FCE Essay Writing: Learning from Common Mistakes

1 Introduction

Under exam pressure, even well-prepared students can make mistakes. However, the most significant errors often come from students who haven’t mastered the essential elements of essay writing. Let’s examine a response from Maria to understand common pitfalls that can occur when writing an FCE essay.

2 FCE Essay Writing Task

Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay on the following topic:

In your English class you have been discussing the impact of social media on teenagers. Write an essay using all the notes below:
• Effects on academic performance
• Impact on social skills
• Your opinion on whether social media access should be restricted for teenagers

Write your essay in 140-190 words in an appropriate style.

Maria’s Response:

In my opinion, social media is very bad for teenagers these days. Like they spend to much time on their phones and stuff.

Firstly, social media makes kids not do their homework good. When they should study, their always checking Instagram and TikTok instead. This is bad for there grades.

Second, kids dont talk to people in real life no more. They just text and use emojis. I think this is terrible because they cant communicate proper.

To conclude, I think social media should be banned for teenagers because its really negative. Parents should take away their kids phones and make them do other stuff instead.

(Word count: 165)

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:
– Format and structure
– Grammar and spelling
– Register and tone
– Task fulfillment
– Use of linking words