FCE

WRITING GUIDE
Structure
Text type definitions
Writing useful phrases
Samples & activities
Assessment scale
Avoiding repetition
Formal & Informal Language
Punctuation rules

FCE Paper 2 Writing

How to pass the Cambridge
First Certificate Writing Section

6. Writing essays
Introduction and tips (Writing essays)

ANSWER THE QUESTION

PLAN your essay
REVISE your essay to correct mistakes.
4 or 5 PARAGRAPHS, with Introduction and Conclusion
The first paragraph should be a general introduction to the subject
Develop your arguments in the middle paragraphs
Give reasons to support your argument
Use a variety of discussive words and phrases
Give examples where possible
Use formal language
Don't use contractions (we're, I've etc.)
Sum up your argument in the final paragraph
The final paragraph is the best place to express your opinion clearly.

Useful Phrases (Writing articles)

Presenting two advantages or disadvantages together:

not only but also

not only but also

Presenting two opposing views:

on the one hand, on the other hand

Expressing Contrast:

21

nevertheless
even so
even though
however
in spite of
despite
but
although

[Link]

Writing essays

FCE Paper 2 Writing

How to pass the Cambridge
First Certificate Writing Section

Expressing results:

because of this
therefore
thus
as a result
for this reason
consequently

Giving examples:

such as
like
for example
for instance

Expressing the opinion of someone else:

some people say

some people say that
many people say
many people say that
people often say
it is said
it is said that
according to

Sample Questions (Writing articles)

1. You have done a project on transport in your English class. Your teacher has
asked you to write an essay giving your opinions on the following statement.
Because cars are so convenient public transport has no future.

Write your essay in 120-180 words in an appropriate style.

2. You have had a discussion on fashion in your English class. Your teacher has
asked you to write an essay, giving your opinions on the following statement.
Young people never want to dress the same as their parents
Write your essay in 120-180 words in an appropriate style.

22

[Link]

Writing essays

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LETTER OF APPLICATION & COVER LETTER

Cover letter
Many employers will ask you to write to them or phone them for an application form and
further details when they advertise jobs. Sometimes you will be asked to send your CV or
resume.
Your CV or curriculum vitae lists your educational and career history and is a useful
summary for an employer of all your educational and employment achievements up to the
present time. You must always ensure that it is up to date.
A covering letter may then be very useful because you can enclose it with your CV or a
completed application form. In your covering letter you can draw attention to particular
information which you wish to highlight. Such a covering letter might look like this:
Dear Mr Sorefoot
Fashion Shop Manager
Please find enclosed my completed application form for the above position.
As you will see from my form, I have ten years experience with Bates Retail
as a Fashion Shop Manager.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you will be able to invite
me for an interview. I can be contacted at any time by phone, fax or email
at work or at home. I would very much welcome an opportunity to discuss
my application in greater detail and convince you that I am the right person
for the job.
Yours sincerely

Frances Slimwaist

If you have filled in an application form you do not need to send a CV because all the relevant
information should be on your form.

Letter of application
If you are responding to a job advertisement you may be asked to write a letter of application.
This is the letter which lists all your work experience and qualifications and should also
explain why you want the job.
Structure:
Greeting
Dear .......... ,
Introduction
Begin your letter by telling the reader where you saw the advertisement:
I am writing to apply for the post of Fashion Shop Manager advertised in
the 'News Shopper' of 14 February 2002.

Main body
(2nd paragraph) You would then go on to list your experience and relevant qualifications:
I have worked in the retail industry for a total of ten years, first as a sales
assistant in a department store and for the last three years as a Section
Head and Deputy Manager at Jones the Bootmaker.

(3rd paragraph) You might then go on to mention the particular abilities and skills that you
have:
I believe I have all the skills, knowledge and expertise that you are looking
for. I have lots of retail initiative, can schedule and prioritise tasks and can
work to strict deadlines. I also work particularly well with people and would
enjoy leading the team and working with clients and customers.

(4th paragraph) Say why you are particularly interested in this job:
I am applying for this position as I am looking to progress from junior to
senior management. I have always been interested in the latest fashion
trends and developments and I believe your organisation is a well-run
quality fashion business. I would very much like to work for your company.

Final paragraph
(Final line)You might then close the letter with the following formula.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you will be able to invite
me for an interview.

(Closing) Close the letter

Yours faithfully
Your sincerely
[Link]

7. Writing reports
Writing reports

Introduction and tips (Writing reports)

ANSWER THE QUESTION
PLAN your report.
Make sure you have at least 4 paragraphs.
Every paragraph should have a heading which explains what the paragraph is about.
You first paragraph heading will be INTRODUCTION and your last, CONCLUSION or RECOMMENDATIONS
Use formal language.
Use impersonal language: the 3rd person, it constructions and/or the passive voice:
Do not use contractions.
Try to make recommendations in the final paragraph.
REVISE your report to correct mistakes.

Useful phrases (Writing reports)

Headings - to include:
Introduction
Subject of each paragraph
Conclusion or recommendation(s)

Introductory Paragraph:
The aim of this report is to outline and to make some recommendations on...
This report outlines (the issues, etc)
This report is intended to inform about.

Recommending:
You may wish to consider
It is therefore recommended that(present clause)
It needs
A conditional clause : (The museum, the club, etc) would have a brighter future if its (displays, facilities,etc)
were improved or If the opening hours could be extended and the prices reduced slightly, the new caf would
undoubtly be more popular with students.
It is clear that

Use of impersonal tone:

3rd person examples: (some examples have been taken from text act. 1 p. 44, a sample answer for act. 5 p. 45)
The lack of choice puts many
students off using the caf

There is nowhere to sit

comfortably...

The majority of the people claimed

that...

The opening hours are too

limited...

The tables and chairs in the present

caf are old and basic

These explanations are

difficult to read...

It constructions examples:
It could be argued that

It appears that

It can be seen that

It is clear that

It was found that

It seems that

It is doubtful that

It is widely accepted that

Passive voice examples

If possible, this needs to be reviewed

Vegetarians feel that they

are not being catered
for...

The (museum, the club, etc) would have a

brighter future if its (displays, facilities,etc)
were improved

The opening hours could

be extended

25 |

Adapted from: [Link] FCE Paper 2 Writing How to pass the Cambridge First Certificate Writing Section

FCE & CAE- Writing

Cohesion and avoiding repetition
[Link]

This lesson shows you different ways you can improve the cohesion of your writing
and avoiding repetition killing two birds with one stone. These are extremely
important skills to master and the good news is that much of the language you
need here is simple language. Simple is very often best.

See how it works

This paragraph is a model of how you should write your sentences and paragraphs
so that they are cohesive and avoid repetition. As you read it, you should see there
are different ways I link my sentences together. Most of techniques have something
in common in that I use a word in every sentence that links back to something that
has come earlier. What this means is that the readers finds it easier to follow my
argument, because as they read they can make the connections between my
sentences. This is cohesion. You might also notice that I tend not to repeat words
very often, but that I do choose words with a similar meaning which is also
something you should aim to do. There areseveral different ways I achieve this.
Perhaps the most important one is by the use of pronouns which are among the
most common words in English. Although you should also not forget about using
synonyms and different word forms two more advanced language skills.

Think about pronouns

Pronouns are words such as:

he/she/it
this/that/these/those
one
both
The way these words work is that they refer back to something already mentioned and
replace that word. So used well, they help you avoid repeating words and link your writing.

Former/latter/respectively/such
These words work in much the same way and are typical of more academic writing.
You should note:

former and latter are used with the

such is typically used with a word following it: e.g. such a case

There and then

Another way you can use this type of linking language is when you are writing
about times and places. The key words here are there and then, though you can
also use at that time and in that country

Synonyms
This is a key technique. The idea is that you dont repeat the word, you use another
similar word or phrase. Very often, you will need to use phrases and not individual
words to do this well.

Change of word form

Sometimes it is often enough to change the form of the word from a verb to a noun
or a noun to an adjective. By doing this, you are showing how you can use
language flexibly. You should note that when you are learning words, you should
learn the different forms of the words (see my academic word list exercises for
more on this).

Read more: Cohesion and avoiding repetition | [Link]

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FCE & CAE WRITING

FORMAL & INFORMAL ENGLISH
[Link]

Formal English: We use it when writing essays for school, cover letters to apply for jobs, or
emails and letters at work.
Informal English: We use it with friends, children, and relatives.
The following list will help you to recognize the informal and formal ways of saying the same
thing. The list is divided into sections of: verbs, transitions, emphasis words, abbreviations, and
slang.
Verbs Informal & Formal
Informal

Formal

say sorry

apologize, apologise

go up

increase

go down

decrease

set up

establish

look at

examine

blow up

explode

find out

discover

bring about

cause

put off

postpone, delay

rack up

accumulate

make up

fabricate

Informal

Formal

stand for

represent

find out

discover, ascertain

leave out

omit

point out

indicate

go against

oppose

get in touch with

contact

Its about

It concerns, Its in regards to

need to

required

think about

consider

get

obtain

put up

tolerate

deal with

handle

seem

appear

show

demonstrate, illustrate, portray

start

commence

keep

retain

free

release

get on someones nerves

bother

Informal

Formal

ring up

call

show up

arrive

let

permit

fill in

substitute, inform

block

undermine

give the go ahead, greenlight

authorize, authorise

Transitions Informal & Formal

Informal

Formal

Anyways

Nevertheless

Plus/Also

Moreover/ Furthermore

But

However

So

Therefore/Thus

Also

In addition, Additionally

ASAP

as soon as possible/at your earliest

convenience

Okay, OK

acceptable

In the meantime

In the interim

I think

In my opinion,

Informal

Formal

In the end,

Finally

To sum up

In conclusion,

In a nutshell/Basically

To summarize,

Anyway,

Notwithstanding

All right

Acceptable

Well,
To top it all off,
On top of it all,
In order to

Emphasis Words Informal & Formal

Informal

Formal

lots of/ a lot of

much, many

tons of, heaps of

large quantities of, a number of

totally

completely, strongly

really, very

definitely

Letter Expressions Informal & Formal

Informal

Formal

Hi Robert,

Dear Sir or Madam

Just wanted to let you know

I am writing to inform you

Love,

Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully,

Cheers,
Yours Truly, Best regards, kind regards
Hope to hear from you soon

I look forward to hearing from you

You can call me if you need anything

Please do not hesitate to contact me

Abbreviations Informal & Formal

Informal

Formal

ASAP

as soon as possible

T.V.

television

photo

photograph

cell

cell phone

net

Internet

Slang Informal & Formal

Informal

Formal

Informal

Formal

kids

children

bad

negative

good

positive

really big

considerable

right

correct

wrong

incorrect

smart

intelligent

cheap

inexpensive

loaded

rich

PUNCTUATION RULES
1. Use capital letters:
a) At the beginning of every sentence.
b) For proper nouns, abbreviations of proper nouns, names of languages and nationalities,
days, months and the pronoun I.
Dont use capital letters for other words.
Example:
On Monday and Wednesday Juan and I go to our English class at the University of Seville. Our
first exam is going to be in February.
2. Use a period/full stop, question mark or exclamation point/mark at the end of every
sentence (only one per sentence). Dont put a question mark or exclamation point/mark at
the beginning of the sentence. Dont join sentences with commas.
Examples:
Incorrect:
- Where did you go on holiday?!!!
- We went to Kenya, the weather was good, we went on a safari, we took photographs of the
wild animals. It was very exciting!
Correct:
- Where did you go on holiday?
- We went to Kenya. The weather was good. We went on a safari and took photographs of
the wild animals. It was very exciting!
3. Dont end a list of words or a sentence with suspension points.
Examples:
Incorrect:
I saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower,Versailles. . . when I was in Paris.
I had dinner with my parents, my grandparents, my brother . . .
On the flight you can drink coffee, tea, Coke . . .
Correct:
I saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and Versailles when I was in Paris.
I saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles and other interesting places when I was in Paris.
I had dinner with my parents, my grandparents and my brother.
I had dinner with my parents, my grandparents and other relatives.
On the flight you can drink coffee, tea or Coke.
4. Dont put a comma after so or but in sentences like these:
Examples:
Incorrect:
I was hungry so, I ate a hamburger.
I wanted a hamburger but, I didnt have any money.
Correct:
I was hungry, so I ate a hamburger.
I wanted a hamburger, but I didnt have any money.
5. Put a comma when a) making lists
Example
I like playing tennis, listening to music and watching TV.

b) To separate adjectives when there are a number of adjectives before the noun
Example
Hes an enthusiastic, hard-working student.
6. Put a comma after for example, however, moreover, nevertheless, in fact, as a
result, later, therefore, all in all, generally, finally, in my opinion, etc. and after a
time phrase at the beginning of a sentence. Put a comma after Also and Besides if they
are at the beginning of a sentence.
Examples:
He was tired. However, he couldnt sleep.
He likes lots of sports. For example, he plays football, basketball and tennis and goes
swimming every week.
He was hungry. Also, he was very tired.
He was hungry. Besides, he was very tired.
In 2014, he left school and went to university.
7. Put a comma before and after a non-defining relative clause. Dont put a comma before
defining clauses:
Examples:
My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel (nondefining)
He gave me the letter which/that was in a blue envelope (defining)
8. When you put the subordinator at the beginning of a clause to introduce the main clause,
you
need to put a comma between the two clauses. When you put a subordinator between
two clauses to connect them, you should not use any punctuation
Examples:
Before he turned on the TV, he did his homework.
He did his homework before he turned on the TV.
When everyone in a family helps with the housework, they have a better relationship.
They have a better relationships when everyone in a family helps with the housework.
Sources: - [Link] rea de ingls (IDI)
- Compiled by author