WRITING TEST: TIPS

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Managing time and planning
3. Grading:
3.1. Content
3.2. Communicative achievement
3.2.1. Task types
3.3. Organization
3.4. Language use
4. Common mistakes
5. Writing Performance: Assessment Criteria (C1)

Exercise 1

1. Introduction

You have 100 minutes to write TWO texts:

- A proposal
- A report
- A review
- A formal/informal email/letter
- An essay

Here is one example from a previous exam:

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Each text should be about 220-260 words long (approximately).

Writings are assessed in terms of the following four aspects:

• Content - Did you do the task you were asked to do? Or did you talk about
something else? Did you make sense?

• Communicative achievement - Did you use the right tone and style?
Were you able to express both simple and complex ideas appropriately?

• Organization - Did you link ideas together? Is there a logical flow? Did
you use an appropriate structure?

• Language use - Did you use a wide range of vocabulary and grammatical
structures? Did you make any mistakes?

These aspects are explained in more detail below, and the assessment criteria
for C1, which examiners use to evaluate candidates, is provided in Section 5.
For now, to illustrate what is meant by an advanced (C1) level writing, take a
look at this video.

2. Managing time and planning

Recall that you have 100 minutes to write two different types of texts. Both texts
will be about the same length and both are worth the same number of points. This
means that students should spend the same amount of time on each.

Instead of starting to write right away, spend some time planning what you
actually want to convey and think about how you want to structure your
text. This is important since examiners will assess the content and organization
of your manuscript. Therefore, take a few minutes to plan what you are going to
write about in each paragraph (use a spare piece of paper). For example, if you
have to write an essay, structure it to include: an introduction, a main body and a
conclusion, and briefly write down what you intend to include in each section:

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Paragraph 1: introduction – present the topic you have been asked to discuss
Paragraph 2: address content point 1 in some detail
Paragraph 3: address content point 2 in some detail
Paragraph 4: conclusion

This will surely make the essay flow better, which is one of the aspects that
examiners will take into account.

Some students think that planning is a waste of valuable exam time. But do chefs
walk into a kitchen and just start cooking? Of course not - they lay out their
ingredients, make sure their utensils are clean, and have their recipe nearby.
Your plan is the recipe you will use to cook up a great piece of writing. Even at
this early stage, you should start planning the language you want to use. Ask
yourself questions like:

• How do I link ideas from one paragraph to the next?

• Where can I use a passive form, an inversion, a relative clause, etc.?
• What C1-level vocabulary do I know about this topic, and where can I use
it?

3. Grading

The minimum score students need to obtain to pass this part of the exam is
6 points.

Let us now see in more detail the different criteria in terms of which texts are
assessed:

3.1. Content

The first thing that students are assessed on is the content of the text. This
means that you need to read the task carefully, make sure you understand what
you are asked to do, and cover all content points. To illustrate, let us take a
look at the following example:

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If you wish to get all of the content points, you have to make sure that your essay:

> Focuses on ways in which tourism can be made more environmentally friendly.

> Adequately develops the topic by discussing in some detail TWO out of the
three options given. In this case, you should explain which option is more
effective, giving reasons to support your view.

From the list of ways you are presented with, consider those you are most familiar
with. For example, if I were planning my answer, I would probably talk about
“supporting conservation projects” and “limiting the number of visitors”, because
I feel that I have more to say about those topics from my own experience, or
because it is easier for me to make something up about these two aspects. So,
once I have decided to zoom in on these issues, how much would I write about
“using vehicles that run on renewable energy”? Nothing! Because I should only
write about two things. I would then make sure that I clearly state which one I
think is more effective and I would back up my opinion with a couple of reasons
why I think this is the case.

Here is an example of what you should try to avoid. Imagine you have to write an
informal email to your friend Roman. This is the email he sent you:

For the content of your response to be adequate it should:

- Explain how the conference went.

- Explain whether you learned anything new.
- State whether it was worth it or not (probably as a conclusion)

Now, consider the following fragment of an answer:

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Hi Roman,

Great to hear from you too! Thank you for your interest in the conference. I was
indeed looking forward to it and the conference truly lived up to my expectations.

I took the red-eye to LA, which is where the conference was held, and I didn’t
sleep a wink. The man sitting next to me was super nervous because he hadn’t
flown before. The airplane started moving and the man kept asking me: what’s
that noise?!, what was that?! - I tried to calm him down, but nothing seemed to
work. After panicking for an hour, he swallowed a sleeping pill and eventually,
when he nodded off to sleep, I was able to have some peace and quiet.

Now, when I got to the conference the next day…

In this case, a whole paragraph has been used to talk about something that is
completely off-topic. This is precisely what you should avoid.

3.2. Communicative achievement

Communicative achievement focuses on whether the candidate has used an

appropriate tone and style. For example, which is better: Hey, dude, what’s
up?! or To whom it may concern/Dear Sir or Madam…? Well, it depends on who
you are talking to. If it is TASK 1 above (section 1) you are dealing with, you
should use a formal register. If you are writing an email to a close friend like
Roman, you can be informal. Thus, whereas essays, formal letters/emails,
reports and proposals require a formal tone and style, an email to a friend can be
much more relaxed. In turn, reviews allow for a degree of creativity and informality
if what you are discussing is a movie, a book, or a concert for a magazine, for
example.

What you should keep in mind here is the following: be consistent - students
often write a report that is 95% formal, and then they throw in some exclamation
points, slang, contractions, and informal vocabulary. The same applies to other
text types. For example, if you begin your email to your friend with “Hi Mark”, do
not end it with “yours faithfully”. That is, please avoid inconsistencies of this kind
because it suggests you do not have control over your tone.

For more information, take a look at this video and consider the following list of
examples.

3.2.1. Task types

First of all, you should make sure that you understand the differences between
the various writing tasks that you will be dealing with (e.g. an email vs. and
essay). Here are a few tips:

▪ ESSAY:

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 o An essay should be well-organized, with an introduction, a clear
development and an appropriate conclusion.

o Essays are academic in tone and require formal writing.

o The main purpose of this type of task is to underline relevant salient

issues on the stated topic, and to support an argument with reasons.

o An essay should hold the reader’s attention. It should also communicate

complex ideas using an appropriate range of vocabulary and structures.

o Task example:

▪ LETTER/EMAIL

o Emails and letters are written in response to the situation outlined in the
task.

o The target reader can vary greatly, but the addressee will be specified in
the question (e.g. a friend, the editor of a newspaper, an organization,
your manager, etc.). Thus, register and tone will depend entirely on the
target reader. Whichever the case, register and tone must be consistent.
For example, in an informal email it would be inappropriate to use an
opening like “To whom it may concern”. Conversely, in a formal letter it
would be fully inappropriate to use exclamation marks, contractions, etc.

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 o A good letter/email should have an appropriate opening, a closing phrase
and clear paragraphing. The first paragraph should outline the purpose
for writing.

o Letters/emails may include a narrative element which details personal

experience; others may be more concerned with giving factual
information.

o Task examples:

▪ PROPOSALS and REPORTS are similar in a number of ways:

o Both are factual and are written in a formal style. Both express opinions,
evaluate a situation, list reasons and/or make recommendations.
Proposals and reports are clearly organized under headings. Finally, the
target reader in both cases is usually someone in a higher position of
authority (e.g. your manager, the town council, etc.). The difference
between them is that reports look towards the past, whereas proposals
focus on future actions.

o Students should know how to make polite recommendations and

suggestions, and how to use a range of persuasive language.

o Task examples:

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▪ REVIEW

o A review may be about a book, magazine, film, play or concert; it may

also be about a product or a service.

o Reviews are clearly organized into paragraphs. The introduction should

state the event, book, service, etc., under review. There should also be
a recommendation to the reader at the end.

o A review 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. Language to express opinion, with justification
should be used. That is, candidates are expected to make use of
appropriate adjectives, and know how to describe, explain, give an
opinion (positive or negative), as well as make a recommendation.

o The target reader is specified in the task, and candidates should use this
information to decide the appropriate tone and style.

o Task example:

3.3. Organization

The next question you should ask yourself is the following: is my text clear and
logically organized? If you connect your ideas, readers will be able to follow
along easily. The way to achieve this is by means of cohesive devices such as
but, because, since, when, however, moreover, it may appear, as a result, due
to, consequently, in fact, in other words, in conclusion, thus, therefore, firstly,
secondly, first of all, finally, etc. Properly used, they will make your writing flow
and your text will be easier to read. If you jump from one idea to another without
connecting them, readers will be confused and your arguments will be weakened.
At this level, a wide variety of cohesive devices should be present to link
ideas in a logical progression.

- Coherence.

- Coherence and cohesion.

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3.4. Language use

Now that we have made sure that the content, format, register and organization
of the text are appropriate to the task, we can focus on language use. This
includes vocabulary and grammar.

In the planning stage of the exam, think about which more sophisticated words,
fixed expressions/collocations, phrasal verbs, etc., you know for that topic, and
think in which paragraph you can use them (do make sure that the language
you use is appropriate for the task!). For example, if the topic is about transport
you might use phrases like 'mass transit system', 'to commute', and 'congestion'.
Another interesting tip to boost your vocabulary is the following: avoid repeating
the same word over and over. For example, instead of using the verb ‘to say’
three times in the same text, can you think of any suitable synonym or near-
synonym? How about ‘convey’, ‘claim’, ‘argue’, ‘express’, etc.? In addition, you
also need to use a wide variety of formal structures like passives, relative clauses,
inversions, etc. The more, the better… but make sure you use them accurately
(at least most of them).

In sum, at this level, candidates are not only expected to make an appropriate
use of a broad range of vocabulary (including less common lexical items),
but they should also employ a broad range of simple and complex
grammatical structures with accuracy – See how I used “not only”… “but
also…”?

4. Common mistakes

At this level, candidates may automatically receive a failure if mistakes of the

following kind are repeatedly encountered (especially, those highlighted in bold):

- Third person singular without ‘s’ → *He work at a restaurant (He works)

- Incorrect verb tenses → *Yesterday I go to the bank (I went)

- Subject-Verb agreement → *The girlS has been talking about…. (The girls
have been) / *This situationS (These situations) /*Everybody have
(Everybody has)

- Omission or repetition of subject referent → *The park it is very nice (The park
is)

- Errors in question formation → *What she was eating? (What was she
eating?), *Are you agree? (Do you agree?), *How is cooked the fish? (How is
the fish cooked?)

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Here is a list of additional basic mistakes that should be avoided:

1. Word order:

*Even though at the beginning of the course occurred many problems, finally
all went well → Even though at the beginning of the course many problems
occurred, it all went well in the end

*The option more effective would be → The more effective option would be

*I always have received → I have always received

*Nevertheless, it wasn’t everything perfect → Nevertheless, everything wasn’t

perfect

2. Fixed expressions:

*Taking in account → Taking into account

*Looking forward to hear from you → Looking forward to hearing from you

*Apart of this → Apart from this

3. Adverbs:

*He was very patient with us, he explained all very clear, thus the course has
been very effective → He was very patient with us and he explained everything
very clearly/and everything was explained very clearly

4. Punctuation and linking:

*He was very patient with us, he explained all very clear, thus the course has
been very effective → He was very patient with us and he explained everything
clearly. As a result, the course was very effective

5. Non-sensical ideas:

*In this case, it is possible that to achieve to choose one project would be easy,
due to all the people work in similar tasks…

6. Spelling:

*The project will be choosen → will be chosen

7. Invented words:

*It was very well organized and the ponents → the speakers

8. Omission or incorrect use of the definite article the:

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 *The people think → People think

*Taking into account the cost of service → of the service

9. Agreement:

*Other people was speaking about → Others/other people were talking about

10. Prepositions:
*I was waiting to the end of the conference for make some questions → to ask
some questions

11. -ing:

*Have you ever wondered whether carry out a volunteer scheme…? →

carrying out

12. Omission of object:

*If you are interested in, don’t hesitate to… → Interested in what?

5. Writing Performance: Assessment Criteria (C1)

 The writing task (“Prueba de Expresión Escrita”) is assessed in terms of

the following aspects:

▪ Content focuses on to what extent students have addressed the

topic adequately.

▪ Communicative achievement is determined by the use of the

appropriate register and the ability to express ideas appropriately.

▪ Organization refers to the arrangement of ideas in a logical,

coherent and ordered fashion.

▪ Language use focuses on vocabulary and grammar.

The following is the specific assessment criteria that examiners will use to score
candidates’ writing performance:

CONTENT
The content should be relevant to the task, although, at this level, partial
omission of content may be present. This means that candidates should show

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an adequate development of the topic and, ideally, the topic should be fully
addressed instead of just partially.

Non-sensical content is penalized

COMMUNICATIVE ACHIEVEMENT
Candidates should write their reports, proposals, reviews, essays, emails, etc.,
in an appropriate style. For example, if the assignment is “an informal email”, the
candidate is not expected to use a formal style (e.g. To whom it may concern).
In addition, candidates should be able to express both simple and complex ideas
appropriately.

ORGANIZATION
Texts should be well-organized and coherent. A wide variety of cohesive devices
should be present to link ideas in a logical progression. Punctuation should also
be correctly employed.

By cohesive devices we mean:

- Linking words or connectors like and, but, because, since, when, where, after,
etc.

- Discourse markers like moreover, it may appear, as a result, due to,

consequently, in fact, in other words, in conclusion, thus, therefore, firstly,
secondly, first of all, finally, etc.

LANGUAGE USE
- Vocabulary: candidates are expected to make an appropriate use of a broad
range of vocabulary, including less common lexical items (i.e. more sophisticated
vocabulary).

- Grammar: candidates are expected to use a broad range of simple and

complex grammatical structures (e.g. relative clauses, passives, inversions,
conditionals, etc.) with control and flexibility.

-Errors: only occasional errors may be present. By occasional we mean that they
may occur now and then, instead of being systematic. Errors should not impede
communication.

EXERCISE

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Decide which assessment criterion does the comment relate to and try to
give an explanation of what is expected from a candidate at this level in
each of the criteria:

Assessment criteria:

A. Content
B. Communicative achievement
C. Organization
D. Language

1. Your writing is very accurate but you need to try and use a greater range of
vocabulary.

2. You have ordered your ideas well and used a number of different ways of
linking them.

3. You forgot to give a suggestion about what they could do during the day.

4. Remember you are writing to close friend – some of the language you have
used is very formal.

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KEY

1. Your writing is very accurate but you need to try and use a greater range of vocabulary.

(Note that this candidate is accurate, but at this level, candidates need to also show a wide range
of grammatical structures and vocabulary to achieve the level, including words that are not so
common)

2. You have ordered your ideas well and used a number of different ways of linking them.

(Organization includes how a candidate structures his/her ideas, so that there is a connection
from one idea to the next. At C1, candidates are expected to do this competently. Organization
also covers paragraphing and the use of linking words and structures to connect different sections
of the text. At C1, candidates should be able to use a range of these fairly appropriately and
effectively)

3. You forgot to give a suggestion about what they could do during the day.

(Content covers whether the learner has included all the main points, as well as how relevant the
candidate’s ideas are. At C1, candidates should be able to support their ideas and develop the
main points in a way that the reader is clear about the writer’s point of view, and is therefore fully
informed about the subject).

4. Remember you are writing to close friend – some of the language you have used is very
formal.

(At C1, candidates should be able to select and use an appropriate register, be consistent, and
communicate their ideas effectively)

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