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Cambridge English: First ( FCE) Writing
Difficulty level : B2 /Upper Intermediate
What is the First (FCE) Writing test like? The test has two sections and takes about 80 minutes:
- Part 1 -write an essay based on prompts
- Part 2 - write one from a choice of 4 questions: an article, an essay, a letter, a report, a review, a story
Scoring Each part has the same number of marks
How to prepare for the First (FCE) Writing test
- Choose a question that you are interested in. You will write better if you know the subject.
- Read the instructions carefully before you start. Make notes. You must include all the points in the instructions
- Make a plan before you start writing. Decide what information to put in each paragraph
- Think about who you are writing to and use an appropriate style of language
- Try to use a range of complex language
Introduction
You have 80 minutes to write two texts. The first text will always be an essay and should be 140-190 words long. The second text can be an article, informal email or letter, a formal email or letter, a report, or a review and should be 140-190 words.
The examiners give you a grade based on 4 things:
- 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?
Useful phrases for FCE (Cambridge First Certificate)
Writing Part One essays brainstorming and key words
Background to the topic (why it is important etc)
It is widely believed that… … is a common talking point./ It is a common view that…/ It is commonly thought that…/ There is a common opinion that… There has been a change in… …is a controversial topic./ is very
controversial. Over the last few years/ decades…
There has been a lot of discussion of…/ There has been a lot of debate over…/ There has been a lot of controversy over… The majority of people (who I know) seem to think that…
In modern life,… … has been getting a lot of newspaper coverage recently./ … has been in the news a lot recently..
For people nowadays,…/ (In my country) many (older/ younger) people (think/ say that)... It is often said that… In today’s society,…
There are two very different points of view on the topic of… In our globalised world,…
Explaining the structure of your essay
I will examine both sides below and then give my own opinion./ After looking at this matter from both sides, I will…
I have divided my essay into three parts.
I will give three reasons for that below.
I will look at/ write about/ examine/ consider/ discuss … and then …
Giving strong opinions
I’m absolutely certain that…/ I’m absolutely positive that…/ I’m absolutely convinced that…/ There can be absolutely no doubt that…/ I have absolutely no doubt that… I am certain that…/ I certainly don't believe that ... It seems clear to me that…/ It is clear to me that…
I would definitely say that… I have (absolutely) no doubt that…/ There can
be (absolutely) no doubt that…/ I don’t think anyone can doubt that…/ Without (the shadow of) a doubt…
In my honest opinion,… It seems obvious to me that…/ It is obvious to me that…/ Obviously… I really think that…
I strongly believe that…/ I strongly object to (the idea that)…
Giving weak opinions
Other people opinions and knowledge/ Things you heard
and read
According to an article that I read last week,…/ According to one of my professors…
I once heard that…/ I once read that…/ I once saw a television programme
in which…/ Someone once told me that…
Giving reasons/ Cause and effect/ Consequences
This is caused by… As a consequence of this,…/ One consequence of this is… This is due to… … in order to… For that reason,…/ The main reason for that is… As a result of that,… Further explanation In other words…/ To put that another way,… That is to say… Looking at both sides/ Looking at the other side/
Contrasting …
but you could also say that… On the other hand,… It is also possible to argue the opposite point that… Looking at the other side of the argument, … Despite (all) this…/ In spite of all this,… Turning to the opposing argument,…/ Turning from the pros to the cons,…
Summarising/ Conclusion
As should be clear from the arguments above,…/ For (all) the reasons given above,…/ Taking (all) the things above into account,… Overall,…/ All in all,… Although the arguments against are also quite convincing,…/ Although there are also arguments for (such as…)/ Although there are both advantages and disadvantages above,… On balance, I would say that… I therefore conclude that…./ In conclusion,… Having considered (all) the points above,…/ Having weighed up both sides of the argument,… The benefits of ... outweigh the drawbacks. To restate the arguments above,… As I said in the introduction, I am convinced that… To sum up what I have written above,…/ To summarise the points above,… On the whole,…
Recommending/ Giving advice/ Talking about solutions/
Adding a further point that leads on from your conclusion
The best idea is to…/ The best solution is…/ The best thing to do would be… We have (absolutely) no choice but to… The government should do something about/ find a solution for/ put more effort into/ work towards/ deal with/ take action on/ take care of/ try to solve… We really must…/ We really need to…/ We really have to…/ We really should…
Write 140-190 words in an appropriate style.
In your English class you have been talking about old people in society. Now your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.
Around the world, people are living and staying healthy for longer and longer. What changes does this bring to today’s society? Are these changes good or bad?
Notes Write about:
- Caring for the elderly
- Jobs
- __________ (your own idea)
