FCE Writing an Article

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

FCE Writing Exam (part 2)

 Articles

Articles in First Certificate are usually written for English magazines or newsletters. The main thing is to make your articles interesting to read, and to give your opinions on the topic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q - Do I have to use British spelling?

• A - No. You can use American spelling.

• Q - How important is spelling and punctuation?
  
• A - You aren't expected to be perfect, but if a mistake stops the reader from understanding what you want to say, that's quite bad.
  

Q - How important is the word count? What happens if I write too many words?

Q - How important is the word count? What happens if I write too many words?

• A - If you do the task properly you will write the correct number of words. You won't lose marks if you write 5 words too many. Focus on writing what you have to write, and the word count will take care of itself. Don't waste time in the exam counting how many words you have written! 

What happens in China if you write over 190 words for FCE.

FAQ

Q - My handwriting is terrible! Will I lose points?

A - Just make sure a human can read it - if you are very messy, write a little bit slower. If you usually end up with lots of things crossed out - you need to plan better!

1. Look at the writing task and underline the points you MUST write about. 

2. Work in pairs: 

Tell your partner about one of your best friends. While speaking, answer the questions in the writing task opposite. 

You see this announcement in on your college notice board

3. Match the beginnings (1-9) to the endings (a-i) to give advice on how to write Articles.

a. answers the question.

b. in each paragraph.

c. make a plan.

d. looking at the type of magazine or newspaper you are writing for.

e. is suitable for your readers.

f. the effect on your readers.

g. who will read the article.

h. will find interesting.

i. your plan.

1. Before writing, identify 

2. You can identify the readers by

3. Decide what style

4. Write things you think your readers

5. Before writing the article

6. In your plan, decide what you will put

7. Make sure that the plan

8. Write the article following

9. While you are writing, think about

4. Read Luis's plan below and match the notes for his plan (a-d) with the paragraph numbers. 

Para. 1 ........................

Para. 2........................

Para. 3 ........................

Para. 4 ........................

a. How we became friends - same school, playground, visit each other's houses

b. My first impressions of Thea - contrast with other kids

c. When I met Thea on school bus

d. Why so special - Share secrets, help each other, spend time together, sit together

An article should have a title

Notice the adverbs. You will get higher marks if you use a range of vocabulary.

Instead or using the same word again, use different words with similar meanings. eg. shy - timidly

Good to have a small joke at the end!

You are going to write your own article to answer the writing task on slide 5. 

Before your write: 

• decide on a title for your article which will encourage people to read it.
• decide how many paragraphs you need, the subject of each paragraph and write a short plan.
• think about some vocabulary you can use. 

When you are ready, write your article using between 140-190 words 

or >>>>>>>

Go to the next slide of how to pracice using the British Council site

https:

Visit the website at https://learn-english-exams.britishcouncil.org to access  

our Success in B2 First levels

To get started please take a few minutes to watch the website video before  

you log in. (log in details in your g-mail)

How LearnEnglish Exams works…

• There is advice, tips, strategies, model answers and practice exercises  

to help you in Listening, Reading, Use of English, Writing and Speaking.

• You can complete all the exercises or choose the parts of the exam you  

want to focus on.

• You can check your answers after each exercise.

• There is no time limit so you can take as long as you need and repeat the  

exercises as many times as you want.

• You will reflect on your learning and understand why you got something  

right or wrong and see how you can do better next time

• You will get advice for improving your English skills further

Good luck with your exam!

Extra tips for an article

see the link on the following slide.

https:

Common mistakes students make in articles

The language is too formal and more suited to essays. Avoid words like:

  to sum up, some people say, nevertheless, on one hand etc.

They don't use quotes or examples

They either use not enough, or too many, questions. The questions, called rhetorical questions because they don't require an answer, shouldn't be more than one per paragraph. 

Good examples are:

Have you ever ……..?

What do you think about ……..?

Are you one of those people who thinks that ……?

What would life be like if ……?

Will the future bring us ….. ?