Certificate of Proficiency in English (Handbook for teachers)

This handbook is for anyone who is preparing candidates for the Cambridge ESOL Certificate of Proficiency in English examination. The introduction gives an overview of CPE and its place within Cambridge ESOL. This is followed by a focus on each paper and includes content, advice on preparation and example papers

Certificate of

Proficiency in English

Handbook for teachers

© UCLES 2008

EMC/2318/8Y12

CPE content and overview

1

READING

1 hour 30 mins

Part 1 Three short texts with six four-option

multiple-choice cloze questions on each

Assessment of candidates’ ability to understandthe meaning of written English at word, phrase,sentence, paragraph and whole text level

Part 2 Four short texts with two four-option

multiple-choice questions on each

Part 3 Gapped text with seven questions

Part 4 Long text with seven four-option

multiple-choice questions

2

WRITING

2 hours

Part 1 One compulsory question Assessment of candidates’ ability to write specified

text types with a range of functions

Part 2 Candidates answer one question from a

choice of four questions (including the set text option)

3

USE OF ENGLISH

1 hour 30 mins

Part 1 Modified open cloze with fifteen questions Assessment of candidates’ ability to demonstrate

knowledge and control of the language system bycompleting various tasks at text and sentence level.Part 2 One short text with ten word formation

questions

Part 3 Six sets of three gapped sentencesPart 4 Eight key word transformations

Part 5 Two texts with four questions and a

summary writing task

4

LISTENING

40 mins (approx)

Part 1 Four short extracts with two three-option

multiple-choice questions on each

Assessment of candidates’ ability to understandthe meaning of spoken English, to extract informa-tion from a text and to understand speakers’ atti-tudes and opinions

Part 2 One long text with nine sentence completion

Part 1 Interview Assessment of candidates’ ability to produce

spo-ken English using a range of functions in a variety

of tasks

Part 2 Collaborative taskPart 3 Individual long turns and follow-up discussion

7 Structure and tasks

8 The four parts of the Reading paper

9 Preparation

12 Sample paper

17 Answer keys and answer sheet

18 General description

18 Structure and tasks

19 The two parts of the Writing paper

35 Structure and tasks

36 The five parts of the Use of English

paper

37 Preparation

40 Sample paper

44 Answer keys and mark scheme

45 Assessment of summary writing task

2 Content of CPE

3 The level of CPE

3 Varieties of English

3 Recognition

3 Official accreditation in the UK

3 The CPE candidature

4 Marks and results

5 Special circumstances

EXAMINATION CONTENT AND PROCESSING

5 Course materials

5 Past papers and examination reports

5 Speaking Test Preparation Pack for CPE

1 READING PAPER

1 WRITING PAPER

USE OF ENGLISH PAPER

LISTENING PAPER

50 General description

50 Structure and tasks

51 The four parts of the Listening paper

This handbook is for anyone who is preparing candidates for the Cambridge ESOL Certificate of Proficiency in

English examination (CPE) The introduction gives an overview of CPE and its place within Cambridge ESOL This is

followed by a focus on each paper and includes content, advice on preparation and example papers

If you require additional CDs or further copies of this booklet, please email: ESOLinfo@CambridgeESOL.org

SPEAKING TEST

62 General description

62 Structure and tasks

63 The three parts of the Speaking test

64 Preparation

66 Sample paper

69 Assessment

GLOSSARY

71 Glossary of terms and acronyms

Inside front cover CPE content and overview

2 1

3 4 5

2 | i ntr o d uc t i o n to c a m b r i d g e e s o l

learned, and which cover the four language skills – reading,writing, listening and speaking – as well as knowledge oflanguage structure and use

• to provide accurate and consistent assessment of eachlanguage skill at the appropriate level

• to relate the examinations to the teaching curriculum insuch a way that they encourage positive learningexperiences, and to seek to achieve a positive impactwherever possible

• to endeavour to be fair to all candidates, whatever theirnational, ethnic and linguistic background, gender ordisability

Cambridge ESOL examinations are designed around fouressential qualities: validity, reliability, impact and practicality.Validity is normally taken to be the extent to which a test can

be shown to produce scores which are an accurate reflection

of the candidate’s true level of language skills Reliabilityconcerns the extent to which test results are stable, consistentand accurate, and therefore the extent to which they can bedepended on for making decisions about the candidate.Impact concerns the effects, beneficial or otherwise, which anexamination has on the candidates and other users, whetherthese are educational, social, economic or political, or variouscombinations of these Practicality can be defined as theextent to which an examination is practicable in terms of theresources needed to produce and administer it All thesefactors underpin the development and production ofCambridge ESOL examinations

Examination content and processing

The Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) was firstintroduced in 1913 Since that time it has been regularlyrevised and updated to bring it into line with currentthinking in language teaching, applied linguistics andlanguage testing theory and practice

The current version of CPE was introduced in December 2002

Four main skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking arerecognised, and each of these is assessed in a test component

of the same name Reading and listening are dimensional skills involving the interaction of thereader/listener’s mental processing capacities with theirlanguage and content knowledge; further interaction takesplace between the reader/listener and the external features of

multi-Introduction to Cambridge

ESOL

■ University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations

University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL)

is a part of the Cambridge Assessment Group*, which is a

department of the University of Cambridge It has a tradition

of language assessment dating back to 1913, and is one of the

world’s largest educational assessment agencies Cambridge

ESOL offers an extensive range of examinations, certificates

and diplomas for learners and teachers of English In 2006,

over 2 million people took these examinations at centres in

over 130 countries

Cambridge ESOL’s systems and processes for designing,

developing and delivering examinations and assessment

services are certified as meeting the internationally

recognised ISO9001:2000 standard for quality management

Cambridge ESOL examinations are suitable for learners of all

nationalities, whatever their first language and cultural

background, and there are examinations suitable for learners

of almost any age Although they are designed for native

speakers of languages other than English, no language related

restrictions apply The range of Cambridge ESOL examinations

includes specialist examinations in Business English and

English for Academic Purposes, as well as tests for young

learners and a suite of certificates and diplomas for language

teachers

The examinations cover all four language skills – reading,

writing, listening and speaking They include a range of tasks

which assess candidates’ ability to use English, so that in

preparing for the examinations, candidates develop the

skills they need to make practical use of the language in a

variety of contexts Above all, what the Cambridge ESOL

examinations assess is the ability to communicate effectively

in English

Cambridge ESOL is committed to providing examinations of

the highest possible quality This commitment is underpinned

by an extensive programme of research and evaluation, and by

continuous monitoring of the marking and grading of all

Cambridge ESOL examinations Of particular importance is the

rigorous set of procedures which are used in the production

and pretesting of question papers

■ Key features of Cambridge ESOL examinations

Cambridge ESOL undertakes:

• to assess language skills at a range of levels, each of them

having a clearly defined relevance to the needs of language

learners

• to assess skills which are directly relevant to the range of

uses for which learners will need the language they have

*Cambridge Assessment is the operating name for the University of

Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES)

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the text and task Purpose and context for reading/listening

shape these interactions and this is reflected in the CPE

Reading and Listening components through the use of

different text and task types which link to a relevant target

language use context beyond the test

Writing ability is also regarded as a linguistic, cognitive, social

and cultural phenomenon that takes place in a specific

context and for a particular purpose Like Reading and

Listening, CPE Writing involves a series of complex

interactions between the task and the writers, who are

required to draw on different aspects of their knowledge and

experience to produce a written performance for evaluation

Like Writing, Speaking involves multiple competencies

including vocabulary and grammatical knowledge,

phonological control, knowledge of discourse, and pragmatic

awareness, which are partially distinct from their equivalents

in the written language Since speaking generally involves

reciprocal oral interaction with others, Speaking in CPE is

assessed directly, through a face-to-face encounter between

candidates and examiners

A fifth test component in CPE (Use of English) focuses on the

language knowledge structures or system(s) that underpin a

user’s communicative language ability in the written medium;

these are sometimes referred to as ‘enabling’ (sub)skills and

include knowledge of vocabulary, morphology, syntax,

punctuation, and discourse structure

Each of these five test components in CPE provides a unique

contribution to a profile of overall communicative language

ability that defines what a candidate can do at this level

■ The level of CPE

CPE is designed to offer a high-level qualification in the

language to those wishing to use English for professional or

study purposes The CPE examination contains some tasks

which are likely to be more suitable in content for candidates

who have achieved a certain degree of maturity in their

handling of abstract ideas and concepts

CPE is at Level C2 of the Common European Framework, and a

description of this level is given below in terms of:

• what material learners can deal with

• what learners can be expected to be able to do

The type of material a CPE candidate can deal with

At this level the learner is approaching the linguistic

competence of an educated native speaker, and is able to use

the language in a range of culturally appropriate ways Users

at this level are able to improve their use of the language by

extending their vocabulary and refining their usage and

command of style and register rather than by learning about

new areas of grammar Their level of competence gives them

access to the press and other media, and to areas of culture

such as drama, film and literature Success in examinations at

this level may be seen as proof that the learner is able to cope

with high-level academic work

What a CPE candidate can do

Examinations at Level C2 may be used as proof of the level oflanguage necessary to work at a managerial or professionallevel or follow a course of academic study at university level

The ALTE ‘Can Do’ Project

The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) hasdeveloped a framework which covers five levels of languageproficiency aligned to the Council of Europe CommonEuropean Framework of Reference for Languages (See Table 1.)Table 1

Cambridge Main Suite ALTE levels CEF levelsCertificate of Proficiency in English 5 C2Certificate in Advanced English 4 C1First Certificate in English 3 B2

Research carried out by ALTE has shown what languagelearners can typically do at each level Table 2 (overleaf) givessome examples at CPE level of typical general ability plusability in each of the skill areas and in a range of contexts

■ Varieties of English

Candidates’ responses to tasks in the Cambridge ESOLexaminations are acceptable in varieties of English whichwould enable candidates to function in the widest range ofinternational contexts Candidates are expected to use aparticular variety with some degree of consistency inareas such as spelling, and not for example switch fromusing a British spelling of a word to an American spelling

of the same word in the same written response to a giventask

■ Recognition

CPE is recognised as fulfilling English language entrancerequirements by many higher education institutions andcorporate bodies across the world More informationabout recognition is available from centres, BritishCouncil offices, Cambridge ESOL and from

www.CambridgeESOL.org

■ Official accreditation in the UK

CPE has been accredited by the Qualifications and CurriculumAuthority (QCA), the statutory regulatory authority for externalqualifications in England and its counterparts in Wales andNorthern Ireland, at Level 3 in the National QualificationsFramework, under the title ‘Cambridge ESOL Level 3 Certificate

in ESOL International’

■ The CPE candidature

Information is collected about the CPE candidates at eachsession, when candidates fill in a Candidate InformationSheet The candidates for CPE come from a wide range of

4 | e x a m i n at i o n co nt e nt a n d p r o c e s s i n g

backgrounds and take the examination for a number of

different reasons The following points summarise the

characteristics of the current CPE candidature

• Nationality

CPE is taken by candidates throughout the world in about

90 countries, although the total number of nationalities

represented in the candidature is over 170 The majority of

these candidates enter for CPE in European and South

American countries Many candidates also take the

examination in the UK

• Age and Gender

The majority of candidates are aged between 16 and 24

About 61% of the candidates are female

• Education

Most candidates are students, although there are

considerable differences in the proportion of students in

different countries

• Preparation

A large proportion of candidates (about 80%) undertake a

preparatory course before taking the examination

• Reasons for taking CPE

Candidates’ reasons for wanting an English languagequalification are roughly distributed as follows:

– for study (36%)– for work (46%)– other (18%)

■ Marks and results

• A candidate’s overall CPE grade is based on the total scoregained by the candidate in all five papers It is notnecessary to achieve a satisfactory level in all five papers inorder to pass the examination

• All the papers are equally weighted, each contributing

40 marks to the examination’s overall total of 200marks

• Results are reported as three passing grades (A, B and C)and two failing grades (D and E) and are set according tothe following information:

– statistics on the candidature– statistics on the overall candidate performance

Table 2

‘Can Do’ summary

Typical abilities Listening and Speaking Reading and Writing

Overall general CAN advise on or talk about complex or sensitive issues, CAN understand documents, correspondence and reports, ability understanding colloquial references and dealing including the finer points of complex texts

confidently with hostile questions

CAN write letters on any subject and full notes of meetings or seminars with good expression and accuracy

Social & Tourist CAN talk about complex or sensitive issues CAN (for example, when looking for accommodation)

without awkwardness understand a tenancy agreement in detail, including

its main implications

CAN write letters on any subject with good expression and accuracy

Work CAN advise on/handle complex, delicate or CAN understand reports and articles likely to be encountered

contentious issues, such as legal or financial during his/her work, including complex ideas expressed matters, to the extent that he/she has the in complex language

necessary specialist knowledge

CAN make full and accurate notes and continue to participate in a meeting or seminar

Study CAN understand colloquial asides and cultural CAN access all sources of information quickly

CAN make accurate and complete notes during the course of a lecture, seminar or tutorial

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examination regulations in some other way Results may bewithheld because further investigation is needed orbecause of infringement of regulations Centres are notified

if a candidate’s results have been investigated

CPE support

■ Course materials

A number of coursebooks and practice materials are availablefrom publishers A list of UK publishers which produce materialrelated to the examinations is available from Cambridge ESOLInformation and is on the Cambridge ESOL website CPErequires an all-round language ability and this should be borne

in mind when selecting course materials Most coursebooks willneed to be supplemented; care should be taken to ensure thatcoursebooks and practice materials which have been selectedaccurately reflect the content and format of the examination

N.B Cambridge ESOL does not undertake to advise on textbooks or courses of study.

■ Past papers and examination reports

Cambridge ESOL produces past examination papers, whichcan be used for practice, and examination reports, whichprovide a general view of how candidates performed overalland on each paper and offer guidance on the preparation ofcandidates Details of how you can order past papers andexamination reports, and a downloadable order form, areavailable from:

www.CambridgeESOL.org/resources/past-papers.html www.CambridgeESOL.org/resources/teacher/cpe.html

The sample question papers included in this handbook havebeen produced to reflect the format of the examination.However, candidates are strongly advised not to concentrateunduly on working through practice tests and examinations asthis will not by itself make them more proficient in thedifferent skills

■ Speaking Test Preparation Pack for CPE

The Speaking Test Preparation Pack for CPE is acomprehensive teacher resource pack designed to helpteachers who are preparing students for the CPE Speaking test.Written by experienced examiners, it provides clear

explanations of what each of the three parts of the Speakingtest involves The step-by-step guidance and practicalexercises help your students perform with confidence on theday of the test

See inside back cover for more information and how to buy

■ Online support

Cambridge ESOL provides an online resource for teachers,designed to help them understand the examinations betterand to prepare candidates more effectively

– statistics on individual items, for those parts of the

examination for which this is appropriate (Papers 1, 3

and 4)

– advice, based on the performance of candidates and

recommendations of examiners, where this is relevant

(Papers 2 and 5)

– comparison with statistics from previous years’

examination performance and candidature

• Candidates are issued with statements of results

approximately two months after the examination has been

taken These include the grades awarded, a graphical

display of the candidate’s performance in each paper

(shown against the scale Exceptional – Good – Borderline –

Weak), and a standardised score out of 100 (which is

converted from the aggregate mark of 200) This score

allows candidates to see exactly how they performed It has

set values for each grade, allowing comparison across

sessions of the examination:

Grade A = 80–100 marks

Grade B = 75–79 marks

Grade C = 60–74 marks

Grade D = 55–59 marks

Grade E = 54 marks or below

This means that the score a candidate needs to achieve

a passing grade will always be 60

• Certificates are issued to candidates gaining a passing

grade (A, B or C) approximately six weeks after the issue of

statements of results

• Certificates are not issued to candidates awarded the failing

grades D and E

■ Special circumstances

Special circumstances covers three main areas: special

arrangements, special consideration and malpractice

• Special arrangements:

These are available for candidates with a permanent or

long-term disability, such as a visual or hearing difficulty, or

a temporary difficulty such as a broken hand, or ear

infection affecting a candidate’s ability to hear clearly They

may include extra time, separate accommodation or

equipment, Braille transcription, etc Consult the

Cambridge ESOL Centre Exams Manager in your area for

more details as soon as possible

• Special consideration:

Cambridge ESOL will give special consideration to candidates

affected by adverse circumstances immediately before or

during an examination Special consideration can be given

where an application is sent through the centre and is made

within 10 working days of the examination date Examples of

acceptable reasons for giving special consideration are in

cases of illness or other unexpected events

• Malpractice:

Cambridge ESOL will consider cases where candidates

are suspected of copying, collusion or breaking the

The Teaching Resources website can be found at

www.CambridgeESOL.org/teach

In some countries, a dedicated Cambridge ESOL website is

available These websites can be found at

www.CambridgeESOL.(initials for country), e.g.

www.CambridgeESOL.gr (Greece)

www.CambridgeESOL.ch (Switzerland).

■ Seminars for teachers

Cambridge ESOL offers a wide range of seminars designed

for teachers concerned with the examinations; some are

also suitable as introductions for administrators, school

directors, etc Some seminars are intended to provide

information and support for teachers who are familiar with

the examinations, and others can be used to introduce

teachers to established examinations and also to new or

revised examinations Contact Cambridge ESOL Information

for further details

General information about the examination, including details

of entry procedure and current fees can be obtained from theCambridge ESOL Centre Exams Manager in your area

Further information about this and other Cambridge ESOLexaminations can be found on the Cambridge ESOL website byclicking on the appropriate examination in:

www.cambridgeesol.org/exams

Copies of the Regulations can be found in:

www.cambridgeesol.org/regulations

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PAPER READING

Timing 1 hour 30 minutes

No of parts 4

No of questions 40

Task types Lexical cloze, gapped text,

multiple choice

Text types From the following: books

(fiction and fiction); specialist articles fromjournals, magazines andnewspapers; promotional andinformational materials (e.g

non-advertisements, guide books,manuals)

Length of texts Approximately 3,000 words in

total

Answer format For all parts of this paper,

candidates indicate theiranswers by shading the correctlozenges on an answer sheet

Marks Part 1 – each correct answer

receives 1 mark

Parts 2, 3 and 4 – each correctanswer receives 2 marks Thetotal score is then weighted to

a maximum of 40 marks forthe whole paper

STRUCTURE AND TASKS

PART 1

Task type Multiple-choice lexical cloze

and focus Idioms, collocations, fixed phrases,

complementation, phrasal verbs, semanticprecision

Format Three unrelated texts from a range of sources,

each with six gaps Candidates must chooseone word or phrase from a set of four to filleach gap

No of Qs 18

PART 2

Task type Multiple choice

and focus Detail, opinion, attitude, tone, purpose, main idea,

implication, text organisation features(exemplification, comparison, reference)

Format Four texts on one theme from a range of sources,

each followed by two four-option multiple-choicequestions

No of Qs 8

PART 3

Task type Gapped text

and focus Cohesion, coherence, text structure, global

meaning

Format A text from which paragraphs have been removed

and placed in jumbled order after the text

Candidates must decide from where in the textthe paragraphs have been removed

No of Qs 7

PART 4

Task type Multiple choice

and focus Detail, opinion, attitude, tone, purpose, main idea,

implication, text organisation features(exemplification, comparison, reference)

Format A text followed by four-option multiple-choice

questions

No of Qs 7

in the pair The questions can be answered correctly only byreferring closely to the text.

Candidates should select one option for each question andmark it in some way, e.g by circling the letter A, B, C or D onthe question paper Once they are satisfied that they havemade the appropriate selections, they should transfer theiranswers to the answer sheet

■ PART 3 – GAPPED TEXT

This part tests candidates’ understanding of text structure and their ability to follow text development.

 Sample task and answer key: pages 15 and 17

 Each correct answer in Part 3 receives 2 marks.

The task requires candidates to select from eight options thecorrect extract to fit in each of seven gaps in a text There is onlyone correct answer for each gap There is no example answer.The task consists of a gapped text followed by the extracts fromthe text and one further extract which does not fit in any of thegaps The text has a title and may also have a sub-heading.Candidates need to read the gapped text first in order to gain anoverall idea of the structure and meaning of the text, noticingcarefully the information and ideas before and after each gap aswell as their development throughout the whole of the gappedtext They should then decide which extract fits each gap, andwrite the appropriate letter in each gap They should rememberthat each letter may only be used once and that there is oneextract that they will not need to use When they have madetheir selection and checked each choice carefully, they shouldtransfer their answers to the answer sheet

■ PART 4 – MULTIPLE CHOICE (LONG TEXT)

This part tests candidates’ detailed understanding of a long text, including its purpose and organisation and the opinions and attitudes expressed in it.

 Sample task and answer key: pages 16 and 17

 Each correct answer in Part 4 receives 2 marks.

Part 4 consists of one longer text followed by seven choice questions which test detailed understanding of the

multiple-The four parts of the

Reading paper

■ PART 1 – LEXICAL CLOZE

This part tests the candidates’ control and range of vocabulary.

 Sample task and answer key: pages 12 and 17

 Each correct answer in Part 1 receives 1 mark.

This task requires candidates to select from four options the

correct word or phrase to fit in each of six gaps in a text

This involves choosing the answer that correctly fits the

meaning within a phrase or sentence, and candidates may

also have to take into account the broader context of the

previous or following sentences or the whole text The texts

are from a variety of sources and may be formal, neutral or

informal in style Each text has a title There is no example

answer

Some items focus on the meaning of individual words; this

may involve choosing, e.g ‘leaking’ rather than ‘pouring’,

‘spilling’ or ‘flowing’ to fill the gap in: ‘The roof of our tent

was … ’ In other cases candidates need to be aware of how

the word is used in context; this may involve, e.g choosing

‘interested’ rather than ‘keen’, ‘eager’ or ‘enthusiastic’ to fill

the gap in: ‘You may be … in applying for this job’ In this

example, ‘keen’ is wrong not because it has the wrong

meaning but because it does not fit in with the grammar of

the sentence This part of the paper also tests fixed phrases,

idioms and collocations such as ‘to pay attention to’ and ‘to

take no notice of’ as well as phrasal verbs, and linkers such as

‘in case’, ‘as long as’ , ‘even if’ and ‘while’

Candidates should select one option for each question and

mark it in some way, e.g by circling the letter A, B, C or D on

the question paper Once they are satisfied that they have

made the appropriate selections, they should transfer their

answers to the answer sheet

■ PART 2 – MULTIPLE CHOICE (SHORT THEMED TEXTS)

This part tests candidates’ detailed understanding of a range of

texts, including the purpose, main idea and organisation of the texts

and the opinions and attitudes expressed in them.

 Sample task and answer key: pages 13 and 17

 Each correct answer in Part 2 receives 2 marks.

Part 2 consists of four short texts, with two multiple-choice

questions on each Each text has a title The texts come from a

range of sources and may vary in style, but they share a broad

theme which is given in the rubric at the beginning Being

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text, including opinions and attitudes expressed in it The text

has a title and may also have a subheading Candidates need

to read the text closely in order to distinguish between, for

example, apparently similar viewpoints, outcomes or reasons

The questions are presented in the same order as the

information in the text and the final question may depend on

interpretation of the text as a whole, e.g the writer’s purpose,

attitude or opinion

Candidates should select one option for each question and

mark it in some way, e.g by circling the letter A, B, C or D on

the question paper Once they are satisfied that they have

made the appropriate selections, they should transfer their

answers to the answer sheet

Preparation

General

■ Exposure to, and engagement with, a substantial and varied

range of written English is essential preparation for the

Reading paper The students who are most successful in CPE

are likely to be those for whom reading in English is a leisure

activity as well as an educational requirement Students

should be encouraged to read extensively outside the

classroom This will enable them to become familiar with

a wide range of language and will also be helpful when they

are working on the longer texts in Parts 3 and 4 The Reading

paper includes a range of text types, so students should aim to

read a variety of authentic texts including modern fiction,

short stories, and articles from newspapers and magazines

The internet now provides access to news and feature articles

from the press of Britain and other English-speaking

countries, as well as journal articles and promotional and

informational materials Students should be able to follow

their own interests while reading outside the classroom

Extensive reading can be supported by asking students to

provide verbal or written feedback on their reading, or by

using it as the basis for classroom discussion, as well as by

encouraging students to share texts and information on good

text sources between themselves

■ In class, students should consider the relationship between

text type, purpose, organisation and language when using

coursebooks and practice materials As well as practising

intensive reading skills focusing on detail, students should be

encouraged to discuss the main points of longer texts,

concentrating on overall understanding and progression of

ideas within the argument or narrative Students should be

aware of the different reading strategies required by different

types of question, and it is also useful for them to experiment

with alternative ways of dealing with texts so that they can

decide which ones suit them best

■ Regular and effective use of an advanced monolingual

English dictionary is essential, not only to clarify the meaning

of new words but also to extend knowledge of collocations,

fixed phrases, and features of lexico-grammar such asdependent prepositions However, students should also beaware of alternative techniques for coping with unfamiliarvocabulary, such as the use of contextual clues

■ It is important that students are familiar with the format

of the Reading paper, including the instructions on the frontpage of the question paper and the rubrics for each part ofthe test, as well as the different task types They should beaware of the need to allow sufficient time for each part of thepaper

■ Students should also be familiar with the technique ofindicating their answers on the separate answer sheet so thatthey can do this quickly and accurately (They may write onthe question paper during the examination, but their noteswill not be marked.) Some students prefer to transfer theiranswers at the end of each task rather than wait until theyhave completed the whole paper Answers must be marked byfilling in lozenges on the answer sheet in pencil This must bedone within the time allowed for the Reading paper (11⁄2hours).The answer sheets are scanned by an Optical Mark Reader If aquestion is left blank, or if a candidate fills in more than onelozenge for a question, the answer sheet is rejected andchecked manually

By part

■ PART 1

■ Students should be aware of the different aspects ofvocabulary tested in this part of the paper They should readthrough each text carefully, not forgetting the title, to get ageneral idea of the text type and meaning before looking atthe options They could also be encouraged to think about thepossible forms and meanings of the gapped words at thisstage They should be aware that the missing word(s) mayform part of an idiom, fixed phrase or collocation, so theyshould always check the words around the gap carefully Themissing word(s) must also fit the whole context of the passage

so they should also check that the completed sentence makessense in the passage as a whole This is particularly important

in the case of linkers

■ For Part 1, students need to develop their knowledge of theform, meaning and use of lexical items They should discussdifferent methods of recording and recycling vocabulary and

be encouraged to experiment with different techniques.Effective use of a good up-to-date monolingual dictionary isessential, and dictionary work may be particularly useful tocheck and extend knowledge of lexis extracted from readingand listening tasks As well as learning new words, studentsshould refine their knowledge of familiar lexis throughextending their knowledge of collocations, fixed phrases andidioms

■ A helpful preparation activity might be to give students

a short text and ask them to find examples of the differentaspects of vocabulary tested in the exam Students could alsolook at completed Part 1 tasks (retyped so that there is no

10 | pa p e r 1 : r e a d i n g

indication of which words were gapped) and suggest which

words or phrases might be gapped, discussing what words

might be used as distractors, then comparing this with the

actual gapped task Students could also be given a range of

short texts from different sources (e.g newspaper articles,

advertising material, and fiction) and encouraged to look at

the relationship between style and lexis, for example by

looking at a list of words and phrases from the texts and

predicting which might appear in each text

■ A useful pre-reading activity is for the teacher to extract

a number of two-word collocations from a text and separate

and jumble them The students can then be asked to predict

the original collocations before reading the text to check

Alternatively, a number of collocations, idioms and fixed

phrases can be extracted from the text and written on the

board with one word in each gap Students can predict the

missing words and then check with the text

■ PART 2

■ Students should always read the rubric, as this will give

them information about the theme of this part of the paper

Encourage your students to read each text carefully, thinking

about its overall meaning and purpose, before reading the two

questions that follow it

■ Candidates will need to read each question very carefully,

as well as the four options, all of which may appear at first to

be likely answers

■ When answering the questions, some students find it

useful to consider a possible answer by first looking only at

the stem and not at the options They may then be able to

identify a possible answer in the text, which can then be

compared with the options However, they must be aware that

it is also necessary to check each option against the evidence

of the text

■ Students should not assume that an option is correct

simply because it contains a word that is also in the text They

need to check carefully that the meaning is the same in the

text as in the question Ask your students to check the

questions which take the form of unfinished sentences very

carefully The whole sentence has to match what is written in

the text, not just the phrase in the option A, B, C or D

■ This part of the paper shows the greatest variety in terms of

source, point of view, style and purpose Students should

therefore familiarise themselves with a wide range of

registers, topics and lexical fields They should also be aware

of the different reading skills involved in Parts 2 and 4, such as

understanding opinion, attitude, purpose and implication, as

well as text organisation features and lexical and grammatical

references and linking words

■ Activities which focus on recognising and evaluating

attitude and opinion and which enhance students’ abilities to

infer underlying meaning will be helpful in preparation for

both Part 2 and Part 4 For example, students could look at

ways in which the writer’s choice of vocabulary reveals

opinion and attitude, or of the effect of metaphor and similewithin a text

■ PART 3

■ Encourage your students to read the main (base) text first

so that they gain an overall idea of the structure anddevelopment of the theme or argument of the text, beforestarting to do the task They should pay attention to theinformation and ideas before and after each gap as well asthroughout the whole of the gapped text Students frequentlymake the wrong choice by selecting options which fit the textbefore the gap, and neglecting to check that the text after thegap follows on smoothly

■ The way in which a text has been gapped may require thereader to consider large sections or even the organisation ofthe whole of a text, in order to reconstitute a particular part

of the text As in Part 2, it is important to discourage yourstudents from ‘word spotting’, that is assuming that if thesame word, name, date, etc appears in the surrounding text

as in one of the extracts, that is necessarily the right option tofill the gap Students should be trained to consider thedevelopment of the text as a whole, and not to focus on eachgap separately Sometimes students will need to choosecarefully between two extracts as possible answers and willneed to make decisions about which is the most logical extract

to fill the particular gap They should not rule out an answerfor consideration on the grounds that they have already used

it, as the earlier use may be incorrect

■ Practice is needed in recognition of a wide range oflinguistic devices which mark the logical and cohesivedevelopment of a text, e.g words and phrases indicatingsequence of events, cause and effect, premise andconclusion In class, the task can be adapted by photocopyingthe text and cutting up the paragraphs, which gives studentsadditional visual support and allows them to comparealternatives more easily If this activity is done in pairs orgroups, students will also be encouraged to justify theircombinations and links to one another Exercises whichinvolve analysing the organisation of different types of textsand understanding how this affects meaning would also behelpful

■ Candidates should beware of approaching the gapped-texttask as an exercise requiring them merely to identify extractsfrom the text and sections in the text which contain the samewords The task is designed to test understanding of thedevelopment of ideas, opinions and events rather than thesuperficial recognition of individual words

■ PART 4

■ Preparation for the multiple-choice task should includepractice in reading a text quickly for a first overall impression,followed by close reading of the text in order to prevent anymisunderstandings which may lead students to choose

a wrong answer As with Part 2, they must be aware of theneed to check each option against the evidence of the text

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They will therefore need practice in skimming a text quickly to

get a general idea of its meaning, as well as scanning to find

the information needed to check options

■ It may be useful to discuss which aspect of reading each

question is focusing on (e.g detail, inference or organisation)

As with Part 2, activities which focus on recognising and

evaluating attitude and opinion and inferring underlying

meaning will be helpful Students can also be encouraged to

identify similar features in texts of their own choice, and to

work in groups to prepare questions (not necessarily

multiple-choice) focusing on these features

■ Part 4 texts often contain complex ideas, and in the

classroom students should be encouraged to discuss these

and relate them to their own experience and world knowledge

both before and after reading

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PAPER 1: READING

Part 1 (Questions 1–18)

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PAPER 1: READING

Part 2 (Questions 19–22)

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PAPER 1: READING

Part 2, continued (Questions 23–26)

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PAPER 1: READING

Part 3 (Questions 27–33)

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PAPER 1: READING

Part 4 (Questions 34–40)

No of questions Candidates are required to

complete two tasks – acompulsory one in Part 1,and one from a choice offive in Part 2

Task types A range of tasks from the

following text types:

articles, essays, letters,proposals, reports, reviews

Each task has a givenpurpose and a target reader

Answer format Candidates write their

answers, within the greylines on the appropriatepage, in the question paperbooklet Answers should bewritten in pen There areblank pages in the questionpaper booklet; these can beused for making notes orfor completing the tasks ifnecessary

Marks Each question on this paper

carries equal marks

STRUCTURE AND TASKS

PART 1

Task type QUESTION 1

and focus Writing one of the following:

• an article

• an essay

• a letter

• a proposal

The task focus is discursive

Format Candidates are required to respond to input material

of approximately 100 words This may includeextracts from newspapers, magazines, books, letters

or advertisements, or could be based on quotationsmade by speakers during a discussion The input textmay be supported by visual material

No of tasks One compulsory task

and length 300–350 words

PART 2

Task type Either:

and focus QUESTIONS 2–4

Writing one of the following:

QUESTION 5Writing one of the following, based on reading onefrom a prescribed list of two books:

Format Contextualised writing tasks, each specified in no

more than 70 words

No of tasks Five tasks from which candidates choose one

and length 300–350 words

PAPER

WRITING

■ Expected text length

Candidates are asked to write 300–350 words for each answer,

and writing approximately the right number of words is an

integral part of task achievement If significantly fewer words

are written, this is likely to mean that the task has not been

successfully completed, whereas overlong pieces of writing

may involve irrelevance, repetition of ideas, poor organisation

or have a negative effect on the target reader

■ PART 1 – COMPULSORY TASK

This part tests the candidates’ ability to produce a specified task

type, in response to instructions and one or more texts, which may be

supported by visual prompts.

 Sample question and scripts: pages 23 and 28–29

■ Task type and focus

In Part 1, candidates are asked to write one of the following:

an article, an essay, a letter or a proposal The questions in

Part 1 always have a discursive focus Discursive writing is a

style used in academic writing and it requires the high level of

language competence appropriate at CPE Candidates may be

asked, for example, to present and defend an argument, to

express and then justify an opinion, to explain a problem and

suggest a solution, or to evaluate ideas and make

recommendations The input which explains and defines the

task will always present at least three points to be addressed,

and candidates are required to cover these points in their

answers and to add their own views and opinions The input

will always define the purpose for writing and will identify the

target reader

■ Task format

Candidates are required to base their answers on input

material which will take the form of a short text or texts, or

quotations The texts will come from a variety of sources

such as extracts from newspaper articles, magazines, books,

letters or advertisements; the quotations will be from

speakers heard, for example, on the radio or during a

discussion Visual material such as diagrams, simple graphs

or pictures may be included to support or extend the topic

Since the task focus is on productive language, the input will

be well within the reading competence of candidates at this

level

■ PART 2

This part consists of four optional questions, one of which offers two options based on the set texts Candidates must choose one question from this part of the paper.

■ PART 2 – QUESTIONS 2–5

 Sample questions and scripts: pages 24 and 30–34

■ Task types and focus

In Part 2, candidates have a choice of task The different tasktypes are intended to provide the candidates with a clearcontext, topic, purpose and target reader for their writing Forquestions 2–4, the task types used are article, letter, report,review and proposal The characteristics of each are detailed

on pages 20–21

■ PART 2 – QUESTIONS 5(A) AND 5(B)

Question 5 consists of a choice between two tasks based onthe set reading texts Further information can be found on:

www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/general-english/ cpe.html

This option is included to encourage the extended readingwhich develops candidates’ linguistic competence, widens therange of language they encounter and enriches their languagestudy It also enables candidates to show in their writing thatthey have appreciated the themes, characters and

relationships within the text they have read A choice of texts

is included in order to appeal to different tastes Alternatively,

or in addition, candidates may choose to watch a film version

of one of the set texts Teachers are best placed to make ajudgement as to which set text on offer may be appropriateand stimulating for a particular teaching situation Each textwill normally remain on the list for two years

■ Task types and focus

Candidates are required to write one of the following: anarticle, an essay, a letter, a report or a review Thecharacteristics of each are detailed on pages 21 and 22.Candidates are not required to produce literary analysis forquestion 5

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Preparation

General

■ It is important that students are familiar with the format of

the paper and the range of text types used so that in Part 2

they can make the best choice from the questions which are

available

■ Make sure students know how important it is to read the

questions very carefully and to identify, before they begin to

plan their answers, what they hope to achieve through writing

(the purpose of the task), to whom they are writing (the target

reader) and their role as writer

■ Candidates need to read the question very carefully in

order to perform the task set effectively Students need

practice in identifying what the task is and what needs to be

addressed The question identifies the context, the writer’s

role and the target reader, which helps the candidate to

choose the appropriate register It is also very important that

students learn to distinguish between the various task types

required by the questions Even though a candidate may

display an excellent command of the language, an answer will

only achieve a high mark if all the above factors are taken into

account

■ Candidates should get into the habit of planning their

answers thoroughly before they begin to write This will

encourage an organised and coherent approach and prevent

irrelevant digression Practice in writing to time will help

prepare students to answer the question under examination

conditions, produce the appropriate number of words

required in the time set and avoid the possibility of running

out of time

■ The various task types which appear on the paper require

the use of a range of language functions, for example the

language of persuasion, description, recommendation,

comparison Students should be given guidance in identifying

these, and practice in using them

■ Remind your students that correct spelling and

punctuation are important If spelling errors or faulty

punctuation impede communication, then this will be

reflected in the mark awarded American usage and spelling

are acceptable (see page 3: Varieties of English)

■ Familiarity with the assessment criteria can be another

useful part of preparation The General Mark Scheme gives

information about the linguistic aspects that examiners will

consider, including range of vocabulary and expression,

collocation, variety of structure, organisation and cohesion,

register and format; the Task Specific Mark Schemes on pages

28–33 of this handbook also show examples of what is

required of specific tasks in terms of content and target

reader

By part

■ PART 1

■ There are always at least three content points to address in

a Part 1 task, and students need to be given practice inidentifying these It is important that candidates spend sometime reading the input carefully and identify the main pointswhich need to be included Careful reading of the question willestablish important details It is important for candidates toremember that, in Part 1, the object is not merely to restatethe content points, but to develop them and integrate theminto a piece of discursive writing of the appropriate task type

A successful answer may also refer to the writer’s own ideasand opinions

■ Students need to be reminded that the Part 1 task alwayshas a discursive focus Part of the task, therefore, is to putforward a well-argued and logical case, making sure that this

is appropriate to the particular task type – letter, essay, article

or proposal – and that the register is suitable for the scenariooutlined in the question

■ Candidates may, of course, use key words from thequestion, but must avoid ‘lifting’ whole segments of the input

No credit will be given for language or ideas that have notbeen appropriately expanded on or integrated into theirwriting

■ Because of the discursive focus of this part of the paper,students need to be equipped to discuss a range of topics.Reading and discussing articles in English on a variety ofissues will help them to develop their ideas and extend theirvocabulary in order to cover the points raised in the questions

■ PART 2

■ There is considerable choice on this part of the paper:advise your students to choose task types and topics thatappeal to their interests and experience

■ The questions in Part 2 are shorter, but just as much care isrequired in reading them Candidates who do not read aquestion carefully enough may seize on a familiar topic andstart the task before they have identified exactly what isrequired It is always the case that there are at least two parts

to these questions, and only candidates who produce abalanced answer dealing adequately with all parts of thequestion can expect to gain a mark in the higher bands

■ Encourage your students to use a wide variety ofgrammatical structures and language functions and to explorethe use of a range of vocabulary and expression

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Task types in the CPE Writing paper Preparation

AN ARTICLE is written on a particular theme in a style which

makes it suitable for publication in an English-language

newspaper, magazine or newsletter The question identifies

the topic for the article, and the type of publication

mentioned gives the candidate guidance as to the appropriate

register to be used – for example how academic or lively the

article should be The purpose of an article is to convey

information; it may contain some description and/or

narrative, and candidates should bear in mind the need to

engage the interest of their readers

Students should be reminded that a successful articleinterests and engages the reader, often with some description,narration and anecdote In some cases, a personal angle will

be appropriate and a catchy title will attract the reader’sattention However, remind students that there are manydifferent types of article, and that they should check carefully

to see what kind of publication they are being asked to writefor An article in an academic publication will have a verydifferent style and choice of language from one in a studentmagazine It may be appropriate to use headings for thevarious sections in an article; whether this is done or not, thearticle needs to be well planned and paragraphed Readingand discussing a range of articles from a variety ofpublications will be useful preparation here

AN ESSAY is usually written for a teacher It should be well

organised, with an introduction, clear development and an

appropriate conclusion The question specifies what

particular aspects of the book (development of character or

significance of events) should form the content of the essay

Essays (only used for set text questions) may be united by acentral idea which provides a point and purpose to thewriting, so they need careful planning Students should beencouraged to practise organising the points they wish tomake and the textual references that will support these points

in order to write a clearly structured essay with a suitableintroduction, development and conclusion

A LETTER is written in response to the situation outlined in

the question Letters in the CPE Writing paper will require a

response which is consistently appropriate for the specified

target reader, and candidates can except to be asked to write

letters to, for example, the editor of a newspaper or magazine,

to the director of an international company, or to a school or

college principal A letter to a newspaper or magazine may

well include a narrative element which details personal

experience; other letters may be more concerned with giving

factual information

It is important that a letter begins and ends appropriately: itmay be appropriate at the beginning to explain the reason forwriting, and the letter should have a suitable conclusion.Students should be encouraged to read and discuss letters innewspapers and magazines as this may help make themaware of the style of writing required

A PROPOSAL has a similar audience and format to a report.

Whereas the focus of a report is on something that has

already happened, a proposal is concerned with some future

event or decision A question of this type requires the

candidate to put forward suggestions or make

recommendations for discussion or for action The objective

or aim of the proposal will be specified in the question; the

candidate’s task will be to provide suggestions about how to

achieve the desired outcome, and to do this in a suitably

persuasive way An example of a proposal would be a bid for

funds for a project defined in the task, and would entail

outlining the way the funds would be spent, the benefits

which would accrue, and the way progress would be

monitored and evaluated if the bid were to be successful

Proposals should be well structured with clear sections

A proposal (not used for set text questions) needs a very clearstructure and should be organised in clear sections As with areport, the purpose, the target reader and the role of the writermust be identified Students should be given practice in usingsection headings and in writing clear conclusions Studentsshould also be given opportunities to gain experience in usingthe language commonly used in proposals, for example thelanguage of describing, analysing, justifying and persuading

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Task types in the CPE Writing paper Preparation

A REPORT is written for a specified audience This may be a

superior, for example, a boss at work, or members of a peer

group, colleagues or fellow class members The question

identifies the subject of the report and specifies the areas to

be covered The content of a report is mainly factual and

draws on the prompt material, but there will be scope for

candidates to make use of their own ideas and experience

The purpose of the report must be identified so that thecorrect information can be selected; establishing the identity

of the target reader will ensure that a suitable style and choice

of language is used It is also important for students to readthe context carefully to identify their role as writer A reportshould be well organised and clearly arranged in sections.Students should be given practice in achieving this, perhaps

by using section headings and they should also be givenpractice in writing an effective conclusion Students shouldalso be encouraged to develop an awareness of the languagecommonly used in reports, for example the language ofdescribing, comparing, analysing and making

recommendations

A REVIEW may be about a book, magazine, film, play, or

concert, but it may also be about, for example, a restaurant,

hotel, or perhaps an exhibition The target reader is specified in

the question, so the candidate knows not only what register is

appropriate, but also has an idea about the kind of information

to include A review does not merely require a general

description of, for example, an event or publication, but it

specifies the particular aspects to be considered For example,

the review may employ narrative, as well as descriptive and

evaluative language, and a range of vocabulary relating, for

example, to literature and the media such as cinema or TV

In order to become familiar with what is required of a review,students should read and discuss a range of reviews such ascan be found in various magazines and newspapers Thelanguage appropriate to a review will include, for example,language for describing, narrating and evaluating andstudents should try to extend their vocabulary to include thatrelated to literature and the media

SET TEXT questions may be articles, essays, letters, reports or

reviews

Set texts may give rise to useful and stimulating classroomwork and discussion Candidates who choose these questionswill be expected to have a good knowledge of the text, or thefilm version, and to be able to deal with the themes and ideas

of the chosen text Credit will be given for task achievementand language competence; candidates are not expected todemonstrate skill in literary analysis They are expected,however, to read the question carefully and to address therequirements of the task while clearly referring to specificevents or characters from the set text Useful preparation forthese questions may be to consider themes which runthrough the text and then identify events or characters thatexemplify these Students should be made aware that merelyreproducing, for instance, a summary of a novel’s plot oroutlining its principal message will not provide a successfulanswer, and that their statements and opinions must beclearly supported by evidence from the text

These indications of readership and purpose are not comprehensive, but are intended to give some guidelines to the different tasktypes It must be stressed that specialised writing skills are not expected of candidates at this level

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PAPER 2: WRITING

Part 1

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PAPER 2: WRITING

Part 2

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Assessment

Candidates’ answers are assessed with reference to two mark

schemes: one based on the examiner’s overall impression (the

General Mark Scheme), the other on the requirements of the

particular task (the Task Specific Mark Scheme) The General

Mark Scheme summarises the content, organisation and

cohesion, range of structures and vocabulary, register and

format, and target reader indicated in the task The Task

Specific Mark Scheme focuses on criteria specific to each

particular task

Examples of candidate responses, together with the Task

Specific Mark Schemes, can be found on pages 28–34

Candidates are penalised for dealing inadequately with the

requirements of the Task Specific Mark Scheme The accuracy

of language, including spelling and punctuation, is assessed

on the general impression scale for all tasks

■ Marking

The panel of examiners is divided into small teams, each with

a very experienced examiner as Team Leader A Principal

Examiner guides and monitors the marking process, beginning

with a meeting of the Principal Examiner for the paper and the

Team Leaders This is held immediately after the examination

and begins the process of establishing a common standard of

assessment by the selection and marking of sample scripts for

all the questions in the Writing paper These are chosen to

demonstrate the range of responses and different levels of

competence Examiners discuss these Task Specific and

General Mark Schemes during the meeting and refer to them

regularly while they are working

During marking, each examiner is apportioned scripts chosen

on a random basis from the whole entry A rigorous process of

co-ordination and checking is carried out before, during and

after the marking process

The CPE General Mark Scheme is interpreted at Council of

Europe Level C2 A summary of the General Mark Scheme is

given on page 26 Trained examiners, who are co-ordinated

prior to each examination session, work with a more detailed

version, which is subject to updating

■ Length

Writing approximately the correct length of text is an integral

part of task achievement Significantly fewer words are likely

to mean that the task has not been completed, whereas

overlong pieces of writing may involve irrelevance or have a

negative effect on the target reader If this is the case,

over-length responses will be penalised

■ Spelling and punctuation

These are important aspects of accuracy and are always taken

into account American spelling and usage is acceptable (see

page 3 Varieties of English)

■ Paragraphing

This is a function of organisation and format The TaskSpecific Mark Scheme will give an indication to examiners ofwhat is expected

■ Handwriting

If handwriting interferes with communication withoutpreventing it, the candidate will be penalised Totally illegiblescripts receive 0

■ Irrelevance

The examiners’ first priority is to give credit for thecandidates’ efforts at communication, but candidates arepenalised for inclusion of content irrelevant to the task set

■ Set reading texts

In question 5, the examiners are looking for evidence thatcandidates have read and understood a set text, or seen thefilm version, and are able to provide evidence of this in theform of illustrated description and discussion Assessment isbased, as for the other tasks, on control of language in fulfillingthe task set, and also requires explicit reference to the chosentext Candidates should not attempt these tasks without havingprepared the texts thoroughly

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CPE

General Mark Scheme

BAND

5 Outstanding realisation of the task set:• Sophisticated use of an extensive range of vocabulary,

collocation and expression, entirely appropriate to the task set

• Effective use of stylistic devices; register and format wholly

appropriate

• Impressive use of a wide range of structures

• Skilfully organised and coherent

• Excellent development of topic

• Minimal error

Impresses the reader and has a very positive effect

BAND

4 Good realisation of the task set:• Fluent and natural use of a wide range of vocabulary,

collocation and expression, successfully meeting the

requirements of the task set

• Good use of stylistic devices; register and format appropriate

• Competent use of a wide range of structures

• Well organised and coherent

• Good development of topic

• Minor and unobtrusive errors

Has a positive effect on the reader

BAND

3 Satisfactory realisation of the task set:

• Reasonably fluent and natural use of a range of vocabulary

and expression, adequate to the task set

• Evidence of stylistic devices; register and format generally

appropriate

• Adequate range of structures

• Clearly organised and generally coherent

• Adequate coverage of topic

• Some non-impeding errors

Achieves the desired effect on the reader

BAND

2 Inadequate attempt at the task set:• Limited and/or inaccurate range of vocabulary and expression

• Little evidence of stylistic devices; some attempt at register

and format

• Inadequate range of structures

• Some attempt at organisation, but lacks coherence

• Inadequate development of topic

• A number of errors, which sometimes impede communication

Has a negative effect on the reader

BAND

1 Poor attempt at the task set:

• Severely limited and inaccurate range of vocabulary and

expression

• No evidence of stylistic devices; little or no attempt at

register and format

• Lack of structural range

• Poorly organised, leading to incoherence

• Little relevance to topic, and/or too short

• Numerous errors, which distract and often impede

• Insufficient language to assess (fewer than 20% of the

required number of words)

• Totally illegible

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LEVEL

C2 MASTERYCERTIFICATE OF PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH:

Fully operational command of the written language

• Can write on a very wide range of topics

• Is able to engage the reader by effectively exploiting stylisticdevices such as sentence length, variety and appropriacy ofvocabulary, word order, idiom and humour

• Can write with only very rare inaccuracies of grammar orvocabulary

• Is able to write at length organising ideas effectively

LEVEL

C1 EFFECTIVE OPERATIONAL PROFICIENCY CERTIFICATE IN ADVANCED ENGLISH:

Good operational command of the written language

• Can write on most topics

• Is able to engage the reader by using stylistic devices such assentence length, variety and appropriacy of vocabulary, wordorder, idiom and humour, though not always appropriately

• Can communicate effectively with only occasional inaccuracies

of grammar and vocabulary

• Is able to construct extended stretches of discourse usingaccurate and mainly appropriate complex language which isorganisationally sound

LEVEL

B2 VANTAGE FIRST CERTIFICATE IN ENGLISH:

Generally effective command of the written language

• Can write on familiar topics

• Shows some ability to use stylistic devices such as variety andappropriacy of vocabulary and idiom, though not alwaysappropriately

• Can communicate clearly using extended stretches ofdiscourse and some complex language despite someinaccuracies of grammar and vocabulary

• Can organise extended writing which is generally coherent

LEVEL

B1 THRESHOLD PRELIMINARY ENGLISH TEST:

Limited but effective command of the written language

• Can write on most familiar and predictable topics

• Can communicate clearly using longer stretches of discourseand simple language despite relatively frequent inaccuracies

of grammar or vocabulary

• Can organise writing to a limited extent

LEVEL

A2 WAYSTAGE KEY ENGLISH TEST:

Basic command of the written language

• Can write short basic messages on very familiar or highlypredictable topics possibly using rehearsed or fixedexpressions

• May find it difficult to communicate the message because offrequent inaccuracies of grammar or vocabulary

Cambridge ESOL

Common Scale for Writing

The Cambridge ESOL Common Scale for Writing has been

developed to allow users to:

• interpret levels of performance in the Cambridge tests

from beginner to advanced

• identify typical performance qualities at particular levels

• locate performance in one examination against

performance in another

The Common Scale is designed to be useful to test candidates

and other test users (e.g admissions officers or employers)

The description at each level of the Common Scale is not

intended as a specification for the test content, but rather

aims to provide a brief, general description of the nature of

written language ability at a particular level in real-world

contexts In this way the wording offers an easily

understandable description of performance which can be

used, for example, in specifying requirements to language

trainers, formulating job descriptions and specifying language

requirements for new posts

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PAPER 2: WRITING

Question 1 (sample script)

Sample script with examiner comments

■ Content

For a Band 3 or above, the proposal

must give information about:

• which famous person should

open the centre

• what activities would make the

event memorable

• how the college would benefit

from the open day in the future

■ Organisation and cohesion

Clearly organised proposal, possiblywith headings

Suitable introduction and conclusion

■ Appropriacy of register and format

Register consistently appropriate forproposal for College Principal

QUESTION 1: CANDIDATE A

Examiner comments

■ ContentExcellent development of topic

■ Organisation and cohesionWell organised and coherent

■ Range

A wide range

■ AccuracySome non-impeding errors

■ Appropriacy of register and formatWholly appropriate

■ Target readerPositive effect

■ Marks awardedBand 4

Candidate A

PROPOSAL

To: The Principal of the college

From: <name>, student of the college

Subject: “How the open day of the college’s new centre should be organised to best promote the

work of the college’”

Date: 3 December, 2006

Introduction

As requested by the college, I am submitting the following proposal on how the open day of the

college’s new centre, consisting of a computer room, a recreation area and a sports hall, should be

organised to best promote the work of the college So, in order to achieve this aim, it would be

wise to consider which famous person to invite to open the centre or what activities to organise

to make the event partticularly memorable and how the college will benefit from this open day in

the future.

Famous person to invite

To start with, we should consider seriously the possibility of inviting to open the centre the most

renowned persons in their fields: firstly, Bill Gage, who is the owner of Microsoft and the richest

person in the whole world, and secondly, the best football player ever, David Beckham! Undoubtedly,

it would be a great honour for our college to open officially the computer room such a guest like Bill

Gage, who is the first man worldwide to create the pattent of Microsoft Windows that all people

use in their computers Also, who else could open our sports hall if not David Beckham who, because

of his successful career as a football player, is admired from all people and especially youths.

Activities to make the event memorable

A god idea (so as) to make the event memorable is to organise a lecture in which the two special

guests will talk about the world of (the) computers and football and thus stress the idea of how

important it is for a college to have a computer room, a sports hall and a recreation area.

Another idea would be to show from a videowall various football, basketball or even volleyball

matches and of course pictures that have to do with computers, in general We could, as well

take cuttings from newspapers that show pictures pertaining to sports and multimedia Thus, all

the students of our college will remember the inportance of this day for ever.

Benefit from this open day in the future

Undisputably, this open day will be of benefit to the college in the future on the grounds that

from this day all students can have access in computers and multimedia, in sports and they will

have a recreation area, too In this way, the college will organise sports events or other events

that have to do with computers a fact that will allow it to distinguish among other colleges.

Conclusion

Having considered the various options, I believe that in my proposal is the best way of organising

the open day of our college’s new centre to best promote the work of the college and I therefore

trust that you will give it due consideration.

| pa p e r 2 : w r i t i n g – s a m p l e s c r i p ts w i t h e x a m i n e r co m m e nts

Sample script with examiner comments

■ Content

For a Band 3 or above, the proposal

must give information about:

• which famous person should

open the centre

• what activities would make the

event memorable

• how the college would benefit

from the open day in the future

■ Organisation and cohesion

Clearly organised proposal, possiblywith headings

Suitable introduction and conclusion

■ Appropriacy of register and format

Register consistently appropriate forproposal for College Principal

QUESTION 1: CANDIDATE B

Examiner comments

■ ContentPoor attempt at task

■ Organisation and cohesionAttempt at organisation and cohesion butlacks appropriate introduction andconclusion

■ RangeLimited range

■ AccuracyNumerous errors, which distract and oftenimpede

■ Appropriacy of register and formatAttempt at appropriate register and format

■ Target readerVery negative effect

■ Marks awardedBand 1

Candidate B

When new facilities are been building is always a good oportunity to

re-establish our view about the targets of education Education is not only the

way to knoledge but also to help the students to develop their own skills and

abilities That it would be the message tha we have to dispach during the

opening day.

For these reasons I will recomment some activities that would help us to

reach our target First of all, it would be great to invite some famous persons

that have passed from college as students during the previous years They can

have speech about the differences between their times and now regarding the

new infrastracture Because of being famous they will surely make influence to

the youngsters.

A second proposal it would be, to held social activity in every single domain

inside the new center For example, it would be great to organise a web

conferance to demonstrate the abilities of the computer room, or to held a

LAN party with online games As for the recreation area it would be nice to

organise an exposition of paintings or sculptures that students draw or build.

That it would be a message about the new leasure or creative activities that

they wold take place from now on at the new recreation facility.

As for the sports hall it would be most reasonable to establish a common

game cup such as basketball umong other colleges and this cup to be held

annualy, so to remind every one the days that this new center open its gates.

All the activities that i mention above, of course, would be accompanied with

soft drinks, food and music It is party so that the way it should be.

The college from these new buildings will raise its status, so it will bring higher

level students during the years to come Furthermore, it can be a pole for the

locals people and not only for the students.

Every new attempt for the benefit of the students is welcome.

PAPER 2: WRITING

Question 1 (sample script)

| pa p e r 2 : w r i t i n g – s a m p l e s c r i p ts w i t h e x a m i n e r co m m e nts

PAPER 2: WRITING

Question 2 (sample script)

Sample script with examiner comments

■ Content

For a Band 3 or above, the article must:

• briefly describe the object

• narrate its interesting/unusual

history

■ Organisation and cohesion

Clear development of ideas

Appropriate use of paragraphing andlinking

■ Appropriacy of register and format

Consistently appropriate for an article

QUESTION 2: CANDIDATE C

Examiner comments

■ ContentGood development of topic

■ Organisation and cohesionVery well organised and coherent

■ RangeWide range

■ AccuracyMinor and unobtrusive errors

■ Appropriacy of register and formatEntirely appropriate

■ Target readerPositive effect

■ Marks awardedBand 4

Candidate C

I have to admit that through my life I haven’t been an ardent fan of what

we call destiny I always believed that we are the ones who make our

destiny, but I guess life at times proves me wrong That’s what happened

several years ago, when I was still in high school.

As we all know high-school kids become almost obsessed at the beginning of

every school year They always try to find the best bags and accessories that

will make the drudgery of the new school year a little bit more pleasant Like

every kid, I set out with my mother on Saturday morning to discover and

buy my new school bag And just about we were ready to give up, as we had

been in every single store and I still hadn’t found the one, there it was A

brown leather bag, very simple, but I was sure that this would be the bag I

would keep for the rest of my time at school Of course it was very expensive

and we didn’t have all the money required so I would have to come back and

get it on Monday noon.

To my great disappointment the one and only piece was sold, when I came

back on Monday, and to my greater disappointment I notices during the week

that a girl from my new class was holding it And here it is that fate enters.

During the year I ended up spending very much time with that girl and before

the school year ended we had become inseparable Towards the end of the

year I confessed to her that I wanted her bag desperately in the beginning.

So during the summer, when it was my birthday, she gave it to me as a

present, saying that our friendship was more important than the bag.

Today I still have in my life both the bag and my best friend Of course I don’t

use that bag anymore, since I’m not at school, but it also became a symbol

of our friendship, and not just my favourite bag.

• identify the novel and describe

the use of local landscape,

buildings and characters

• comment on the effectiveness of

the descriptions

■ Organisation and cohesion

Clear development of ideas

Appropriate use of linking andparagraphing

■ Appropriacy of register and format

Consistently appropriate for a review

■ Organisation and cohesionSkilfully organised and coherent

■ RangeExtensive range

■ Accuracy Minimal error

■ Appropriacy of register and formatWholly appropriate

■ Target readerImpresses the reader and has a very positiveeffect

■ Marks awardedBand 5

Candidate D

Everybody who has lived in Athens during the past 30 years could relate to

John Armstrong’s new novel ‘City Days’ By means of a simple storyline,

concerning the adventures of six friends growing up together in the city centre,

the writer manages to show Athens’ evolution during the years 1979-2000.

The fact that John Armstrong is not Greek has no effect on his perception of

Athens, since he has lived here for more than 20 years All of the city centre’s

areas, including Syntagma, Omonoia and Plaka, are described almost exactly

as they are or have been It is obvious that he was careful not to give

misleading information about them and that he has studied the city’s

history, including its architectural styles during the past three decades, since

all of the characteristic buildings in Athens are presented, and all other

buildings described do or could exist, and the changes that it has gone

through Even the landscapes look familiar to an Athens’ resident like me.

I have often had the feeling that I knew where a place described was, even if

its name was not mentioned.

The novel’s only weak point is the description of its characters While the main

six characters, especially George, the protagonist, are ordinary people, good

examples of how Greek youth thought and felt at the time, secondary ones

are not given as much attention The writer tends to follow the clichés that

have been established concerning Greeks, describing almost all of them as

good-natured but lazy and not serious people That is partially true, but during

the post-dictatory years Greeks were not like that, especially the capital’s

residents They used to think a lot and were no longer passive By making this

mistake the writer fails to capture that age’s spirit.

Despite its disadvantages, though, the novel is totally worth reading I was

really moved while reading it, perhaps because of personal experiences and my

bond to the place To sum up, this novel accomplishes its main purpose; to

show that, despite its chaos, the difficulties it poses and the problems it

causes, one can’t help loving Athens I do, and the writer does, too.

PAPER 2: WRITING

Question 3 (sample script)

| pa p e r 2 : w r i t i n g – s a m p l e s c r i p ts w i t h e x a m i n e r co m m e nts

PAPER 2: WRITING

Question 4 (sample script)

Sample script with examiner comments

■ Content

For a Band 3 or above, the letter must:

• identify a restaurant

• describe the quality of its food,

service and atmosphere

• explain how the restaurant has

attracted a wide range of

customers

■ Organisation and cohesion

Early explanation for reason forwriting

Clearly organised ideas

QUESTION 4: CANDIDATE E

Examiner comments

■ ContentGood development of the topic

■ Organisation and cohesionWell organised and coherent

■ RangeWide range

■ AccuracySome non-impeding errors

■ Appropriacy of register and formatAppropriate

■ Target readerAchieves the desired effect

■ Marks awardedBand 3

Candidate E

Sir or Madam

I am writing this letter as an invitation from your newspaper to readers to

propose a restaurant for the competition ‘ Restaurant of the year’.

The restaurant which I would like to proposed, called ‘Food Company’ and it

is in the centre of Athens This place has been my favourite since I was a

university student and I believe then when you will read my letter you will

understand the reason.

To being with, I would like to say that my taste in food is quite strange that

is why it is difficult for me to find a restaurant which I really like Food

Company is the ideal place For me, as it cater to all the different tastes of

food You can find traditionall greec recipes but also a great variety of Italian

pasta And the best of all is that although I am a vegeterian, it is not difficult

to find interesting dishes without meat and not only boring salads as it

happens in other restaurants Don’t forget to mention that the dishes are

delicious as if your mother was cooking.

Another factor which also it is important for me in a restaurant is the

atmosphere and of course the service ‘Food Company’ is a friendly place with

a lovely decoration which attract your impression from the first moment For

me and my company is the best choice for cold nights and as we enjoy having

a dinner and listening to jazz, as ‘Food Company’ loves this kind of music In

connection with the service you should know that the stuff is always ready

to propose a dish and they are always at your disposal.

Finally, as the prices are extremely low, you can meet university students but

also doctors, artists and generally different types of people This is, I believe, a

great advantage of this restaurant as it creates the impression of small

society in the centre of the town.

To conclude, I would not hesitate to recommend ‘Food Company’ as the best

choice for your readers to enjoy a delicious dinner I hope my letter will be of

interest to you and I am looking forward to see it in print.

Yours faithfull

| pa p e r 2 : w r i t i n g – s a m p l e s c r i p ts w i t h e x a m i n e r co m m e nts

PAPER 2: WRITING

Question 5(b) (sample script)

Sample script with examiner comments

■ Content

For a Band 3 or above, the letter must:

• explain and describe how

human nature triumphs in a

desperate situation

• recommend Bel Canto

Answer must be supported by

reference to the text The following

are possible references:

The desperate situation

• the kidnap attempt fails because the

President is not at the party

• a siege situation develops

• the women, except Roxane, have

been freed, so husbands/wives

separated

• the Generals are intransigent, and

refuse to surrender even when told

none of their demands will be met.

Finding joy and happiness

• hostages and hostage-takers all

enjoy the music

• everyone takes pleasure in being in

the garden – running, playing football, gardening

• younger hostage-takers enjoy

television

• Cesar is taught to sing by Roxane

• General Benjamin plays chess with

Mr Hosokawa

• Ruben enjoys looking after his house

and making people as comfortable

as possible – he gives antibiotics to General Benjamin

• relationships develop – Mr Hosokawa

and Roxane, Gen and Carmen, Ruben and Ishmael whom he plans to adopt.

■ Organisation and cohesion

Appropriate introduction andconclusion

Well-organised ideas

Effective use of paragraphs

■ Appropriacy of register and format

Register consistently appropriate for aletter to the local librarian

QUESTION 5(B): CANDIDATE F

Examiner comments

■ ContentGood realisation of the task

■ Organisation and cohesionWell organised and coherent

■ RangeWide range

■ Accuracy Minor and unobtrusive

■ Appropriacy of register and formatAppropriate

■ Target readerHas a positive effect

■ Marks awardedBand 4

Candidate F

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing in response to your request for recommendation of books to

be added to your reading list on the theme of ‘The Triumph of the Human

Spirit’.

Having recently read BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett I would strongly

recommend this book be added to the list BEL CANTO is the novel of great

passion, where love, music and languages are main themes.

Being captured in the host country (poor Latinoamerican country) the

hostages build a close relationship with terrorists and the drama begins.

Roxanne Coss, a soprano diva, holds everyone together with her magnificent

singing, her amazing voice, and is admired by terrorists as much as by the

hostages.

Gen, Mr Hosokawa’s translator, becomes a ‘bridge’ between hostages and

terrorists and the outside world.

He is a great example of how people in desperation become close, form a very

strong connection and find happiness in most unexpected way.

| pa p e r 2 : w r i t i n g – s a m p l e s c r i p ts w i t h e x a m i n e r co m m e nts

PAPER 2: WRITING

Question 5(b) (sample script, continued)

His love for Carmen, a terrorist girl, is pure and passionate, something he

never experienced in his life before Ruben Iglesias, the Vice president of the

country, now hostage in his own house, finds happiness and joy in spending

time with Ishmael, the terrorist boy, and the bond between them is so

strong that he is considering of adopting him once they are released All the

terrorist are killed at the end of the novel and such a strong ending breaks up

the almost idyllic world of love and happiness where hostages and terrorists

live together.

Bel Canto has brought together the most unusual characters under one roof.

I am looking forward to reading most of the books recommended by other

readers and do hope that some of them will enjoy BEL CANTO as much as

I did.

Yours faithfully

Sample script with examiner comments

QUESTION 5(B): CANDIDATE F (CONTINUED)