writing assessment c1

Are you a learner at C1 English level (advanced) ? This section offers writing practice to help you write clear, well-structured texts about complex subjects. Texts include essays, proposals, articles, reports, reviews and emails.

Each lesson has a preparation task, a model text with writing tips and three tasks to check your understanding and to practise a variety of writing skills. Make a start today.

Choose a writing lesson

A music review

Learn how to write an album review.

• Read more about A music review
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A proposal for a digital newspaper

Learn how to write a proposal.

• Read more about A proposal for a digital newspaper

A report on a research study

Learn how to write a report on a research study for your company.

• Read more about A report on a research study

A response to a complaint

Learn how to write a response to a complaint.

• Read more about A response to a complaint

An email explaining an incident

Learn how to write an email to explain an incident to your manager.

• Read more about An email explaining an incident

An email request

Learn how to write a formal email to make a request.

• Read more about An email request

An email to a friend

Learn how to write an email to a friend.

• Read more about An email to a friend

An essay about women in science

Learn how to write an essay that suggests reasons for and solutions to a problem.

• Read more about An essay about women in science

An opinion essay

Learn how to write an opinion essay.

• Read more about An opinion essay

Conference bios

Learn how to write a short biography for a conference programme.

• Read more about Conference bios

Describing a table

Learn how to summarise information in a table and write a report on the main features.

• Read more about Describing a table

The changing workplace

Learn how to write about changes in the business workplace.

• Read more about The changing workplace

Learn to write in English with confidence

Our online English classes feature lots of useful writing materials and activities to help you develop your writing skills with confidence in a safe and inclusive learning environment.

Practise writing with your classmates in live group classes, get writing support from a personal tutor in one-to-one lessons or practise writing by yourself at your own pace with a self-study course.

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Are you an advanced (CEFR level C1) learner of English? Practise and improve your writing skills with these texts and exercises.

Choose a lesson

A cover letter

Look at the cover letter and do the exercises to improve your writing skills. 

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A for and against essay about online communication

Look at the essay and do the exercises to improve your writing skills. 

A report on a school trip abroad

Look at the report and do the exercises to improve your writing skills. 

A web tool review

Look at the review of an online tool and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

An essay about leisure time and academic pressure

Look at the question and problem and solution essay and do the exercises to improve your writing skills. 

An informal email or letter

Look at the email and do the exercises to improve your writing skills. 

An invitation letter

Look at the exam question and model letter and do the exercises to improve your writing skills. 

An opinion essay about fast food

Look at the exam question and essay and do the exercises to improve your writing skills. 

Describing a graph of trends over time

Look at the exam question, line graph and answer and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

Describing bar charts about reading habits

Look at the bar charts, question and sample answer and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

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Exam English ✓

• C1 Advanced (CAE)
• Reading / Use of English
• Cambridge exams

Free Practice Tests for learners of English

Cambridge english: c1 advanced (cae) writing.

Difficulty level : C1 / advanced What is the Advanced (CAE) Writing test like? The test has two sections and takes 90 minutes:

• Part 1 - Write an essay with a discursive focus Some material to read (up to 150 words) which may include material taken from advertisements, extracts from letters, emails, postcards, diaries, short articles, etc. Using this information, write an essay with a discursive focus. 220–260 words.
• Part 2 - Situationally based writing task Choose one of four questions. You have to read some input material and write one of the following: a letter/email , a proposal, a report or a review . 220–260 words.

Scoring The Advanced (CAE) Writing Test makes up 20% of the entire exam.

Your writing is assessed using four criteria:

• Content - have you answered the question?
• Communicative Achievement - have you completed the task in the right sort of language
• Organisation - have you structured your writing with paragraphs?
• Language - have you used a good range of grammar and vocabulary

How to prepare for the Advanced (CAE) Writing test

• Choose a question that you are interested in. You will write better if you know the subject.

Read this explanation of how to write an article .

• Read the instructions carefully before you start. Make notes. You must include all the points in the instructions.
• Make a plan before you start writing. Decide what information to put in each paragraph.
• Think about who you are writing to and use an appropriate style of language.
• Try to use a range of complex language.
• Leave enough time to check what you have written.

CAE Writing tests

• Writing part 1 (essay)
• Writing part 2 (email)
• Writing part 2 (brochure)
• Writing part 2 (letter of application)
• Writing part 2 (review)
• Writing part 2 (letter to a newspaper)

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Checklist to improve your writing – C1

Checklist to improve your writing for English learners who have a C1 level of English and it relates to the Cambridge Assessment English C1 Assessment Scale

When writing any text it is useful to have a checklist to refer to so you can improve your written English. The same checklist may also be useful to look at if you are checking a classmate’s work. It can be used for any piece of writing that you do, as well as exam practice. This checklist is useful for English learners who have a C1 level of English and it relates to the Cambridge Assessment English C1 Assessment Scale , which our examiners use when they assess writing. To assess a piece of writing, examiners consider these four things, called subscales :

– how well the task has been completed; for example, has all the important information been included in the piece of writing?

• Communicative Achievement

– how appropriate the writing is in terms of genre; for example, what sort of text do you have to produce – a letter, a report, a review, an essay? Does the text communicate the ideas appropriately and effectively to the targetreader?

• Organisation

– the way the text is organised; for example, are the ideas presented coherently and are they connected through the text across sentences and paragraphs?

– vocabulary and grammar; for example, is there a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures and how accurately are they used?

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Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE): How Your Writing is Marked

Introduction

One of the more complicated things about C1 Advanced is definitely how your writing tasks are marked. I get this question asked a lot by my students, but the problem is that it is very difficult to explain the whole thing in just a minute or two. So I thought it would be a good idea to put everything in writing for you. This way you get all the information you need, you can revisit this post whenever you want and you will better understand how you can make your texts in CAE stand out and gain great marks.

When the examiners look at your writings, there are four main criteria under which they are marked:

• Content (fully answering the task)
• Communicative Achievement (clear ideas, formal/informal English, tone of language, conventions of specific task types)
• Organisation (text structure, coherence, cohesion)
• Language (grammar and vocabulary)

Each of these different scales is scored out of 5 so you can get a maximum of 20 marks per text. As there are two texts, the total maximum is 40 marks .

The four different marking scales

After looking at the very basics we need to get into more detail because the four marking scales in C1 Advanced look at very different and specific aspects of your writing abilities. Only if you are able to show a high level in all four, you will get good marks so let’s check what exactly each scale means.

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First of all, you need to look at content in order to understand how the writing exam works. Here, the examiner checks if you actually did what the task asked you to do, if you answered the task completely and if the reader is fully informed.

Because this sounds a little bit abstract, an example might help.

This is what an essay writing task could look like. Luckily, in this one the important points are already highlighted for you and there are four things you have to cover in order to score high marks.

• You must answer the question in the box on the left.
• You must discuss two of the three points given in the box on the left.
• You must explain which of the two facilities is more important.
• You must support your arguments with reasons and examples.

All of this might sound easy to do, but I often see that students forget about one or the other of these points and lose valuable marks on the Content scale.

In conclusion, always answer and include all the things that are asked in the task and support your arguments with reasons and examples if you want to score higher marks.

Communicative Achievement

This scale is a little bit trickier than Content because it is not so obvious what you need to do if you want to get a good score. Communicative Achievement includes all the things that are necessary to communicate your ideas the right way. Did you choose the most appropriate register (formal vs neutral vs informal)? Does your text have the right structure and layout? Did you communicate your ideas clearly? Did you hold the reader’s attention or is you text difficult to follow?

For all of this, you need to analyse who is going to read your text as the reader dictates many of the things mentioned above. Below there are two more examples to show you what I mean.

In the proposal writing task above you are asked to write to your town council in order to save a historic building from being demolished. The council includes local politicians and possibly even the mayor. Ask yourself what the right tone would be in a situation like that. Would you write an informal text as you would to a friend or would it be formal as if your boss or headmaster at school was about to read it? I guess it isn’t too difficult for you to answer that question. Formal language is the way to go here.

In the second example task you need to write a review and in this case the readers are the visitors of a website called Great Lives . Comparing it to the proposal from earlier, how formal or informal should your text be? Do these readers require the same level of formality or can you be a little bit more casual? I would say you can definitely be more neutral in tone while trying to engage the reader at the same time . After all, the people reading your review are regular people like you and not your superiors.

Another important point to consider before you even start writing is what a proposal looks like compared to a review. Do you need a title? Should you use subheadings, an introduction/conclusion, a greeting and/or salutation? All of these are key questions for you to ask yourself and only with practice will the answers come to you quickly and without much thought.

Last but not least, in Communicative Achievement the examiner also looks at your ability to communicate your ideas clearly and to hold the reader’s attention. When you read your text you should have the feeling that it is engaging and your arguments/ideas are clear and easy to understand for someone who might not know a lot about the topic.

To summarise, Communicative Achievement checks if you use an appropriate style/tone, the correct features like headings, introduction/conclusion, etc. as well as how well you communicate your ideas.

Organisation

Organisation, just like Communicative Achievement, is one of the more complex marking scales in C1 Advanced Writing. There are a lot of opportunities for you to score, but, at the same time, you can lose marks just as easily.

First of all, you always need to use paragraphs in your writing as this is the prime indicator for a separation of main ideas. For the different task types there are structures that vary slightly so you need to study all of them if you want to nail this one.

Looking back at our essay task from earlier we said that we need to discuss two of the ideas given in the box on the left so there are two paragraphs waiting to be written. On top of that, a good essay always comes with an introduction and a conclusion to round it off so we get to four paragraphs in total.

Make sure that you always think about this before you start writing. It can save you tons of time and set you up for success.

Apart from paragraphs you also have to show that you can put your ideas in a logical order and present them in a cohesive unit. To achieve this don’t mix up your ideas throughout the different parts of your text and you must include linking devices (linking expressions, relative clauses, conditionals, participle clauses, etc.) in your writing.

Once again, you need to study the different task types to learn about the most appropriate expressions and devices to use, but with experience this becomes easier.

Everything put together, Organisation tests your ability to present your writing in a logical way with paragraphs separating your main ideas and linking devices to connect your thoughts.

Language is probably the most straightforward marking scale of the four. It assesses your use of grammar and vocabulary, how wide your range is and if your errors impede communication of your ideas.

Try to use vocabulary that is specific to the topic you are writing about, for example, a text about travelling requires different expressions than one about environmental issues. If you show the ability to tailor your language to the task at hand, high marks will follow.

As for the use of grammar, you must demonstrate good control and flexibility with common structures as well as some less common ones in order to show above-average skills.

Try to include some less common grammar and vocabulary when you practise to get used to being outside of your comfort zone when writing.

Writing is alright after all

Marking writing tasks in C1 Advanced is very complex and the examiners check many different aspects of your skills. You really have to show that you are good all around, but with the knowledge and the right tools you can achieve greatness. Find the areas in which you have room for improvement and start practising today.

I hope this article gives you more confidence and a better understanding of how your writing tasks should be structured and what you should include or avoid in your texts. As always, don’t wait until the last minute, but take a proactive approach to your preparations and get ready today!

Lots of love,

Teacher Phill 🙂

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Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) Writing Assessment Scales

This pdf has the official Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) Writing assessment scales. It includes all the criteria and band descriptors. You should learn what the examiners require from you and use this document when you self-assess your writing. Please pay special attention to the Content criterion. These descriptors are not very extensive and the examiners use a more detailed version which is not published. This area is where some candidates makes mistakes because they either do not fulfil the task or they include content which is not relevant. Check with your tutor if you are unsure what the examiners require in the writing tasks.

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English proficiency test C1: Pre-employment screening assessment to hire the best candidates

Summary of the english (proficient/c1) test.

The English (proficient/C1) test evaluates a candidate’s knowledge of the English language at the C1 level of the CEFR framework. This test will help you hire employees who can participate in demanding professional and social conversations in English.

Covered skills

Grammar & vocabulary

Forming complete sentences

Reading comprehension

Listening comprehension

Use the English (proficient/C1) test to hire

Editors, writers, content creators, customer success managers, and other employees that need to be proficient in English to perform well in their roles.

About the English (proficient/C1) test

Employees who are proficient in English will enrich your company’s internal and external communications by clearly and effectively discussing ideas, plans, and goals with customers and colleagues. They will also be able to write well-structured reports, presentations, and other material in English to help promote the company’s brand and ideas to others.

The English (proficient/C1) test evaluates a candidate’s ability to communicate at the C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages. The test evaluates candidates in the areas of grammar and vocabulary, sentence composition, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension.

Employees who are proficient in English can express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much searching for expressions. They can understand demanding, longer texts and recognize implicit meaning in both written and verbal communications. They use the language flexibly and effectively for social, academic, and professional purposes and can produce detailed texts on complex subjects, showing a controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors, and cohesive devices.

The test is made by a subject-matter expert

Trained linguist John Galindo (MA in Linguistics) has been teaching English as a second language (ESL) to adults for over six years and is currently an Instructor of English at a University in Osaka, Japan. With expertise in linguistic analysis and speech acoustics, John focuses his teaching on perfecting his students’ writing and pronunciation skills. John works as a freelance linguist, providing Executive Language Coaching, linguistic analysis, and language assessment materials to his clients.

Crafted with expert knowledge

TestGorilla’s tests are created by subject matter experts. We assess potential subject-matter experts based on their knowledge, ability, and reputation. Before being published, each test is peer-reviewed by another expert, then calibrated using hundreds of test takers with relevant experience in the subject. Our feedback mechanisms and unique algorithms allow our subject-matter experts to constantly improve their tests.

What our customers are saying

TestGorilla helps me to assess engineers rapidly. Creating assessments for different positions is easy due to pre-existing templates. You can create an assessment in less than 2 minutes. The interface is intuitive and it’s easy to visualize results per assessment.

David Felipe C.

VP of Engineering, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

Any tool can have functions—bells and whistles. Not every tool comes armed with staff passionate about making the user experience positive.

The TestGorilla team only offers useful insights to user challenges, they engage in conversation.

For instance, I recently asked a question about a Python test I intended to implement. Instead of receiving “oh, that test would work perfectly for your solution,” or, “at this time we’re thinking about implementing a solution that may or may not…” I received a direct and straightforward answer with additional thoughts to help shape the solution.

I hope that TestGorilla realizes the value proposition in their work is not only the platform but the type of support that’s provided.

For a bit of context—I am a diversity recruiter trying to create a platform that removes bias from the hiring process and encourages the discovery of new and unseen talent.

Chief Talent Connector, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

Use TestGorilla to hire the best faster, easier and bias-free

Our screening tests identify the best candidates and make your hiring decisions faster, easier, and bias-free.

Predict job performance

Learn how each candidate performs on the job using our library of 348 scientifically validated tests.

Test candidates for job-specific skills like coding or digital marketing, as well as general skills like critical thinking. Our unique personality and culture tests allow you to get to know your applicants as real people – not just pieces of paper.

Hire without bias

Give all applicants an equal, unbiased opportunity to showcase their skills with our data-driven and performance-based ranking system.

With TestGorilla, you’ll get the best talent from all walks of life, allowing for a stronger, more diverse workplace.

Offer a positive candidate experience

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Add your company logo, color theme, and more to leave a lasting impression that candidates will appreciate.

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Building assessments is quick and easy with TestGorilla. Just pick a name, select the tests you need, then add your own custom questions.

You can customize your assessments further by adding your company logo, color theme, and more. Build the assessment that works for you.

Invite candidates your way

Send email invites directly from TestGorilla, straight from your ATS, or connect with candidates by sharing a direct link.

Have a long list of candidates? Easily send multiple invites with a single click. You can also customize your email invites.

See the best candidates, ranked

Discover your strongest candidates with TestGorilla’s easy-to-read output reports, rankings, and analytics.

Easily switch from a comprehensive overview to a detailed analysis of your candidates. Then, go beyond the data by watching personalized candidate videos.

View a sample report

The English (proficient/C1) test will be included in a PDF report along with the other tests from your assessment. You can easily download and share this report with colleagues and candidates.

Assess candidate proficiency with an English C1 test

When hiring non-native English speakers for a role where they need to be fluent in the language, it’s important to test their proficiency level.

The English Proficient/C1 test will help you evaluate your applicants’ speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills in English. This test helps you ensure that the candidate has full operational proficiency in the language and corresponds to the C1 level of the CEFR framework (we will explain all about the CEFR framework shortly).

This test will help you evaluate your candidates and see how well they can discuss ideas, plans, and goals in English, regardless of whether they need to talk with clients, managers, peers, partners, or stakeholders.

The pre-employment assessment will also test your applicants’ capacity to write a well-structured report, create a compelling presentation, or write a memo with clarity. To pass the test, candidates will need to be proficient users of the language and satisfy the requirements of the C1 level.

The C1 test is one of the most difficult tests you can have when it comes to testing language proficiency; there’s only one level above it, C2, which corresponds to a native proficiency. You can use this test when hiring for one of the following roles:

•  Content writers and copywriters •  Editors •  Consultants •  Managers (project managers, team leads, and more) •  Customer success representatives •  Business development representatives

When you want to hire a candidate who is fluent in English, you will need to test their language skills and make sure they’re on par with the requirements of the role.

That’s when you should use a pre-employment test like the English Proficient/C1 test to evaluate your candidate in an objective and bias-free way.

What does this English C1 test measure?

TestGorilla’s English language C1 test evaluates your candidates’ skills in four different areas:

• Reading : Reading skills refer to how well candidates can understand and work with a complex text in written form. Since you’re looking to hire a person with a C1-level proficiency, they shouldn’t have problems interpreting even the most complicated and technical topics.

• Writing : Testing candidates’ writing skills is essential for most specialized jobs. Applicants should be able to write about complex topics with ease, and make no grammatical or syntax errors.

• Speaking : Speaking skills refer to how well candidates can communicate their ideas and thoughts to others verbally. With this test, you can assess candidates’ abilities to form complete sentences; you can further test their speaking skills during phone interviews. A candidate with a C1-level proficiency will be able to hold a conversation on any topic without difficulty.

• Listening : Candidates with a C1-level proficiency will be able to understand others nearly 100% of the time, regardless of the other person’s accent and the idioms and expressions they use. With this test, you’ll be able to assess your applicants’ listening comprehension.

What is the CEFR Framework?

CEFR, short for the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, is an international framework used to describe language proficiency in six levels, from beginner (A1) to native-level proficiency (C2).

The CEFR scale’s six proficiency levels are

• A1 level (beginner) : A person who has this level of language skills will know how to introduce themselves, understand a couple of phrases, and have very simple interactions with another person.

• A2 level (elementary) : An applicant whose language skills are at an A2 level can speak about more diverse topics such as their family, community, job, and more. They’ll be able to receive and understand basic instructions and perform routine tasks.

• B1 level (intermediate) : At this level, candidates can hold a simple conversation on topics such as employment, personal and professional plans, travels, and more. They make mistakes when speaking, but they can still have a conversation with both native and non-native speakers.

• B2 level (upper-intermediate) : Candidates who have a B2 level of fluency will be able to talk about a variety of topics with native speakers and write detailed texts with few mistakes.

• C1 level (advanced or operational proficiency) : Candidates who have a C1 level of proficiency can read, write, and speak on almost any topic with ease, no matter how complex, difficult, or technical it is.

• C2 level (full proficiency) : This is the last level on the CEFR scale and describes native proficiency. At this level, users have full mastery of the language and can navigate any situation without making any mistakes.

How can the English C1 test help recruiters make the right hiring decision?

If you need to hire someone who’s a confident English speaker and is able to deal with complicated situations and understand and produce texts on a variety of topics, you need to use a C1 test. Most office jobs require this level of proficiency. If you give candidates a B1 or B2 test, for example, you won’t be able to know if they have all the necessary language skills for the job.

The best way to do that is to use a pre-employment assessment tool like TestGorilla. With our tests, you can evaluate and verify applicants’ skills in a number of domains objectively – including language proficiency.

There are several important benefits to using pre-employment tests in hiring. Skills assessments

• Help you eliminate bias : With pre-employment tests, all candidates get an equal opportunity to demonstrate their skills. So even before you screen CVs, you should give your candidates a pre-employment test to see whether they have the right skills for the job. This eliminates bias and helps you create a fair hiring process.

• Enable you to rate candidates objectively : Candidates get the same tests and their scores are calculated automatically. This makes the rating process objective and also helps you easily compare candidates.

• Are infinitely scalable : It makes no difference whether you receive 25 or 250 applications: It takes a single click to distribute the pre-employment skills assessment.

When you need a candidate who has full operational proficiency in English, you should use a C1 English test to assess their skills. You can combine this test with other role-specific tests – or even personality assessments.

By using skills assessments, you will be able to create a bias-free, objective hiring process, where all applicants get an equal opportunity to demonstrate their abilities. This will enable you to hire the best candidate for the job, stress-free.

An assessment is the total package of tests and custom questions that you put together to evaluate your candidates. Each individual test within an assessment is designed to test something specific, such as a job skill or language. An assessment can consist of up to 5 tests and 20 custom questions. You can have candidates respond to your custom questions in several ways, such as with a personalized video.

Yes! Custom questions are great for testing candidates in your own unique way. We support the following question types: video, multiple-choice, coding, file upload, and essay. Besides adding your own custom questions, you can also create your own tests.

A video question is a specific type of custom question you can add to your assessment. Video questions let you create a question and have your candidates use their webcam to record a video response. This is an excellent way to see how a candidate would conduct themselves in a live interview, and is especially useful for sales and hospitality roles. Some good examples of things to ask for video questions would be "Why do you want to work for our company?" or "Try to sell me an item you have on your desk right now."

Besides video questions, you can also add the following types of custom questions: multiple-choice, coding, file upload, and essay. Multiple-choice lets your candidates choose from a list of answers that you provide, coding lets you create a coding problem for them to solve, file upload allows your candidates to upload a file that you request (such as a resume or portfolio), and essay allows an open-ended text response to your question. You can learn more about different custom question types here .

Yes! You can add your own logo and company color theme to your assessments. This is a great way to leave a positive and lasting brand impression on your candidates.

Our team is always here to help. After you sign up, we’ll reach out to guide you through the first steps of setting up your TestGorilla account. If you have any further questions, you can contact our support team via email, chat or call. We also offer detailed guides in our extensive Help & Inspiration Center .

You can find our pricing packages here . Sign up here to try TestGorilla today.

Yes. You can add up to five tests to each assessment.

We recommend using our assessment software as a pre-screening tool at the beginning of your recruitment process. You can add a link to the assessment in your job post or directly invite candidates by email.

TestGorilla replaces traditional CV screening with a much more reliable and efficient process, designed to find the most skilled candidates earlier and faster.

The intermediate tests test the B1 level of the CEFR framework language skills. The proficient tests, which are more advanced, test the C1 level language skills of a candidate. You can read more about the different skill levels here .

Related tests

German (intermediate/b2), korean (upper-intermediate/b2), spanish (proficient/c2), portuguese – brazil (intermediate/b1), english (proficient/c2), english (upper intermediate/b2), russian (intermediate/b1), arabic (proficient/c1), arabic (intermediate/b1), japanese (proficient/c1).

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

The main purpose is to describe and express a personal opinion about something which the essay writer has experienced (e.g. a film, a holiday, a product, a website, etc.) and to give the reader a clear impression of what the item discussed is like.

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

C1 Advanced (CAE) Review: Structure

Fce, cae, cpe, practice, write & improve, c1 advanced (cae) review: writing guide.

We will use the example CAE review topic below:

You see the following announcement on a website, Great Lives:

Reviews wanted Send us a review of a book or film that focuses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society.

Did you learn anything new about the person’s life from the book or film? Did the book or film help you understand why this person made their important contribution?

Write your  review (around 220 – 260  words)

Step 1: Briefly analyse your task…

The first thing is to find underline a description part , where we have to describe something like a film, book, restaurant or anything else. Next , find a discussion part where need to give opinion and or make a recommendation or suggestion.

On top of that, find the  target reader who is always specified so you know exactly who you are writing for and who is going to read your review.

Reviews Wanted Send us a review of a book or film that focuses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society. (to describe)

Did you learn anything new about the person’s life from the book or film? Did the book or film help you understand why this person made their important contribution? (to answer/discuss)

Thanks to this, we have all the elements we need to write a great review below:

You need to describe: B o ok or film that focuses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society

You need to answer/discuss:

• Why this person made an important contribution?
• Did you learn anything new about the person’s life?

Who is the target reader: website, Great Lives 

We know now that the target readers are the users of the website, so the writing style can be quite direct and informal (idioms, phrasal verbs).

Now we can start building our structure and writing a review.

Step 2: Title

The review should start with the title, and there are several ways to write it:

• imagine you’re reviewing a book you can write  [Title] by [Author]
• if you were reviewing a hotel you could write the [name of the hotel] – a review
• or you can just write something catchy but it has to point to what you are going to review

Title (book): Green Lantern by Stephen King (by) Title (hotel): Ibiza Hotel in Barcelona – a review (a review) Title (restaurant): Taco Bell: U n forgettable experience (catchy)

we will use this title in our guide : TITLE : Mandela: Striving for Freedom — a review

Step 3: Introduction

The other function of your introduction is to engage the reader . There are certain tools we can use to achieve that for example, we can ask a rhetorical question.

It is a question that doesn’t really need an answer it is there as a stylistic feature that engages the reader and makes them interested in the topic

Make your introduction at least 2-3 sentences long.

INTRODUCTION: Have you ever been so passionate about something that you would sacrifice your very best years for it? In the film Mandela: Striving for Freedom we get not only a glimpse of Nelson Mandela’s life, but rather dive deep into who he was and how he changed a whole country . This autobiographical film, based on the book, and released in 2013, tells the amazing story of an even more extraordinary man.

                  – rhetorical question

                  – identification of reviewed item

  TIP : Don’t waste your time looking for a real book or a real movie to match your review. Make it up or change the facts to suit the review, it doesn’t have to be real.

Step 4: The body paragraphs (main content) 

Unlike essays, your paragraphs don’t have to be of the same length (however, should be longer than the introduction or conclusion).

Use idioms , phrasal verbs and colloquial language  –  informal language is appropriate for your target reader – users of the website, Great Lives

See the example below, in which we dedicate one paragraph to one   point…

[Why this person made an important contribution?]

While the whole film captivated me throughout, there was one aspect that truly stood out to me. Nelson Mandela and his second wife Winnie had a one-of-a-kind relationship driving each other to continue and grow the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa even after Mr Mandela was captured and imprisoned. It is a testament to their dedication and partnership and something ‘that a lot of us can learn from.

[Did you learn anything new about the person’s life?]

Despite having a strong and driven partner in his wife, I still used to be astonished by the fact that someone would simply sacrifice themselves and give up a big part of their life to help others, but this biopic made me reconsider. Witnessing segregated society and all the racial abuse the black community had to endure during apartheid, there was no other option for Nelson Mandela than to stand up and fight for equality.

                      – topic-specific vocabulary

                   – engaging/interesting vocabulary

                    – relevant details

Step 5: Conclusion / Recommendations

It will contain your general impression and your verdict/recommendation .

Use this paragraph to make an objective assessment of the reviewed material. You may then recommend or dissuade your readers from seeing/attending it.

CONCLUSION: All in all, Mandela: Striving for Freedom gives some incredible insight into the life of one of the world’s most famous and influential personalities of the 20th century. It would be a shame not to watch it so I highly recommend that you check your favourite streaming service as soon as you can and I promise you won’t regret it.                 – recap, what you like about the film

                 – recommendation

See full review…

Full review.

Mandela: Striving for Freedom — a review

Have you ever been so passionate about something that you would sacrifice your very best years for it? In the film Mandela: Striving for Freedom we get not only a glimpse of Nelson Mandela’s life, but rather dive deep into who he was and how he changed a whole country. This autobiographical film, based on the book, and released in 2013, tells the amazing story of an even more extraordinary man.

All in all, Mandela: Striving for Freedom gives some incredible insight into the life of one of the world’s most famous and influential personalities of the 20th century. It would be a shame not to watch it so I highly recommend that you check your favourite streaming service as soon as you can and I promise you won’t regret it.

Check your (CAE) Review

C1 advanced (cae) review: example reviews, cae review sample 1.

You have seen this announcement on your favourite music website.

Have you ever been to an amazing concert venue?

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 a why?

The best entries will be published on our website.

Model 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!

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, 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.

Get Your (CAE) Review Checked!

Cae review sample 2.

You see this announcement in an international magazine.

The most UPLIFTING and the biggest DOWNER . It’s sometimes hard to choose a film that fits your mood purely on the basis of the poster or the description on the cover of the DVD. That’s why we want to publish reviews of the most uplifting and the most depressing films our readers have seen, so that others know what to watch and what to avoid. Send in a review which describes the most uplifting film you’ve ever seen and the one you found the biggest downer. Make sure you give reasons for your choices.

Write your  review  in  220-260 words  in an appropriate style.

A tale of two films

If I were to present two of the most contrasting films about overcoming adversity it would be The Blind Side (2009)  and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Whereas the former left me with a huge grin on my face, sadly, the latter left me feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Doctor Zhivago , directed by five-time Oscar winner David Lean, is set in the Bolshevik revolution and follows the title character, who must adapt to the new order while pining for Lara, the beautiful wife of a political campaigner. The director succeeded in creating a film that is thoroughly engaging but full of gritty realism, cruelty and tragic irony. Take the tissues!

The Blind Side , which is based on a true story, is also a bit of a tearjerker, in a completely different way. Starring Sandra Bullock, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of a rich white mother in Tennessee who takes a homeless black teenager under her roof. Understandably, the gentle giant thinks he isn’t good at anything but his new mother sees his potential to become a football star and part of the family. The plot is based on a true story, making it all the more touching.

I would strongly recommend  The Blind Side . It will appeal to a range of people and is a great choice for a movie night. Although  Doctor Zhivago  is a classic, I think it has more of a niche audience and is best saved for when you want a dose of gloom!

C1 Advanced (CAE) Review: Example topics

Cae example topic 1.

You see the the following announcement on a website, Great Lives:

REVIEWS WANTED Send us a review of a book or a film focusses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society.

Write your review in 220-260 words

CAE Example topic 2

You see this announcement in an international magazine called Cinefilia.

THE MOST UPLIFTING AND THE BIGGEST DOWNER. It’s sometimes hard to choose a film that fits your mood purely on the basis of the poster or the description on the cover of the DVD. That’s why we want to publish reviews of the most uplifting and the most depressing films our readers have seen, so that others know what to watch and what to avoid. Send in a review which describes the most uplifting film you’ve ever seen and the one you found the biggest downer. Make sure you give reasons for your choices.

Write your review in 220-260 words in an appropriate style.

CAE Example topic 3

You see the following announcement in a magazine:

SEND US YOUR REVIEW

Have you read a book or seen a film that has a central character whose life is affected by an event or decision they make early in the story What did you learn about the person’s character? Did the book or flim help you to understand how the person was affected by this event or decision? Send us your review for our next issue

Write your review for the magazine readers. (220-260 words)

C1 Advanced (CAE) Review: Tips

• Think about what you are trying to achieve and the structure of your review.
• You should also start a new paragraph for every item/aspect you are addressing in your review. 
• Include a final recommendation or evaluation
• Don’t forget!  The target reader is specified in the question, so the candidate knows not only what register  is appropriate, but also has an idea about the kind of information to include. 

Practice Tests Online

C1 advanced (cae) review: 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) Review: Grading

Would you pass c1 advanced (cae), c1 advanced (cae) review: useful phrases.

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.

What I liked

What I liked most was ….. The thing I liked most was …. I was pleasantly surprised by …..  ….. would appeal to …..  If you get a chance to ….

What I disliked

What I disliked most was ….. I was disappointed by …… I was disappointed with ….. I was very disappointed by …..  I was very disappointed with ….

Reviews of books:

main character is set in comedy science fiction thriller romance comedy: author written by chapter factual fiction unbelievable bestseller chapter ending

Reviews of films, tv programmes, plays:

lead role star role star star actor star actress starring secondary role He plays a ……. She plays a ……. written by …. is set in ….. based on a true story …. believable true to life not very believable far-fetched comedy romance science fiction ending

Reviews of hotels, restaurants, etc:

location service setting attractive setting disappointing setting owned by run by head chef (restaurant) waiters (restaurant) staff ……. staff at reception …….(hotel hotel facilities …. reasonable prices ….. good value for money ….. excellent value for money ….. expensive a bit expensive overpriced not worth the money poor value for money always fully booked book in advance

The script seemed rather conventional/predictable to me. The plot struck me as completely bizarre/absurd/incomprehensible The characters are appealing and true to life The dancers were quite brilliant/amateurish

Recommendations

I would strongly encourage you not to miss/not to waste your money on… I would definitely recommend seeing/visiting/reading/having a look at …

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If ChatGPT Can Write Virtually Anything, What Should a National Writing Exam Test?

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For good or ill, people use ChatGPT now to write virtually any type of communication, from award acceptance speeches to business emails to book reports.

Now the rapid ascendance of artificial intelligence is raising fundamental questions about what future students should be taught about writing—and, by extension, how their writing skills should be measured.

The panel that oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress voted at its quarterly meeting this week to postpone the next scheduled writing exam by two to three years so the board can have more time to develop the exam framework with a better sense of how the rapidly developing AI technology might shape writing instruction.

Pending congressional approval of a waiver to test students on non-election years to avoid politicizing NAEP, that means the exam will be pushed back from 2030 to either 2032 or 2033.

The NAEP writing exam was last given in 2017, when students used tablets to complete it. The writing exam has previously tested students in grades 4, 8, and 12.

The decision by the National Assessment Governing Board on the writing exam was included in the board’s overall approval of a new NAEP schedule, which will expand 12th grade reading and math, 8th grade U.S. civics and history, and 8th grade science exams to include state-level results starting in 2028. (Currently, NAEP releases only national results for those exams.)

The board also used the meeting to approve a new science framework that lays out the content and skills to be tested on the NAEP science exam and further discuss the future of AI and NAEP.

The federally administered NAEP is the primary exam used to track U.S. students’ progress over time and compare performance state to state.

Educators and schools go from AI wariness to slow acceptance

While some educators were initially wary of AI and its potential impact on schooling,—New York City public schools, for example, even banned the tool briefly before reversing course —experts have made it clear that AI is here to stay, and students need to learn how to use the technology to be effective and successful workers.

But exactly how AI should be used in writing instruction remains unclear. The technology is rapidly changing, and so are opinions about its value. For NAGB, the governing body that makes decisions about NAEP assessments years in advance, that’s a difficult landscape to navigate.

“We heard clear guidance from the field that AI will have implications for the teaching and the assessment of writing,” Martin West, one of the panel’s members and a Massachusetts state board of education member, said in an interview. “We did not hear a consensus on exactly what those changes would look like. That’s understandable given the pace of change in the technology and what it’s capable of doing. So, this didn’t seem like the right time to undertake a framework revision that we would want to stand the test of time.”

AI also has the potential to change the way the public accesses and uses NAEP data. The National Center for Education Statistics, the division of the federal Education Department that administers NAEP and compiles and analyzes its results, is looking to partner with an AI chatbot service that will allow people to ask specific questions about data, Ebony Walton, an NCES statistician, said at the meeting.

For example, a person could type into a chatbot, “please show me the results relating absenteeism to performance in NAEP reading grade 4,” and it would provide that breakdown. The chatbot will only include information that has been released to the public, Walton said.

New schedule means more information for states

The board also approved concrete changes to the NAEP schedule .

Starting in 2028, NAEP will begin state-level assessments of 12th grade students every four years in reading and math. Congress requires the administration of NAEP at the national and state levels in reading and math every two years for 4th and 8th graders and at the national level and every four years for 12th graders. NAEP is also administered on the state level and for a handful of urban districts for 4th and 8th grade students.

The change means a wider selection of 12th-grade students will take the NAEP reading and math tests to give an accurate representation of the demographics in participating states, as states won’t be required to participate.

Currently, states have limited tools to understand achievement among high school seniors who are just completing their K-12 career. The ACT, SAT, and AP exams, for example, don’t test a full sample of students. With the new schedule, which will start testing 12th graders on the state level every four years in 2028 or 2029, depending on the approval of the congressional waiver, states will have a more robust understanding of what students know as they exit the K-12 system.

“Yes, [the AP exam] gives a snapshot of what my kids can do, but that’s not the entire senior class of my high school,” said Patrick Kelly, one of the governing board’s members and a South Carolina teacher who teaches AP U.S. government and history courses. “As much as I wish my class was a direct reflection of the total student population at my high school, it’s not.”

But while the board members agreed state-level results will be beneficial, some also shared concerns about getting buy-in from states. Seniors in high school may not be as motivated to try on the exams and school districts are wary of adding another test to the already packed assessment schedule high school seniors face, according to feedback NAGB received from school district and state leaders.

NAEP has provided state-level results for 12th graders twice before—in 2009, when 11 states participated, and 2013, when 13 states participated. At their meeting Friday, the board members charged NAGB staff with finding ways to generate interest and support for the 12th-grade exam from state officials.

New science framework focuses on sensemaking, not memorization

The board also approved an updated science framework. The new science framework aims to better reflect research-backed science instruction with an emphasis on “the three dimensions of science”: disciplinary concepts, such as physical science, life sciences, and earth and space sciences; science and engineering practices; and crosscutting concepts, or the concepts that are used across science disciplines and provide tools to better understand new phenomena.

Those generally reflect the Next Generation Science Standards, a shared set of science goals about 20 states have adopted.

NAEP has outlined specific crosscutting concepts or themes that students should learn, including patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; conservation, flows, and cycles, otherwise known as tracking energy and matter; relationships between structure and function; and the conditions for stability and change in systems.

The new framework also adds engineering and technology concepts to better reflect modern science education. And it has a specific focus on sense-making—the process of having students build an understanding of concepts by applying them to real-world scenarios.

“It really is going to allow us to assess what can students do with information, not just what do students know,” Kelly said.

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