2. Part 1: Writing
- Visible paragraphs
- All prompts used
- Linking words used
- No contracted words
- No slang!
- Pay attention to the word count
- Complex grammatical structures used
3. Writing: Letter
- Appropriate beginning
- Appropriate sign-off
- Polite
- Pen-name used
- It’s almost never wrong to be more formal
- No irrelevant information
4. Sample letter
Dear Sir/Madam, 3 May 2011
I am writing to notify you of the problems that occurred with the i-
Phone purchased from your online shop a week ago.
Firstly, the screen of the i-Phone is not displaying colours correctly. In
addition to this, the camera captures strange colours.
Secondly, the on/off button is stuck. Consequently, there are no easy
ways to turn the device off.
Thirdly, the sound of the device is very tiny and quiet and there is little
chance of hearhing when a call or message is being recieved.
Furthermore, older recieved messages are inaccessible.
As manager of the shop you should take some action. If possible, I
would like a replacement or a refund for the damaged i-Phone
purchased from your store.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Mari Mets
5. Writing: Report
- Choose a style you prefer
- Clear, visible paragraphs
- Proper introduction
- Conclusion appropriate for the task
- Most formal of the writing tasks
- No repetitive pattern
6. Writing: Essay
- Each paragraph covers a topic
- Read the task carefully
- All prompts supported
- Punctuation
- What’s in the conclusion?
7. Remember to check for the
obvious
- u, i, its, it’s, whose, who’s, their, they’re etc
- Accommodation, misspell, argument, conscience,
definitely, embarrass, exceed, existence, harass,
independent, disappear, pronunciation, receive,
weird, choice
- Because of all this, ____ /In addition to that,____
- There is NO comma before that!
8. Part 2: Reading
Do not panic when seeing words you do
not know
At least one reading task is a lot more
difficult than others
Paraphrasing and playing with numbers is
often used to confuse you
9. Reading: Multiple choice
- Read the question carefully (are you
asked to make a prediction, a judgment
or a summary?)
- Just reading the first and last sentence of
a paragraph gives a good understanding
of it
- Often there is more than one hint about a
question in the text
- Never ever leave a question unanswered
10. Reading: Gap-fill + matching
- Before reading the text predict what it’s
about
- Look for key words and phrases
- Look for connections between pronouns
and other phrases
- Look out for words that show the order of
events (time, linking words)
11. Reading: True, false, no
information
! If ANY part of the statement is not true, the anwser is
False
! EVERY part of the statement must be true for the
answer to be true
- Choose true for statements with details and
qualifiers like ‘often’ and ‘usually’
- Choose false for statements that are shorter with
absolutes like ‘always’ and ‘never’
- When guessing always choose true because they
are usually more true answers than false
12. Part 3: Listening
- Use the time given to read the task
- Don’t be afraid to take notes
- Paraphrasing is often used to confuse you
- There may be several words that you
haven’t heard before
- ! They might use very similar structures but
have very different meanings
13. Part 4: Language structures
- Word formation: decide which type of
word goes into the gap
- Word formation: re-read the sentence to
make sure it makes sense
- Pay attention to the spelling
- Sentence transformation: don’t lose track
of the meaning of the sentence
- Sentence transformation: pay attention to
word count
14. Part 4: Language structures
- Gap fill: Pay attention to the task
(sometimes you need to change the
words also)
- Extra word: Read the task (how many
correct sentences?)
- Extra word: Re-read the sentence to see if
it still makes sense!
15. Part 5: Oral exam
- Know the procedure
- To take notes or to not take notes?
- To record the interview or to not record?
- What to say, what to wear?
- How to maximise your score?
16. On the exam day
Be there at least 25 minutes early
Bring water and candy
Bring your very best handwriting
Bring an ID of some sort
For
the oral exam: Be there 20 minutes
before your assigned time slot
