The Advanced writing test makes up 20% of the entire exam and is divided into two parts:
- Part 1: One compulsory question.
- Part 2: One question from a choice of three (a letter or an email, a proposal, a report and a review).
You have 1 hour and 30 minutes to do both parts and you need to write between 220 and 260 words in each part.
You can find more information on the different parts of the exams on the Cambridge official site.
This is a guide to help you write a great essay and obtain a passing mark.
Topics for Essays
Although the topics vary, you can take a look at this short list of the most frequent topics for Part 1 essays in the Cambridge Advanced C1 (CAE) exam:
- The environment
- Education
- Technology
- Lifestyle (city vs countryside)
- Nature (endangered species)
Sample Task
Take a look at the sample exam task shared by Cambridge on its official site.
You will first choose only two of the three options you are given (museums, sports centres, public gardens).
We will do this task together. Take a minute and write down the two options you have chosen.
Now you can scroll down and move on to the next step.
Before you get started
This piece of advice might be the most valuable to reach a passing mark:
How will you make sure you will obtain a passing mark?
- Replace simple words such as happy, good, easy, and difficult (amongst many others) with advanced ones:
Happy: elated, content, joyful, satisfied, jubilant, lively, pleased.
Good: exceptional, satisfactory, superb, valuable, great, favorable, wonderful.
Easy: simple, smooth, manageable, obvious, effortless, clear, accessible.
Difficult: ambitious, challenging, painful, tough, troublesome, severe, problematic.
You can use a Thesaurus dictionary to find synonyms.
- Use adverbs to intensify adjectives:
Utterly
Meaning: Completely, used to emphasize that something is very bad or that a feeling is very strong.
Examples: utterly incomprehensible, utterly familiar, utterly irrelevant, utterly ridiculous.
Absolutely
Meaning: Completely in every way
Examples: absolutely clear, absolutely sure, absolutely delicious
Rephrase the opinions expressed in the discussion
Although it is optional to include the opinions expressed in the discussion, I recommend using such opinions as they can help you build the rest of the paragraph.
Take a look at the sample opinions and rephrase those related to the two topics you chose. Rewrite them using your own words and then scroll down to read the examples.
I rephrased the three examples in this care, but you will need to rephrase only two.
“Museums aren’t popular with everybody!”
Nowadays museums are not trendy among people of different ages and interests.
“Sports centres mean healthier people”
Sports centres contribute significantly to a fitter population.
“A town needs green spaces – parks are great for everybody”
A city would benefit from having more and larger green areas and parks would be advantageous for all its citizens.
Were your phrases in any way similar? If they aren’t, it doesn’t mean that they are wrong. Drop your sample in the comments and I will give you feedback!
Plan, plan, plan and don’t forget to plan!
Why is planning so important?
Planning is essential to put the ideas together and save time the moment you start writing.
If you don’t plan you might end up putting together a couple of unrelated phrases and your ideas won’t flow.
How should you plan?
Consider the number of paragraphs. In essays you will have:
- Introduction
- Main paragraph 1
- Main paragraph 2
- Conclusion
Brainstorm the key expressions for each of the paragraphs:
Do this in your notebook. You can take up to 5 minutes and then scroll down to read the example.
Not sure if your notes make sense? Leave your comment below!
Introduction: In recent years, public funding, sports centres, public gardens, in order to…
Public gardens: green large areas, escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, healthy social relationships
Sports centres: contribute to fitter population, a wide range of activities
Conclusion: public gardens a better choice à They are available for everyone free of charge
Introduction
It’s time to get started. Remember that the introduction is only that – an introduction.
You should present the topic, introduce the two points you are going to discuss and create interest.
Try writing your introduction before scrolling down.
Sample introduction:
In recent years, there has been a heated debate on how to best invest public funding since some people argue that sports centre is the place where local authorities should focus while others claim that public gardens are a preferred choice. While both places seem to need this financial help, only one can benefit from it.
56 words
Body: Paragraph 1
Your first sentence, or the opening sentence is crucial in each paragraph of the body. The reader should know what they are going to read about.
Remember:
- Start with a clear opening sentence
- Support your argument (mention why)
- Don’t use ‘I’. Use passive voice instead.
Examples of sentence openers:
- There is little doubt that…
- It is widely known/believed that…
- First of all…
Sample paragraph 1
There is little doubt that a city would benefit from having more and larger green areas. Parks would be advantageous for all citizens since people do need to escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Not only will it benefit those who enjoy the peace and quiet in a natural environment, but it will also encourage those who find joy in exercising outdoors.
66 words
Body: Paragraph 2
As in paragraph 1, you will start with a clear opening sentence so that the reader knows exactly the topic of the second paragraph.
Examples of sentence openers:
- It goes without saying that…
- Second / Secondly
Sample paragraph 2
It goes without saying that sports centres contribute significantly to a fitter population. The activities members of a club can do are endless, ranging from swimming lessons to martial arts, which means that everybody is likely to find something that suits them best. Nevertheless, not everybody may be able to attend such activities as it requires paying a monthly fee and that could be a disadvantage to those who cannot afford it.
73 words
Conclusion
In this part of your writing, you will do two things:
- summarise the information you mentioned in the previous paragraphs
- answer the question: which facility is more important and give reasons
Phrases to start your conclusion:
- In conclusion
- To sum up
- Taking into account all the positions from above… / Taking all this into consideration…
Phrases to give your opinion:
- I firmly believe that…
- I come to the conclusion that…
Sample conclusion
Taking all this into consideration, I firmly believe that the benefits of public gardens far outweigh those of sports centres since a wider range of people would be able to benefit from the numerous perks. If greener spaces received further funding, the whole population would become healthier and therefore more content.
51 words
Last but not least…Check!
Remember to leave about five minutes to reread your essay and make sure you:
- Avoid repetition
- Use connectors
- Use advanced structures (inversion, conditionals, modal verbs, amongst others)
- Express one or two ideas per paragraph
- Write between 220-260 words
Complete Sample Essay
In recent years, there has been a heated debate on how to best invest public funding since some people argue that sports centre is the place where local authorities should focus while others claim that public gardens are a preferred choice. While both places seem to need this financial help, only one can benefit from it.
There is little doubt that a city would benefit from having more and larger green areas. Parks would be advantageous for all citizens as people do need to escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Not only will it benefit those who enjoy the peace and quiet of a natural environment, but it will also encourage those who find joy in exercising outdoors.
It goes without saying that sports centres contribute significantly to a fitter population. The activities member of a club can do are endless, ranging from swimming lessons to martial arts, which means that everybody is likely to find something that suits them best. Nevertheless, not everybody may be able to attend such activities as it requires paying a monthly fee and that could be a disadvantage to those who cannot afford it.
Taking all this into consideration, I firmly believe that the benefits of public gardens far outweigh those of sports centres since a wider range of people would be able to benefit from the numerous perks. If greener spaces received further funding, the whole population would become healthier and therefore more content.
246 words
I hope you find this guide useful and if you want further guidance to prepare for Cambridge C1 Advanced exam (CAE) you can book your FREE SESSION in order to know each other and to see how I can help you pass your exam with flying colours!Let’s Talk!
