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Cambridge Exams

Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English

The CAE or Certificate in Advanced English exam has five different sections (Paper 1- 5). Each section is awarded an equal weighting of 20% of the overall final score given to candidates. Candidates should prepare well for the exam using authentic Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) practice material as CAE is an advanced level English language proficiency test and therefore quite demanding in terms of language skills.

Certificate in Advanced English | Reading | Paper 1

Candidates have 75 minutes to complete this paper. There are a total of 50 questions divided among four reading texts which test a wide range of advanced reading skills. The reading material is gathered from magazines, articles, leaflets, brochures and non fictional books. There are a variety of different types of questions used in the reading section including: multiple choice, gap filling and multiple matching.

Certificate in Advanced English | Writing | Paper 2

The time limit is 120 minutes, during which time the candidates must complete two different tasks. Each writing task requires the candidates to write about 250 words. In part 1, candidates have to write a response to a written text. The response may be a letter or note of approximately 250 words. In part 2, there are normally four topics to choose from, one of them is usually related to work, and candidates must write a response of around 250 words.

Certificate in Advanced English | English in use | Paper 3

This section lasts 90 minutes and candidates have to answer 80 questions in total. The paper is divided into 6 different parts and tests the candidate's knowledge of grammar, register, punctuation and spelling as well as cohesion and coherence, or how well the language is used to connect different ideas and parts of a text to each other.

Certificate in Advanced English | Listening | Paper 4

The listening section of the test consists of between 30 and 40 questions divided into 4 parts designed to evaluate the candidates advanced listening skills. Typical questions in the listening section include: multiple matching, completion and multiple choice type tasks. With the exception of the second listening exercise, candidates hear each listening twice.

Certificate in Advanced English | Speaking | Paper 5

The speaking section of the CAE lasts around 15 minutes. There are normally two examiners (an assessor and an interlocutor) and during the interview candidates are tested on their social language, transactional language and their ability to negotiate and collaborate in English. The examiners use visual prompts for certain questions to which the candidates have to respond according to the task.

Certificate in Advanced English exam practice

Allowing sufficient time to prepare and plan for the CAE exam is essential, and becoming familiar with the format of each CAE Paper by preparing with authentic Certificate in Advanced English exam preparation material can help candidates to maximise their performance.

Cambridge Advanced English Exam Resources:

- CAE listening & speaking skills

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