FCE Essay Writing Task: Common Student Mistakes

1 Introduction

Under exam pressure, even well-prepared students can make mistakes. However, unprepared students often produce writing that fails to meet basic FCE essay requirements. Let’s look at Maria’s response to the task: ‘Is social media having a negative impact on teenagers? Write an essay discussing your views.’

2 FCE 'Essay' task – Poor Writing Example

In my opinion, social media is really really bad for teenagers these days. Like, they spend way too much time on their phones and stuff. I think parents should definately do something about it!

Firstly, social media makes kids addicted. They cant stop scrolling and checking their phones every 5 minutes. Its super bad for their brains and they dont study properly.

Secondly teenagers get cyberbullied on social media. This is when mean people write nasty things about them online. Also they see perfect bodies and faces which makes them feel bad about themselves.

To sum up, I think social media is the worst thing ever and parents need to take away their kids phones immediately!!! This will solve all the problems and make everything better.

3 How Many Errors Did You Spot?

Before we analyze this essay in detail, take a moment to identify the problems you notice. Consider these areas:
– formal register
– cohesion
– argumentation
– Basic punctuation and spelling
– Use of evidence and examples