WHAT DOES THE USE OF ENGLISH AND READING INVOLVE?

The use of English and reading part of the exam lasts for 90 minutes in total. You need to answer all of the parts of the text but you can do it in the order that you like (start with the parts you find easiest). For those of you who have done the FCE B2 exam, many of the parts will be familiar to you. You can look at suggested times for each part of the exam and the points they are worth in C1 exam help.

 

Part 1: Multiple choice in PDF C1 USE OF ENGLISH PART 1

1 POINT PER QUESTION

In this part of the exam there are 8 gaps in the text. You need to choose the best option of A-D. This is mainly a vocabulary based exercise; based on word patterns, phrasal verbs and fixed expressions. But there is an element of grammar with the use of relative pronouns, quantifiers and cohesive devices being important.

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Part 2: Open cloze in PDF C1 USE OF ENGLISH PART 2

1 POINT PER QUESTION

In this part the candidate needs to fill in the 8 gaps in the text with one word (there may be more than one option). It is mostly a grammar based exercise, focussing on modal verbs, auxiliary verbs, pronouns, connectives, quantifiers, comparatives but there are also elements of vocabulary with phrasal verbs, fixed expressions, idioms and contextual vocabulary. Spelling, grammar and punctuation (capital letters) are important.

GRAMMAR STRUCTURES – FREE STUDY MATERIAL IN PDF and ALSO OUR CHEAT SHEET OPEN CLOZE (PART 2) USE OF ENGLISH FOR THE FCE (B2) AND CAE (C1)

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Part 3: Word formation in PDF C1 USE OF ENGLISH PART 3  

1 POINT PER QUESTION

In this part of the exam the candidate is given the most basic form of a word. They need to change the prefix or suffix to make the word fit in the 8 gaps in the text. They need to focus on the word class (type), grammar (+/-) and spelling. The words must be spelled correctly and if a capital letter is needed, it must be used.

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FREE PDF

C1 PREFIX AND SUFFIX

 

Part 4: Transformations C1 USE OF ENGLISH PART 4 

2 POINTS PER QUESTION

In this part of the exam the candidate must read a sentence and then complete a second sentence with 3-6 words so that it has the same meaning as the first sentence. It is a text of grammar and vocabulary. Sometimes the sentence can be completed with only 2 words or more that 6 but these answers are not valid as the task stated 3-6 words.

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FREE PDF

CAE (C1) KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS

 

Try the deleting technique. You take the sentence transformation, for example:

You’ll have a great time no matter where you go

REGARDLESS      You’ll have a great time ________ where you go

YOU MUST CONSIDER WHAT IS THE SAME IN BOTH SENTENCES AND THEN DELETE WHAT IS THE SAME IN THE FIRST SENTENCE

You’ll have a great time no matter where you go

REGARDLESS      You’ll have a great time ________ where you go

YOU ARE LEFT WITH NO MATTER AND ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS THINK OF THE SYNONYM FOR IT.

Answer: regardless of

 

Follow up activity(110 EXPRESSIONS FOR KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS FOR THE CAE (C1)): You should write down the answers and the commpn vocabulary. These are almost always synonyms. Write them in a list like…

put up with = tolerate

so that = in order

as long as = provided that

 

Part 5: 2 POINTS PER QUESTION

In this part of the exam the candidate needs to read the extract of a text (usually an article or a novel). They must answer 6 questions A-D. It is important to highlight the key part of the text and analyse the grammar and vocabulary to discard the incorrect answers.

 

Part 6: 2 POINTS PER QUESTION

In this part of the exam the candidate must read 4 short texts (usually reviews). They have 4 questions about the texts and they need to say which text each question refers to. Two of the questions are easier because they tell you where to look, do these two first. You can repeat options (A-D). YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT THE OPTIONS A-D CAN REPEAT!

 

Part 7: 2 POINTS PER QUESTION

In this part of the exam there are 6 paragraphs missing from a text. The candidate has 7 options (A-G), what they have to do is fill in the gaps in the text. One of the options is not to be used and you cannot repeat. The candidate should focus on vocabulary and grammar around the text and especially sequencing words. To check answers the candidate should reread the text with the gaps filled. What the candidate should do is read the text just for a general understanding of the text, we call this reading for gist. Then they should look before and after the gaps for clued and specific words, then compare them to the options A-G. Key words can include pronouns, connectors, determiners and subject vocabulary. There are always two easier ones to answer, try to find them and then work from there. IT IS ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT IF THERE ARE TWO VERY SIMILAR OPTIONS A-G. ONE OF THEM WILL BE THE EXTRA ONE.

 

For example:

41. A or D

42. B or F

43. E

44. F

45. G

46. A

 

A great way to improve your reading is by doing extensive reading and of course reading frequently, this will help you to understand texts and unfamiliar vocabulary through context. Take a look at our Ebook on C1 IDIOMS

 

Part 8: 1 POINT PER QUESTION

In this part of the exam the candidate has 10 questions or statements and 4-5 texts to choose from. They need to scan read the text to say which text the questions refer to. Do not begin with the text, start with the questions and search for key information. An alternative option is to start with text A and then think of which question/statement might refer to it and then repeat with all of the texts, then you can go over the texts that you are unsure of and analyze the vocabulary to be able to discard incorrect answers.

 

47. C

48. A or D

49. C

50. B or C

51. D

52. A or B

53. C

54, B

55. A

56. A

 

A great way to improve your reading skills is to enhance your vocabulary. Check out our C1 level phrasal verbs Ebook HOW TO LEARN AND USE PHRASAL VERBS