Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) - Writing (Paper 2)

General description

Paper format	The paper contains two parts.
Timing	1 hour 30 minutes.
No. of parts	2.
No. of questions	Candidates are required to complete two tasks: a compulsory one in Part 1 and one from a choice of five in Part 2.
Task types	From the following: article, competition entry, contribution to a longer piece, essay, information sheet, letter, proposal, report, review. Each task has a given purpose and a target reader.
Answer format	The questions are in a booklet with lined pages for the answers. The blank pages at the back of the booklet can be used for writing notes or finishing answers, if necessary.
Marks	Each question on this paper carries equal marks.

Structure and tasks

Part 1

Task type and focus	QUESTION 1 Writing one of the following: an article, a report, a proposal, a letter. Focus on evaluating, expressing opinions, hypothesising, persuading.
Format	Candidates are required to deal with input material of up to 150 words. This may include material taken from advertisements, extracts from letters, emails, postcards, diaries, short articles, etc.
No. of tasks and length	One compulsory task. 180–220 words.

Part 2

Task type and focus	QUESTIONS 2–4 Writing one of the following: an article, a competition entry, a contribution to a longer piece, an essay, an information sheet, a letter, a proposal, a report, a review. QUESTION 5 (Question 5 has two options) Writing one of the following, based on one of two prescribed reading texts: an article, an essay, a report, a review. Varying focuses according to the task, including: comparing, giving advice, giving opinions, justifying, persuading.
Format	A situationally based writing task specified in no more than 80 words.
No. of tasks and length	One task to be selected from a choice of five. 220–260 words.

 Which are the points the examiners will be looking for in their assessment?

·        Organisation

Is the answer written in clear, well-connected paragraphs?

·        Range

Does the answer use a variety of words and structures?

·        Register

Is the answer in an appropriately formal or informal style?

·        Content (dealing with the necessary points)

Does the answer cover all the necessary points?

·        Communicative achievement

Would the answer have the right effect on the reader?

·        Accuracy

Does the answer contain a lot of language errors?

The subscales at C1 level (Advanced)

Content	Minor irrelevances and/or omissions may be present. Target reader is, on the whole, informed.
Communicative achievement	Uses the conventions of the communicative task effectively to hold the target reader’s attention and communicate straightforward and complex ideas, as appropriate.
Organisation	Text is well organized and coherent, using a variety of cohesive devices and organizational patterns to generally good effect.
Language	Uses a range of vocabulary, including less common lexis appropriately. Uses a range of simple, and complex grammatical forms with control and flexibility. Occasional errors may be present but do not impede communication.

Stylistic or content devices:

 

• expressing how you feel / felt – being upfront

• telling readers how they will feel

• making things sound attractive

• asking rhetorical questions

• giving examples readers can relate to

• quoting actual words

• using emphatic language

• using an appropriate level of formality and sounding reasonable

• using irony (?) / humour

The paragraphs

The paragraphs must:

• grab the reader’s attention

• state clearly the subject of the piece of writing

• suggest something of what is going to follow

• reveal something of the writer’s attitude

Cohesion

Cohesion: Is it well organised? Do the points follow clearly and logically one from another?

- Is each sentence related to the sentence before it? Use of linkers, reference devices etc.

- Is each paragraph related to the paragraph before? Is there something at the beginning of the paragraph which refers back?

- Does each paragraph have a clear purpose? This can often be stated explicitly.

Register

–        informal,

–        semi-formal, and

–        formal.

Language that would be completely acceptable in one context can be inappropriate in another. It is important, therefore, to understand the goals of your writing, and use language consistent with your goals.

Colloquial language

Colloquial language is the language of everyday speech.  It changes rapidly, and most people master several forms of colloquial language for different situations. Text messaging, personal emails, and the language of social networking sites all use various written forms of colloquial writing.  

As you already know, colloquial language is seldom appropriate for Academic, Business, or Legal writing. If you are quoting someone directly, it can be appropriate, but be thoughtful not to disrupt your overall tone.

Informal Language

Informal language tries to capture some of the flow of everyday speech. It broadly adheres to the rules of standard written English, but imprecise word choice and contractions are acceptable, so long as the meaning is clear. It generally uses complete sentences, but some use of sentence fragments is common for emphasis.

Informal writing is meant for a broad audience; the purpose is usually to express a personal idea; most online blogging and personal essays use informal writing. Contractions are acceptable. Some use of the first and second person (“I,” “you”) is acceptable.

Semi-Formal Language

Semi-formal language is the writing of magazines like The Smithsonian or websites like The Daily Beast that are aimed at a general but thoughtful audience. Complete sentences are used. Contractions are written out (“can not” “did not,” etc.”). Limited use of first and second person for specific rhetorical effect is common.

Formal Language

Formal language is used in business, academic, and government writing. It makes careful use of a specialized vocabulary. Contractions are written out. First person writing is avoided. The use of passive voice is very common and its purpose is a more polite, indirect or maybe impersonal approach.

Part 1

Description

·         In Part 1 you have no choice of task.

·         You may have to write a letter, a report, a proposal or an article.

·         You have to write 180-200 words.

·         You should use all the information from the text and notes on the question paper.

·         It is important to put phrases from the text on the question paper into your own words – although if you can’t think of another way of saying what you need, then do of course make sure you do not misspell words that are in the question paper!

Action plan

1.      Read the question very carefully, highlighting all the significant points you must include in your answer.

2.      Allow plenty of time to plan your answer carefully.

3.      Think about what kind of text (letter, report, proposal or article) you have to write and follow the English conventions for that text type.

4.      Think about who you are writing for – how will this affect what you say and how you say it?

5.      Think about why you are writing (for example to evaluate, to complain, to persuade, to suggest…) and how these aims will affect your response.

6.      Organise your writing in clear paragraphs.

7.      Write 180-220 words. If you write less, you probably won’t deal with all the aspects of the question or show an adequate range of language and you may also be penalized for writing too much.

8.      Don’t just copy parts of what is written on the question paper – try to put the points into your own words.

9.      When you want to make a correction, do so as neatly as possible.

10.  Spend time checking your work.

3 Questions

 

Before you start to write your answer, ask yourself these three key questions:

1. What text-type do I have to write (e.g. a letter)?
2. Who am I writing to?
3. Why am I writing to him/her? 
   
   
   
    Part 2

   Description

   
   
   ·         In Part 2 you have to choose one task from a choice of five.
   ·         You may be asked to write an article, a competition entry, a contribution to a longer piece, a report, a proposal, a letter, an essay, an information sheet or a review.
   ·         You have to write 220-260 words.
   ·         The instructions will state clearly what you have to write and why you are writing it, as well as who you are writing for.
   ·         One of the tasks offers two questions based on set texts.
   ·         Questions about set texts will only ask you to write one of these text types – a review, a report, an article or an essay.
   
   
   
   
   Choice of task
   
   
   What factors do you need to consider when choosing a task in Part 2?
   
   
   The sort of factors you need to consider are:
   
   
   ·       Do you understand the question fully?
   ·       Could you deal with all the aspects of the question?
   ·       Do you have the vocabulary you would need to write a good answer?
   ·       Do you know hoe to write the type of text required?
   
   
   The above questions are much more important than whether you find the question interesting or not.
   
   
   Remember that there is no point in attempting to answer the set text question unless you have a thorough knowledge of the text.