CAE Writing Paper Preparation & Tips:

DOs and DONTs

DO
Read the task carefull and plan an answer which addresses all the content
points of the task. Try to develop each point fully.
De!onstrate a good range of "oca#ular and structures as well as writing
accurately to get a good mark.
Consider $ho the %target reader is and the genre (e.g. newspaper article,
formal letter) for each question and try to write in an appropriate style and tone.
Think carefull a#out $hether the task re&uires ou to persuade or 'ustif
our opinion and make sure you do this in your answer.
Allo$ ti!e to check through what you have written.
Read the opening paragraphs and instructions in Part 1 very carefully to
make sure you know what your role is and who you are writing to. (Part 1)
Plan our ans$er. Rememer, you do not necessarily need to use all the input
information. !sually, part of the task is to select the appropriate information. (Part 1)
Tr to use our o$n $ords when using information from the input. (Part 1)
(elect our &uestion carefull. "onsider the vocaulary, grammatical
structures and register required y the task. (Part #)
DONT
Dont $rite ans$ers that are !uch longer than the $ord li!it as this means
you may have included a lot of irrelevant material. Plan your answer carefully to
avoid this.
Dont use a pencil.
)A*s +)re&uentl Asked *uestions,
-o$ !an &uestions do . ha"e to ans$er/
$ou need to answer two. The question in Part 1 is compulsory and you have a choice
of questions in Part #.
-o$ !uch do . ha"e to $rite/
$ou will need to write 1%&'##& words for the first question and ##&'#(& words for the
second question.
Can . use a pencil/
)o. *nswers for the +riting paper must e written in pen.
-o$ !uch ti!e do . ha"e/
$ou have 1 hour ,& minutes to do the paper.
Can . ha"e a little e0tra ti!e at the end of the e0a!ination to check ! $ork/
)o. *s with all the papers, time limits are strictly oserved y the e-amination centre
administrators.
-o$ !an !arks is the Writing paper $orth/
.ach of the five papers in the e-am is worth /& marks, or #&0 of the total.
-o$ !an !arks are there for each part/
1oth parts are equally important as they carry the same numer of marks.
What kind of te0ts do . ha"e to $rite/
There is a range of task types which ask you to write different kinds of te-ts, including2
maga3ine and newspaper articles, contriutions to leaflets and rochures, notices,
announcements, formal and informal letters, reports, proposals and reviews.
Where can . find !odel ans$ers/
There is a range of official preparation materials availale that provide model answers.