Write your report for the chairman. (around 280 – 320 words)
You have been asked to write an article for Job Prospects magazine, a publication for 18-30-year-olds, on the following topic:
You should focus on the types of job and leisure opportunities for young people taking a gap year in your country (or a country that you know well), the types of skills that can be gained and the likely value of these to potential employers. |
Write the article for the readers of the magazine. (around 280 – 320 words)
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An introduction to the Cambridge CPE exam
Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes
Part | Task type | Focus | Word Length |
---|---|---|---|
Write an Essay with a discursive focus, summarising and evaluating the ideas in two texts, each around 100 words long. | Ability to evaluate and summarize key points in tests and write discursively, i.e. making and developing arguments, expressing or evaluating ideas, supporting opinions, etc. | 240-280 | |
Choose one writing task from a choice of four. Questions 2-4 are based on one of the following: an article a letter a review a report Question 5 in this part is based on a set reading text and the task is one of the following: an article an essay a letter a review a report Visit the CPE section of our FAQs page for details of this year's set texts. | Write for a specific purpose and audience, with accurate language control. | 280-320 |
Table: CPE Paper 2 Writing
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For some, the Cambridge criteria are as mysterious as the DaVinci code… It is critical to have an idea of how these work if you are planning to take CAE or CPE. Luckily, it’s not so difficult if you know the key terms. What they are looking for lies within the following: ▪️ Conventions of the communicative task: Conventions are the way things are typically done in a community or society. Applied to writing, this means, broadly speaking, style. Beyond just formality, this includes tone of writing and format—does it look and sound like a (letter) usually would? ▪️ Holding the target reader’s attention: How would you feel if you read it? Would you get bored and swipe up? Or would you be sitting on the edge of your seat? Are there any parts of the text that would leave you scratching your head? Or do your eyes glide naturally from one line to the next? ▪️ Communicative purpose: Why are you writing, and what would you like to accomplish with your text, i.e. how convincing are you? Convincing in the sense that if your reader didn’t agree with your opinion at the outset, would they be swayed by the end? Your argument should be balanced and yet convey a sense of authority and knowledge. ▪️ Straightforward and complex ideas: Straightforward means, well, straightforward. Simple and directly related to the topic, it’s something you would expect to see in an intermediate student’s essay. Complex ideas go beyond the topic, looking at, for example, the attitudes of society towards the cinema and how this has changed over time… critical thinking
This is one of the most common misconceptions about Advanced / Proficiency exams. Many students get paralyzed because they think that they must use only high level words—nothing else! Well I’ll give you news—even native speakers have difficulties doing this. Consistently producing less common lexis can actually have negative effects on your communicative achievement because meaning easily becomes compromised… instead of prioritizing clarity and brevity, a spew of complex phrases will only leave the reader bewildered. So what should you do?
However, there are certain formulaic expressions that are multipurpose and can be applied in most situations. I’ll give you a few examples: ▪️A more viable solution would be (to impose taxes on disposable products) ▪️(A throwaway society) is becoming increasingly prevalent with (technological evolution) ▪️The implications of (not implementing a recycling program) are too severe to ignore
The final post in a series about the Cambridge criteria for Advanced & Proficiency exams. Content is actually the easiest to obtain 5 marks in, if you’re careful. It is slightly different for each exam so let me break it down for you. CAE It’s pretty simple here. You are given a topic (a discussion that took place in class about a contemporary issue or situation) and three potential solutions. You must choose two to write about, and select the best one, giving reasons and examples for both. It is very important that you select one of the issues and provide reasons for doing so. If not, you cannot score above 3. CPE This one’s a bit more difficult. You are given two texts, each on the same topic, but looking at it from different angles. While there is some overlap, you will find that these writers often have different purposes. The trick in this task is to identify two key points from each text. You will see that each point stands independently from the other and can be broken down into examples. Beware of non-defining clauses, asides, or any small parts of the text that give extra information—these cannot be considered as key points. In order to get full marks, you have to successfully identify all four points and express your opinion. Remember that you must evaluate these ideas—not just reformulate them. This evaluation should be integrated with the key points and the reader should be able to follow your argument throughout the essay. Remember: essays are written for teachers. Teachers want to know your opinion on the matter. It is not simply a matter of regurgitating information. Your voice must be clear!
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A letter is written in response to the situation outlined in the question. Letters in the C2 Proficiency Writing paper will require a response which is consistently appropriate for the specified target reader, and candidates can expect 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. Source: Cambridge English Assessment: C2 Proficiency Handbook for teachers
What a typical letter task looks like.
Task for a letter in C2 Proficiency always look fairly similar and are based around the idea that you want to respond to something that you have read about without giving you the source material itself. That means that you have to build you letter based on your opinion on the topic in the task. It is almost like an essay with more stylistic freedom, but before I get ahead of myself let’s have a look at an example task.
Always plan your letter before you start writing.
Those of you who have read any of my other articles on writing, be it for A2 , B1 , B2 , C1 or Proficiency , know that I’m a big fan of making a plan in order to set yourself up for a smooth ride. Not only does a good plan serve a storing space for your ideas so you won’t forget them once you start writing, but it also saves you tons of time as you will never have to rearrange paragraphs or rethink what you want to say. It’s all there and guides you through the process.
Greeting & opening paragraph.
Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing in response to the article on alternative medicine published on August 1st and would like to share my opinion with you and the other readers. I would definitely agree that alternative medicine, for the most part, is a waste of money and time and that it would be wiser to use the full range of scientifically tested and proven methods to combat one’s health issues.
You can see that I didn’t have to do anything out of the ordinary to get started . I state the purpose of the letter (“I am writing in response to …”) and give my opinion (“I would definitely agree …”) without simply copying the wording from the task but rather paraphrasing and using my own words. That’s all you need to do and just like that we can move on to the next part.
Having said that, I do understand that for some, alternative approaches to minor ailments are preferable as they usually come with no side effects and have been used for generations. What worked for our grandparents has to work for us nowadays as well, doesn’t it? People like the idea of believing in something and being in control of their healing process and alternative medicine gives them exactly that. If it is the herb itself or just the placebo effect that’s at work, is secondary as long as it eases the suffering.
In the paragraph above I describe why some people prefer alternative medicine to established Western medicine. I introduce the paragraph with a contrasting expression (“Having said that, …”) to highlight that what comes next doesn’t reflect my opinion as stated in the opening paragraph. Cohesion and coherence are the name of the game in C2 Proficiency writing so make sure that all your ideas are well connected and logically organised.
However, the placebo effect doesn’t justify the often hefty price tag attached to these kinds of treatments and there are plenty of charlatans, like faith healers and snake oil salesman, who try to prey on the vulnerable with their promises of fast and lasting improvements through overpriced treatment sessions or products. Many put their last hope and money into these quacks, herbs and potions only to have them shattered leaving them with an empty bank account on top of their broken bodies and minds. None of this helps people and should rather be considered criminal behaviour.
To cut a long story short, I think that everyone can do with their money as they please, but the ones that are to blame are those defrauding people who just want to live a life free of pain and worries. Governments should introduce more oversight to ensure that money isn’t flushed down the toilet anymore but instead used to truly help people. I look forward to following subsequent articles on related issues. Yours faithfully, Teacher Phill
That is all you have to do to write a great letter in C2 Proficiency. With a little bit of planning the paragraph structure you want to use and the content of each of those sections you can set yourself up for a successful writing session where you can focus on using the best language possible, engaging the reader and writing in a cohesive and coherent way.
Reading skills – 7 great tips to improve, how to stay calm on your cambridge exam day, cambridge c2 proficiency (cpe): how to write an article, are native speakers better language teachers, cambridge c2 proficiency (cpe): how to write a report, cambridge c2 proficiency (cpe): how to write an essay.
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First, let's look at the format of Part 1: Task: essay. Word count: 240-280 words. Register: formal. Overview: a summary of two texts and an evaluation of the ideas. Suggested structure: introduction, paragraph 1, paragraph 2, conclusion. Time: 1 hour 30 minutes for Part 1 and 2. Before we look at an example task, let's look at how your ...
Identify and underline the key points in both input texts. Make sure to include that when you write your essay. Summarise the key points in your own words. Use an academic writing style (formal or neutral register). You must organise your ideas well, using an introduction, paragraphing and appropriate linking devices.
What a typical essay task looks like. First of all, let's check out at a typical task and you will see very quickly what you need to look out for when analysing it. Source: Cambridge English Assessment C2 Proficiency Handbook for teachers. In every essay task, you have to read two short texts (about 100 words each) just like the ones above.
word(s) must fit the context of the passage (Parts 1 and 2). P Think about all the changes a word may require in Part 3: suffix, prefix, internal, more than one, singular, plural or negative, change of word class. P Read the questions carefully and check each option against the text before rejecting it (Parts 1, 5, 6 and 7).
Write your essay. The role of memory We like to think of our memory as our record of the past, but all too often memories are influenced by imagination. It is risky, therefore, to regard memory as a source of knowledge, because we will never be able to verify the accuracy of a memory fully. Although memory is
C2 Proficiency is made up of four papers developed to test your English skills. You can see exactly what is in each paper below. The formats below are the same for both the digital and paper-based exams. Shows you can deal confidently with different types of text, such as fiction and non-fiction books, journals, newspapers and manuals. Requires ...
The essay should be between 240-280 words long while in part 2, to should write between 280-320 words. In the writing paper, you need to show that you can fully address and answer a variety of questions, use different layouts and styles of language, organise your text in a cohesive and coherent manner as well as use a wide range of grammatical ...
PART 1 - ESSAY MARKS: 20 In Part 1 of the Writing paper you are required to write an essay based on two short texts. In the essay you must: • summarise the key points in the two short texts • give your own opinions on the topic THE TEXTS • The two texts present opinions on the same topic. • Each text contains two main points/opinions that you must
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. Articles are a possible type of text in Part 2 of the writing paper in Cambridge C2 Proficiency. Unlike essays, articles are not mandatory and can be chosen ...
Example exam task: Write an essay summarising and evaluating the four key points from both texts. Use your own words throughout as far as possible, and include your own ideas in your answers. Tackling Traffic Congestion. Policy-makers employ a wide range of measures to tackle the problem of traffic congestion.
Write an essay summarising and evaluating the key points from both texts. Use your own words Write your answer in 240-280 words on the separate answer sheet. Shifting sands: behavioural change Nowadays, in some cultures there may often be confusion between generations about what is acceptable behaviour in certain situations.
C2 Proficient (CPE) Essay: Assessement Criteria. Your essay will be assessed according to these four criteria: Content focuses on how well the candidate has fulfilled the task, in other words if they have done what they were asked. to do. Communicative Achievement focuses on how appropriate the writing is for the task and whether the candidate ...
Write the article for the readers of the magazine. (around 280 - 320 words) 0. / 280 - 320 words. Enhance your writing skills with C2 Proficient (CPE) Writing Part 2 practice. Elevate your academic writing to the next level.
The things considered when a piece of writing is marked for an exam. For the C2 Proficiency exam, these are: Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation and Language. Writing Assessment Scale 2. Writing Assessment subscales. Assessment criteria 2.
Word Length. 1. Compulsory task. Write an Essay with a discursive focus, summarising and evaluating the ideas in two texts, each around 100 words long. Ability to evaluate and summarize key points in tests and write discursively, i.e. making and developing arguments, expressing or evaluating ideas, supporting opinions, etc. 240-280.
Performance below Band 1. C2 Band. Language. 5. Uses a wide range of vocabulary, including less common lexis, with fluency, precision, sophistication, and style. Use of grammar is sophisticated, fully controlled and completely natural. Any inaccuracies occur only as slips.
In a nutshell, there are four criteria your texts are assessed on: Content. Communicative Achievement. Organisation. Language. Each of these criteria is scored on a scale from 0-5 so you can score a maximum of 20 marks per text. As you have to complete two tasks in the official exam, the total possible score is 40.
The word count needs to be precise. This is actually a guideline. ... It is critical to have an idea of how these work if you are planning to take CAE or CPE. Luckily, it's not so difficult if you know the key terms. ... Simple and directly related to the topic, it's something you would expect to see in an intermediate student's essay ...
Refer students to Student's worksheet Exercise 1. Ask students, in pairs, to complete the key facts about C2 Proficiency Writing, referring to the handbook if necessary. 3. Check the answers to Exercise 1 with the whole class. Ask if there are any other questions about Part 2. 4.
C2 Proficient (CPE) Article: Structure. Title. An eye-catching title which attracts the readers' attention. Introduction. Clearly defines the topic to be covered and keeps the reader's attention. The main body paragraph 1. Articles may also have subheadings for each paragraph. The main body paragraph 2. Articles may also have subheadings ...
How to organise your review. Reviews in C2 Proficiency can normally be structured in a similar way because the different elements we need to include are always the same: a descriptive part, something we need to discuss in a bit more detail, and a recommendation. Title & introduction. Description. Discussion.
Overview. Mandatory task: no; Word count: 280-320; Main characteristics: descriptive, comparative, analytical, impersonal, persuasive; Register: normally formal but depends on the task; Structure: introduction, main paragraphs, conclusion (sub-heading for each paragraph); Introduction. A report is written for a specified audience. This may be a superior, for example, a boss at work, or members ...
Word count: 280-320; Main characteristics: opinion, narration, factual information; Register: depends on the task; Structure: greeting & opening paragraph, main paragraphs, closing paragraph & salutation; Introduction. A letter is written in response to the situation outlined in the question.