C1 Advanced Writing Part 1 Information and Advice

Many students seem to miss basic facts about C1 Advanced Writing Part 1, 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 2

Format	You are required to write an essay, based on two points given in the input text. You will be asked to explain which of the two points is more important and to give reasons for their opinion.
Timing	40 minutes
Number of Parts	1
Task Types	Writing an essay with a discursive focus of between 220 and 260 words,.
Marks	There are 20 marks for each part, meaning a total of 40 for the whole writing test.

You need to learn to give opinions and to agree or disagree in a formal or neutral register.

Learn how to plan an essay quickly and effectively.

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

You should select two of the bullet points and base your essay on those two points. You should not attempt to discuss more than two of the bullet points, as this would lead to the essay being less developed than required.

Practice writing C1 Advanced Writing Part 1 essays.

You need practice writing appropriate opening and concluding paragraphs. An essay is not complete without a conclusion.

The essay question may take the form of a direct question or statement, which candidates are asked to give their opinions about.

You need to ensure that all the content of your essay 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 the whole essay question and prompts very carefully in order to understand what you are expected to do. Successful essays address the question or statement in a clear and logical way. It is important that candidates keep to the focus of the topic in question and that all their ideas and opinions are relevant to the question.

b) The target reader is usually a teacher, so the tone of your essay is 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 the development of the essay is smooth and easy to follow. Varying the length of sentences, using direct and indirect questions and using a variety of structures and vocabulary may all help to communicate ideas more effectively.

e) If your essay has a simple structure, for example, introduction, a paragraph about the first point, a paragraph about the second point, another paragraph about your own idea and also a conclusion, then it is much easier for the reader to follow.

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 1, 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