Summary FCE exam

FFCCEE
FFiirrsstt CCeerrttiiffiiccaattee iinn EEnngglliisshh

WHAT DO THE AACCRROONNYYMMSS SSTTAANNDD FFOORR??
The First Certificate in English (FCE) is a
general proficiency examination at level B2 in
the Council of Europe's common European
Framework of Reference .

First Certificate in English
WHAT IS TTHHEE HHIIGGHHEESSTT SSCCOORREE??
Results Score
Pass at Grade A 80 to 100 Level
C1
Pass at Grade B 75 to 79
Pass at Grade C 60 to 74
Level B1 45 to 59
Fail 0 to 44

First Certification in English
WHAT IS THE SCORE NEEDED TTOO GGEETT AANN AACCAADDEEMMIICC
EEXXCCHHAANNGGEE PPRROOGGRRAAMM??
Grade A
Grade B
Grade C
Level B1
Level of English
needed for most
academic purposes

FFiirrsstt CCeerrttiiffiiccaattieo nin i nE nEgnlgislihsh
TTYYPPEESS OOFF EEXXEERRCCIISSEESS
The exam is divided into 5 sections:

HOW LLOONNGG DDOOEESS TTHHEE EEXXAAMM LLAASSTT??
APPROXIMATELY
FIVE HOURS
The exam may be taken on paper or by computer.

RREEAADDIINNGG
 Time allowed: 1 hour 15 minutes
 Number of parts: 3
 Number of questions: 30
 This section is worth 20% of the total score
 Lengths of texts: 550–700 words per text: about 2,000 words to read
in total
 Texts may be from: newspaper and magazine articles, reports,
fiction, advertisements, letters, messages, informational material
(e.g. brochures, guides, manuals, etc.)

RREEAADDIINNGG
PART 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE
- It’s a text with some multiple-choice
questions. Each question
has four options (A, B, C or D) and
you have to decide which is the
correct answer.
- What do I have to practice?
How to understand the details of a
text, including opinions and
attitudes
- How many questions are
there? 8

RREEAADDIINNGG::
PART 2: GAPPED TEXT
- It’s a text with some empty spaces
(gaps). After the text there are some
sentences taken from the text. You
have to choose the correct sentence for
each gap.
- What do I have to practice? How to
understand the structure and follow the
development of a text.
- How many questions are there?
7

RREEAADDIINNGG
PART 3: READING FOR
SPECIFIC INFORMATION
It’s a series of questions and a long text
or several short texts to read. For each
question, you have to decide which text
or part of the text mentions some
specific information.
- What do I have to practice? How to
find specific information in a text or texts
-How many questions are there?
15

WWRRIITTIINNGG
 Time allowed: 1 hour 20 minutes
 Number of questions:
Part 1: one compulsory question
Part 2: one question from a choice of five
 This section is worth 20% of the total score
 Types of task:
article, email, essay, letter, report, review, story

WWRRIITTIINNGG
PART 1: LETTER / E-MAIL
- You have to write a letter or email
using this information.
You may have to:
apologize, compare, describe, explain,
express opinions, justify, persuade,
recommend, and/or suggest
something.
-How many questions are there?
One compulsory question.
-How much do I have to write?
120–150 words

WWRRIITTIINNGG
PART 2: ARTICLE, ESSAY, LETTER,
REPORT, REVIEW OR STORY
-You have to write will be one of the following:
-an article, essay, letter, report, review or story.
-What do I have to practice?
Writing different types of text: articles, essays,
letters, reports, reviews
-How many questions are there? One
task to be selected from a choice of five.
How much do I have to write?
120– 180 words

UUSSEE OOFF EENNGGLLIISSHH
 Time allowed: 45 minutes
 This section is worth 20% of
the total score

PART 1: GAP FILLING. MULTIPLE
CHOICE CLOZE
- It’s a text in which there are some
missing words or phrases (gaps). After the
text there are four possible answers for
each gap and you have to choose the
correct answer (A, B, C or D).
- What do I have to practice? Vocabulary
- How many questions are there? 12

PART 2: GAP FILLING: WORD
PRODUCTION
- It’s a text in which there are some
missing words (gaps). You have to
find the correct word for each gap.
Grammar and vocabulary.
- How many questions are there?
12

PART 3: GAP FILLING:
WORD FAMILIES/ WORD
FORMATION
It´s a text containing ten gaps. Each gap
represents a word. At the end of the line
is a ‘prompt’ word which you have to
change in some way to make the correct
missing word and complete the
sentence correctly.
What do I have to practice?
Vocabulary, word building
How many questions are there? 10

PART 4: KEY WORD
TRANSFORMATIONS
- You will have a sentence followed
by a key word and a second
sentence which has a gap in it. You
have to use the key word to
complete the second sentence so
that it means the same as the first
sentence.
Grammar and vocabulary.
How many questions are there? 8

LLIISSTTEENNIINNGG
 Time allowed: about 40 minutes
 This section is worth 20% of the
total score

LLIISSTTEENNIINNGG
PART 1: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICE FOR DIFFERENT
SITUATIONS
Eight questions to test candidates’ ability to listen for gist in a series of
unrelated texts. The testing focuses spelled out in each question.

LLIISSTTEENNIINNGG
PART 2: LISTENING. SENTENCE COMPLETION
This part tests candidates’ ability to listen for specific words or phrases
focusing on detail and specific information. The test is presented in the form
of 10 questions. Candidates need to listen and complete the questions.

LLIISSTTEENNIINNGG
PART 3: LISTENING. MULTIPLE MATCHING
This part focuses on the skill of listening for general gist, detail, purpose,
attitude, opinion, etc. Candidates listen to five short texts with different
speakers, which are related in some way.

LLIISSTTEENNIINNGG
PART 4: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICE
In this part, the predominant focus is on testing the candidates’ ability to
listen for opinion, main idea, gist and specific info, and based on one
long test.

SSPPEEAAKKIINNGG
 Time allowed: 14 minutes
per pair of candidates
 This section is worth 20% of the total
score
 You have to talk:
- with the examiner
- with the other candidate
- on your own

SSPPEEAAKKIINNGG
Part 1: Interview (3 minutes)
You usually take the speaking exam together with one
other student.
Each of you will be asked basic questions about your
home town, family, work or study, leisure and future
plans.

SSPPEEAAKKIINNGG
Part 2: Individual tasks (4 minutes):
Each of you will be asked to compare two colour photographs and
compare and contrast them. (You will be asked to speak for 1 minute,
without any interruption).
You will also be asked to give your opinion about the other student's
photographs (you will be expected to speak for about 20 seconds).

SSPPEEAAKKIINNGG
Part 3: Joint task (3 minutes)
You will be shown some pictures. You will be asked to discuss these with
the other student and to argue your own point of view. Sometimes you will
be asked to agree on a conclusion, and sometimes you will be told that
you may make different decisions.

SSPPEEAAKKIINNGG
Part 4: Three-way discussion (4 minutes):
You will be asked to discuss (together with the other student and the
examiner) some ideas that are connected with the joint task.

CCEERRTTIIFFIICCAATTIIOONN

SSOOCCIIAALL NNEETTWWOORRKKSS https://www.facebook.com/CambridgeESOL

IF YOU NNEEEEDD MMOORREE IINNFFOORRMMAATTIIOONN::
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Summary FCE exam

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Summary FCE exam