FCE: Pass the Writing Exam - How do the examiners mark your answer? PLUS FREE CHECKLIST

if you're studying for the first certificate exam without going to a language school or without a teacher then the writing exam is really difficult to study for what do you need to write how do you pass well in this video I'm going to show you how the examiners mark your answer and what exactly you need to do to pass make sure you stay till the end of the video where I'll give you a super helpful checklist that you can use to mark your own answers let's get started [Music] hi everyone my name's Anu and you're watching super easy f c/e the best place to be for weekly tips and tricks to pass the first certificate exam don't forget to subscribe and start learning all of my secrets today okay so there are four things that the examiner is looking for doing the writing without understanding these things it's kind of like trying to score a goal in football without knowing where the goalpost is it's impossible isn't it so today let's look at those four things they are content communicative achievement organization and language I'm going to show you an example question to help you understand you've received the following letter from an english-speaking friend thanks for inviting me to come visit you when I come to your city next month I'm not sure what kind of clothes to pack what will the weather be like when I get there could you write back with some suggestions also what's the best way to get around the city I'd prefer something that isn't too expensive reply to this letter from your friend here's the marking criteria as well it's content communicative achievement organization and language so let's look at content first the question tells you exactly what information you need to include you need to tell your friend about the weather next month suggestions on what clothes to wear and the best mode of transport that is also cheap if you include all of these ideas you will get some marks for content and that's easy isn't it however if you want full marks for content you will need to develop your answer have a look at these two examples the best mode of transport for you is to take the bus as it's the cheapest although driving is the fastest way to get around the city it is definitely cheaper to take the bus also it's quite difficult to find parking in the center so if I were you I would stick to the bus the first answer just tells you the fact and answers the question directly and this is okay you will get a few marks for content but if you want full marks you must develop it a little bit more you must give more information so that your friend reading the letter understands everything about the situation of course you don't have time to discuss all the modes of transport that's just too much content but you just need enough to explain why you chose the bus and not something else so next comes communicative achievement here you need to consider a few different things the first thing you need to think about is that you need to use the correct structure for every answer that you write so here for example the examiner wants you to write an informal letter so you must use the usual things that we use when we write letters a greeting like dear Jack and signing the letter with love or best wishes are all the things that I would expect when I read an informal letter from a friend talking about informal that's one more thing you want to do in communicative achievement the examiner also checks if your register is appropriate your register is whether your writing is formal or informal the question tells you that you are writing to a friend so make sure you don't use any formal expressions like DSA or madam or your sincerely now the third thing that you need to do is to have simple and complex ideas so this is quite difficult to explain so let me show you an example it's warm in England at the moment so you should bring some light clothes with you it's warm in England at the moment so you should bring some light clothes with you it could get a little chilly in the evening though so you might need a jacket or I could lend you mine the first answer only gives you a simple fact and writing about facts is quite easy isn't it but a complex idea will have intangible things gases speculation possibilities hypothetical situations and so on so using some modal verbs like could get a little bit chilly or might need a jacket or using conditionals unreal conditionals will help you to achieve top marks here okay the third one is organization here you need to show that your answer is easy to read with clear paragraphs try to only talk about one thing per paragraph in this question for example it would be best to talk about clothes and weather in one paragraph and then transport in another paragraph you'll also need to use some linking words the basic ones like and or but are just not good enough because you're doing a b2 level exam here's an example to show you this in action I won't be able to pick you up from the airport I have to work but I'd love to show you around at the weekend while I won't be able to pick you up from the airport due to work I'd love to show you around at the weekend both of these answers Express the same things but the second one links all the ideas together with while instead of but and do two to show a reason so linking your ideas like this will really help with your marks in organization finally let's look at language here you need to use a range of vocabulary so both everyday vocabulary the stuff you use everyday and more uncommon vocabulary the stuff that is related to the topic that you've been given you will need to use them appropriately for the best marks so I really do not recommend learning a list of really difficult words and then trying to use them just because you can use them you'll also need to try and use a variety of grammatical forms here are a few examples relative and adverb clauses passives their patterns modal's different tenses conditionals negative inversion and indirect questions let's look at two examples and I'll show you how language really makes a big difference by the way there is a festival in my town next month it celebrates the beginning of spring we can go there and watch the fireworks by the way there's an exciting festival in town next month which celebrates the beginning of spring I was wondering if you wanted to go watch the spectacular firework display with me now here you can see that we've used some good vocabulary like exciting festival instead of just festival and we've said spectacular firework display instead of the fireworks and this shows the examiner that you can comfortably use some more uncommon vocabulary they're not advanced vocabulary really they're just ambitious they're a little bit more uncommon you've also used a relative clause which celebrates the beginning of spring instead of starting a new sentence so in this way you've actually increased your marks for organization as well but your grammar which you're doing that with is actually quite good so they'll give you some marks for using that finally instead of just saying directly we can go there and watch the fireworks this person has used an indirect question I was wondering if you wanted to go watch now this is a fantastic piece of grammar looks quite easy but it is b2 level so by using this you're actually showing the examiner that you understand how to be polite and how to ask a question or make a suggestion in a really good way now remember that it's better to write using complex grammar points with small mistake than to write with only simple and easy sentences that are completely correct the examiner will not take your marks away if you make mistakes they will only look for mistakes that impede communication or make it difficult to understand your sentence here's a really good example of that if I had known about your trip earlier I would have taken some days off to show you around when you look at this mistake you know that they're trying to use your third conditional the meaning is really clear now unfortunately the student has made one small mistake instead of using known which is the past participle of no they've actually used knowned which is incorrect this word does not exist despite this the examiner will give you marks because the meaning is really quite clear and this is a b2 level answer so don't be afraid of making mistakes please don't be afraid of it in fact be afraid of being boring remember the examiner reads hundreds of writing answers and you need to be interesting and you need to show off all of the stuff that you've learned in the last few years okay so let's wrap this video up by looking at a summary of everything content is worth five marks and is given to you if you answer the question completely and you develop your answers communicative achievement also worth five marks is yours if you can write in the right register the right structure and use some intangible ideas in your answer like hypothetical things or possibilities organization also worth five marks is for making sure that you're writing in easy clear paragraphs one topic for each paragraph you also get marks for linking some ideas so make sure you're revising your linking words finally you get five marks for language you need to make sure that you can show off all of your vocabulary and your grammar remember be ambitious the examiner likes that don't be worried about making a few small mistakes that's completely normal I hope this video made the examiner's criteria super easy to understand did you like this video if yes give me a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe by clicking the red button down below also I've got a checklist for you which you can use to make sure that you've done everything that the examiner wants if you'd like to download this click on the link in the description box below keep practicing and I will see you next time bye

Channel: English To Pass

Views: 41,297

Keywords: first certificate, fce, cambridge exam, english exam, learn english, writing tips, writing exam, how to pass, mark scheme, marking criteria, examiners, cae, ielts, pass the fce, supereasyfce, fce writing criteria, writing 2015, fce writing guide, fce writing markscheme, fce writing mark scheme, fce writing tips

Id: NL9XVTh08dA

Length: 13min 8sec (788 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 18 2018