WEBSITES TO FOLLOW

- https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/how-to-write-a-c1-advanced-essay/
- https://kseacademy.com/cambridge/c1-advanced-cae/writing/#8-writing-c1-
advanced-informal-email-or-letter

WRITING CAE

PART 1 : ESSAY

PART 2:
2.1. REVIEW
2.2. PROPOSAL
2.3. LETTER
2.3.1. e-mail
2.3.1. formal letter
2.4 ARTICLE

• Content
This focuses on how well the candidate has fulfilled the task, in other words, if they have
done what they were asked to do.
• Communicative Achievement
This focuses on how appropriate the writing is for the task, and whether the candidate has
used the appropriate register.
• Organisation
This focuses on the way the candidate puts together the piece of writing, in other words, if it
is logical and ordered.
• Language
This focuses on vocabulary and grammar. It includes the range of language as well as how
accurate it is.

2.1 REVIEW

- What do I need to include?

- title
- state what you are reviewing - cursiva - Great Gatsby
- brief description
- recommendation of target and summarize the review

CONTENT → Don’t include irrelevant information

 Communicative information → Use appropriate language - look carefully at the
formality or informality of the text
ORGANISATION → The text MUST be easy to follow. However, it has to
include complex grammatical structures as well as vocabulary.
Don’t overcomplicate the text
LANGUAGE → Great vocabulary, complex, bright, different...and try ALWAYS
to include IDIOMS

EXAMPLE QUESTION:
You have seen this announcement on your favourite music website.

Have you ever been to an amazing concert venue? YOU HAVE TO ANSWER THIS

Write a review of the best music venue in your local area and tell us about what makes it so
special. Say who you would recommend it for and why?

The best entries will be published on our website.

EXAMPLE ANSWER:
The Apollo: The Theatre of Dreams

Never before have you seen such an amazing spectacle as you will see in the Apollo. It´s not
only the facilities and personnel that make this venue so great, but also the amazing acoustics
of such a large venue.

From the moment you enter the place there is an awe about it. All of the greatest acts of
recent times have played here and you can feel the buzz as soon as you enter. The crowd are
so close to the stage that they can literally feel the droplets of sweat coming off of the brows
of their favourite artists, this creates an amazing connection between the musicians and the
audience and I can tell you, the fans go wild! /WAILD/

I´d definitely recommend this venue to anyone, it has a great feel to it and the prices are at the
lower end of what you would expect to pay in such a place. They also don’t go over the top
on drinks prices, and through it sounds weird /wierd/, it´s not all that difficult to get to the
bathroom which is a plus. So, without a doubt, the next time your favourite group is playing,
come on down to the Apollo, oh, and did I mention it is in London? It couldn´t get any better.
Making recommendations:

I would (highly) recommend…

If I were you, I’d take a look at…

It is well worth the wait because…

It would be a good idea to check it out as…

The… must be included as…

LINKING:

● As I have said before…

● With respect to the point on…
● Regarding…
● Like I have said…
● In relation to…
● Taking into account…

Expressing enthusiasm

● I am delighted (that)…
● It is thrilling (that)…
● It is awesome (that)…
● It seems exciting to think…

Expressing surprise

● I was caught completely off guard by…

● It is really surprising (that)…
● I was taken aback when….
● … really takes my breath away…
Preferences: I prefer (…ing), I like ___ more than…

● I would rather (bare infinitive)

● I would prefer (infinitive)
● I would sooner (bare infinitive)

How to summarize?

- https://iesbecquer.com/images/departamentos/Ingles/12.(PRE-
INTERMEDIATE)WRITING%20A%20BOOK-FILM%20REVIEW.pdf
-
https://www.edu.xunta.gal/centros/ieslamasabade/system/files/Language_of_FilmRev
iew.pdf

2.2 PROPOSAL

WHAT IS A PROPOSAL?

A proposal starts by describing the situation in a business, school, club, or other organisation
you might be part of. For example, you might have to talk about the computer room in your
college or the state of the canteen in your office.

The difference between a report and a proposal is that in the latter we have to give
recommendations on improving the situation.

So:

describe a situation
say how you think it could be better
try to convince someone you are right

in these cases you'll be writing in quite a formal style. Another common scenario is that
you're in a club and want to propose some changes - if you're writing to the other members of
the club you can be a bit less formal but you should still be polite.

ARE THERE ANY RULES?

You should use headings, and have an intro and conclusion. You CAN use bullet points but I
tell my students to write in full sentences

EXAMPLE:

Here's a real Cambridge English: Advanced sample proposal task.

1. There are plans to demolish an old and unused building in the town where you
are a student. 2. You feel that the building should be saved. 3. You decide to
write a proposal for the town council explaining why you think the building
should be preserved, suggesting what could be done to modernise it and saying
how the building could benefit the local people.

Write your proposal.

PLANNING

First I should come up with some ideas about why the building should be saved and some
ideas about how to modernise it. My home city in England is full of old buildings that have
been turned into offices and flats so it's quite easy for me to come up with ideas.

WHY PRESERVE BUILDING:

historic - someone famous lived there? famous event there? architecture. landmark. local
pride.

HOW TO MODERNISE

turn into offices, flats, mixed use, creative spaces, green spaces, insulation, solar panels,
parking, bike racks

BENEFIT LOCAL PEOPLE

great flats in local landmark, sense of pride in community, boost property values in area, need
jobs in that part of city, connect X street with Y street, reduce crime

LANGUAGE NOTES

This is being written for my local council, so I'm going to be quite formal. I am not going to
use bullet points because if you write well they are not needed. I'm going to use at least one
passive sentence and at least one inversion (Not only do people love this building but also...).

BALANCE
I'm not going to be a fanatic about this issue - that isn't persuasive. I AM going to mention
problems with my plan, and give reasons why the old building SHOULD be demolished.
Why? Because a balanced argument is a persuasive /persueisiv/ argument - but mostly
because that will allow me to use more linking words like 'while, whereas' and some complex
sentence structures like 'While there's no doubt the old building something something, I
would argue that blah blah.'

Yo, council dudes!

You wanna knock down the rec centre on Princess Parkway? No wayz! I like it! Me and me
mates used to go there and chuck pebbles at windows!

Proposal to Repurpose Ducie Central

In this proposal I aim to persuade the Council that Ducie Central is a landmark building, that
its demolition is not in the public interest, and that the building could still have a bright
future.

WHY DUCIE CENTRAL SHOULD BE PRESERVED

Ducie Central was the first adult education centre in the city, and it stood as a point of pride
for hundreds of years before falling into neglect /niglect/. Even today in its shabby,
vandalised state, it is warmly regarded - many older people took classes there, and even some
teenagers can remember the annual fun fair that was held on the grounds.

But the building is more than memories - it's a place where education used to happen, and
where it can happen again.

HOW IT CAN BE MODERNISED

Ducie is old and would cost a fortune to heat. There's no doubt it would be expensive to
insulate, install triple-glazed windows, and set up solar panels on the roofs. However, local
architects and the Engineering College are willing to work on my proposed redevelopment
for free.

I recommend that one section be converted into office space - that would help offset the cost
of the project.

REDEVELOPMENT WOULD BENEFIT EVERYONE

It's not hard to see who would benefit from demolition - property developers who would buy
the land cheaply and throw up some copy/paste housing. Modernising the building and re-
opening the college would benefit not only the people who would study there but also the
whole community. It would be a focal point and we could hold the fun fair like in the past.

CONCLUSION
I believe that modernising the building is the best choice and strongly urge you to consider it.

284 words

I do blab on, don't I?

letters CAE

1. Identify the target → formal or informal content

2. This is why it's crucially important to identify the target reader.

If you start 'Dear sir/madam', make sure you end the letter 'Yours faithfully'.

If you start 'Dear Mr/Mrs X', end the letter 'Yours sincerely'.

You should also write another line before you end. For example:

"I hope you take my letter into consideration.

Yours faithfully

George" (formal)

or

''Looking forward to your reply.

Take care

Paola" (informal)

2.3. LETTER

2.3.1. E-MAIL
 1. Step 1: understand the question
2. Step 2: Here are some questions for you to answer based on these underlined words:

Who is the target reader?

Are you i) reassuring somebody. ii) giving recommendations. iii) justifying a course
of action.
Is this a formal or informal letter?
Answers

1. Your friend Chris.

2. This question is trickier. The main purpose is to give advice, which is ii) giving
recommendations. Nevertheless, you need to say why you give these
recommendations, so i) and iii) will also play a part in the language you use.
3. This is an informal letter to your friend.

STEP 3 - PLANING

My Plan

Language: informal and persuasive.

Town: Cambridge.

Format:

Introduction (60 words) -

Opening formality. 'Dear Chris, It's so nice to hear from you...'

First paragraph (80 words) - first suggestion - evening.

What: Punting in the river. Where: city centre. Why: Learn about Cambridge. Nice
experience if good weather. 'You'd love it' - encouraging language.

Second paragraph (80 words) - second suggestion - weekend.

What: Go around the university buildings. Where: Various places around city. Why:
You're a historian and some of your favourite celebrities studied at Cambridge.

Extra point if needed: evening. What: Go to a pub called 'The Eagle'. Where: City centre.
Why: You like to try English beer and traditional food.

Conclusion (30 words) -

We can do one of the activities above together if you like. Closing formality 'Bye for now.'

- Never been to … (movement)

- Suggest - ing
- Which is called
- All of them along with….
- the two remaining towers … ORDEN
- is about 92 metres high.
- Typical IN
- For these reasons : in order to remind the reader about the previous information

COMMON ERRORS C1:

https://studentlanguages.com/common-errors-at-c1-advanced/

14/07/2020

2.3.2 Formal letter

Writing Task - FORMAL LETTER
1. Dear Sir/Madam (In case you don’t know the name → Yours Faithfully)
Dear Mr X (→Yours Sincerely)
 2. Reason for writing (Who I am (not the name!), What I want, When and Where it
happened)
I am writing with regard/reference to (the article which appeared when/where) to
express my concern about/disappointment with/dissatisfation with/disapproval
of/apologies for (motivation)

3. Body (2/3 paragraphs – Points from input material)

● Firstly/To begin with/Moreover
● In fact/Furthermore/In addition/Finally
● (I feel) I must also (dis)agree with
● I would like to/ I want to point out that
● According to your (article)/ Your (article) states that.. However/which is
completely wrong

4. Action Step/Desired outcome CONCLUSION

● I trust/very much hope you will (print this letter in the next issue of your
newspaper)
● I would appreciate it/be grateful if you would
● It seems only fair that you should
● I look forward to receiving/seeing
● In light of the above (I feel I am entitled to a full refund and a formal apology)

Ending
Yours faithfully/Yours Sincerely
Firma
(Ruolo/Carica)

https://brays.es/data/uploads/descargas/ingles_gratis/ebook_cae_writing.pdf
2.4. ARTICLE

1 The reader is identified

An article is like a direct conversation with the reader. The exam question might tell
you who your readers are. For example, the students at a school, or the people living in
a town or people who are interested in sports. Everything you write must speak to that
reader and engage their interest right from the first sentence.

What do I have to write about? (Content/ check task)

Who is the article for? A newspaper, a formal magazine/ a blog...? (To decide on
style/check task)
How many paragraphs am I going to write? (Organisation)
What kind of language should I use? (Language/grammar I am expected to use/ check
task)

1. two main purposes: to inform and to entertain/interest the reader. Ideally after
going through your text, your readers should have the feeling that they have
learnt something or at least that they have had a good time.
2. start the article with an inviting title and a riveting introduction. Something that
makes your public continue reading.
 3. As you write remember to stick to your plan, check that you are truly answering
the task questions and that you have clear well-organised coherent paragraphs
4. include some advanced examples of the use of grammar as well as lexis (idioms,
collocations, sayings.)
a. So instead of saying something like "I had a lot of fun although I don´t
normally enjoy jazz concerts" say something like " I had a whale of a
time although jazz concerts are not my cup of tea" (idioms: have a whale
of a time; not my cup of tea.)
5. Avoid repetition: Don´t say "I like history programmes, I also like music
programmes." Say: "I´m into history programmes and I also like music Tv
shows."

Task: " You are a student at an international college. Your tutor has asked you to write an
article for the college website on ways students can improve language skills outside the
classroom. In your article, you should suggest ways in which students can make contact with
English-language speakers. You should also assess whether the most effective way of
improving language skills is to make friends with speakers of the language"

A fun way to learn English (give your article a title)

(State your main idea in the first paragraph)

In today's intercultural society, no one can deny the importance of learning a second
language, especially English. In our college we believe that major action should be taken to
guarantee that all of us, the students, are given the chance to practice this ability to
communicate with for people from all over the world. This task will require working with a
holistic approach and will imply the participation of a very committed group of people willing
to help each other. So are you ready? (use a question to motivate readers)

(organise your text into paragraphs)

Our first idea is to use the Internet. For young people surfing the net is as easy as pie and we
all have access to it. We suggest getting in touch with other students from around the world.
Some highly recommendable sites include a wide range of social networks as Facebook and
Twitter. It is also a good idea to encourage students to chat via Skype with people from
English speaking countries.

A second idea is to organise reading or conversation clubs, which can have monthly
gatherings in different spots in the city. Needless to say this will be a very effective way to
learn while making friends and having a blast. There are several attractive places in town such
as parks, art galleries, cafés, and social artistic venues/vinus/ where students and
professionals can give a boost to their social and language skills.
A final idea is for the college to create a web page. With the support of this effective tool, our
students can have blogs with a variety of engaging tasks and games. We can have fun getting
familiar with collocations and structures that can be shared as part of an exercise on our
creative website. It will definitely be highly engaging for students regardless of their
backgrounds and specializations, they will find an enjoyable site where they can put language
into practice, as they will be well-connected and comfortable with the cutting edge technology.

ALL IN ALL!!
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Have I completed the task? (Content)
- Is my article well-organised? (Organisation)
- Have I used a wide range of vocabulary? (Language)
- Have I used different grammar tenses? (Language)
- Is all the article written in the same style? (Style)
- Is the article interesting enough? (Reader)