Hello everyone! Today I want to help you understand how to succeed in your FCE writing exam. Let me share what examiners really look for when they mark your work.

First, you need to know about task completion. The exam has two parts, and you must write about 140-190 words for each task. In Part 1, you’ll write an essay about a topic that affects everyone. In Part 2, you can choose between different types of writing – maybe an email, a review, or a story.

The target reader is very important. For example, if you’re writing an email to a friend, you can use informal language. However, if you’re writing an essay, you need to use a more formal register. Maria asked me yesterday about this, and I explained that register means choosing the right style for your reader.

Let’s talk about organisation. James, you mentioned you sometimes struggle with paragraph structure. You should always plan your writing with clear paragraphs – an introduction, main points, and a conclusion. This helps with coherence, which means your ideas flow well together.

Cohesion is another key point. Ana, remember how we practiced using linking words like ‘however’ and ‘although’? These help connect your ideas smoothly. The assessment criteria show that examiners look carefully at how well you join your ideas together.

Time management is essential. You have 80 minutes to complete both tasks, so I suggest spending about 5 minutes planning each piece. Count your words at the end – the word count must be within the limits I mentioned earlier.

Remember, a good piece of writing needs careful planning, clear organisation, and the right language for your target reader. In our next session, we’ll look at some example answers together.