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Breakout English

Advanced (CAE) Essay Questions and Sample Answers

The Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) essay is a formal, academic writing. You’ll find it in Part 1 of the CAE writing exam and, just like at other levels, Part 1 is mandatory. That means whether you like it or not, you’ll be writing an essay for your C1 Cambridge exam. Considering that, it’s probably a good idea to practise. The good news is, the CAE essay can be quite formulaic. Once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll notice the structure and style are always pretty similar. Before you know it, you’ll be writing them in your sleep! In this post, you’ll find some useful CAE writing tips and three essay questions with sample answers.

If you’re looking for a complete overview of the CAE writing exam, with CAE writing tips and much more, check out Advanced Writing Plus , our complete self-study course.

Topics for Advanced (CAE) essay questions

At C1 level, you are expected to be able to write about pretty much any topic you can imagine. However, CAE essay topics are generally going to be quite formal. You’re not going to be asked about your plans for the weekend!

These are some of the topics which are most likely to come up in an Advanced essay question:

• Environmental issues
• Public projects
• Science and nature
• Global issues

Make sure you’ve looked into these topics and studied relevant vocabulary. You can also read different articles and listen to radio broadcasts (or podcasts) related to the topics. Don’t forget to note down important vocabulary so you can remember it for your writings!

C1 Advanced (CAE) Essay Tips

You’ve probably got plenty of experience writing in English if you’ve reached a C1 level. Students who prepare for this exam often need their skills focused in the right way rather than being taught brand new ideas.

Here are my top tips for preparing the CAE essay task.

• Don’t do anything too strange – The essay question is likely to be on quite an interesting topic. It could even be on something you feel strongly about or specialise in. But be careful! When essays start to ramble too much or go too far, they lose their strength. This essay isn’t going to change the world, so don’t go overboard!
• Use advanced language – Remember that to get top points, you must use advanced structures in your writing. Take some time to practise inversion, cleft sentences and participle clauses, then use them in your essay.
• Don’t be stingy with linking words – Linking words (and expressions) are the glue of a writing. Without them, everything falls apart. This doesn’t mean you have to use ridiculous uncommon linking words, but you should use them frequently, probably more than you expect. Take a look at our post about linking words for some ideas.
• Be stylish! – An essay needs to read like an essay, just like a report needs to read like a report. This means it is a formal, academic text. Formal means no contractions, few phrasal verbs, complex sentences and an impersonal style. The essay needs to include your opinion, so you need to express that opinion through style and substance, supported by facts.
• Focus on argument and coherence – To score high in the CAE essay, it’s important to have a clear argument and structure. Plan your essay and stick to the plan, making sure each paragraph has a clear purpose. Ensure that your points are logically connected and that your writing is coherent.
• Use a variety of sentence types – Varying sentence types and lengths keep the reader engaged and demonstrate your writing skills. Mix simple and complex sentences to add interest to your writing.
• Check your writing! – Proofreading is critical for writing a top-scoring CAE essay. Check for grammatical and spelling errors and make sure the writing flows well. Also, don’t forget to check your writing style and tone to make sure you sound professional and academic.
• Practice, practice, practice – Finally, practise writing essays under timed conditions. This will help you to improve your time management and build confidence for the actual exam.

The materials

Here are three Advanced (CAE) essay questions. They each use different CAE essay topics. Use them to practise and improve in preparation for the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam. After completing your own essay, check the example answer and compare.

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.

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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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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...

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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 >>

Below, you can read the answer with my corrections and what I wrote on the examiner assessment scale...

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.

Some of you can read it for free with Kindle Unlimited:

Take a look inside >>

Register to start the course below >>

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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• 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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Vocabulary to Improve your Writing and Speaking in the CAE Exam

One of the things which you will be evaluated on in the Writing and Speaking parts of Cambridge Advanced exam is your use of English vocabulary.

To get a higher mark in these parts you need to use a variety of words and phrases.

To help you do this, you'll find below a list of advanced synonyms that you can use for some common English words that you will already know and use.

Although all of these words/phrases are synonyms, some are used slightly differently to the main word (e.g. they could be used in a different part of the sentence etc...). So read the description below each synonym and read the example sentence to make sure that you use them correctly.

In addition to using the below advanced synonyms of commonly used words in your speaking and writing in the exam, there are other things you should improve for the exam in general, for instance, your knowledge of phrasal verbs and grammatical structures .

Practise using them

Before you see the list of synonyms, there is one thing you need to know. In order to remember them for the exam, you need practise using them as much as possible. So make sure that you create sentences in your own words using them. You can either write these down or just say them, it's your choice, but try to make as many sentences as you can.

This is used to support an argument you or another person is making (to give extra reasons/examples) and to give extra information about a thing or person (e.g. 'I also play football')

Although these synonyms have the same meaning as 'also', what you say when using them is different to what you would say if only using 'also'. For many of them, you have to say what the previous reason or example was directly after using them (which you don't do when using 'also' by it self). In addition to that, many of them will also use 'also' later in the sentence (like this sentence for example).

In addition to

This is normally used to connect/link the information in two sentences together. You follow it by saying what the previous argument you made or piece of information about the thing was:

'Going to university is good for your job prospects in the future. In addition to improving your job prospects, it also helps your intellectual development.'

'Going to university is good for your job prospects in the future. In addition, it also helps your intellectual development.'

This is used in exactly the same way as you use 'in addition to', but shouldn't be used when writing formal pieces of writing (e.g. essays, reports, proposals):

'Going to university is good for your job prospects in the future. On top of improving your job prospects, it also helps your intellectual development.'

This can be used to both connect/link two pieces of information together in the same sentence and connect/link the information in two sentences together:

'Going to university is good for your job prospects in the future. Besides improving your job prospects, it also helps your intellectual development.'

Not only..., but...also...

This is normally used to connect/link two pieces of information together in the same sentence. If you use it, you need to use a question like structure (e.g. 'did he...', 'were they...' etc...) directly after the 'Not only':

' Not only does going to university help your job prospects, but it also helps your intellectual development.'

This is normally used to connect/link two pieces of information together in the same sentence:

'Going to university is good for your job prospects in the future. Along with improving your job prospects, it also helps your intellectual development.'

This is normally used to connect/link two pieces of information together in the same sentence. This shouldn't be used when writing formal pieces of writing (e.g. essays, reports, proposals):

'Going to university is good for your job prospects in the future. As well as improving your job prospects, it also helps your intellectual development.'

The word 'although' is commonly used to say there is a contradiction between a situation ('it was raining') and what happened or will happen ('I went for a walk'). The word 'although' and its synonyms below are always used in front of the situation (e.g. 'although it was raining'). This is different to another word used for making a contrast, 'but'. With 'but', you use it in front of the what happened or will happen (e.g. 'but I went for a walk').

Despite the fact that

It is used in exactly the same way as 'although':

' Despite the fact that most people are very worried about global warming, very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

You can also just use ' despite '. But if you do, it should only be followed by a noun or noun phrase (e.g. 'the heavy rain'):

' Despite the film being nearly 3 hours long, I never looked at my watch while watching the film in the cinema.'

In spite of the fact that

' In spite of the fact that most people are very worried about global warming, very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

You can also just use ' in spite of '. But if you do, it should only be followed by a noun or noun phrase (e.g. 'the heavy rain'):

' In spite of the film being nearly 3 hours long, I never looked at my watch while watching the film in the cinema.'

Even though

' Even though most people are very worried about global warming, very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

It is used in exactly the same way as 'although', but shouldn't be used when writing formal pieces of writing (e.g. essays, reports, proposals):

' Though most people are very worried about global warming, very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

This is used to give a reason why something happened, happens or will happen.

Due to the fact that

It is used in exactly the same way as 'because':

'I don't think that many people would choose to stop using their car, due to the fact that public transport is slow and often dirty.'

You can also just use ' due to '. But if you do, it should only be followed by a noun or noun phrase (e.g. 'the heavy rain'):

' Due to public transport being slow and dirty, I don't think that many people would choose to stop using their car.'

Owing to the fact that

Is used in exactly the same way as 'because':

' Owing to the fact that public transport is slow and often dirty, I don't think that many people would choose to stop using their car.

You can also just use ' owing to '. But if you do, it should only be followed by a noun or noun phrase (e.g. 'the heavy rain'):

'I don't think that many people would choose to stop using their car, owing to public transport being slow and dirty.'

On account of the fact that

' On account of the fact that public transport is slow and often dirty, I don't think that many people would choose to stop using their car.'

You can also just use ' on account of '. But like the two previous synonyms, if you use this shortened version, it has to be followed by a noun or noun phrase (e.g. 'the heavy rain'):

' On account of public transport being slow and dirty, I don't think that many people would choose to stop using their car.'

Is used in exactly the same way as 'because', but shouldn't be used when writing formal pieces of writing (e.g. essays, reports, proposals):

' As university is now very expensive to go to, more and more young people are now choosing not to go.'

' Since university is now very expensive to go to, more and more young people are now choosing not to go.'

This form of 'because' is used as a preposition (i.e. it can only be followed by a noun or noun phrase):

' Because of public transport being slow and dirty, I don't think that many people would choose to stop using their car.'

Believe/think

The below synonyms of ' believe ' or ' think ' are used when expressing your opinion about something.

Used to give your opinion on something like 'believe' or 'think'. When you use 'consider', it sounds like you have thought a lot on the topic/subject/issue:

'I don't consider global warming to be such an important reason why people would choose to stop using their car.'

Used to give your opinion on something like 'believe' or 'think':

'I don't regard global warming to be such an important reason why people would choose to stop using their car.'

It is my view

'It is my view that if most people were given the choice, they'd prefer to travel by their own car than by public transport.'

Used to give your opinion on something like 'believe' or 'think', but shouldn't be used when writing formal pieces of writing (e.g. essays, reports, proposals):

'I reckon that if most people were given the choice, they'd prefer to travel by their own car than by public transport.'

'I feel that if most people were given the choice, they'd prefer to travel by their own car than by public transport.'

But (meaning 1)

This first use of the word 'but' (there are synonyms for another meaning of it after this) is used to say there is a contradiction between a situation ('it was raining') and what happened or will happen ('I went for a walk'). The word 'but' and its synonyms below are always used in front of the what happened or will happen (e.g. 'but I went for a walk'). This is different to another word used for making a contrast, 'although', which is always used in front of the situation instead (e.g. 'although it was raining').

In addition, it is also used when you want to contradict what you or another person has said or written before.

Is used in the same way as 'but', but it is generally followed by a comma and is normally used (but not always) at the beginning of a sentence to contrast what was stated/said in the previous sentence:

'Most people are very worried about global warming. However , very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

Nevertheless,

Used like 'however'. It can used in both the middle of a sentence (to connect the two parts/clauses) and at the beginning of a sentence to contrast what was stated/said in the previous sentence:

'Most people are very worried about global warming, nevertheless very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

Nonetheless,

Is used in exactly the same way as 'nevertheless':

'Most people are very worried about global warming, nonetheless very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

Despite that,

Is used in exactly the same way as 'however':

'Most people are very worried about global warming. Despite that , very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

Is used in the same way as 'but'. You also can 'but' in front of it is you want (e.g. 'but even so'). It shouldn't be used when writing formal pieces of writing (e.g. essays, reports, proposals):

'Most people are very worried about global warming. Even so , very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

Is used in the same way as 'but':

'Most people are very worried about global warming, yet very few people are willing to change things in their life in order to stop it.'

But (meaning 2)

The second use of the word 'but' is used to say that there is a difference when directly comparing two things together (e.g. 'I like oranges, but my brother doesn't like them'). You can use these when comparing the photos or talking about the different options in parts 2 and 3 of the Speaking exam.

'The people in the first photo appear to be feeling frustrated. Whereas those in the third photo look like they’re more anxious.'

'The people in the first photo appear to be feeling frustrated. Whilst those in the third photo appear to be more anxious.''

'The people in the first photo appear to be feeling frustrated. However , those in the third photo look as though they’re more anxious.'

Conversely,

'The people in the first photo appear to be feeling frustrated. Conversely , those in the third photo seem to be more anxious.''

For example

Below are synonyms of 'for example' that you can use when wanting to give examples to support an opinion.

For instance,

Is used in the same way as 'for example':

'There are many things that you can do to reduce traffic in cities. For instance , charging drivers to enter it.'

Used as a preposition (so followed by either a noun or noun phrase). You can also end the sentence where you use it with 'for example' or 'for instance':

'There are many things that you can do to reduce traffic in cities, such as charging drivers to enter it for example.'

'There are many things that you can do to reduce traffic in cities, like charging drivers to enter it for instance.'

This is good for referring to things you or your partner said before (especially in the Speaking part of the exam).

Used with the same meaning of 'say' when you want to refer to what you or the other person said before:

'As you stated before, people will normally choose the thing which is the cheapest to buy.'

'As I remarked before, people will normally choose the thing which is the cheapest to buy.'

'As we commented on before, people will normally choose the thing which is the cheapest to buy.'

'As I mentioned before, people will normally choose the thing which is the cheapest to buy.'

Used with the same meaning of 'say' when you want to refer to what was said before. However, this should only be used to say what you talked about together (so you can only use 'we' in front of it):

'As we discussed before, people will normally choose the thing which is the cheapest to buy.'

Like with seem, the below synonyms are used when you want to express a bit of uncertainty when saying why some happened, what happened or when describing what you can see in the photos in the speaking part of the exam.

Used in the same way as 'seem':

'The people in the photo appear to be in a library or maybe a book shop due to their being a lot of books around them.'

'The people in the photo look like they are in a library or maybe a book shop due to their being a lot of books around them.'

Look as though

'The people in the photo look as though they are in a library or maybe a book shop due to their being a lot of books around them.'

It has many meanings. Below are the synonyms for 'so' when it is used with the meaning of 'as a result' or 'for this reason' (when you want to give or explain what the consequences or the results of something happening were, are or will be. For example, 'I was very tired, so I went to bed.').

Used in a similar way to 'so'. However, it normally starts a new sentence:

'It is still a lot cheaper and quicker to eat junk food than it is healthy food. Therefore , poor people especially continuing eating a lot of it in their diet.'

'It is still a lot cheaper and quicker to eat junk food than it is healthy food. Thus , poor people especially continuing eating a lot of it in their diet.'

As a consequence

Used in the same way to 'so':

'It is still a lot cheaper and quicker to eat junk food than it is healthy food. As a consequence , poor people especially continuing eating a lot of it in their diet.'

You can also use ' consequently ' in exactly the same way:

'It is still a lot cheaper and quicker to eat junk food than it is healthy food. Consequently , poor people especially continuing eating a lot of it in their diet.'

Hence that is why

'It is still a lot cheaper and quicker to eat junk food than it is healthy food. Hence that is why poor people especially continuing eating a lot of it in their diet.'

Tim's Free English Lesson Plans

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CAE/CPE Report Phrase Sheet 2.0

Follow me on twitter  @ RobbioDobbio

This is an updated version of my CAE/CPE report phrase list. Download it below:

Report Phrase Sheet

Example Introduction

The aim of this report is to evaluate the current state of….. This report is based on the results of an extensive survey completed by (students at … school). It will present the results of the survey and go on to give recommendations regarding…

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Author: Tim Warre

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

2 thoughts on “ CAE/CPE Report Phrase Sheet 2.0 ”

Ver y helpful, thanks!

Thank you for these incredibly useful set phrases! They have helped me a lot to liven up the reports I usually write.

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C1 Advanced (CAE) Speaking Part 2: Description, Examples & Useful Phrases

Luis @ kse academy.

• febrero 9, 2022

In this post, we’re going to take a close look at Part 2 of the C1 Advanced (CAE) Speaking . This is one of the most characteristic parts of this exam and, for some candidates, one of the most difficult. However, as I always say, there’s always some great preparation you can do for it which will reduce stress and help you deal with this part in a very efficient way. And that is exactly what I’m here to teach you. So carry on reading and make sure to take notes!

Timing of the C1 Advanced Speaking Part 2

Basic observations for c1 speaking part 2, introducing the answer to the question, useful phrases to compare the photographs in c1 speaking part 2, description of cae speaking part 2.

Part 2 is the main individual part of this Speaking test and it comprises two main tasks. Firstly, in turns, each candidate is given three photographs and two questions about them. The interlocutor asks each candidate to compare two of the photographs while responding to the questions. Secondly, when one candidate has done the first task, the other candidate has to respond to a question about the first candidate’s pictures.

CAE Speaking Part 2 has the following timing and order:

• Candidate A’s comparison + questions: 1 minute
• Candidate B’s follow-up question: 30 seconds
• Candidate B’s comparison + questions: 1 minute
• Candidate A’s follow-up question: 30 seconds

If this isn’t clear or you’re still unsure about the duration and dynamics of this part, please refer to the video at the end of this article, where you can see a video of a C1 Speaking test, including Part 2. Now that we’re familiar with the timing, let’s move on to the instructions. As I always say, it is important to know beforehand what kind of exam you’re taking, whether it be in regards to timing, tasks, instructions or content. For this reason, it is important to know the instructions you will be given for CAE Speaking Part 2 before taking it. So let’s move on to that! 

CAE Speaking Part 2 Examples

What follows is a written reconstruction of what a C1 Advanced Speaking Part 2 would be like. Therefore, you’ll see that I’ve included both what the examiner (interlocutor) and candidates would say as well as the pictures on which the activity is based.

Examiner’s initial instructions

In this part of the test, I’m going to give each of you three pictures. I’d like you to talk about two of them on your own for about a minute, and also to answer a question about your partner’s pictures. (Candidate A), it’s your turn first. Here are your pictures. They show people doing some sport. I’d like you to compare two of the pictures and say what role sport plays in these people’s lives and how often you think they need to train.

(place the following pictures in front of Candidate A)

Candidate A’s response

Both of these pictures show people doing some sport in entirely different circumstances . While in the first picture baseball is simply a carefree game that a grandfather and granddaughter are enjoying together, the third picture portrays a situation in which sport plays a far more serious role, as these men appear to be taking part in a professional cycling competition. In their case, cycling is probably a means to making a living, whereas in the first picture they’re just playing for pure fun. As for the second question, I believe that training almost daily is vital for the cyclists, as they need to keep up their performance in order to compete at a high level. On the other hand, training isn’t required whatsoever for playing baseball occasionally with your grandchild, as in the first picture.

Examiner’s follow-up question for Candidate B

Candidate B, who do you think needs to train the hardest?

Candidate B’s response

Well, I completely agree with Candidate A. The way I see it, the cyclists in this picture actually make a living out of sport, whereas for the other people it’s more of a fun hobby or a personal choice. For this reason, I believe it’s the cyclists who have to train the hardest, as they need to keep up their fitness levels in order to enter and actually win professional competitions.

Let’s now make a few observations about the task above, where we can notice the following features:

• Candidate A is asked to compare two pictures (not three!) and to answer two questions about them.
• The questions the examiner includes in his explanation are also written above the pictures , so don’t worry about having to memorise them. That would be crazy!
• The person comparing speaks longer (1 min.) than the person answering the follow-up question (30 sec.) , that is, in this case, Candidate A will have to speak longer than Candidate B.
• Given that Candidate A only has one minute to complete the task, he/she has compared both pictures while answering the questions . What’s important to notice here is that the comparison will have to be based on the questions about the pictures, as there’s not nearly enough time to do a full comparison and then focus on answering the questions.
• The expressions in bold are useful words or phrases to use in any comparison.
• Candidate A’s comparison follows a clear order : general introductory sentence + comparison with first question + comparison with second question. Although this particular order is not compulsory, it is recommendable.

Useful Language for CAE Speaking Part 2

What follows is a short list of expressions you can use in C1 Speaking Part 2 while comparing both pictures. I have divided these expressions into categories, according to when you would use each of them:

Useful Language to Compare the Photographs in CAE Speaking Part 2

Starting your comparison.

• Both of these pictures show…
• These two pictures show…
• The two situations in these pictures are…

Talking about similarities

• These two pictures are similar because…
• These two situations are similar in that…
• In both pictures we can see…
• One similarity between these two pictures/situations is that…
• Another similarity might be that…
• One thing that these two situations have in common is that…
• One thing that these two pictures share is that…
• The most obvious similarity is that…
• These two pictures share the fact that…
• Both pictures (…) in the same way.

Talking about differences

• One of the most obvious differences (between these two pictures) is that…
• Another difference is that…
• Something that makes these two pictures different is…
• What makes these two situations (so/completely) different is…
• While the first picture …, the second one…
• The first picture…. However, the second one…
• The first picture… whereas the second one…
• Although the first picture…., the second one…
• On the one hand, the first picture shows… .
• On the other hand, the second one…
• As for + paraphrased question
• As to + paraphrased question
• In relation to the question,…
• In response to the question, I’d say that…
• As regards the question,…
• Regarding the question of the task,
• With regard to + paraphrased question

This task does not follow a particular structure, as it depends on the topic of the pictures . But you are typically asked to draw on your own experience in connection with the topic or to choose one of the pictures and justify your answer . For example, in the task above, the question for Candidate B starts « who do you think…?“ So you need to use expressions to provide your opinion.

So let’s see some expressions to answer this question correctly:

• In my (honest/humble) opinion,
• As far as I’m concerned,…
• The way I see it,…
• If I had to choose one of these two (…), I would (definitely) go for…
• In my experience,…
• In my case,…
• Well, it’s not an easy choice, but I think I’d prefer to…
• I would (…) no doubt.
• I would definitely prefer/choose…
• I believe that it’s more important to…

There is no specific formula to answer this follow-up question, given the broad spectrum we’re dealing with, but the expressions above will definitely help you answer more appropriately. My advice is that you focus on 2-3 of each category and try to organise your speech by using these expressions.

Top 10 Tips for CAE Speaking Part 2

• Compare, don’t describe:  Candidates often spend the entire minute describing both pictures separately, instead of comparing them. Keep in mind that the examiner explicitly asks you to «compare two pictures», so make sure you do so!
• Don’t overuse “and”: In the past, I have noticed that candidates tend to use the word «and» all the time, instead of something that expresses contrast. Since you’re asked to compare (not describe!), you ought to make use of other connective devices. Check out the model answer in this article above and notice the phrases in bold.
• Don’t focus too much on one picture: A minute is not much time, so you should make sure your speech includes the most prominent ideas about both pictures.
• Allow enough time to answer the question: It’s not unusual for candidates to spend so much time talking about the pictures that they forget to respond to the question, and they get interrupted by the interlocutor. Even though getting cut off is neither good nor bad in itself, not answering the question will negatively impact your score.
• Address the interlocutor: In this task, you don’t have to address your partner. This is an individual task, so simply focus on what you’re saying and address your remarks directly to your interlocutor.
• Finish your sentences: Candidates often begin a sentence and then realize they have made a mistake, and stop in mid-sentence. Your speech should not fade out in the middle; finish expressing your thoughts properly!
• Focus the pictures and the question: Compare the two pictures without mentioning things that happened to you in the past. The purpose of this part is to focus on the situations of the pictures, not on your own experiences.
• Stick to the topic: When the examiner asks you the follow-up question, simply stick to the topic and answer what he or she asked specifically.
• Ask for repetition: It’s perfectly fine to ask the examiner to repeat the instructions or the follow-up question if you didn’t catch it the first time.
• Use related vocabulary: In this article, we have primarily focused on comparing and expressing our opinions, but you still need to demonstrate that your vocabulary is of C1 level. So make sure you use the terms you’ve learnt in class and drop some advanced terms here and there that might impress your examiners.
• Smile: You’d be surprised by what human beings can achieve with a smile. A positive, upbeat attitude will help you make a better impression on the examiners, as well as making you a better communicator.

Video of a Real CAE Speaking Part 2

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How to write a report? | C1 Advanced (CAE)

There are three main areas of focus when writing a report:

• Present factual information Obviously, these facts might be made up (not real) by you but you need to present them as if they were factual.
• Effective and efficient text organization That means you need to think about the right paragraph structure , relevant headings as well as different linking words and expressions that we can use to connect our ideas.
• Making suggestions/recommendations Every report has a suggestion or recommendation at the end of it because that’s the sole purpose of writing a report.

Check our Writing Guide – to see how to write a CAE report in detail.

FCE, CAE, CPE

Practice tests online, c1 advanced (cae) report: structure, c1 advanced (cae) report: writing guide.

We will use the example topic below:

You have just completed six months in a new job. In preparation for a progress meeting, you have been asked to write a report to your manager.

Your report should explain what you feel you have achieved in the job so far, describe an problems you have had, and suggest any future training that would be suitable.

Write your  report (around 220 – 260  words)

Step 1: Find the topic points & topic

Knowing the topic can help you set the tone as well as think about vocabulary and expressions that you might want to include in your text. Also, we need to find the main topic points that we need to address in the task because they will make up the main portion of our text.

You have just completed six months in a new job. (topic: Job) In preparation for a progress meeting, you have been asked to write a report to your manager. (report is for : manager)

Your report should explain what you feel you have achieved (topic point) in the job so far, describe any problems you have had, (topic point) and suggest any future training (topic point) that would be suitable.

Topic: six months in a new job

Main key points:

• explain what you feel you have achieved
• describe any problems you have had
• suggest any future training

The topic is your new job and we have three points which we must comment on.

The last thing we should think about in our task analysis s who’s going to read our report by finding out this kind of information we can decide on the correct style and most appropriate register for our text.

Target reader: your manager.

As soon as we’ve analyzed the task and extracted all the information that we need we can start building our structure and writing a report.

Practice, Write & Improve

Step 2: title.

The report should start with the title it could be something like:

• Report on …….   and then you write the topic of what you’re reporting.
• or you can write the topic and end it with phrase  : a report

in this way, the title will have an appropriately formal connotation. See both examples below:  Title: Report on six-month progress as a teacher Title: Six-month teacher progress : a report

Step 3: Introduction

The introduction must contain all the necessary information covered by the report:

• appropriate beginning in which you should explain your purpose for writing your report The purpose of this report is to…..
• The topic of the report (see step 1) 
• The three main key points that you discovered (see step 1)

See sample introduction:

Report on six-month progress as a teacher The purpose of this report is to (appropriate beginning) evaluate the progress following the first half year in my current position as an English Teacher (topic)   as well as enumerate achievements (point 1) , outline issues (point 2)  and make suggestions (point 3)  for professional development measures.

Step 4: The body paragraphs (main content) 

In the main content, you should comment on/answer the main key points that you discovered in the task  (see step 1) under suitable subheadings (positive/negative points), and each is placed in a separate section/paragraph .

Main key points  (see step 1):

See the example main content below, with additional annotations you may find useful:

Achievements – add heading/simple, informative, formal Throughout the first six months of employment at XYZ School, I have made important strides in professional development by incorporating several new methods such as the task-based approach in daily teaching practice, which has improved my students’ experience tremendously . Apart from personal progress , numerous students have achieved their goals and advanced to higher education providers under my guidance. [describes  first point – what you have achieved]

Problems – add heading Despite all of this organisation of internal exams is underdeveloped as there does not seem to exist policy and students have expressed their displeasure with other groups at the same level receiving easier or more difficult questions in their tests. Additionally , my mentor has not always been available even though a certain level of guidance in specific areas, for example developing teaching materials, is still required . [describes the second point – problems]

Future opportunities – add heading  Considering all of the above, two main areas of possible improvement can be identified . Firstly , student and teacher satisfaction could be increased by establishing a resource bank for tests and exams and by training all the teachers to use them so as to ensure a consistent experience for our students. Secondly , regular meetings with a mentor should be mandatory in order to provide guidance and to help teachers become independent and confident with teaching materials. [describe the third point – suggestions]

                      – topic paragraphs / contain the main information about a given section

                   – useful language, formal expressions

                    – transitional words, expressions and conjunctions, which link the sentences and make the text more fluid

Step 5: Conclusion

The conclusion should contain a final assessment of the report , providing information, conclusions and giving a final answer.

If the task of the report was, for example, to answer some questions, then this information should be included in the summary.

Conclusion – add heading  In the final analysis, the situation of the teachers and students at our school is very likely to improve and overall satisfaction will probably increase due to more efficient work processes if ideas included in the report are implemented.                 – persuasive language

See full report…

Full report.

Report on six-month progress as a teacher

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the progress following the first half year in my current position as an English Teacher as well as enumerate achievements outline issues and make suggestions for professional development measures.

Achievements Throughout the first six months of employment at XYZ School, I have made important strides in professional development by incorporating several new methods such as the task-based approach in daily teaching practice, which has improved my students’ experience tremendously. Apart from personal progress, numerous students have achieved their goals and advanced to higher education providers under my guidance.

Problems Despite all of this organisation of internal exams is underdeveloped as there does not seem to exist policy and students have expressed their displeasure with other groups at the same level receiving easier or more difficult questions in their tests. Additionally, my mentor has not always been available even though a certain level of guidance in specific areas, for example developing teaching materials, is still required.

Future opportunities Considering all of the above, two main areas of possible improvement can be identified. Firstly, student and teacher satisfaction could be increased by establishing a resource bank for tests and exams and by training all the teachers to use them so as to ensure a consistent experience for our students. Secondly, regular meetings with a mentor should be mandatory in order to provide guidance and to help teachers become independent and confident with teaching materials.

Conclusion In the final analysis, the situation of the teachers and students at our school is very likely to improve and overall satisfaction will probably increase due to more efficient work processes if ideas included in the report are implemented.

Submit your (CAE) Report for review

C1 advanced (cae) report: example answers, cae report sample 1.

You have been helping to run a new music club at your college. Now the college principal wants to get more people involved with the club and attract new members. The club organiser has asked you to write a report for the principal outlining what the club currently does, explaining the club’s future plans and suggesting ways of getting more people involved with the music club.

Student’s CAE Report Answer:

RockSun – present situation, future plans and improvement suggestions (title)

The objective of this report is to outline the current condition of the RockSun music club, shed some light on the club’s plans in the near future, and propose novel ways of attracting new visitors.

Present situation

At present, the activities that the club organises are twofold:

• gigs of indie bands at least once a week at weekends;
• musical instrument courses for wannabe musicians on weekdays.

Regrettably, he club does not enjoy much popularity among students, despite it being located in the heart of the campus near the dorms . This is, firstly, due to the prices at the club which are on the expensive side and, secondly, the fact that performers visiting the club are chiefly little-known artists. Both factors greatly discourage many potential customers.

The future of the club looks bleak and some corrective actions are required. The club management, aware of the gravity of the situation, is planning to expand its operations to attract new visitors. In the first place, additional musical courses, including singing lessons by reputable teachers, are planned. Additionally, the club intends to attract better known artists for the weekend concerts.

Suggestions to attract more visitors

The actions planned, which are certainly a step in the right direction, may not be sufficient. What could attract more visitors is reducing food and drink prices as it is one of the most important factors on which any club’s popularity is based. Furthermore, weekly musical quizzes with prizes might appeal to the club’s target customers.

Get Your (CAE) Report Checked!

Cae report sample 2.

You have recently attended a week’s training course and on your return you receive the following note from your boss:

Hope you enjoyed the training modules. We’re compiling a report to help us evaluate our Staff Development programme. P lease send me an outline of what you did on the course, which modules were the most useful and your opinion of how colleagues would benefit from attending in the future. Thanks.

Student’s CAE Report Answer:

Report on the Staff Development Programme – a description of the training course carried out to improve the performance of our staff at work.

Organisation of the training modules

I have recently attended the training course organised by the company in order to workers get more information and develop some skills required in this activity.

I have to say that the information given in the course is hugely useful, but it should be scheduled in other date. At this moment, everybody is really busy and workers find it difficult to set aside time to not miss the course.

There is no point arguing that the sessions are too long and dense, what makes even harder to get the most of the training.

Alternative course

I would recommend to divide the content is several shorter sessions according to the main topics to deal with.

Perhaps, not everybody needs to receive the whole information. So, there can be some specific sessions to people involved in that area, whereas who is not working on that subject would only receive a short session just to get some knowledge.

Recommendations

I would like to make the following recommendations:

1.Schedule the training course in a less busy time.

2.Divide the sessions into shorter modules to ease people to attend.

3.Ensure the content is targeted to the people who are meant to attend them. 

If these recommendations are implemented, the training programme will be much more successful.

Get Your (CAE)m Report Checked!

C1 advanced (cae) report: writing topics, example topic 1.

Your report should explain what you feel you have achieved in the job so far, describe any problems you have had, and suggest any future training that would be suitable.

Write your report .

Example Topic 2

An international youth organisation is planning to publish a report looking at attitudes between different generations:

We are very keen to hear how elderly people are regarded by younger people in different countries and why the younger generation feel the way they do about elderly people. Suggestions regarding how positive attitudes can be developed are welcome.

Write the report for the organisation.

Example Topic 3

You have been asked to write a report for the World Information Organisation on the following topic:

What are the greatest threats to the environment in your country today? What are the solutions?

Write your report

C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Common Mistakes

What is recommended to include in the report.

• Inverted conditional (Were we to..)
• Participle clause (Being…/Having gone..)
• Double comparative (The more we… the more)
• Passive structures (The committee has been informed about …)
• Cleft sentence (What is most crucial is..)
•   Linkers (Notwithstanding / despite / due to / consequently)

What is not recommended in the report?

• Idioms (are informal)
• Phrasal Verbs  (are informal)
• Contractions (We’ve, It’s been said)
• Giving personal opinions (I think, | guess)

More than Practice Tests

C1 advanced (cae) report: writing checklist.

After writing your text, you can check it yourself using the writing checklist below.

How to do that? Simply check your text/email by answering the questions one by one:

• Have I covered all the key information required by the task?
• Have I written only information which is relevant to the task?
• Have I developed the basic points in the task with my own ideas?

Communicative Achievement

• Have I achieved the main purpose(s) of the text (for example, explaining, persuading, suggesting, apologising, comparing, etc.)?
• Have I used a suitable mix of fact and opinion?
• Have I used a suitable style and register (formal or informal) for the task?

Organisation

• Have I used paragraphs appropriately to organise my ideas?
• Have I used other organisational features appropriately for the genre of the text (for example, titles, headings, openings, closings, etc.)?
• Is the connection between my ideas clear and easy for the reader to follow? (For example, have I used appropriate linking words, pronouns, etc. to refer to different things within the text?)
• Are the ideas balanced appropriately, with suitable attention and space given to each one?
• Have I used a wide range of vocabulary?
• Have I avoided repeating the same words and phrases?
• Have I used a range of simple and more complex grammatical structures?
• Have I correctly used any common phrases which are relevant to the specific task or topic?
• Is my use of grammar accurate?
• Is my spelling accurate?

C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Tips

Tips on structure:.

• You don’t need a heading for the introduction – a line or two describing the report will be sufficient.
• Cover the content points in the order in the text, and try to link between them where possible. One way to link is to report something good, followed by something bad, and then use an appropriate linking word.

Tips on language:

• Think who wants to read your Report?
• Usually, it’s somebody who wants some specific information.
• The information is about something that happened in the past.
• The Target Reader of a Report usually doesn’t have much time – help them find the information they need by using headings.
• The Target Reader doesn’t need to be entertained, but they will be better informed if there is specific informat ion in the Report.

C1 Advanced (CAE) Report: Mark Scheme

C1 advanced (cae) report: useful phrases & expressions.

We will finish it with some useful vocabulary mostly used to organize information. Although it is taking a shortcut, if you learn several expressions for each paragraph in each type of text that could be on your exam, you will certainly be able to create a very consistent and well-organized text.

Introduction (the goal of the report)

The objective of this report is to compare ….. and ….. The purpose of this report is to examine / evaluate / explain / describe / analyse / present / outline… This report aims to… It is based on a survey conducted among… It is the result of a discussion which took place among…

Development

The first observation to make concerns… First of all,… Firstly,… Secondly,… Furthermore,… Moreover,… In fact,… Lastly,… Finally,… It has to been stressed that… According to (the majority of respondents)… In spite of (the fact that)… Despite (the fact that)… The outlook for …… is (far from) bright/optimistic/depressing/daunting The future looks bleak/remains uncertain/is promising This seems unlikely in the near/foreseeable future

I would strongly recommend that… The following measures should be implemented: In the light of the results of the survey I would advise against… Given the results of the survey, I would advise for… I feel it would be to our advantage if… The best solution would be to… In order to improve …… it is necessary to.. This will have an impact on …….

Provided that these recommendations are taken into consideration,… In conclusion,… From the research one can conclude that…

Would you pass C1 Advanced (CAE)?