This time however you should concentrate on understanding what
part of speech the missing word or words belong to. Look at gap 7 judging by the sentence it has to be a noun. It
is crucial to keep that in mind when looking for the right word in the recording.
 Part 3. Multiple Choice II

CAE Listening Part 3 is slightly different from part one as this time you listen to one long recording instead of three
short ones. The recording is a conversation of two or more people.

You will have to answer six questions.

Example
You will hear part of a radio interview in which the comedian and writer Jane Clarkson is talking about her work. For
questions 15-20, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear.

15 What did Jane find difficult about writing a book?

A She couldnt travel around the country.
B She didnt get any instant reaction to her work. v
C She had to spend time looking after her daughter.
D She found the process itself very challenging.

Part 4. Multiple Matching

CAE Listening Part 4 is by far the most difficult of all. You have to listen to five short monologues and answer 10
questions. You have to select ten correct options out of available sixteen.

You have to answer 2 questions for each monologue. The task is to determine the speakers profession (Task 1) and
their expressed idea (Task 2). Note that there are extra options in each task so you wont use all of them.

The main challenge is that the speakers never clearly state their profession, you have to figure it out from the
context what they do, their responsibilities, likes and dislikes.
Task 2 is harder the options are not as obvious as in Task 1. I usually scan-read all of the options and keep them in
my head while listening to the monologues. That way it is easier to match them to the context of each monologue
and see if they fit.

Task 1. For questions 10 14, choose from the list A H the person

who is speaking?

A. an artist Speaker 1 21
B. a fitness instructor Speaker 2 22
C. a sales manager Speaker 3 23
D. a child-minder Speaker 4 24
E. a doctor Speaker 5 25
F. an office cleaner
G. a secretary
H. a retired person

Task 2. For questions 15 19, choose from the list A H

Say what each speaker is expressing.

A.. a pride in personal achievements Speaker 1 26

B. indifference to current trends Speaker 2 27
C. an enjoyment of a daily routine Speaker 3 28
D. a commitment to taking regular exercise Speaker 4 29
E . a desire to improve his or her diet Speaker 5 30
F . awareness of his or her health problems
G. a reluctance to admit failure
H. resentment of another persons attitude