Cambridge English - P2 - Week 1 - Essay writing

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• mavo, havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 4

CAE - P2 - Week 1

Today's Lesson

Essay  writing

Homework

Introduction: Writing

• You have 90 minutes to write two texts. 
• Each text should be about 220-260 words long (see the Questions section at the bottom if you have concerns about the word count). 
• Part 1 is always an essay, while in part 2 you have a choice of 3 tasks (letter/email; proposal; report; review).

The examiners assess you on 4 elements:

• Content - Did you do the task you were asked to do?
  
• Communicative achievement - Did you use the right tone and level of formality? Is it good to read? Can the reader understand you?
  
• Organisation - Did you link paragraphs together? Is there a logical flow?
  
• Language - Did you show off your sparkling C1 vocabulary or did you merely use B1/B2 words? Did you make lots of grammar mistakes?

Time management

You have 90 minutes to write 2 texts. Both texts will be about the same length, and are worth the same number of points.

Planning is important as it will structure you text and save time in the long run. 

Suggested time plan per text: 

• Planning - 10 minutes
• Writing - 25 minutes
  
• Checking - 10 minutes

The tone of an essay should be

1. informal
2. formal
3. neutral

WHAT IS A CAMBRIDGE ESSAY?

• Cambridge want to see that you can write an academic text in 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!

Tips

Cambridge loves linking words and cohesive devices. These are bits of text like 'firstly', 'whereas', 'in addition', 'however', and so on. Properly used, they will make your writing flow and make your text easier to read. 

! You can't do well in CAE without using these phrases.

You also need to vary the length of your sentences. 

Practise time

Open World page 20-21 - Writing Part 1 Training

Task 1: 

Read the Part 1 essay question

Discuss what you need to do with your neighbour(s)

Task 2: 

Look at the student's essay and answer the questions

Task 3: 

Write your own essay in answer to the task.  

Finished!

Well done, you have finished today's lesson. 

You practised your writing skills

See you next lesson!