C1 Advanced Writing Part 2 Information and Advice

Many students seem to miss basic facts about C1 Advanced Writing Part 2, so this page is to fill in some of that missing information. There are also separate pages for more detailed information and advice for each part.

General

Part 1

Format	Candidates have a choice of task. The tasks provide candidates with a clear context, topic, purpose and target reader for their writing. The output text types are: letter/email proposal report review.
Timing	40 minutes
Number of Parts	1
Task Types	Writing one from a number of possible text types based on a contextualised writing task.   A letter/an email is written in response to the situation outlined in the task. Letters/emails in the C1 Advanced Writing paper will require a response which is consistently appropriate for the specified target reader. You can expect to be asked to write to, for example, the editor of a newspaper or magazine, to the director of a company, to a school or college principal, or to a peer. Letters/emails will not be limited to a narrative element, but will also require you to carry out other functions, for example, to reassure somebody, to correct a misunderstanding, or to justify a course of action.   A proposal may be written for a peer group (such as colleagues or club members), or for a supervisor (such as a boss or a college principal). You will be expected to make one or more suggestions, supported by factual information and evaluation, in order to persuade the reader of a course of action. You should work on functional language for evaluating and for making suggestions, and will need to be able to use a range of persuasive language.   A report may be written for a superior (e.g. a boss or college principal) or a peer group (e.g. club members or colleagues). The content of a report is to some extent factual and draws on the prompt material, but there will be scope for you to make use of their own ideas and experience. You will be asked to do more than describe a situation; they may be asked to evaluate to what extent a particular aim has been achieved, or to suggest an alternative course of action   A review may be about a book, magazine, film, play or concert; it may also be about a product or a service. A review in the C1 Advanced Writing paper does not merely ask for a general description of the thing reviewed, but requires an evaluation of its suitability for a particular purpose or audience. The target reader is specified in the task, and you should be encouraged to use this information when choosing appropriate ideas and language to include in their response
Marks	There are 20 marks for each part, meaning a total of 40 for the whole writing test.

You will need to think carefully about who the target reader is for each task and try to write in an appropriate way.
Is the target reader somebody they know, or a stranger, or someone in a position of authority? Do you need to present difficult information, or are you trying to persuade somebody to do something? It is important to have a balance between the functions required by the task and the relationship with the target reader.

It is important that you familiarise yourself with the different task types that appear on the paper, and are confident that you know the differences between them.

Letters/emails may include a story which details personal experience, e.g. to a newspaper or magazine; others may be more concerned with giving factual information. When a response is framed as an email, letter-writing conventions such as an opening salutation, clear paragraphing and closing phrasing are always important.

Proposals are often structured in a similar way to reports and should be clearly organised under headings. You should learn how to make polite recommendations and suggestions and how to use a range of persuasive language.

Learn a report format, with the use of headings and subheadings where appropriate. You should also work on specific vocabulary areas such as transport, leisure and entertainment, and learn how to make suggestions and recommendations.

For reviews, read as wide a range as possible, such as those for holidays, books, television programmes and consumer goods. Learn the use of appropriate adjectives, and how to describe and explain. You also need to know how to give an opinion, positive or negative, and make a recommendation.

A pre-learned response on a similar topic is unlikely to meet the requirements of the specific task in the exam.

You need to learn to give opinions and to agree or disagree in the appropriate register.

Learn how to plan C1 Advanced Writing Part 2 tasks quickly and effectively.

You are free to agree or disagree with the opinions given in the task, or discuss both sides.

It is important that you familiarise yourself with the different task types that appear on the paper, and are confident that you know the differences between them.

Since not all task types appear on every paper, it is important for you to have experience of writing all the different types.

Practice selecting which task to do in Part 2. They should look at the task types and topic areas and consider which register, functions, grammatical structures and vocabulary are required by each task. Then select the task which you feel you can complete most successfully

You need practice writing appropriate opening and concluding paragraphs.

Candidates need to ensure that all the content of their answer is clear and easy to follow. Effective organisation and cohesion are important features of a successful essay.

A range of grammar structures will be required to communicate ideas and opinions, along with the use of appropriate vocabulary.

Before your test, try to get some experience discussing the advantages and disadvantages of aspects of all kinds of
topics at C1 level.

Use the official Cambridge C1 Advanced Exam books for official writing questions and sample answers. These can also be found here and here.

a) It is vital that you read each choice very carefully in order to understand what you are expected to do. It is important that you keep to the focus of the topic in question and that all your ideas and opinions are relevant to the question.

b) Knowing who the target reader is, is crucial. There is a vast difference between writing a letter to complain about something, and writing a report for your boss.

Task	Register
letter/email	personal, informal, semi-formal, formal depending on the reader.
proposal	formal
report	usually formal, sometimes semi-formal
review.	semi-formal

c) You will save time and stress if you use the point and opinions given, unless your own ideas are clear.

d) Express your ideas in a clear and logical way, making sure that your writing is smooth and easy to follow. Varying the length of sentences and using a variety of structures and vocabulary may all help to communicate ideas more effectively.

f) Using a variety of linking words is important, as is ensuring that the flow of ideas in the writing is logical and easy for the reader to follow.

g) You should use a range of complex language. If, in doing so, you make mistakes, candidates will always be given credit for the complex language attempted, as long as the mistakes do not impede communication.

h) Be aware of the importance of spelling and punctuation. Although spelling errors and faulty punctuation are not specifically penalised, they can sometimes impede communication. (N.B. American usage and spelling are acceptable.)

i) Always plan so you can check your work.

j) No credit is given for language which has been obviously lifted from the question.

k) Part 1 and Part 2 in the C1 Advanced Writing test carry equal marks, so you should practise planning the time you spend on each question carefully.

l) Practice typing and editing your answers, so you can complete both tasks within the required time.

m) The questions are in a booklet. The answers are written in a separate booklet with lined pages.

n) Any corrections candidates make should be clear, so that they can be easily followed.

o) Counting words wastes time in an examination and leads to clumsy alterations to what a candidate has already written. Practice writing tasks within the word limit so that you can estimate when you have written enough.

p) It is important to write clearly so that the answers are easy to read.

q) It is not important whether you write in upper or lower case, or whether their writing is joined up or not.

I hope that has helped to give you a better understanding of what is required for C1 Advanced Writing Part 2, and that you will look into each part in more detail. There is a full list of pages on the C1 Advanced Writing test here. Good luck with your test!

information on this page is adapted from The Cambridge C1 Advanced Handbook for Teachers for Exams