cae essay linkers

Linkers for the CAE Exam

One of the areas of English that you need to both know and use to do well in the Cambridge Advanced Exam (CAE) is linkers. You'll frequently see or hear them used in both the Reading/Use of English and Listening parts of exam, and it will improve the score you receive if you not only use commonly used ones, but also more advanced/less commonly used ones correctly in both the Writing and Speaking parts as well.

To help you improve both your knowledge and use of these advanced linkers for the Advanced exam, read this article. By doing it you'll not only learn some advanced linkers (by doing two quizzes) you'll see and can use in the exam, but you'll understand how to use these linkers correctly.

But to do this, you'll first need to know what linkers do.

What a linker does

Linkers are words or phrases which connect different parts of a sentence or different sentences together. For example:

The tennis match was cancelled DUE TO THE FACT THAT it was raining.

In the above sentence, "due to the fact that" links the two clauses of the sentence ("The tennis match was cancelled" and "it was raining") together.

Linkers show what the relationship is between the two parts. In the above example, "it was raining" is the reason why the match was cancelled. This is the reason why " due to the fact that " is used here because it is a linker that is used to give a reason for why something happened.

They can show different types of relationships

Linkers are used to show a variety of different relationships between the parts of a sentence. For example, in the two sentences below the linkers are not used to give a reason:

EVEN THOUGH it was raining, I still went for a walk in the park.

I play football every week. AS WELL AS football, I also play tennis every week.

In the first sentence, the linker "even though" is used to show a contrast/contradiction (because people don't normally go walking in the park when it is raining). While in the second, "as well as" is used to add additional information to a statement you have made (that you play tennis in addition to football every week).

And in addition to (which is another linker) linkers that give a reason , show a contrast/contradiction or are used to add extra information , there are other types as well. Like those that are used to say what the result of an action is (e.g. "so"), to say what the purpose of an action is (e.g. "to") or to say that there is conditional relationship between two actions (e.g. " if I am tired, I go to bed").

Now look at the below example sentences and guess what type of relationship the linkers (which are in bold) in each is used to show:

Type of linker quiz

Followed by different grammatical structures.

In addition to being used to show the type of relationship two parts of a sentence have (or two different sentence have), linkers are also followed by different types of grammatical structures. You can see this in the below two sentences that use the linkers "due to the fact that" and "due to":

The tennis match was cancelled DUE TO THE FACT THAT it was raining heavily.

The tennis match was cancelled DUE TO the heavy rain.

The meaning of both the linkers and the sentences is the same. However, with " due to the fact that " it is followed by a clause (something that includes both a subject ("it") and a verb ("was raining")), whereas with "due to", it is followed by a noun phrase ("the heavy rain"), a grammatical structure that doesn't include a subject and its verb.

So some linkers are what are called "conjunctions" (they have to be followed directly by a clause), while others are "prepositions" (they have to be followed directly by a noun or noun phrase). This is important to remember if you are going to use them correctly in your speaking or writing.

Remember that a clause normally has to contain both a subject and a verb . If it doesn't include a subject (the thing that does the action), then it very likely that the verb is being used as a noun.

Below you will find a quiz with the same 17 sentences you looked at earlier. Now you are going to decide for each linker whether they are a conjunction (followed by a clause) or a preposition (followed by a noun or noun phrase):

Preposition or conjunction quiz

Now use them.

Now that you know these linkers, what they do and how they are grammatically used, there is one last thing to do; and that is to use them. Doing this will help you to remember them. So now create a sentence(s) in your own words where you use each of the linkers. You can either just say the sentences or write them down, it's your choice.

• How to write a C1 Advanced Essay

• Posted on 26/02/2020
• Categories: Blog
• Tags: C1 Advanced , Cambridge Exams , Writing

The Cambridge C1 Advanced is an excellent qualification to aim for if you’re thinking of studying or working abroad. It’s recognised by universities and governments all over the world and also helps you prove your language skills to future employers.

One of the most demanding parts of the exam is Part 1 of the Writing paper, which includes writing an essay. For many of you, this won’t come naturally… especially in another language.

So, to give you the best chance at success, we’ve created this in-depth guide full of Cambridge C1 Advanced Writing tips and useful language to get you producing excellent essays in no time.

So, pick up your pen, and let’s get started!

If you’d like to get more help with the C1 Advanced, consider our exam preparation class!

C1 Advanced Writing Requirements

The C1 Advanced Writing exam has two writing parts, which you must complete in 90 minutes. Both parts have a word limit of between 220-260 words. We recommend getting lots of writing practice under these conditions!

Part 1 is always a discursive essay . It requires you to think about arguments for and against a topic.

Part 2 is a situationally based writing task. This could be a letter , an email , a report , a proposal or a review and you have three options to choose from.

Today, we’ll be looking at how to do your best in part 1.

Before you begin

When you turn over the paper and begin Writing Part 1, take some time to read the task instructions. Identify all parts of the question, underlining which parts are obligatory and noting which parts are optional.

Let’s take a look at an example question!

Remember, you don’t have to use the opinions expressed in the box, but they may help you to get the ball rolling . Also, you only have to talk about two of the options given, not all three.

Make a plan

Take ten minutes to lay out your ideas. Make a pros and cons list for each of the three options and then decide which two you feel most confident with. Here’s some things you might come up with, can you think of any more?

Structure your essay

The essence of a good essay is a clear structure.

Introduction

Here you want to introduce the topic in your own words. Your first line should also grab the reader’s attention, then you should paraphrase the question. Finally, try using a statistic or a rhetorical question. This will make them want to read on, right?

Paragraph 1

Discuss the first option you’ve chosen. Include a good topic sentence and remember to give reasons for your answer. Describe some of the advantages, and even some of the disadvantages too. This will give a well-balanced argument.

Paragraph 2

Here’s where you introduce the second option. Again, try to present both sides of the argument and give reasons for your ideas. Gradually work towards the conclusion.

State your final opinion. This should be a summary of the rest of the essay and point clearly to which option you think is the most important. Do not introduce any new arguments at this stage. The conclusion is where you tie-up any loose ends .

This is an advanced piece of writing, so make sure your choice of language reflects it. You will get marked for accuracy, however, occasional errors can still be present as long as they do not impede understanding. So don’t play it too safe . This is your opportunity to show what you can do, so take some risks and have fun with it!

In the writing paper you should use a range of vocabulary, including less common lexis. Brainstorm some vocabulary related to the topic. Take your time to think of nouns and compound nouns that you know at C1 level. Really let your vocabulary sparkle .

No one likes a broken record . Find synonyms for simple words. You want to use a variety of language, and try not to repeat yourself too much. Check out these different ways of saying the same thing:

advantage = benefit, positive, upside

disadvantage = downside, drawback

effect = influence, impact, result, outcome

problem = issue, challenge, difficulty, obstacle, setback, complication

important = valuable, essential, beneficial

expensive = costly, dear, high-priced, extortionate

cheap = inexpensive, affordable, economical

big = great, large, sizeable, considerable, wide, vast

small = slight, tiny, little

Quick tip: Visit Thesaurus.com to study more synonyms!

Experiment with different grammatical forms. At this level you’re expected to have a good grasp on the grammar. You should use a range of simple and complex grammatical forms with control and flexibility. So challenge yourself with some of these…

• Participle clauses
• Conditionals
• Modal verbs
• Passive with reporting verbs
• Cleft sentences
• Comparatives
• Relative clauses

Useful expressions

To make your essay flow it’s best to use some key phrases. These will link all your ideas together, and help it sound semi-formal. Take a look at the expressions below. Why not use some in your next essay?

Introduction:

It is often said that…

Many people feel that…

We live in an age when..

More and more…

Introducing & Addition:

Firstly, secondly, thirdly…

On the one hand…

In addition…

What is more…

For example…

For instance…

As a case in point…

Contrasting:

In contrast…

On the other hand…

Alternatively…

However…

Conclusion:

All things considered…

As far as I’m concerned…

In light of the above…

What the examiners are looking for

When writing your essay, bear in mind what you’ll be marked on:

Have you answered all parts of the question? Is everything relevant to the question?

Communicative Achievement

Is the style and tone appropriate? Remember it should be semi-formal and neutral.

Organisation

Does it follow a logical order? Have you used paragraphs and linking devices?

Are you using a variety of grammar and vocabulary? Is it accurate?

Now your masterpiece has come together. Remember to take time to check your work. Here’s the official Writing Checklist from Cambridge Assessment English . And our list of the most common mistakes:

• subject + verb agreement
• singulars / plurals
• question formation
• variety of tenses
• dependent prepositions

Some final tips

Avoid contractions (I’m, they’re, we’re) as this is a formal writing.

Don’t use first person pronouns (I, my, our, us).

Practise under timed conditions.

Use model answers to practise fixed expressions.

——

Looking for more help with your Cambridge C1 Advanced exam? Here are our other guides from our blog:

C1 Advanced Reading and Use of English – Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3

And if you are not sure if you’re ready for the C1 Advanced, check out our article Am I ready for the C1 Advanced exam? to find out!

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Get the ball rolling (exp) : to start something.

Lay out (v): to explain something in detail.

Paraphrase (v): to say the same thing in a different way.

Tie-up any loose ends (exp): to resolve issues.

Play it safe (exp): to act cautiously.

A broken record (exp): when someone repeats themself.

Sparkle (v) : to shine.

Good grasp (exp): a good knowledge.

Bear in mind (exp) : to consider.

Masterpiece (n): an incredible work of art.

exp = expression

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Small Talk For Business English

• By: oxfordadmin
• Posted on 19/02/2020

Your Guide To Moving To The USA

• Posted on 04/03/2020

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Linking Words for Cambridge Advanced (C1) Writing

CAE Cambridge Advanced , CAE writing , Linking Words

┃Read in less than 7 minutes

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In this blog post, we’re looking at linking words/phrases and how they matter for your exams. Understanding them is really important, as is being able to use them effectively, especially from B2 exam level and up. If you’re already thinking ‘what are they talking about’ then you should definitely read on. And if you think you’re already a master with linking words, check out our activities and comment to show us that you’ve nailed it!

Linking words are basically words or phrases that are used to connect other words and phrases together. It’s really a means of creating cohesion in your writing or speech.

Without linking words you’d just have a bunch of random sentences without a clear connection to each other, and really, do you know ANYONE who communicates without connecting their ideas together? If you do actually know someone like that, send them a link to this so you can have better chats with them!

THE FUNCTIONS OF LINKING WORDS

Yesterday evening I decided to watch a bit of a true crime documentary. It turned out to be  such an intriguing case that I watched the whole thing. Normally, I don’t pay much attention to the show. However , on this occasion I was on the edge of my seat. The show was really well made and what’s more, it was nearly impossible to guess whodunnit.

As you can probably work out, the underlined items are all linking words. There’s a whole range of reasons that you’d want to connect ideas together like that. Let’s list a few with examples:

1. To compare

This is to say how things are the same or different to each other, e.g.

1. Trisha murdered her husband with a hammer. Similarly , Janice used a blunt object to murder her spouse.

Also, as with Trisha, Janice didn’t contact emergency services to get help for her dying spouse.

2. To show a contrast

This is to comment on the obvious difference between two people or things, e.g.

However , Janice hit her husband just once, to get him away from her.

In contrast Trisha struck hers 73 times, showing much more aggression and intent to harm.

3. To demonstrate condition

This is to say a situation depends on another situation, e.g.

Trisha is likely to go to prison for the murder, unless she is able to cover it up.

Provided that Janice can prove her husband was attacking her, she’ll probably avoid punishment.

4. To illustrate

That is to use examples or evidence to explain yourself, e.g.

In the case of Trisha; she could, for example , hide the body somewhere secret. There are a few options such as hiding him in the nearby woodland.

Those are all, of course, things that you should be doing in your essays, for example. After all, essays should be all about comparing and contrasting different ideas in order to make a final assessment in your conclusion based on that. You can’t have a cohesive essay that reaches a logical conclusion without using suitable cohesive devices (like linking words). You should really make sure to keep that in mind when you write!

Linking Words for Cambridge Advanced 

When it comes to the Cambridge Exams specifically, linking words and phrases are an important part of the ‘organisation’ element of your writing. Remember, there are four areas on which you are graded:

Each of those four elements is worth up to 5 marks out of the 20 total for each writing piece, with 3/5 the lowest passing mark in each category.

Organisation can be the easiest to score well in if you know what’s required of you. It’s not only linking words of course. There are a few simple aspects, such as having a clear Introduction, main body and conclusion (basically, a beginning, middle and end), and using clear spacing to separate your paragraphs. Though (especially at advanced level) the main thing they’re looking for is that cohesion. That the whole text has a natural flow, nothing seems out of place or disjointed. Linking words/phrases are a part of helping you to achieve that.

It’s not only the writing part where linking words matter though. They should be a natural part of your speech for the speaking element (for many of the same reasons as your writing, especially in the collaborative parts (3 & 4) of the test. Not to mention the likelihood that they’ll come up Use of English. That’s still not all though, because not only do you need to be able to use them yourself, you need to recognise them when they are used and the reason for which they’re being used.

That brings us onto the listening part of the exam. Essentially, linking words/phrases are used in the listening exam as a sort of ‘misdirect’. Especially the contrasting type. The speaker will lead you down a path of thinking that one of your options must be the write answer, then they’ll use a contrasting linker to completely change the meaning of what they’re saying. You’ll have to recognise when they do this and quickly realise what the actual correct answer is. (Pro tip: In the parts of the test with multiple short pieces to listen to, wait until the speaker finishes what they’ve said before you choose your answer. That way you won’t prematurely choose the wrong answer and get caught out).

So, we’ve established that these linking words/phrases are essential for your exams. So, what will happen if you absolutely nail them in the exams? Well, anything could happen. You should at least get some good grades in the relevant sections! The examiners are always looking out for them, so you can dazzle them with your flawless use and really make them love you and reward it!

And now, it’s over to you.

Let’s have a go at a practice exercise. Below, you can see an example essay that uses a number of linking words/phrases. Try to identify the different linking words used and see if you can figure out exactly what they’re being used for to! Comment with your answers and we’ll let you know if you got it right!

Question: Is it better to take holidays abroad or in your own country?

As increasing numbers of people choose so-called ‘staycations’ over holidays abroad, this essay will consider environmental, economical and educational factors to assess which holiday type is best.

Firstly, as a recent UN report says we have only 12 years to save ourselves from global warming, environmental factors are hugely important. Travel abroad often means using highly polluting forms of transports such as planes, whereas staying in your country makes less harmful modes of transport a realistic option. This suggests that more people should choose to stay in their own country when holidaying.

A common argument for holidaying abroad is that it opens us to new cultures and experiences. Most holiday-goers focus on ‘tourist’ locations (e.g. Benidorm) and experiences though, rarely experiencing the true culture of a country.

Another argument for holidaying abroad is that it helps economies that are dependent on tourism for their income, however with debts increasing in many places the expression ‘charity begins at home’ applies. We must prioritise helping ourselves first in order to help others effectively.

In conclusion due to the environmental damage and limited benefits, holidays abroad are unsustainable so we should choose staycations.

Remember to comment so we can have a look at your answers and let you know how you did. And don’t forget to keep an eye out for other videos in the series. Thanks for reading, let us know if you have any questions 🙂

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Home » C1 Advanced » CAE Writing Examples » CAE Essay Topics » CAE Essay Examples | 1 Great Way To Learn

CAE Essay Examples | 1 Great Way To Learn

Table of Contents

CAE Essay Examples Introduction

Before looking at some CAE essay examples, we should quickly answer this question: "What is a CAE essay?"

A CAE essay  is an obligatory task in the C1 Advanced (CAE) Cambridge English exam. There are 4 CAE exam papers: Speaking, Listening, Reading & Use of English and Writing. The CAE essay forms part 1 of the 2 part writing paper. Students need to answer a question and write between 220-260 words.

On the rest of this page I have put some CAE essay examples which my students have sent to me. If you keep reading, you will find tasks to complete and either a video or written feedback which I provided to the student. The feedback is based on the Cambridge English Assessment Scale from the C1 Advanced handbook for teachers. It is very important to understand this marking criteria if you want to pass this part of the exam.

If you don't know how to write a good essay, or if you want to know how examiners mark your essay, check out my C1 Advanced Essay page.

CAE Essay Example 1 - Question, Critique etc.

Cae essay question.

WAYS OF LOOKING AFTER YOUNG CHILDREN:

At home with parents or other family members In nurseries or pre-school With a professional nanny

Write an essay for your tutor in 220-260 words. You should discuss two of the ways of looking after young children in your notes. You should explain which way is more beneficial and provide reasons to support your opinion.

CAE Examiners Assessment Template

Download this assessment template here or complete the online version here with your thoughts on the writing below.

CAE Essay Example 1 - Answer

C1 Essay Example Answer & My Comments

I have highlighted the mistakes and written comments showing you how to correct them in ( bold and italics).

HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUNG CHILDREN

There is no doubt that one of the problems of (the word ‘problem’ collocates with ‘with’ before a person/people) modern families is how to take care of young children. Some years ago, the most common solution was to leave the new-borns with a family member. Usually, it was the mother, who had to leave her job and sacrifice her career for the new arrival. Today, the situation is slightly different, because, often, both parents have to work and no relatives are available to come into (‘into’ is not the right word to use here - you could say - ‘come and support’) support of (don’t write ‘of’ here. We say ‘support somebody’ in English, not ‘support of somebody’) the family. In this essay, I will discuss two possible solutions (‘solution’ is not the right word here. ‘Solution’ implies that leaving the children with a family member is not an option, and that you will therefore discuss two alternative methods. The problem is the next paragraph then talks about leaving the children with a family member)  and their advantages and disadvantages.

One of the advantages of leaving your children with a family member is that you trust this person (I would say ‘this person will usually have your trust’ - because it is better to try and use the passive voice in an essay. We also tend to use more nouns and fewer verbs in formal writing) and you know (do you know that?) that they will certainly take care of them in the best way. Furthermore, when the children are sick, you can leave them in bed and check their temperature frequently, preventing complications. (I think you could develop this last sentence more and state that you cannot do this if the children go to nursery) . On the other hand, though, your children could (you should use ‘may’ or ‘might’ rather than ‘could’ here. ‘Could not’ in this sentence means they were not able to. It is a definitive statement and it does not imply possibility) not develop some important social skills such as team playing (‘teamwork’ might be a better word to use here) and sharing (‘connecting’ might be a better word to use. We tend to say ‘sharing’ + something) with peers, but they could be left (for) some time in front of a screen (you could explain why this wouldn’t be beneficial) .

Another solution could be to make them attend a nursery. There are numerous advantages in (‘advantages’ collocates with ‘to’) this approach as well, but, above all, I would enlighten (‘enlighten’ is usually followed by an object) that children are taught to stay together, to help each other and to have fun. Unfortunately, on the other hand, they run the risk of getting ill more frequently and this could be a problem for parents who have to take maternity leave to cure (‘look after’ or ‘take care of’ are better phrases to use here. ‘Cure’ is stronger and implies the parents will heal them from a serious illness or disease) them.

To sum up (this expression is a little too informal for an essay) , I think that I would choose a mixed solution for my children: a family member during the first years but then a nursery as soon as they start speaking and relating (‘building relationships’) with others, so that to (remove the word 'to' and replace it with 'they') improve their abilities (‘ability’ should be countable singular here) to be part of a group.

CAE Essay Sample Marks

Cae essay sample - pass or fail.

Adding the marks together, the student has scored:

Content: 3/5

Communicative Achievement: 3/5

Organisation: 4/5

Language: 2/5

Total: 12/20.

If you can't remember what these scores mean, watch my CAE writing marking criteria video .

If this student got 12/20 for their part 2 writing in the exam, they would have 24/40 for the C1 Advanced writing paper.

The student would therefore pass this exam paper.

To understand how these marks are calculated, check out this page . I suggest using a table like this to mark your scores when you are practising for all the different exam papers.

CAE Essay Examples - Question 2 Critique etc.

This question has come from ' Cambridge English Advanced Practice Tests - Plus 2 ' by Nick Kenny and Jacky Newbrook.

While you read this example answer, you should write down any mistakes you find on this document , then complete the examiner assessment template below:

Online template

Hard copy Assessment Scale Template

Example Answer Download

C1 Writing Exam Assessment Template

If you haven't done it yet, download this assessment template here , or complete it online here with your thoughts on the writing above.

C1 Essay Sample Answer 2 & My Comments

Here is the student's answer with my corrections and comments written in ( bold and italics).

Nowadays , many young people tend to ask themselves how valuable is the benefit of taking part in sport competitions in which they participate ( I don’t think these words add any extra to the sentence) . It is said that ‘ it’ ( after using the phrase ‘it is said/thought that’ you should repeat the subject) is worth y (you should use ‘worth’ here) for healthy people to hav ing a positive attitude and th is (the attitude) are also usually able to contribute s more to a the healthy mind. 

But which point s can be highlighted as valuable from ‘ having’ healthy lifestyles? (Personally, I wouldn’t ask questions in an essay). Not only ‘ does’ physical condition ha ve a very important role to play, but also mental condition might be affected ‘ as a result’ .  This (what starts at the beginning?) starts at the beginning (the beginning of what?) when the young child can learn about the value of exercise. Despite having a fit ness body, this (what is ‘this’?) should not only be aimed at sport s competition s . They need to have continuous ‘win nings and los ses ings ’ in order to understand the importance of being trained mentally ( I think the argument of the essay disappears a bit here). For instance, Usain Bolt is an excellent athlete thanks to ‘ his’ capability to accept to los s e s and train hard for the next sport competition.

Attitude alone, however, is not enough. Young athletes need to have easy access to resources which will enable them to learn in a better way. There is no point in having a great attitude to learn if they cannot find materials that other athletes can share as tips in order to make the difference. In this case, these materials refer s to personal experiences and train ing methods ed abilities which youngsters need to pay more attention ‘to’ . If cooperation is not performed (we don’t normally ‘perform cooperation’, it would be more common to say ‘if cooperation does not exist’ , young people are all too likely to slip into bad habits (this  paragraph is well written) .

To sum up, of the two values outlined above, healthy lifestyles is the more effective one. lt is more far reaching in that it relates to all aspects of living healthily. In addition to this, after all, through (‘developing the right’) attitude , that a person will learn why it is better to go to a sport competition than to lie on a couch in front of the television. (I don’t think I understand this final sentence. Do you mean attitude will teach a person? I probably wouldn’t introduce a new idea into the final sentence of an essay).

CAE Essay Sample 2 Marks

Below, you can read my critique on the examiner assessment scale...

Sorry, you'll need to register or upgrade your membership in order to access the content below.

CAE Essay Sample 2 - Pass or Fail

This student has scored:

Communicative Achievement: 2/5

Organisation: 3/5

Language: 3/5

Total: 11/20.

If this student got 11/20 for their part 2 writing in the exam, they would score 22 out of 40 and they would not pass the CAE writing exam at a C1 level.

The student might still pass the exam if he/she gets higher marks in the other exam papers, Reading , Use of English , Speaking and Listening .

CAE Essay Examples - Question 3

Let's have a look at another example essay that a student sent to me. Similar to the first two, we'll have a look at the question, answer and my feedback.

Fantastic work if you've made it this far...you're really going to be helping yourself prepare for this tricky part of the exam. High five!

The following question can be found on this website .

While reading the next answer, you should complete the assessment scale. You can download the assessment template here or complete this online version .

CAE Essay Examples - Answer 3

CAE Essay Examples - Answer 3 pdf

Okay, so hopefully you've completed the hard copy or the online examiner assessment template with your marks and comments. Before reading my corrections below, you should now write down any mistakes you find on this document.

CAE Essay Examples - Answer 3 + My Comments

We live in a wor ’l’ d where there are so many options for travelling (Spelling mistakes are not a huge issue, but they are important if they disrupt the flow/meaning of your writing. This spelling mistake is in the first sentence and therefore might put negative thinking in the examiner’s mind) . According to a recent article, there has been an increase in international travelling. Since the article did not find the major causes of what is causing this new trend (can you think of a way to avoid saying ‘causes’ and ‘causing’ in the same sentence?) , I decided to raise two crucially important factors which could presumably contribute to this. 

It cannot be denied that we take most means of transport for granted and flying on a plane is becoming more prevalent (Good sentence) . In comparison to the previous century, the cost of airline tickets has noticeably decreased. In other words, most airlines are now aiming at a wide ’r’ range of ‘people’ public . (We don’t often say ‘a range of public.’) Not only do they want to attract the affluent, but they also want to ensure that even the poorest citizens can afford to buy a ticket. Moreover, the convenience of aircraft also plays a vital role as flying is not so time-consuming. (Good paragraph).

Another potential factor is global business and trade. The majority of successful companies, such as Foxconn and Apple, are spread out into ‘across’ the whole world. If they did not do this, they would not be able to satisfy their customers. Therefore, they often have no other option, but to dispatch (‘dispatch’ is not often a word used for people but more for inanimate objects) their representatives , (remember the comma as this is a non-definite relative clause because the next part of the sentence is extra information) who always travel by plane. Secondly, the world economy has reached its peak, that is to say, our population is buying more cars. (I think this point would be made stronger by adding another sentence.)

To sum up, as far as I am concerned, global business plays a bigger role when it comes to the increase in travelling. Despite the fact that means of transport have changed, companies have a major impact. To make it clear, companies have the power to shape our society. We are under the influence of them. They set down the rules in terms of new trends in our society (I think you could combine the final two sentences and avoid repeating the words ‘our society’) .

CAE Essay Examples - Question 3 Marks

Upgrade here to access my marks and comments >>

CAE Essay Examples - Question 3 - Pass or Fail

I have awarded the essay the following marks:

Content - 3 Communicative Achievement - 4 Organisation - 4 Language - 4

Total: 15/20

In my opinion, this is a good essay. Remember you only have 90 minutes to complete 2 writing tasks in the exam, but if you could write this and a similar part 2 answer in 35 minutes each, leaving time for planning and checking, I think you will stand a good chance of passing at a C1 level. The examiners tend to mark the writing paper quite strictly in my experience and so it’s possible that some of the marking criteria could be awarded a 3, but it’s also possible some could be awarded a 5. It depends a little bit on the individual examiner. Well done!

CAE Essay Examples - Question 4

This came from the book ' Cambridge English Advanced 2 ' which you can buy here >>

CAE Essay Answer

You should print off a copy of the answer below here and write down any mistakes you find.

Alternatively, you can write the mistakes on a separate sheet of paper or on this online template .

You should also complete the examiner assessment scale template in hardcopy or online .

CAE Essay Answer With My Corrections

Here is a video of me critiquing this answer:

If you would like to receive a similar video critiquing one of your answers, check out my CAE writing assessment service >>

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Social trends are part of today’s society and they could be described as peculiar behaviours that become ‘a’ fundamental characteristic of a society. In the last few years there have been many changes such as the development of ‘the’ internet, mobile phones and cheaper flights that have had an important influence in ‘on’ social trends.

As far as I’m concerned, the factor which influence ‘s’ the most social trends ‘the most’ is the communication and especially the new communication via social network ‘s’ . As a matter of fact s , the way we communicate has been influenced a lot by the development of ‘the’ internet and technology. Therefore, internationally widespread social networks such as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok have created ways of communicating that make it very easy to spread a peculiar ‘specific’ social trend by imitat ‘ing’ e the trends of other countries.

Other people may say that advertising is shaping social trends because of its u ‘i’ nescapable influence on consumers. Although it surely plays an important role and everywhere we go we are surrounded by advertising, in my humble opinion , we are totally used to them and we know how to ignore them, so they don’t ‘ do not’ have such a big influence on social trends.

In conclusion , it ’s ‘i s evident that what influence ‘s’ ‘social trends’ the most social trends are the ways of communicating used by the people of today. They have the ‘ability’ peculiarity to make the world smaller and spread a new trend amazingly rapidly with the feature that it will affect a big amount ‘number’ of people in a small amount of time.

CAE Essay Marks

C1 advanced writing - pass or fail.

Content - 3

Communicative Achievement - 3

Organisation - 4

Language - 2

Total: 12/20

You need a minimum of 24 out of 40 possible marks to pass the CAE writing paper. Remember, there are 2 different writings to complete, so you need to average 12 out of 20 for each writing task.

Remember, you do not need to pass every exam paper in order to pass the C1 Advanced (CAE) exam and get a certificate.

If you want to find out more about what marks you need in order to pass the exam, have a look at this page >>

More CAE Essay Examples + Feedback

I recently published a book with 6 CAE essay examples and 15 other CAE sample writings. They all have my mistakes and suggestions highlighted, as well as critique based on official writing marking criteria.

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2 thoughts on “ CAE Essay Examples | 1 Great Way To Learn ”

I learnt a lot from your essays samples and corrections. Please send more of your lesson I need it for studies. Thanks

Thank you Evelyn, I’m glad they helped you. When you become a member of my website you get access to more of my materials: https://studentlanguages.com/membership-checkout/?level=4

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Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE): How to Write an Essay

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Introduction

An essay in the C1 Advanced Writing paper is usually written for an academic tutor and may be written as a follow-up to a class activity, such as attending a seminar or watching a documentary. The main purpose of the task is to underline relevant salient issues on the stated topic, and to support an argument with subsidiary points and reasons. An essay should be well organised, with an introduction, clear development and an appropriate conclusion. It should hold the target reader’s attention and communicate complex ideas using an appropriate range of vocabulary and structures. Source: Cambridge English C1 Advanced handbook for teachers

Essays are part of the first section of the CAE Writing paper. The task is mandatory, which means that you always have to write an essay unlike the other texts ( emails/letter , proposals , reviews , reports ) where you can choose which one you would like to tackle in the exam.

Essay writing is not that difficult…

…if you know what you are doing. For most students, essay writing feels like this huge obstacle that they won’t be able to clear when, in fact, it is not as bad as you might think.

Just like every other writing task in C1 Advanced you can apply a specific structure because the different tasks share the same characteristics. Obviously, the topic changes and the input you get from the question differs, but, essentially, it is like repeating the same task over and over again. For this, you can become pretty good at essay writing in a short time just by practising regularly until most of it becomes almost automatic for you.

Long story short, in this article I’m going to take you by the hand and guide you through all the different aspects of essay writing. We’re going to see what a typical essay task looks like, the structure and language and, of course, common problems and mistakes you should avoid on your way to mastering essays.

What a typical essay task looks like

As mentioned earlier, essay tasks in C1 Advanced look very similar to each other and once you understand what those common features are, you will see that everything becomes a lot easier. A typical task might look like the one below:

Every essay writing task looks like this with the content changing, but the structure staying exactly the same.

There are also a few things highlighted for you in bold which are definitely important for you to consider when you plan and, later, write your text.

First of all, in the bigger box there is always the question you have to answer and three option s to choose from and, as the rubric tells you, you have to pick two of them . These two points need to be discussed and compared and then you explain (with reasons!) which option you think is better, more suitable, nicer or whatever the task asks you to do (Here: Which facility is it more important for local authorities to give money to?).

Apart from that, you are also gifted a few ideas in the smaller of the two boxes . You can use these in your essay (You don’t have to.), but make sure that you don’t just copy them word for word. Instead, paraphrase them and make them your own, or simply come up with your own ideas.

If you have ever written a Cambridge B2 First essay , you will immediately see the similarities between the tasks, but in C1 Advanced there is less support for you and you have to make more decisions on your own before you can even start to make a plan for your text. Read the whole task very carefully and then choose wisely based on what feels best for you in any given case .

Formal or informal language in an essay?

I’ll keep this short for you because this works in every single task: Keep your language formal , which means no contractions ( I’m , don’t , etc.), no colloquial expressions ( Hey, what’s up? , I liked it heaps ., etc.), and no slang or phrasal verbs that convey informality ( I’m bursting vs. I have had enough to eat; carry on vs. continue).

How to organise your essay

OK, we know now what we have to do and what kind of language we have to use so it’s time to look at the organisation and structure of a good essay.

When organising a piece of writing you should always think about what it is that you have to include in your text. In a C1 Advanced essay there are basically four things:

• First topic point
• Second topic point

From that, we can make four paragraphs and this applies to every single essay you are going to write to practise or in the official exam.

Let’s have another look at our example from earlier. The three options are museums, sports centres and public gardens. Museums and sports centres are both buildings and probably similar to talk about so I’m going to choose sports centres and public parks, just because we can contrast them better in my opinion.

Adding our two topic points to the list from before, this specific essay structure looks like this:

• Sports centres
• Public parks

So there you go. I think that the process up this point is fairly simple and from there most students jump right into the deep end and start to write their essay – but not so fast!

Plan before you start writing

One of the most crucial yet most undervalued tools for excellent writing is a good plan. Unfortunately, I see too many students skip this step and they often end up revising their texts over and over until they run out of time and the result is still not satisfactory.

Please don’t make the same mistake. It takes around five minutes to make a plan which helps you organise your thoughts and ideas in a way that makes sense. You will be able to focus on your language and arguments instead of worrying about possibly forgetting to include content while saving you time. It works and you should do it as well.

To make your plan just take the list we created above and add a couple of thoughts to each point so you know what you want to write about.

• Introduction (panel discussion, local authorities, sports centres & public gardens –> Which one is more important?)
• Sports centres (public health, wide variety of activities, social aspect)
• Public parks (green lung of the city, place to relax from city life, social outdoor activities)
• Conclusion (sports centres better choice –> more variety, more social, greater health benefits)

It took me 4 minutes to create this plan. I used the idea from the task for sports centres (“Sports centrs mean healthier people.”), but I paraphrased it (public health) while the idea for public parks seems too vague for me so I left it out. Remember that it is optional to include these thoughts in your essay. if you feel that you have better ones, go for it.

The different parts of an essay

So far, we’ve looked at a typical essay task and we put everything in order. The next step, of course, is to put our pen to paper and turn our ideas into a great essay. Please be aware that these are simply my recommendations and if you feel that they are helpful, you’re welcome, and if not, modify them or change whatever you think makes more sense for you.

The introduction to your essay serves several different purposes. It presents the topic/question to the reader and puts it in context, introduces the topic points you are going to discuss and creates interest and anticipation in the reader.

All of this sounds like an awful lot of stuff to include, but with a little bit of practice you’ll find out that it is a fairly repeatable process. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll produce one great introduction after another without having to think about it too much.

With all that being said, let’s look at a possible introduction for our example task.

In recent years, public funding for local facilities has become more problematic for many towns, which has become more obvious to me after listening to a panel on the financial needs of several different local facilities like sports centres and public parks. As these places battle for funds, the main question is which ones deserve the money more.

Let’s have a closer look at this intro. At the beginning the whole issue is put into the context of the financial problems many local authorities have experienced. Sports centres and public parks as our two topic points are included as well and, last but not least, a question is asked to create a little more interest in the reader.

With all our boxes being ticked we can now move on to the next part of the essay.

After you finish your introduction, you can turn your attention towards the main topic paragraphs. These are called ‘the body’ of you essay. I always compare it to a hamburger where the introduction and the conclusion are the bread bun while the patty, lettuce, tomatoes and sauce are the body. You want to make your essay tasty so make sure that the body is just as great as your intro.

Your topic paragraphs should be longer than the introduction and conclusion, but at the same time balanced and about the same length between the two of them. Remember, however, to stay within the limit of 220-260 words total.

A couple of characteristics that are useful and important for every topic paragraph are the following:

• Start with a topic sentence that makes it clear what the paragraph is about.
• Always support your arguments with reasons and/or examples .
• Avoid being too personal unless you give your own opinion at the end of the paragraph.

This is not rocket science, but let me show you what I mean in a couple of examples.

It is widely known that sports centres provide many different benefits to the local community. Someone on the panel mentioned that, from a public-health standpoint, it is crucial to offer opportunities to exercise in order to keep everyone healthy physically as well as mentally due to the social character of sports. In addition to that, exercise comes in many different shapes and forms, from team sports to individual activities like swimming, so there is something for everyone to enjoy in a dedicated group of people. While green spaces in a town or city have their own benefits, it can be difficult to maintain such large areas in order to keep parks pleasant and inviting to everyone. Nevertheless, considered by many as the green lung of a city their use as a refuge from hectic city life cannot be debated, and groups of people as well as individuals can be seen following their favourite pastime or socialising with others, which makes the discussion about allocating funds even more difficult.

At the beginning of each paragraph it immediately becomes clear what to expect as I mention sports centres and public parks (green spaces, parks). I managed to include all the points from our plan and I supported my arguments with some examples . Also, you can see that, for example, I didn’t use the word ‘I’ in these paragraphs at all even though my opinion on each point is pretty clear. Instead, I used more general statements (“It is widely known that…”, “considered by many as…”, “…can be seen”) which help convey your opinion without simply stating it .

Last but not least, both parts are balanced in terms of their length, but I don’t want you to think that they have to be perfectly equal. If there is good reason to give one part a little bit more attention over the other, that’s fine. For example, you can say in your essay that one of the ideas is more complex than the other, which tells the examiner that you actually thought about this instead of just having messed up your text. Be clear about it and think it through before you even start writing.

Finally, the conclusion of your essay is there to summarise and to give your opinion on the topic as well as to answer the question in the task (Which facilities should receive money from local authorities?). Your opinion can be nuanced and doesn’t have to be simply black or white as long as you can justify what you say.

In our example, a conclusion might look something like this:

Taking into account all the positions from above I come to the conclusion that funding should be allocated to both facilities as they provide essential resources to the local community. However, due to their more social character and possibly greater public health benefits I would give more funds to sports centres.

There you have it. The conclusion summarises the findings from the body of the essay and I answered the question giving my opinion. That’s really all you have to do in order to finish off your text well.

Time to start practising

With all the information provided in this article I hope you feel ready to start your journey to become an excellent essay writer. As you can see, the structure is clear and the tasks are always similar. Practise regularly in order to improve until essay writing becomes second nature for you.

Lots of love,

Teacher Phill 🙂

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Cambridge English: Advanced

Try these quizzes to test your knowledge of common linking words and expressions

• Writing Class
• Linking Expressions

Writing Class: Linking Expressions

Contrast This exercise will give you the chance to practise some of the common linking words and expressions that are used to express contrast. For example, 'although', 'despite' etc.

• Go to exercise

Addition This exercise looks at words and expressions like 'moreover', 'in addition' etc.

Purpose or reason This exercise will give you practice in expressing purpose or reason with expressions like, 'as a result', 'owing to' etc.

Time This exercise focuses on linking words that express time, such as 'at first', 'eventually' etc.

CAE Info and Practice

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Breakout English

Linking words – How to improve your writing

Linking words, also known as linkers, cohesive devices, connectors and transition words, are a vital part of writing. Often when we teach English, we feed vocabulary and phrases to students which, if we’re not careful, can start sounding forced. For me, linking words are the exception to that. I find that a solid lesson with these special words can almost certainly help improve a students writing regardless of the level. It’s not just because it appears in writing marking scales for every official exam there is, it’s because they actually work. Without linking words, texts can feel dull and disconnected. That’s definitely not the image we want to give when trying to prove our level of English.

What are linking words?

There are linking words and phrases for different purposes. You can find exhaustive lists of linking words examples all over the web, but the important thing is using them to good effect.

If your writing was like the human body, the content words would be the flesh and the paragraph structure would be the skeleton. Linkers are like the joints of your writing. They help to connect the different parts together and interact with each other. An essay with good cohesive devices will flow and be easy to read. In fact, it’s practically impossible to write without them. You can do a fun writing activity with a consequences game in another post .

Linking words at different levels

Let’s use Cambridge writing scales as a guide for what we should be using at different levels. At B1 Preliminary (PET) candidates are expected to use basic linking words. Basic linking words are essentially and , so , but and because . At B2 First (FCE) level, a variety of linking words should be used. While by C1 Advanced (CAE), candidates are using cohesive devices to generally good effect.

Although the terminology shifts between levels, the concept is the same. An exam candidate’s writing should be connected together in a way that makes it flow from one section to another using words that help to achieve said outcome. Notice that it’s not until C2 Proficiency (CPE) level that candidates should be able to use cohesive devices with flexibility.

For more information about how Cambridge writing is marked, check out the different scales here .

If you’re looking to improve your writing for the Cambridge Advanced exam, consider our book Cambridge Advanced Writing Plus .

Linking words examples

There are so many transition words you can use in your writing, but having a ridiculously long list isn’t the best option in this case (and I’m normally a big fan of lists). When I teach writing, I tend to focus on a selection of common and useful linking words. These can be associated with their purpose. Words similar to and are used to add additional information. Words similar to but are used to contrast ideas. Words similar to so provide result and those similar to because develop reason.

This list is not exhaustive, but it’s enough for 90% of learners who are using linking words in English. These are good cohesive devices for an essay, a formal letter or a report. They can be used in a wide range of styles and contexts. Keep in mind that linking words and phrases are also a strong indication of formality in a text, but they aren’t the only factor.

The other essential factor to consider with linkers is how to use them in a sentence. Different ones need different grammatical structures surrounding them. This is what the activity below focusses on in detail.

The materials

There is little doubt that any exam preparation course will include a lesson on producing cohesive writing. These materials associate complex linkers with simple comparison words before putting them to use. We’ll consider both the meaning and the use of linking words and phrases. The topic focuses on money and wealth, which can pop up anywhere from B1 level onwards. Use them to improve writing skills, especially in formal writings like essays, reports and proposals.

EXAM PART : Writing

EXAM SKILLS : Using cohesive devices to improve organisation

TOPIC: Money

TIME: 60 minutes

PREPARATION: One copy of the worksheet per student

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CAE Writing Phrases

Just a quick note…

Before you use these materials… We’ve created a new podcast aimed at B2+ level English students and teachers alike. You can listen for free at our SoundCloud page below. We have released 5 episodes so far and you can download teacher’s notes to accompany them from our Facebook page or from this blog. All comments and feedback welcome! Give us a like and a share 😉

https://soundcloud.com/2tspod

https://www.facebook.com/2tspodcast/

I stumbled across this amazing and exhaustive list of phrases for advanced writing. I don’t know who made it but a big thank you to whoever it was! It’s gold dust!

You can download it here:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!439&authkey=!AHr7Ja0Lshhl2Y0

CAE – WRITING AND VOCABULARY

1)  FORMAL WRITING (Reports and proposals)

Making recommendations and concluding

– Do not use contractions.

-Use passive forms whenever possible.

-Use relative clauses to join ideas: The period during which he lived was full of uncertainty.

-Use these formal words:  like à such as   /   kids à children

a lot (of) à many / a large number of  + countable noun

a lot (of) à much / a great amount of / a great deal of + uncountable

a lot (intensity)à very much / significantly / dramatically

– Avoid using the word things / something,  etc. Use a more specific word ( problems, situation, solutions,

  subjects , and so on).

2)  SEMI-FORMAL WRITING

Adressing  the reader

-Have you ever wondered (what the college would be like if)…? If the answer is (yes)…, you…

–If you want a different kind of experience,… / As you know,…

-Doesn’t it just make everyone feel (positive about…)?

-If you have a few hours to spare,…is worth seeing.

-Never omit the subject pronoun: Many people

believe IT is important to…    I believe IT is a good  idea

  study…

– Do not use unnecessary subject pronouns: This is a problem which  it  is essential to solve.

-Make sure the subject and the verb agree: Attracting tourists involves improving local facilities.

  (SINGULAR SUBJECTà attracting tourists + SINGULAR VERBà involves)

Attitude clauses and phrases

Generally speaking,…

Annoyingly,…  Naturally,…  Strangely,… Surprisingly,… Evidently,…

Indeed,… In fact,… Admittedly,… Presumably,…

.  .   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   .  .  .  .  .  .  .

RELATED WORDS AND PHRASES

-A great number of people share the view that tourism will have a negative impact on the island.

-Today there is general / widespread agreement that pollution from cars and planes is threatening the

future of our planet.

-I t is now widely accepted that the universe began with the so-called ‘big bang’.

Disagreement

– Opinions differ about the proper relationship between the mass media and society.

– There is considerable disagreement among experts about the usefulness of these tests.

– There has been a great deal of controversy over abortion in the US.

Advantages and disadvantages

-Regular exercise has many benefits , including reducing the risk of heart disease.

-Despite a few problems with the design, the car’s advantages clearly outweigh its disadvantages.

– The major drawback of this method is that it can be very time-consuming.

– The downside of running your own business is that you are responsible if anything goes wrong.

– lead to : The research could lead to a cure for many serious illnesses.

– result in : The fire resulted in damage to their property.

– be responsible for : He was responsible for the accident.

– bring about :The war brought about enormous social change.

– give rise to: Poor performance in exams can give rise to depression and even thoughts of suicide.

– trigger :to make something suddenly start to happen, especially a bad situation such as a crisis or a war, or

a medical condition: Certain foods can trigger allergies.

– contribute to : Passive smoking could contribute to the development of respiratory diseases among

nonsmokers.

– factor : Cost is often the deciding factor when choosing any product.

– impact on : His work has had an enormous impact on the study of genetics.

– influence on:   In his book, he examines the influence of the media on our society.

– affect : (v) The disease affects women more than men.

– influence : (v) She has influenced him a lot.

– implications :  The results of the study could have important implications for future educational policy.

Emphasizing

-I would like to stress that the research is still at an early stage.

– It should be noted that there are a number of alternative methods available.

– It is worth bearing in mind that 90% of the scientists researching herbicides in the US are employed by

  chemical companies.

-Factors such as temperature and acidity play a crucial role in determining how well the process works.

-These insects play a vital part in the food chain.

– It is essential that the work is carried out as soon as possible.

-The climate is much colder, especially in the far north.

– issue : Issue is used especially about problems that affect a lot of people in society:  International terrorism

  is the biggest issue (=the most important issue) facing the world today. Previous governments failed to

  address (=try to deal with) social issues such as unemployment and homelessness.

– challenge: something difficult that you must do or deal with, which needs a lot of skill, effort, and

  determination: She said she was looking forward to the challenge of starting up a new business on her

– difficulty :  The company has managed to overcome (=deal with) its recent financial difficulties.

  Many people experience difficulty in sleeping at some time in their lives.

– trouble:   a problem or several problems that make something difficult, spoil your plans etc:  Students of

  English often have trouble with phrasal verbs.  The company ran into trouble (=started to have problems)

  when it tried to expand too quickly.

– setback:   something that happens which stops you making progress or which makes things worse than

  they were before:  Despite some early setbacks, his campaign for the presidency was successful.

– obstacle:   Criminal gangs are the biggest obstacle to democratic reform.

– dilemma :  The doctors were faced with a moral dilemma.

– vicious circle :  Some developing countries get caught in a vicious circle. They cannot afford to pay their

  debt repayments, and so the debts get even bigger.

– complication

– increase by (percent) :  Last year, the number of burglaries increased by 15 percent.

– go up : Last month unemployment went up from 1.6 million to just over 1.7 million.

– grow:   The volume of traffic on our roads continues to grow.

– expand :  After two years of no growth, the economy started to expand again in 2003.

– double/triple/quadruple : Since 1950, the number of people dying from cancer has almost doubled.

-growth: (n) There has been a huge growth in sales of big 4-wheel-drive vehicles.

– decrease by (percent) :  The average rainfall has decreased by around 30 percent.

– go down : The percentage of fat in our diets has gone down.

– fall: The number of tigers in the wild has fallen to just over 10,000.

– drop:   At night, the temperature drops to minus 20 degrees.

– decline: decline is used about numbers or amounts, and also about the level or standard of something:

In rural areas, the standard of living continued to decline.

– respect / look up to

look up to : The children need someone they can look up to.

– think highly of:  Most of the students and staff think very highly of Dr. Smith.

– think highly of

have a high opinion of

– highly regarded/respected

highly regarded/respected : a highly respected surgeon

be an admirer of

– sophisticated / high-tech (equipment) / state-of-the-art (technology)

SURPRISING  (Avoid using “colourful” vocabulary in formal writing!)

– amazing / unbelievable / incredible / astonishing / staggering

– come as a surprise / come as a shock / amaze / astonish

SURPRISED  (Avoid using “colourful” vocabulary in formal writing!)

– amazed / astonished / speechless / be taken aback (He was taken aback by the news)

EXCITING  (Avoid using “colourful” vocabulary in formal writing!)

– thrilling / gripping / exhilarating / action-packed

– dull / tedious / monotonous / uninspiring

BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE     (Avoid using “colourful” vocabulary in formal writing!)

– attractive / good-looking / gorgeous / striking / stunning

BEAUTIFUL PLACES     (Avoid using “colourful” vocabulary in formal writing!)

– breathtaking / stunning / awe-inspiring / striking / spectacular

– spotless : very clean

UGLY PLACES / PEOPLE      (Avoid using “colourful” vocabulary in formal writing!)

– unattractive / unpleasant / unsightly / hideous (=extremely ugly)

– filthy : very dirty

IN BAD CONDITION  (PLACES)

-i n bad condition / dilapidated / run-down

– latest / brand-new / innovative (idea or system)

– old-fashioned / outdated / obsolete

– absolutely  / extremely / highly / incredibly / remarkably

GOOD PERFORMANCE / PIECE OF WORK

– excellent / outstanding / impressive / exceptional

GOOD FOR A PARTICULAR JOB, PURPOSE, ETC

– suitable / right / proper / appropriate / be suited to

WRONG INFORMATION / NUMBERS

– incorrect / inaccurate / misleading

NOT REASONABLE / NECESSARY

– unjustified / unreasonable / without good reason

– unwind / wind down : Set in spectacular countryside, the Shiga Hotel is the perfect place to unwind.

– make someone feel at ease

– relaxed / feel at ease / laid-back (not easily worried or annoyed) /

– tense / uneasy / anxious / be under stress

PUBLIC SERVICES

– facilities : The facilities at the hotel were excellent — tennis courts, swimming pool, several bars and a good

restaurant.

– amenities : things such as shops, parks, or restaurants that make living or working in a place more pleasant

I prefer this part of the city because there are plenty of good amenities.

COMPARISONS

– a great deal / far / much + comparative (cheaper / more economical than)

– a bit / slightly / barely + comparative (cheaper / more economical than)

– by far / easily the + superlative (This is easily the best solution we can think of)

VERY MUCH / NOT VERY MUCH

– dramatically / significantly / slightly

– As well (as) / in addition to :   Over 600 people will lose their jobs, in addition to the 400 people who left

the company last year.

– In addition : A fifth of the world’s population lives on less than $1 a day. In addition, over 100 million

children are living on the streets.

– Furthermore / Moreover :  used at the beginning of a sentence when adding an important fact that is

connected with what you have just said:  The drug has strong side effects. Furthermore, it can be

– as long as / on condition that / provided that

– alternatively : You can go up into the mountains. Alternatively, you can stroll around one of Switzerland’s

delightful cities where the old mixes with the new.

– on THE one hand … on the other (hand)

– As  / since :  As it was a hot day, they decided to leave all the windows open.  Since it is difficult to predict

how the climate will change, it is not possible to say which countries will suffer the most.

– thanks to

– due to/owing to + NOUN   

The delay was due to a problem with the ship’s engines.

– due to/owing to + THE FACT THAT + subject + verb

The men did most of the work in the fields. This was partly due to the fact that the men were stronger.

But/although

– While / whereas / by contrast

– However:   However is usually used in the middle of a sentence, separated from the rest of the sentence by

commas: Jack and his family managed to escape before the soldiers arrived. Other families in the village,

however, were less lucky. Or it comes at the beginning of a sentence: He began his academic career as a

mathematician. However, his main achievements were in the field of nuclear physics.

– Nevertheless : Nevertheless is usually used at the beginning of a sentence, or at the end.

– in spite of/despite + NOUN   

Despite his lack of formal education, he became one of the world’s leading mathematicians.

– in spite of/despite + verb + ING  

This was a dinosaur that weighed only 10 tons, in spite of being some 28 metres long.

– in spite of/despite + THE FACT THAT + subject + verb

Many people are worried that cellphones may be dangerous to health, despite the fact that most of the

research suggests that there is little risk.

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Author: Tim Warre

Barcelona based English Teacher, blogger and sometime actor and director. View All Posts

6 thoughts on “ CAE Writing Phrases ”

• Pingback: CAE Writing Phrases | STUDY CENTRE IH CÓRDOBA
• Pingback: Advanced Exam writing phrases | susiesays

I am blown away. This is one of the best and full documented list of phrases. Indispensable tool for people that are about to take the exam.

In case you are willing to check model answers of CAE essays you can click on http://examwriting.blogspot.com

Thank you very much. This list is very helpful for my studies.

pisha, que bueno e este sitio, felicitacione

Love this blog! Children need someone to look up to, a role model.

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Common structures- FCE Grammar List | Cambridge B2 First

If you understand most of what you’ve just read here, you already have a good foundation of English grammar. It means there are grammatical structures in English you DON’T have to learn or improve for the exam. You should focus on studying those grammatical structures you aren’t sure about, or you’ve never studied.

We may distinguish two ways to find out what these structures are.

The first is to read in English at the level required for the exam (B1 and B2 level), which is worth doing regularly. And the next step is to find grammatical structures that seem to be unclear and confusing and then learn their use.

The second way (and we think the better one) is to go through the list of grammatical structures commonly used on the FCE exam and learn those you don’t know or have no idea how and when to apply them.

FCE, CAE, CPE

More than practice tests, b2 first (fce): grammatical structures.

FCE Grammar List: Tenses

You should be familiar with the majority of tenses. Yet you need to understand their use (particularly present perfect tense ). It’s also important to learn when and how to use them in one sentence (e.g. past perfect with past simple).

FCE Grammar List: Passives

It’s important to know what’s the reason and when to make sentences with passive verbs.

• Passive present simple
• Passive present continuous
• Passive present perfect
• Passive past simple
• Passive past perfect

FCE Grammar List: Linkers

It is worth knowing the common words and phrases (often called ‘linkers’), used to connect two parts of a sentence (or two sentences) to show their connection (e.g. illustrate the contrast, give a reason, etc.) You should also know exactly where they are used in sentences, and whether they are prepositions (followed by a noun/ noun phrases) or conjunctions (followed by a clause (with the verb).

• Linkers of contrast (e.g. but)
• Linkers of addition (e.g. and)
• Linkers of reason (e.g. because of)
• Linkers of purpose (e.g. to)
• Linkers of result (e.g. so)
• Linkers giving examples (e.g. such as)

FCE Grammar List: Reported/indirect speech

You should know the rules of making sentences in reported speech for particular verb tenses and how some words (e.g. ‘tonight’, ‘I’, etc.) change when using them.

• Declarative sentences (both positive and negative sentences)
• Passive sentences in reported speech
• Commonly used reporting verbs

FCE Grammar List: Modal Verbs

We recommend you to know the main modal verbs, what’s their use (e.g. show your abilities, give advice, etc.) and how to apply them when talking about the present, future and past.

• Modals of ability
• Modals of probability
• Modals of obligation
• Modals of prohibition
• Modals of advice
• Modals of request and permission
• Verbs, adjectives and adverbs which aren’t modals, but are used for expressing probability (e.g. have to, perhaps etc…)

FCE Grammar List: Relative clauses

It is useful to know how to create relative clauses to specify things or give additional information as well as the common relative pronouns used to connect the clauses.

• Defining relative clauses
• Non-defining relative clauses

FCE Grammar List: Other grammatical structures

Below you will find a few other grammatical structures necessary to know:

FCE Grammar List: Grammatical words/phrases

These aren’t structures, but words/phrases providing grammatical meaning. The majority of these words and phrases have more than one meaning. Study when and how we use them and what they mean. Although don’t spend too much time on it. A basic understanding is enough.

Rather, Though, As, Apart from, So, S uch, Even, Still, Ever, In fact, Do so, Still, Quite, Over, Just

B2 First (FCE): How to study?

Use the grammatical structures.

After analysing the grammatical structure and doing exercises with the book, we suggest you to try writing your sentences. It will help you to memorize the use.

Study only one or two grammatical structures a week

Study the grammar structure once or twice a week and start doing it a few months before the planned exam. If you try to learn more, you’ll gradually get bored, and therefore you won’t fully understand how and when to apply these structures.

Read regularly in English

The ability to read in English is not only essential to improve vocabulary but also B2 First grammar. The more you see the grammatical structures you’ve learned in articles or other publications, the more likely you are to understand how and when to use them and consequently memorize them. Make sure you read articles written for students taking the B2 Frist (FCE) exam or English learners at level B1 (intermediate) or B2 (upper-intermediate).

Remember what you have studied

We recommend you to stop repeating the grammar concepts you have already studied, after analysing something, make a note in your exercise book, word document, etc.

Want to know more about English grammar?

What is your level of English?