CAE December 2014 Writing Paper. What to expect in the exam.

Are you taking the Cambridge CAE exam in December 2014? Then you are probably wondering what to expect in the Writing Paper. Read this post to find out.


The Writing Paper of the CAE exam is divided in two parts:

Part 1 Compulsory task

Writing one of the following: an article, a report, a proposal or

a letter. 180-220 words.


To prepare for this part, visit our page How to write an article for an International Exam


Part 2 

Candidates have a choise of tasks. For questions 2-4 the 

task types used are: article, competition entry, contribution to

a longer piece, essay, information sheet, letter, proposal,

report and review. Question 5(a) and 5(b) are based on two

set texts.  220-260 words.


You will need to produce both pieces of writing in 1 hour and 30 minutes. 

CAE COMPETITION ENTRY

Read this COMPETITION ENTRY sample sent to us by a CAE student. Surf our web for more on CAE. We recommend  How to write a Report for CAE.

TASK: 

We are planning a series of TV programmes about the 10 greatest sportmen and women of all time. Which sportperson would you nominate to be included in the series?

Write to us describing this person’s achievements and explaining why you feel he or she should be included.

Write your competition entry in 220-260 words

Greatest sportsperson competition

Zinedine Zidane is a former French footballer who is considered one of the greatest players of all times. He made a name for himself at national and international level for his outstanding performance in the game and also for the several championships he won throughout his career.  He also helped France classify to the World Cup finale in 2006, in which they were the winners. It goes without saying that this icononic player really deserves to be the candidate for a nomination in your television series.

But how did Zinedine Zidane become such an amazing player? To answer this we need to go back to his early age. He discovered football in his home town. He used to play football with his friends in the streets, where he developed some unrivalled techniques and a perfect control of the ball. Endowed with an unique ability, he evolved as a professional player and won several titles such as the Juventus of Turin and the Real Madrid ones, which led him to be voted several times as the best international football player in 1998, 2000 and 2003, as well as to win a golden ball in 2006.

I believe that what sets Zinedine apart from any the other player is his perseverance and charming personality, but above all his strength to face adversity with composure. So friendly and sociable is he that he became the favorite player of the French in 2006 who nicknamed him «  Zizou ».

At the age of 35 he was at the height of his career and, came the time for him to leave the football pitch. Since 2013 he has held the position of an assistant coach for the Real Madrid team club. If there is one thing for sure is that Zizou is now a legend and he undoubtedly deserves a place among your top ten greatest sportspeople.

Submitted by Syb
Edited by www.cpesamplewritings.blogspot.com


CAE Practice.

Now it is your turn to practise for the CAE Cambridge Exam. Write a Competition Entry using the task above. If you would like to have your writing checked for free and posted in this blog, you can send it to gustavo.albarracin.q@gmail.com

A LETTER OF APPLICATION (CAE)

This is an example of how to write an application letter for the CAE exam. The useful language is in bald. Very good luck in the exam!

Dear Sir

I am writing to you regarding a job advertisement I saw on my college bulletin board two days ago. I am really interested in applying for the position of children carer in your summer camp in the United States.

I am the right person to do the job as I have been working at public and private schools with kids and teenagers of different ages and backgrounds for over 20 years. I have got extensive experience in this field. I consider myself a well-trained and highly-qualified childminder and I assure you that I am capable of working with big groups of children.

In addition to this, I am a talented artist. I can teach the children to play the guitar and the violin as well as to make handicraft. It is important for young people to develop their creativity and find their natural talents.

I hope you will give my application serious consideration as consider myself a strong candidate. I have a great sense of responsibility and genuinly care about children. I also have a lot of pacience.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours faithfully
E.O

CAE: A CHARACTER REFERENCE LETTER

To whom it may concern.

Mariela Lopez

Mariela and I have been working at "Peru Travel" for about 15 years. She has proved to be a well-qualified travel agent during all the time she has rendered services to this company.

Mariela is the kind of person who can work with others as she displays sensitivity and sympathy. She is always willing to collaborate not only with the boss, but also with her colleagues. In addition, she has got a very strong sense of responsibility and rarely takes time off or asks for permission for personal matters.

I am certain that Mariela is the most elegible applicant for the travel agent position in your enterprise as she is a very organised person who is always informed of all the documents, files, tasks and formalities concerning her field. She can manage her time effectively and work under pressure. She is an industrious and innovative member who is capable of enhancing the name of the company. I assure you that she will know how to pursue all the goals your enterprise sets. 

From my point of view and for all the reasons I have outlined above, Mariela would be an asset as a travel agent in your company. She is devoted to her work and she enjoys it a lot. I have no hesitation in recommending her for the position.

E.O
( An English teacher/ guess blogger from Peru )

VOCABULARY: 5 IDIOMS TO DO WITH LOVE

First of all I want to apologise for not having posted anything in a while. I´m accommodating my best friend who lives in Dusseldorf -Germany while he is on holidays here in Lima, and that has kept me quite busy and apart from blogging. 

Todays´ post is inspired in a musical we went to see last night: "Sweet Charity". Have you seen it? Are love stories your cup of tea? I hope idioms are at least!

5 IDIOMS TO DO WITH LOVE

1 To find your better half

2 A match made in heaven

3 To be head over heels

4 To tie the knot 

5 To be the apple of someone´s eye

CAE/ CPE When is it OK to use contractions?

Contractions are regarded as informal and spoken. Therefore it is advisable not to use contractions in formal writing.

 

When doing the writing paper in the CAE or CPE exam, it is important to read the task carefully. The kind of text we have to write will determine whether we use a formal or informal style:

 

Proposals, reports, essays and letters to the editor or letters of complaint are formal documents. It means it is preferable not use contractions in them.

 

Letters/e-mails to friends and articles for a students´magazine are informal pieces of writing. It is quite safe to use contraction in them.

CAE Writing Paper 2014

What pieces of writing to expect in the CAE exam this year?

From the official Cambridge web page:

"Candidates are expected to write non-specialised text types, with a focus on advising, comparing, evaluating, expressing opinions, hypothesising, justifying and persuading. Candidates need to be prepared to write a variety of text types – they are not told the topics and text types in advance of the exam. Text types will include:

• an article
• a contribution to a longer piece
• an essay
• information sheets
• a letter
• a proposal
• a report
• a review
• a competition entry."

USING ADVERBS TO WRITE DESCRIPTIVELY

It´s vitally important to be able to use adverbs in the CAE/ CPE exams. When writing a book or film review, for example, it is fundamental to write descriptively. This will cause a very positive effect on the reader/ examiner

Useful phrases

poignantly        directed by              (*note: poignant meaning touching or moving)
convincingly    directed by
skilfully            directed by

poignantly        acted by
convincingly    acted by
skilfully            acted by

highly                  praised by
overwhelmingly  praised by
widely                 praised by


harshly                criticised by        (*note: harshly meaning severely )
overwhelmingly  criticised by
widely                 criticised by


Examples:

The 1998 Warner Bros film was skilfully directed by Griffin Dunne.

Even though Practical Magic was widely criticised, I still consider it my favourite movie.

*For further reference see book SpeakOut by Frances Eales and Steve Oakes. /Pearson.


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CPE Cambridge Exam. Grammar: Inversions

Not only are you likely to need "Inversions" in the Use of English part of the CPE exam (Part 1 Open Cloze), but also in the Writing Paper. If you are planning to make a good impression on the examiner, take a look at these examples:

This advanced grammar involves changing the normal order of the subject and the verb in a sentence. It is used to add emphasis, give strong advice and to express opinions clearly.

Let´s see some examples:

She had never felt so excited.

Never had she felt so excited as when he asked her to marry him...

She knew little of what was going to happen that day...

Little did she know of what was going to happen that day...

English and French are not only popular languages, but they are also very useful when...

Not only are English and French popular languages, but they are also very usueful when...

Proposal Sample

CAE Exam writing task: 

The International Development Agency has given our town a grant to be spent on improving transport and housing facilities.

The Planning Director invites you to send a proposal outlining any problem with existing transport and housing facilities and explaining how they can be improved. A decision can then be made about how the money should be spent. Write a proposal.

Proposal on how to spend the Town´s grant

Introduction

The major aim of this proposal is to provide details about the transport and housing facilities in my town, Bentre City, and to put forward ideas on how they can be made better.

Difficulties concerning transport 

There are two main issues which require immediate attention. Firstly, a lack of public transport for cross-district travel has made it difficult for students who are from other areas in my province to travel to town for their studies. Secondly, the fare for the bus service at the moment is much higher than that in other big cities, such as Hochiminh City.  

  

Difficulties concerning accommodation:

   The city has seen significant developments in recent years. However, people are still very unhappy with the water supply service and the piping system underground. What this means is that the inadequate provision of water has caused great annoyance to local residents, and that the inefficient piping system is always causing the blockage of their WC waste matters.

Suggestions for improvements

·  In terms of transport, it is advisable to spend part of the grant on more buses and to cut down on the fare by half so that more students are encouraged to use this means of transport.

· With regard to people’s household matters, it is vital that these problems are tackled as soon as possible. If the cost of repairing the system goes beyond the money provided, the city council can call the city inhabitants for support.

   Conclusion

    It is an honor for us to receive the grant from the agency; thus, it is crucially important to make the best use of it. I strongly believe that the problems mentioned above are our city’s most formidable obstacles now and that urgent actions must be taken.



**CAE Proposal Sample by guest blogger Duong Hoang Phuc

CAE Practice. 

Now it is your turn to practise for the CAE Cambridge Exam. Write a Proposal using the task above. If you want to have your writing edited and posted in the blog, you can send it to gustavo.albarracin.q@gmail.com

CAE. How to prepare for the Cambridge Exam

I´m square-eyed. I watch lots of British telly and I really do think it helped me when I was preparing to sit the CAE exam. I am pro television, not only is it good listening practice but seeing a wide variety of shows enables you to learn different types of vocabulary + collocations, idioms and so on.

Question: How expensive is it to prepare for the CAE exam? Because I´ve seen some books in the bookshop and the prices are high.

Answer: Taking the Certificate in Advanced English exam doesn´t necessarily mean spending lots of money on course books and cds or cd-roms. The good news is there is plenty of free material available on the web. Click here to see list.

In addition to this there are many forums and Facebook groups you can join to interact with other students around the world and have some speaking practice, for example.

Question: How can I improve my reading?

Answer: When it comes to reading, which by the way helps you to improve your grammar and vocabulary as well, I suggest selecting a wide variety of sources, let´s say academic books, novels, magazines and blogs. This way you will get familiar with different styles: formal and informal; and you will learn different types of vocabulary.

Question, a third one: Are you saying that in order to pass the exam all we need to do is watch TV and read books and magazines?

Answer: No. Travelling, interacting with native speakers, watching tv in English, listening to music, reading books...all these things will help you to improve your English skills but there is something missing... You need to do Past Papers.

Doing past papers is an excellent way to practise. If you are at school/ university you will probably find some ESOL past papers in your library but if not, you can always try the Cambridge University Web page for some free samples.

CAE Mind your spelling !

In the CAE exam, as in any other Cambridge ESOL examination, it is extremely important to be careful with your spelling. You don´t want to lose points in the Use of English or Writing Papers for not being able to write words correctly. So, which are the words that you usually misspell in English? Is there a particular word that always gives you trouble?

According to Oxford Dictionaries, the 5 most common misspelled words are:
accommodation, achieve, across, aggressive and apparently.  

But what about you? In your opinion, what are the words in English with the most difficul spelling? We asked some CAEs and CPEs (people who have successfully passed these exams) and these are their answers:

1: "Mine is customer. I´m never sure if it´s with u or o, and have to look it up in the dictionary."

2: "Possession. I find double letters confusing."

3: "Disappointed. Disappointing how I always make a mistake with this one."

4: "Embarrassing. Double r and double s."

5: "The one I never know how to spell is cigarette."



Are you going to take the CAE exam soon? Check some other related posts:

CAE writing to impress the examiner
CAE How to write an article for an international exam

Are you ready for CAE/ CPE? Try this "Phrasal verbs with DO quiz" to find out !

What do these phrasal verbs mean?


1. Do sb in.
Example "The mugger threatened to do me in if I didn´t give him my wallet."

A. Rob
B. Kill
C. Hit

2. Do sth up.
Example "We are doing up an old house we bought in the outskirts of town".

A. Repair
B. Sell
C. Rent

3. Do with sth.
Example "Are you busy? I could do with some help here, if you are free".

A.Relate
B. Demand
C. Need

Answers


1. B

2. A

3. C