EXAM INFORMATION The Cambridge First Certificate Examination in English has five papers:- Reading; Speaking; Writing; Listening

and Use of English. Each paper is worth twenty per cent of the total result. This means that if you get a bad mark in one paper, it is still possible to pass the exam by getting an above average mark in another paper. The pass grades are A (80-100 marks), B (75-79 marks) and C (60-74 marks). The fail grades are D (55-59 marks) and E (54 marks or below). Certificates are only issued by Cambridge for A, B and C grades. You need at least 60 marks to pass the exam.

The reading paper has three parts, and there is a text to read in each part with questions which are related to the text. All together there are thirty questions, and the type of texts could be chosen from newspapers, magazines, holiday brochures, advertisements, advertising leaflets, letters, text extracts from books (fiction or non-fiction). So its a good idea to read anything and everything you can in English before the exam. You have one hour in the exam to answer all of the questions. 1. Multiple Choice Part 1 consists of a text followed by eight multiple choice questions. Each question has four options, A,B,C or D. This part tests the understanding of content and text organisation. 2. Gapped Text Part 2 consists of one text from which seven sentences have been removed. You have to decide from where in the text each sentence has been removed and put the sentence back in the correct place. Each sentence may be used only once, and there is one extra sentence that you do not need to use. This tests your understanding of how texts are structured. 3. Multiple Matching Part 3 consists of one long text or up to six shorter texts, preceded by fifteen questions. You need to find specific information which matches the questions. To do this, you need to understand detail, attitude or opinion in the question and find a section of text where that idea is expressed.

You must answer two questions in this paper. You have one hour and twenty minutes, and you are asked to write between 120 and 150 words in part 1, and between 120 and 180 words in part 2.

The paper is divided into two parts, and you must answer the question in part one. It is always a transactional letter or email, although sometimes it is formal and sometimes informal. In part one you are given information and prompts in the question, so you basically have to expand the information in the form of a letter or email in order to answer the question. In part two you have a choice. There are four questions and you have to answer one. The choices are : A letter (if the letter in part one was formal, this will be informal. If part one was informal, this letter will be formal. It maybe a letter applying for a job, for example). An article (for a school magazine, college newspaper etc.). A report. An essay. A short story A review A question on set books (not covered on this course)

Grammar - everybodys favourite! There are four different parts in this paper, and 42 questions altogether. You have 45 minutes to answer all the questions. Here are the four different parts: Part 1 Multiple choice cloze. A text with 12 gaps. You have to choose which is the best word for the gap from a selection of four words. The focus here is mainly on vocabulary (words with meaning like nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs). Part 2 Open cloze text. Similar to multiple choice cloze, but without the choice. 10 gaps in a text, and you have to think of a word to fill the gap. This mainly tests grammar but there could be some missing vocabulary too (think about auxiliary verbs, articles the, a, an, prepositions, pronouns, phrasal verb particles, conjunctions etc). Part 3 Word formation. Here you have a text with ten gaps. You are given a root word and you have to change it to a verb, adjective, adverb, noun etc. in order to complete the text. This tests vocabulary, prefixes, suffixes and compounds. Part 4 - Key word transformations. There are eight of these questions and you have to make a sentence which has a similar meaning as the one before, using the key word which is given in the question. You have to complete the sentence with between 2 and 5 words. This part tests grammar and vocabulary.

There are four parts to the listening exam, and thirty questions in all. You hear the listening texts twice and the exam lasts for about forty minutes. Expect to hear some different accents (Irish, Australian, American,

London, Scottish, Welsh etc.), and different texts (phone calls, lectures, radio programmes, quizzes, interviews, plays etc.). As with reading, it is a good idea to expose your ears to as much English as possible, and as much variety as possible, before the exam. Part One There are eight short extracts in the first part, and they are not connected. You have to answer a multiple choice question about each one. Each question has 3 options, A, B or C. You may be asked about how the speakers are related, how the speaker is feeling (angry, upset, exited etc.), the general subject of the text or the purpose of the conversation. Part Two Here you have to complete sentences and fill in missing information while you are listening to a monologue or conversation which lasts for about three minutes. Remember, you hear every text twice. Part Three You hear different people speaking about a related topic, and you have to match the speakers to written information on your question sheet. The different people speak for about thirty seconds each. There are 5 people and 6 options. There is one extra option that you do not need to use. Part Four This is a fairly long monologue or conversation which lasts about three minutes. You have to select answers to questions related to the text. There are 7 multiple choice questions and each question has 3 options, A,B or C. The questions follow the order of what you hear in the recording.

The speaking test has four parts and lasts for about fourteen or fifteen minutes. There are usually two exam candidates and two examiners. One examiner asks the questions and explains the tasks, the other sits in a corner and listens to your English. Part One - Introductions This lasts for three minutes, and the examiner will ask questions about where you are from, if you work or study, your family, hobbies and interests, future plans, likes and dislikes etc. This part of the test is supposed to help you to relax and stop being nervous. Part Two - Describing photographs This part lasts for four minutes, but this time you speak for a minute about two photographs. You compare and contrast the photographs, give your opinion and try to relate the photographs to your own experience. Your partner then comments on your photographs, and /or what you have said, for about twenty seconds. Then your partner speaks for a minute about two different photographs, and you comment after for about twenty seconds. Part Three This part lasts for about three minutes, and you should only speak to your partner. The examiner will tell you what to do, and you may have to discuss a photograph, talk about a

map, solve a problem, put things in order, choose the best, worst, most popular etc. Part Four This section continues the theme or topic from part three, and it is really a chat between you, your partner and the examiner. The examiner will ask you some questions related to part three and develop and widen the conversation. This part lasts for four minutes.