My English Haven

FCE Writing Test Tips

You have 80 minutes to write two texts. The first text will 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.
Your grade will be based on 4 things that the examiners will take into account:

• Content:  You must write exactly what they ask you to write about.
• Communicative achievement: Take a good look at whether you are writing very formally, informally, or, just right?
• Organisation: Use connectors to link your paragraphs and sentences, Look if there is a logical flow from start to finish
• Language: You should show off your sparkling vocabulary, try not to use just basic words. Did you make lots of grammar and spelling mistakes? If the answer is ‘yes’, correct those immediately!

I leave you some tips to make a good writing on the day of your exam:

Exam Tip -1-

1. You shouldn't give short unresponsive answers to questions.
Examiner: Do you think it's better to study in a library or at home?
Candidate: At home.
Candidate: At home. You are more comfortable there, although there are also more distractions.

2. You should avoid short yes/no answers to closed questions.
Examiner: Do you find English a hard language?
Candidate: Yes.
Candidate: Yes, the grammar is very different from my language and that can be difficult for me.

Exam Tip -2-

1. If you don't understand something, ask for clarification. Is better doing this in five seconds than two minutes lost through an answer to the wrong question.

2. Learn to navigate your way around a photograph very ably - over here, down there, above the..., to the right of...., in the top right corner, etc.

3. You should learn to talk for 30 seconds, talk for a minute, etc and have a clear idea what that feels like.

Exam Tip -3-

1. You should use the time when you are not talking to THINK. You need to listen to what the other candidate is saying, as you may be asked to comment on it, but you can also organise your own thoughts. This is not the time to stare at the wall or think about what you'll have for dinner!

2. You should try, if possible, to get some practice speaking with the partner you'll sit the exam with. This is not always possible, but a benefit if the opportunity exists.

3. You should make some effort to make the collaborative task sounds 'natural', not an exchange of memorised snippets of language. This should include: agreement, disagreement, explanation, clarification, questions, etc.