Part 1: Reading Changes are coming to the CAE! All exams starting from 1/1/2015 will be in a slightly different format. Please use the menu above to navigate to the relevant information for your exam. Below you will find my tips for each part of the reading paper. Download a practice test and try them out! CAE Reading Part 1

1. Read the title and look at any pictures to get a general idea of the subject and style of the piece. 2. Before you read the piece, read the question stems (just the questions, not the

answers). Identify the key words and then find the part of the text that is relevant to each question.

3. Read the piece quickly but pay close attention to the part of the text that has the answer to the

question.

4. The answer will be found in the text, it will not be based on your general impression of

it. Eliminating obviously incorrect answers will help you choose the correct one. CAE Reading Part 2

1. Read the title and look at any pictures to give yourself a general idea of the subject and style of the piece.

2. Read the article at a quick pace. Try and remember the topic of each paragraph, but pay special

attention to anchors (logical connecting words, pronouns, and time clauses). A word like so indicates a logical progressionlook for a reason something happened; these refers to

something in a previous paragraphfind them; afterwards refers to a progression of timewhat

happened before?

3. Read the paragraphs to be inserted in the text. Notice the content, but pay special attention

again to anchors.

4. Dont insist on completing this part of the test in order! Some of the paragraphs are easier to

match than the others. Answer the easy questions first and cross them off your question sheet

when they have been used.

5. Always check that the paragraphs match the text before and after them.

6. If the last paragraph doesnt seem to fit, take a minute to check your other answers. One of

them may be wrong as well and you dont want to miss two questions. CAE Reading Part 3

1. Read the title and look at any pictures to get a general idea of the subject and style of the piece. 2. Read just the question stems (not the answers) of the first two questions. 3. Now start reading the text until you find the part that answers the first and second questions.

4. The questions are in the order of the text, so you can use the question stems to locate the exact

part of the text that will provide the answers. Only when you have found and read the relevant

part of the text carefully should you read the answer choices and select the one that matches

the text.

5. Continue reading question stems, finding the relevant text and choosing your answer based on

the text. Breaking the text into smaller pieces will make it easier to find the answers. They can

all be found in the text, you will never be required to just choose what feels right. CAE Reading Part 4

1. Quickly look at the title and look at any pictures to give yourself a general idea of the subject and style of the piece, dont read the text until you have analysed the questions.

2. Read the questions carefully and underline the key expressions in each one to help focus your

mind on what you are reading for.

3. Try and remember these key expressions as you read the text at a reasonably fast pace. Some

of the answers will be obvious as you read, fill in your answer sheet as you go along.

4. Be careful that your answers match all of the information in the question. Sometimes the

question will be looking for more than just one criteria so you need to be careful. 5. Go back to the unanswered questions, look at the key expressions you underlined and try to

remember which area of the text had material related to them. When you are scanning the text,

try to keep several questions in mind at once to make more efficient use of your time.

Part 3: Use of English Changes are coming to the CAE! All exams starting from 1/1/2015 will be in a slightly different format. Please use the menu above to navigate to the relevant information for your exam. Below you will find my tips for each part of the use of English paper. Download a practice test and try them out! CAE Use of English Part 1

1. Read the text quickly to understand the topic, style and tone of the piece.

2. Now read again and try to guess what word might fill the gap without looking at the proposed

answers.

3. Pay close attention to the words before and after the gaps, they will determine what words can

and cant be used.

4. Now look at the answer choices. Select any answers that you guessed and then read the

sentences carefully, before and after the gaps, to help you make your choice.

5. Do not spend too long on this part, it is very confusing and more time usually doesnt help you

get more correct answers. CAE Use of English Part 2

1. Read over the entire text once quickly. Take note of the topic, the style and the opinion of the

writer.

2. Now read it again more carefully, filling in the gaps and paying close attention to the words

before and after them.

3. If you dont know what the missing word is, read the whole sentence again carefully and identify

what function it has: is it a pronoun? an auxiliary verb? part of a phrasal or prepositional

verb? part of an expression? Analyse the sentence to find out what is missing. CAE Use of English Part 3

1. Quickly read the entire text to notice the topic, style, tone and attitude of the writer. 2. You must understand the context of the sentences because there is usually at least one word

that must be made negative.

3. After you have changed the word, read the sentence again to check that it makes sense and the

grammar is correct (does the word have to be plural?). CAE Use of English Part 4

1. Part 4 requires a bit of creativity. Sometimes it may help to work on this part for 5 minutes, then

do a different part, and then come back to Part 4 with hopefully a fresh perspective.

2. Read the three sentences forming the question and identify what part of speech the word is, it

will be the same part of speech in all three.

3. Write the words that come to mind when you read each sentence. Try to think of as many ways

as you can to fill each gap.

4. Look for similarities among the words you chose for each sentence. Sometimes a word will

work for two sentences but not for three, this is why you must read and try and complete all

three sentences.

5. If you dont find the answer right away, do a different exercise and come back. Sometimes a

little time is all you need to find it. CAE Use of English Part 5

1. This is the most difficult part of the Use of English paper. Make sure you allow at least 15

minutes to complete it. Take your time, be methodical, analytical and careful.

2. The questions are each worth two points, you get one point for using the key word correctly and

another for identifying the remaining grammar or vocabulary needed to complete the sentence.

3. Read the two sentences and compare them. Underline everything in the first sentence that is

given in the second sentence, this will show you the part of the sentence to be transformed.

4. Look at the key word and identify the role it will play in the transformation. The other part of

your answer is usually part of a phrase or expression that is a way of restating the information

you identified as needing to be transformed.

5. Use the parts of the second sentence before and after the gap to help you remember the words

you need.

6. You can get one point for half of the correct answer, so always write something on the answer

sheet!

Part 4: Listening Changes are coming to the CAE! All exams starting from 1/1/2015 will be in a slightly different format. Please use the menu above to navigate to the relevant information for your exam. Below you will find my tips for each part of the listening paper. Download a practice test and try them out! CAE Listening Part 1

1. Quickly read the first line above the question to understand the context of the conversation you are about to hear.

2. Use the preparation time to identify and underline the most important information in the question

stems (not the answers), then quickly read the answer choices. 3. Read the underlined information again before the conversation begins.

4. The questions may not be answered in order in the conversation, so concentrate on both

questions as you listen.

5. Select an answer (even if you are not sure) after you hear the recording the first time and then confirm it or change it after the second time. CAE Listening Part 2

1. Quickly read the introduction at the top of the page to familiarise yourself with the context of the text.

2. Use your preparation time not just to read the text, but to guess what word or type of word will fill each gap. Even general guesses like a place, a person, a length of time like 2 weeks or 4

months, a date, a title, a job, some sort of hobby, etc. will help you identify the answer when you hear it.

3. The questions will be answered in order by the recording, always try to anticipate the next

question.

4. The text on the question sheet will be paraphrased in the recording, but the answers will be the

words actually used by the speaker.

5. Make sure your answers are gramatically correct in the context of the sentences on the

question sheet (Does this answer need to be plural? Does it need an article? What tense does this verb have to be in?). CAE Listening Part 3

1. Quickly read the task introduction to learn the context of the recording. 2. Read the question stems carefully (not the answers yet) and underline the most important

information. The recording will answer the questions in order, so it is important that you know

when the questions are being discussed.

3. Skim the answers as quickly as you can, but it is quite likely you wont have enough time to read

them carefully.

4. As you listen, identify the question you are waiting to answer and the part of the conversation

that contains the information you need.

5. Mark possible correct answers as you hear the recording for the first time then listen closely to

the relevant sections to confirm your answers the second time. CAE Listening Part 4

1. Remember that there are two tasks you must complete as you listen to the recording. All five

speakers will be heard once before the recording is repeated.

2. Quickly read the introduction and the headings of the columns. Context is extremely important in this part so you must clearly understand the situation and the nature of the two

tasks. Underline the important expressions in the headings for tasks one and two.

3. As you read through the possible answers,dont focus on those words but try to think of words

or expressions which are related to the ones in the columns. It is highly unlikely that you will

hear the exact words that are written on the question sheet in the recording. So you should try

to think of how those words might be described.

4. Dont be afraid to choose more than one possible answer as you listen to the speakers the first

time. Decide between them as you listen again. Copying your answers to the answer sheet

1. Answer every question! No answer gets the same score as an incorrect answer, but with

multiple choice questions you can sometimes guess correctly.

2. Be careful in Part 2 to check your answers for correct grammar. If your answers are not

gramatically correct or are misspelled, they will be marked wrong. Dont lose points because

you are in a hurry. This is the last part of the test, you can relax once the answer sheets are

collected.

Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Part 4: Speaking The speaking test is a test of communication. You dont have to speak quickly, you dont have to hurry your answers, and you dont have to worry about your accent. To get a good mark on

the speaking test you need to produce relevant, informative answers to the examiners questions. It is very important that you listen carefully to the examiner and read any material you are given carefully as well. Test format and marking: two candidates take the speaking test together, in most cases the candidates do not know each other. There are also two Cambridge representatives in the exam, the interlocutor and the assessor. The interlocutor will ask questions and interact with the candidates while the assessor will not interact or say anything, he or she will be giving marks in the following categories:

Grammatical Resource: measures the range and accuracy of simple and complex grammatical

structures

Lexical Resource: measures the range and appropriacy of vocabulary

Discourse Management: measures the ability to logically connect phrases to form coherent and

relevant answers to the tasks

Pronunciation: measures the ability to form intelligible speech, includes stress and intonation as

well as individual sounds

Interactive Communication: measures the ability to take an active role in the development of

discussions by taking time to speak and also inviting others to speak One final mark will be given by the interlocutor:

Global Achievement: measures the overall effectiveness in responding to the tasks in the

different sections of the speaking test Download the practice test and look at the script for the speaking test. You can clearly see the important instructions because they are written in bold in the script. Pay careful attention and follow the instructions and you will get a better mark! Parts of the speaking test: Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Speaking Part 1 (2 minutes) Candidates will each be asked questions about themselves. Topics will be home, work, school, hobbies, habits, interests and future plans.

Be relaxed and natural. Smile. Be the kind of person who is nice to have a conversation with!

Give honest answers even if you think they are not good. Your opinions and lifestyle are not

part of the marking criteria.

Dont give one-word answers! The examiner will not ask you follow-up questions.

Give complete answers. Because should be your favourite word in this part of the test.

Listen to your partner, you may be asked the same question and you dont want to repeat their

answer. Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Speaking Part 2 (4 minutes) Candidates will be shown three pictures and they will have to speak for one minute about two of the images. They are asked to compare the pictures and answer two questions

about each one within the time limit. Candidates will also have to answer a short question about their partners pictures.

Time management is very important for this task. One minute is not a long time!

Look at the script for the practice speaking test, the time begins after the interlocutor says All

right? and they will indicate the time is finished by saying Thank you.

You want to begin your answer as quickly as possible, but often the pictures are not really easy

to talk about and you dont know what to say. A good, easy, and reliable way to begin is to

repeat part of the interlocutors words. He or she will say (check the speaking test script and youll see this is written in bold), Here are your pictures. They show XYZ. Blah blah blah, blah blah blah. All right? Now you can say, All right. These pictures show XYZ and Id like to talk

about this one and this one. You can point to the pictures, its not necessary to describe them.

Just above, I wrote that the interlocutor will say Blah blah blah, blah blah blah. All right? If you

look at the speaking test script from the practice test download page, youll notice that all of the

blah blah information is written on the page with the pictures, but the XYZ summary is not.

So you can concentrate on the summary statement because the other questions are written

down for you.

Please do NOT simply describe the pictures! No part of the instructions asks you to say what

you see in the picture. This is the biggest and most common mistake that candidates make on

this part of the speaking paper.

The key part of the instructions is the word compare. You want to be speaking about both of

the pictures when you are answering the questions at the top of the page.

Here are some good answers: In the picture where the people are ___, they seem ___. But in

the other picture, where they are ___, I dont think they are as ___ as in the first picture. Theyre

probably ___ because they are ___ but in the first picture they dont have to worry about ___.

But in general, I think they people in both of the pictures are ____. Each sentence makes a

very clear comparison between the images.

These answers dont make comparisons: In the first picture, the people are doing ___. They

probably feel ___. In the second picture, the people are doing ____. They probably feel ___

because of ___. While the information about the pictures can be different, there are no explicit

comparisons made and so the score in this section will not be as high as it could be.

Here are some other simple comparative words or phrases you can use: and, but, while,

whereas, although, on the other hand, compared to, just like, contrary to, on the other hand. Pay attention as your partner completes their task and listen carefully to the question you are

asked about their pictures so you are able to give an original, informative and relevant answer.

Practice Part 2 of the CAE with me! Visit the CAE Quick speaking test page for more information.

Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Speaking Part 3 (4 minutes) Candidates have a task to complete together without any input from the interlocutor. A written topic with a number of ideas will be provided (see the practice test for examples) and candidates will have to discuss them, give their opinion, and make a decision.

Turn your chair to face your partner. This will provide a physical reminder of what is important in

this task, which is to interact with your partner.

Start the task with a question about one of the ideas to your partner, you should be trying to

involve your partner and respond to what he or she is saying during this task.

Discuss all of the ideas until the interlocutor asks you to make a decision. You will have about

two minutes to discuss the ideas and then about one minute to decide which is the best/most

important/etc. You are not required to actually agree about the decision, but you should say why

you have made your choice. In fact, if you reach agreement before the time limit, it makes it

difficult to continue the discussion, you can always change your mind if your partner agrees

with you too quickly.

If your partner talks too much: you can still receive a good mark if you use appropriate phrases to interrupt them. Can I make a point? Id just like to say Excuse me, but I have to disagree

If your partner doesnt talk at all: you can still receive a good mark if you encourage them to speak and give them time to answer.

Remember, this is an interactive task and you must demonstrate your awareness of how to

participate in a discussion Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Speaking Part 4 (5 minutes) The interlocutor will collect the paper with the ideas and join in the discussion on the general theme from part 3. The interlocutor will ask questions and the candidates should share their opinions about the questions and each others answers.

This part of the test is like a normal conversation with the people sitting at the table with you. In

part 1, each candidate had their own questions. Now, the questions are to both of you, and you

will have to take turns answering.

Dont dominate the conversation, the other candidate deserves a turn to speak as well.

Give your honest opinion and dont hesitate to react to what the other candidate says. The end of the test The interlocutor will say, Thank you. That is the end of the test.

Thank the interlocutor and the assessor and leave.

Dont ask your score.

Dont say, Oh my god, Im so glad thats over!

Behave like you are at a job interview, go outside before you stop taking the test.

Take a quick or a full practice speaking test with me: visit the Do a Speaking Test page for details.

Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Part 3: Listening Below you will find my tips for each part of the listening paper. Download a practice test and try them out! Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Listening Part 1

1. Quickly read the first line above the question to understand the context of the conversation you are about to hear.

2. Use the preparation time to identify and underline the most important information in the question

stems (not the answers), then quickly read the answer choices. 3. Read the underlined information again before the conversation begins.

4. The questions may not be answered in order in the conversation, so concentrate on both

questions as you listen.

5. Select an answer (even if you are not sure) after you hear the recording the first time and then confirm it or change it after the second time. Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Listening Part 2

1. Quickly read the introduction at the top of the page to familiarise yourself with the context of the text.

2. Use your preparation time not just to read the text, but to guess what word or type of word will fill each gap. Even general guesses like a place, a person, a length of time like 2 weeks or 4

months, a date, a title, a job, some sort of hobby, etc. will help you identify the answer when you hear it.

3. The questions will be answered in order by the recording, always try to anticipate the next

question.

4. The text on the question sheet will be paraphrased in the recording, but the answers will be the

words actually used by the speaker.

5. Make sure your answers are gramatically correct in the context of the sentences on the

question sheet (Does this answer need to be plural? Does it need an article? What tense does this verb have to be in?). Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Listening Part 3

1. Quickly read the task introduction to learn the context of the recording.

2. Read the question stems carefully (not the answers yet) and underline the most important information. The recording will answer the questions in order, so it is important that you know

when the questions are being discussed.

3. Skim the answers as quickly as you can, but it is quite likely you wont have enough time to read

them carefully.

4. As you listen, identify the question you are waiting to answer and the part of the conversation

that contains the information you need.

5. Mark possible correct answers as you hear the recording for the first time then listen closely to

the relevant sections to confirm your answers the second time. Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) Listening Part 4

1. Remember that there are two tasks you must complete as you listen to the recording. All five

speakers will be heard once before the recording is repeated.

2. Quickly read the introduction and the headings of the columns. Context is extremely important in this part so you must clearly understand the situation and the nature of the two

tasks. Underline the important expressions in the headings for tasks one and two.

3. As you read through the possible answers,dont focus on those words but try to think of words

or expressions which are related to the ones in the columns. It is highly unlikely that you will

hear the exact words that are written on the question sheet in the recording. So you should try

to think of how those words might be described.

4. Dont be afraid to choose more than one possible answer as you listen to the speakers the first

time. Decide between them as you listen again. Copying your answers to the answer sheet

1. Answer every question! No answer gets the same score as an incorrect answer, but with

multiple choice questions you can sometimes guess correctly.

2. Be careful in Part 2 to check your answers for correct grammar. If your answers are not

gramatically correct or are misspelled, they will be marked wrong. Dont lose points because

you are in a hurry. This is the last part of the test, you can relax once the answer sheets are

collected.