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FCE- Introduction
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Paper 1- Reading and Use of English
- Introduction to the Reading and Use of English section of the FCE exam
- Developing reading skills: skimming, scanning, and reading for detail
- General Information and Tips- Reading and Use of English- Paper 1
- Tips: Part 7- Multiple Matching- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 7-Multiple Matching- Reading and Use of English
- Tips Part 4-Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips Part 4- Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 4- Key Word Transformations- Reading and Use of English
- Tips Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English
- Tips Part 3-Word Formation- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 3- Word Formation-Reading and Use of English
- Tips Part 5- Multiple Choice- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 5- Multiple Choice- Reading and Use of English-
- Tips Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English-
- Tips Part 2- Open Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips Part 2- Open Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- Practice Part 2- Open Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- General Overview and Tips- Reading and Use of English
- General Review- Reading and Use of English
- Paper 1 Practice- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze-Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 2- Open Cloze- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 3- Word Formation- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 4-Key Word Transformation-Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 4- Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 4- Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 4- Key Word Transformation- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 5- Multiple Choice- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 5- Multiple Choice- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English
- More Practice- Part 6- Gapped Text- Reading and Use of English
- More Tips and Practice- Part 7- Multiple Matching- Reading and Use of English
- Protegido: Sample Paper Test- Reading and Use of English
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Grammar
- Dynamic vs Stative Verbs- MN Video- Listening- Grammar Focus
- Dynamic vs Stative Verbs – Quiz – Practice Focus
- Verb + Gerund- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
- Verb + Infinitive- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
- Verb + Gerund/Infinitive- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
- Verb + Gerund/Infinitive- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
- The Use of Articles (a/an/the)- Reading and Writing- Grammar Focus
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Vocabulary
- Vocabulary development and strategies for word formation and collocations
- Vocabulary- Learning Tips
- Collocations- Part 1
- Collocations- Part 2
- Collocations- Part 3
- Collocations- Part 4
- Collocations- Part 5
- Prefixes and Suffixes- Part 1
- Word Formation -“-ed” vs “-ing”
- Phrasal Verbs (1): meanings and types
- Phrasal Verbs (2): Separability
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Paper 2- Writing
- Writing- Preparing for the exam
- Writing- Some Common Questions
- Writing- Dos and Don’ts
- Writing- How is FCE Writing Scored?
- Informal Letter/Email- Writing Guide
- Informal Email/Letter- Sample and Tips
- Informal Letter or Email-Tips/Sample questions and answers
- Informal Email/Letter- Sample and Practice
- Formal Email/Letter – Steps to Writing
- Letter of Application- Writing Guide
- Letter of Application- Understanding and Model
- Letter of Application- Sample and Practice
- Letter of Application-Writing Topics- Practice
- Formal and Semi-formal Letter/ Email- Tips and Samples
- Email/Letter General Writing Guide
- Article- Steps to Writing
- Article- Writing Guide,Tips and Sample Questions and Answers
- Article- How to Write an Article- Video
- Article- Writing Topics- Practice
- Essay- Writing Guide
- Writing Essays for the FCE- Types and Organization
- Essay- Writing Guide, Tips and Sample Questions and Answers
- Essay- Tips and Samples
- Essay- Samples,Tips, and Practice
- Review- Writing Guide, Tips, and Sample Questions and Answers
- Review- Steps to Writing and Tips
- Review- Tips and Sample
- Review- Tips and Sample
- Review- Sample Questions- Practice
- Report- First Steps to Writing a Report
- Report- Writing Guide
- Report- Writing Sample Questions-Practice
- Writing-10 B2 First Writing Exam Tips
- Writing- B2 First Writing Checklist
- Protegido: Writing- B2 First Writing Sample Paper Test Parts 1 and 2
- Writing Essays- 5 most common mistakes
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Paper 3- Listening
- FCE Listening- Introduction and General Tips
- FCE Listening- Do’s and Dont’s
- FCE Listening Tips- Part 1- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 1- Multiple Choice
- FCE Listening Tips- Part 2- Sentence Completion
- Listening Practice- Part 2- Sentence Completion
- Listening Practice- Part 2- Sentence Completion
- Listening Practice- Part 2- Sentence Completion
- FCE Listening Tips- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- Listening Practice- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- Listening Practice- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- Listening Practice- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- Listening Practice- Part 3- Multiple Matching
- FCE Listening Tips- Part 4- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 4- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 4- Multiple Choice
- Listening Practice- Part 4- Multiple Choice
- Protegido: Listening- Sample Paper Test 1
- Protegido: Listening- Sample Paper Test 2
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Paper 4- Speaking
- Varieties of English
- Speaking- Preparing for the exam
- Speaking- Some More Tips
- Speaking- Some Common Questions
- Speaking- Do’s and Don’ts
- Speaking- Examiners Comments
- Speaking- Exam Assessment
- Speaking Part 2- Exam Tips and Practice
- Speaking Part 2- Practice
- Speaking Part 2- Practice
- Speaking Part 3- Exam Tips and Practice
- Speaking Parts 3 and 4-Exam Tips and Practice
- Speaking Part 1- Exam Tips and Practice
- Speaking Part 1- Practice
- Speaking Part 1- Practice
- Speaking Exam Review
- Speaking Test Practice
FCE Listening Tips- Part 2- Sentence Completion
This is a task called sentence completion. On your answer paper is a text with ten gaps. You listen to a monologue for about 3 minutes and you have to put the missing words (or numbers) into the text. It looks like this:
You get a little time (45 seconds) to read through the text before the recording starts to play. The phrase will never be more than 3 words long.
Right, let’s take 5 seconds to guess some words that might fit the gap: mother / history / smell / nose / fluffiness.
(The last word is pretty unlikely to be the answer – the answers are all at FCE level.)
Here’s the transcript:
“Thanks for inviting me tonight. As you know, my main interest is in conservation and I’m lucky enough to work with lots of different organisations looking after animals both in captivity and in the wild. I’d been fascinated by all kinds of bears for a long time before I started working in this field. But it was the spectacled bear that really attracted me – some people find it appealing because of its size and shape, and it’s less well known than other types of bear, but for me I thought it was such a great name!”
So what do you think the answer is?
The important bit is at the end. ‘Some people find it appealing because of its size and shape… but for me it was such a great name!’ There’s our answer right there. Name. That wasn’t one of my guesses but that’s okay. We don’t guess to get the answer – we guess because it HELPS us get the answer.
The answer to the next question comes right after the answer to the first question, so you can’t waste time admiring your skills.
Quick predictions – arms / legs / ass – any part of the body really. Just don’t write ‘eyes’ or ‘cheeks’. Listen:
“The name comes from the patches of yellowish fur around the bear’s eyes which grow in a sort of circle shape, like glasses, although these golden markings vary greatly from one bear to another and may not be limited to the eyes – they can extend as far as the bear’s cheeks or even chest”
Some more Tips for Part 2
Never write more than 3 words.
If the answer is a number, you can write the number. 300 (or you can write three hundred), 1918, etc.
Be careful to read the whole sentence to make sure your answer fits grammatically. For example, if I wrote ‘name that interested her’ as my answer to the bear question, I wouldn’t get a point. It says ‘interested’ later in the sentence. See?
The second question always comes after the first question. There is normally one ‘paragraph’ for each question – if you look at some transcripts from past papers you’ll see what I mean. The first question is answered in the first paragraph – on the recording the speaker leaves a slight pause – then the next question is answered in the next section.
The sentences on your paper are different from what you hear on the recording. But the words you write should be exactly the same as what you hear.
Spelling isn’t super-important in this part of the exam, though if you spell something really incorrectly you could miss a point. Basically if it’s clear that you heard and understood the word, you should get a point. The only way to be REALLY sure of getting a point is to spell it properly!