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Como pasar el Writing CAE / Tips Writing CAE Essay

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Writing a CAE Essay

BASICS

  • You must write an essay. (In part 2 you get a choice, but the essay is always mandatory.)
  • You have about 45 minutes.
  • The tasks always look the same.
  • Don’t ‘lift’ too much from the question – use your own words.

PREPARING

  • Do lots of mock exams.
  • Start early (mistakes in your writing take longest to fix). Months, not days!
  • Computer-based – write on the computer. Paper-based, paper.
  • The more you practice the less you’ll need to worry about word count.

WHAT IS AN ESSAY?

It’s a text where you present an argument (and support it with reasons).

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ESSAY AND A REPORT?

Essays tend to be general while reports are more concrete. So you might get an essay like ‘Which are more important, trains or hospitals?’ A report might be like ‘How can we improve the train network in your country?’

Reports are quite business and have subheadings. They send in a recommendation.

WHAT IS A CAMBRIDGE ESSAY?

  • Cambridge wants to see that you can write an academic text in a neutral/formal style, and be persuasive while having a good structure, using linking phrases etc.
  • Keep the reader in mind. Make sure you follow their instructions and that they can understand what your points are.
  • You don’t need to include a title. It’s okay if you do.
  • You have more access to a wider range of language if you have a negative point and a positive point.
  • Your essay doesn’t have to be factually accurate! Lie/make things up if it helps your essay!

PLANNING

Give yourself at least 5 minutes to plan your essay before you start writing. The more you invest in the planning stage the easier the actual writing will be.

 

 

STRONG INTRODUCTIONS

The slideshow has examples of 3 easy-to-learn intro types:

  • A question
  • A quotation
  • A surprising fact

KEEPING interested

Keep the reader interested by using great vocabulary and introducing surprises.

CHECKING

Learn how to check your work to spot simple mistakes and places where you could improve the language you’ve used.

RANDOM

They don’t care about your handwriting – as long as they can read it.

You can make some mistakes as long as the reader can understand what you are saying.

American vs British English – either is fine.

portada 2

Dia De San Valentin / Saint Valentine’s Day

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Dia De San Valentin / Saint Valentine’s Day

Saint Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark Holiday

Hallmark holiday refers to a holiday that is perceived to exist mainly for commercial reasons, rather than to celebrate a traditionally significant religious or secular event. Although many people view these celebrations in a negative way, others have positive views. On the negative side, hallmark holidays don’t really celebrate an important event, and only exist for companies to make a lot of money.  On the positive side, the term describes the perfect holiday in which family, friends, and fun come first.  Everyday problems, worries, and stress can be put aside.  Valentine’s Day, which is celebrated on February 14, is usually considered to be one of the hallmark holidays.

In Valentine’s Day billions of cards are sent. It is also an opportunity for customers to buy chocolates, flowers, engagement rings, romantic dinners, and so on.  This commercial aspect can be traced back to the 19th century when printing technology improved to cheaply mass-produce greeting cards.  But the origin of the celebration is much more ancient and can be traced back to a Roman festival called «Lupercalia» which was held in mid-February every year.  The celebration purified new life in the spring. Around the third century A.D., the holiday became associated with Saint Valentine, although it isn’t exactly clear how.

Historical Origin of the Celebration

A popular explanation of the link between Saint Valentine and the Holiday says that at the time of the Roman «Lupercalia» Festival marriage was a common tradition, but when Claudius became Emperor he changed all of that. He outlawed all marriages because he was afraid that men would refuse their duty to fight because they would not want to leave their wives behind. Young couples still fell in love though and still wished to marry and they took these desires to the Catholic Bishop Valentine who, understanding love, began to secretly marry couples. When Claudius found out, he arrested Valentine and sentenced him to death. While waiting in prison, Valentine began exchanging letters with the prisoner’s daughter and soon had fallen in love with her. The day he was to be beheaded, he wrote her one last note and signed it: «From Your Valentine».

In 496 A.D. Christianity had taken over Rome and Pope Gelasius outlawed the pagan Lupercian Festival. Knowing it’s popularity, he looked to replace it with something more «appropriate» and set aside a day in February to honor the martyr St. Valentine. Even though in 1969 the church removed St. Valentines Day from it’s a calendar of «official» holidays, it is still widely celebrated today. And although Valentine’s Day has become quite commercial, it still contains an important aspect shared by all of the best holidays – time spent thinking of and being with the one you love.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!

The English Group

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Trucos para el examen writing del FCE- Exam preparation tips – FCE writing

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Top Exam Preparation Tips- FCE Writing

  • Here’s how to achieve a Grade A in your Writing!

At The English Group we often see our students struggle with the writing paper of the FCE exam. It can be the hardest part to practice.  However, our team of native experienced  teachers and Cambridge exam experts are here to provide you with advice! 

Here are our top tips to improve your written English and achieve a higher score in the

Cambridge First exam!

Keep a correction log

Writing down your mistakes will help you identify your common errors. It could be prepositions, verb agreement, perfect tenses… Once you have a good insight on your weaknesses, it´s easier to know what to revise! Keep a log with columns and add:

-the mistake

-the type of error i.e spelling, tense, word order ..

-the corrected word/phrase

-another example to check you can use your corrected version in the right context

 

 

Learn a new word as part of a whole structure/phrase

As soon as you learn a new word or expression, make sure you write it down as part of a full sentence or within a context, so that you know how to use it correctly. Practice using it straight away and personalise it! If you write a sentence that applies to your life and is true to you, you will remember the word/ expression a lot more quickly!!

Understand the task and who is the target reader

Read carefully the question, underlining key words and identifying who is your target reader. Who will read this? Should I use a formal or informal register? How should I structure this writing?
There are various FCE writing tasks including
– essays
– letters or emails
– reports
– articles

Time Management

The two tasks require the same amount of words, and therefore you should spend about 40 minutes on each. Spend enough time planning- Once you´ve got a detailed plan, you are half-way there! Spend:
-10 minutes planning
-25 minutes writing
-5 minutes checking

 

 Keep a mental checklist of what the examiner is grading you on 

You need to understand how the examiner grades you! Keep a mental checklist of the 4 things the examiners base their score on:

  1. Content – Did you answer the question? Is your writing relevant?
  2. Communicative achievement – Is it easy to read your text? Will the reader understand your ideas? Is the register too formal, too informal, or just right?
  3. Organisation – Have you structured your writing with clear, logical paragraphs? Have you used ´linkers´ to link together paragraphs, sentences and ideas? Is your text easy to follow in a logical flow from start to finish?
  4. Language – Did you use FCE-level vocabulary, add style with context-related words, or did you use basic words? Did you make lots of grammar and spelling mistakes?

Keep a notebook for essay ideas, opinions and topic vocabulary

One reason why students struggle with the writing paper, is that they haven’t got enough ideas and they have «Blank Page Syndrome».
Keep a notebook with different topic sections, and for each section, add opinions, ideas and topic-related vocabulary. Share ideas with your classmates. Remember examiners don’t mark you on originality- they base their score on your language, content, structure, register and style! No- one is expecting you to come up with a new opinion or a unique idea!

Now it’s OVER TO YOU!

 

¡Ven a Conocernos y Mejora tu Inglés ya!

Somos un centro internacional y acreditado del British Council con 20 años de experiencia, especializado en la enseñanza de idiomas, y la preparación de exámenes oficiales Cambridge.  Dirige su oferta a las personas interesadas en aprender, mejorar y reforzar sus conocimientos de un idioma.

En The English Group, nos comprometemos a garantizar una calidad suprema- clases reducidas e impartidas por profesores nativos, que cuentan con experiencia en la enseñanza de la lengua inglesa.

 

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Curiosidades de la Navidad- Christmas Curiosities

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Christmas Curiosities

  • Christmas Trees

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce.

 

 

  • Rudolph the Red–Nosed

It’s a debate that has been raging for years.

Scientists previously thought Rudolph’s red nose was due to an excess of blood in the vessels supplying the reindeer’s nasal passages, caused by the exertion of pulling a heavy load – Santa’s sleigh and his sacks of gifts.

 

  • Christmas colors

For hundreds of years, red and green have been the traditional colors of Christmas. … Green, for example, represents the eternal life of Jesus Christ, just as evergreen trees remain green the whole winter long. Likewise, red represents the blood shed by Jesus Christ during his crucifixion.

  • Mistletoe

The tradition of hanging it in the house goes back to the times of the ancient Druids. It is supposed to possess mystical powers which bring good luck to the household and wards off evil spirits. It was also used as a sign of love and friendship in Norse mythology.

  • Christmas socks

Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that is hung on Saint Nicholas Day or Christmas Eve so that Saint Nicholas (or the related figures of Santa Claus and Father Christmas) can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins or other small gifts when he arrives.

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