>> Exam task Part 1 You attended a philosophy seminar in wnich the tutor suggested that all exams in schools and colleges be abolished. You have made the notes below. Abolish exams ‘+ Students are denied the enriching experience of learning because they are under too much pressure to pass the exam. ‘© Exams are not very effective because they test memory rather than intelligence += It's not a fair process; exam stress affects some students more than others. Not everyone performs well in exams. Other students in the seminar expressed their opinions: “But working towards the final exam often gives us the motivation we need in order to study.” "Exam-based assessment is a good way of figuring out whether @ student hao roally undorotood what thoy have been taught.” “Taking exams at schoo! and university Is actually a youd life skill because it trains us to plan, prepare and deliver.” Write an essay for your tutor discussing two of the points from your notes. You should ‘explain whether you think abolishing exams is a good idea and provide reasons to ‘support your opinions. ‘You may, if you wish, make use of the opinions expressed in the lecture, but you should use your own words as far as possible. >> Approach > Pay careful attention to the structure you use for your essay. You can follow these guidelines: Title: Always choose an appropriate title. A good essay title should leave the reader in no doubt as to the topic of the essay. The title should be relevant and, importantly, it should be concise. Introduction: Your openina paraaraph is your introduction. Begin by clearly stating the topic, then provide a brief outline letting the reader know what will be covered in the essay. Don't reveal your ‘own opinions in the introduction; wait until the main body of your essay. Main body: Remember, your task in this part of the exam is to discuss two of the points provided. You can certainly add to this as long as you do not exceed the limit of 260 words, but don’t submit an essay with fewer than two points discussed. Depending on how many key points you wish to include, ‘the main body of your essay can comprise two or three paragraphs but, ideally, not more, Dedicate ‘one paragraph to each point. Conclusion: Your final paragraph is your conclusion. This is where you should set out a balanced summary of the points you have made. In the essay, it's optional to present your own views on the ‘topic, but this is where you should state or restate your opinions if you do decide to include them. » The tone you adopt is important. Typically for an essay, it should be formal. An informal register is ‘not appropriate for this part of the exam. » Avoid losing focus in the pressurised environment of the exam by organising your thoughts before you begin writing. Having a plan in advance will ensure clarity and readability. Always keep the reader in mind as you write your essay. 194 Cambridge English: Advanced Writing bank>» Model answer Decide on a releva ‘nd obvious te for peer ‘Should exams be abolished? 5 The dea that exams should be abotshed in schools and colleges ie not iz Your opening In the introduction, somtence shoul |= anew an: this eoeay, | wil present: some of te arguments for and exabien Veco sloarly spell Guat against this suggestion which regularly arteesin education reviews, and. ——— ofthe easy ond state topic. consider the mpleations of each one. what the reader can expect _- First and foremost. many people feel that: exams set leavers at rE strong topie an unfair dleadvantage. This Is because some students ~ including sentence early in each excelent students ~ get very nervous and find i ficut to cope with [ Seger toy ee ‘new perapreph. ‘the pressures of the exam situation. Their ansety causes them to ———1 with examples or perform so poorly thatthe test isnot afair measure of chet knowledge and hard work. ln spite ofthis, Ia generally agreed that exams are an important preparation for fe, and we all eed to manage streea. Use passive reporting Meine Goh eK Feople also question the value of exams as an accurate measure of $2. fe thougliayrocn Inteligence. Ie to argued tha simply memurtoing infurmetin des W possible, include argued that. for Not prove that. a learner has meaningfully engaged with a subject. A ———1 statistics or quotes to ‘aeneral opinions. tmonliay canhe trained to memorice things lea eantiment often veicad. | bring your sea0y to ie, While thio may be true, the question is what could effectively replace = ‘exams. The most common option put forward is that of continuous ~~ [We.0 good idea to assessment based on ut the: coffee coUrieeronn Use yourcondding issesement by coursework submitted throughout the year. fee courier betel paragraph to briefly Bteriosripa ts eae Allin all opinions are stil divded about the value of exams as a form of ‘and to record an assecoment, but the majority opinion isin favour of retaining exams outcome, in schools ard colleges. While the exam system certainly has flaws, surmaniy abolishing cs not a Mable option. Akey point to note is ... ‘On the other hand ... Another important point is .. seen will explore the idee of +. in-ortraet to thie, essay, | am going to discuss However, itis also true to say ... Conelusion ‘To sum up... ‘Summing up ... Jn conclusion, we have seen that. ‘It seems clear that ... ‘As have shown... ‘Camibricige English: Advanced Writing bank 195;a >» Exam task - Part 2 You recently took a domestic flight which was badly delayed, and service from the crew was poor. Write a letter to the customer services manager and include the following information: ‘plane sat on the runway for over two hours with no information from the crew ‘* one member of staff was particularly rude when two passengers asked if they could switch seats ‘after take-off, it was announced that no food or ‘mineral water, ‘s would be served, not even Write your letter. >» Approach > Make sure you know how to structure a formal letter, e.g. a letter asking for information or a letter of t. You can follow these guidelines for a letter of complaint: Opening: Use an appropriate salutation (greeting). Main body: First paragraph: state what your complaint is about. ‘Second paragraph: explain exactly what happened, including where and when, Next paragraphis): mention any additional details and say how the problem affected you. Final paragraph: state how you expect the problem to be resolved. Closing: Use an appropriate ending. > You should always write a formal letter in a formal register > Although the person writing the complaint letter may be unhappy, or even angry, i's very important to maintain a polite tone throughout. ‘Opening Dear Mr (or Mrs, Ms, Miss, ete.) Surname, Dear Sir or Madam, {if you don’t know their name or gender) ‘Main body am writing to complain about ... | would like to express my dissatisfaction with .. | wish to complain in the strongest terms ‘On (date) | purchased (product or service). 1 was appalled to discover ... And as if that weren't bad enough, To add insult to injury, ... ‘The experience was very distressing ... In the circumstances, | think a full refund is in order. expect to be fully compensated for . Please let me know how you propose to rectify the situation. | trust there will be a prompt resolution of ... | look forward to receiving your explanation of... Closing Yours sincerely, you have named the person in your opening greeting) Yours faithfully, (if you have not named the person in your opening greeting) 196 _cambriage English: Advanced Writing bank>> Model answer Note the use of capitals and the use of comma here. | Dear Sir or Madam Clearly state | am wetting to express my deepest dissatisfaction with the your reason for nacceptatie evel of service | received from FlyLoca! Arines recently. writing atthe outeet | was bocked on the 18.20 Glasgow to London fight lst Wednesday, va ‘17 February, Although we boarded on time, had the safety demonstration and taxied to the runway, the plane dd not depart for Continue with specitc detsis of separa burr Vie he meetirardy lresteabarg adh eebrted Ge nrabien was the fact. that we were gven neither an explanation ror an apology For the delay When one passenaertravalina with a small chid made the reasonable Include adaitional request to Switch seate so that she could sit with her husband, the details that fight attendant was unhelpful ard extraordnarly rude. Overall, | found compounded th ‘the crew 10 be inefficient and unfriendly. How a service industry ~ problem. ‘especially one ike FlyLocal whose advertising campalgs are based on making travel hassle-free and pleasant ~ can expect people to tolerate such a poor eve of customer service s beyond me. The last straw, however was the unavalabity of ary refreshments either before or onthe Fight. perfunctory anrouncement aftr take- aff formed us of thi. Again, there was no attempt to apologise for theincomenince to passengers. whc coud rot even purchase bottled water Yo deprive people for that long, at that time ofthe evening. oF food or rex was a complete dtgrace State what you expect Please process a ful refund of my airfare inmedataly. | woul! also to happen next anpoct adaltioral comporcation o- another gesture of good look forward toreceving your reply as soon as possi. ‘Keep the tone formal ea throughout and use ‘@ standard closing John Evan phrase, ‘Say how the experience ‘made you fee. Use an appropriate ending. Cambridge English: Advanced Writing bank 197,>» Exam took Part 2 A couple of years ago you did a Volunteering Abroad programme in South Africa. Your 17-year-old cousin, Dan, 1s thinking of doing the same thing and nas written to you asking about it. Read the extract from Dan’s email. The animal conservation work you did sounds interesting — can you tell me a bit more about it, for example, which animals did you work with? I definitely hope to do a lot of travelling while I’m there too. Can you suggest anywhere I can visit? I suppose what I'm wondering more than anything is whether you think P'll enjoy ‘Thanks, Paul! Dan + Approach » The structure of an informal email is less prescribed than a formal email or letter. See the Useful phrases section elow tor appropriate opening and closing expressions. The main body of your email can be structured as you choose, but keep related points together, include linking words and phrases and use paragraphs to break up the text. » Pay close attention to the points made in the input text as you will be expected to address each one in your reply. » Since the question only shows an extract from Dan‘s email, you also have the option of ‘inventing’ additional points hhe may have addressed. However, make sure you don’t exceed the permitted 260 word limit. As this is an informal communication your tone should be friendly and you can use contractions and colloquial ‘expressions, but don’t be tempted to slip into slang oF text epeak; you are still expected to produce grammatically correct English. A good practice is to follow the tone used in the input text. About your question Hi first namel, As far as [XI is concerned ... Hello {first namel, To your point about .. Thanks for your email. Groat to hear from youl ak) | was delighted to get your emai prea Iwas 20 glad to hear from you. eae Itsounds ite things ate going wot, YOM Connectors Cheers, By the way, Have to run, Oh, and one more thing... Drop me a line soon. As | was saying earlier, ... To tell you the truth, ‘Actually, .. 198 Cambridge English: Advance Writing bank>» Model answer Use @ casual, informal | ‘opening greeting. | ‘Acknowledge | the email you're replying to. ‘Address the specific | points you've been sated sbout Don't be afraid to ‘elaborate on what you've been asked; just ‘keep an eye on your word count, HiDan, ‘Trani for your al was ally rv ear fom you ystarday [ims glad youre thinking stout goina to South Africa [ve just bean reading through the travel dary kept when | id that Volunteering Abroad programme and so many memores came Reading back Right, you wanted to know about the animal conservation werk Sat | was involved in, 20 Il start with that | requested a placement.on a lon reservein the east of the court because pecially wanted Include details that ‘to work with lions. It was tough, but incredibly rewarding too | worked weeps: with abrilant team who tracked the animale nthe bs | wa gen ae ‘thorough tralnin In animal identification and data collection using the research equipment. Honesty, Dan. t's absolitely amazing to see thece magncen animals in heir natural aba rey loved, ae Using ntensitving hin you woul ao. ‘sdverbs wil make your If you'd ike to try the same project: lee me know an fl send you heat. more deta. Ine accommodations shared and pretty bal but it’s ne. Youll have plenty of opporeritis to travel and have fun. {cn recone the epactactlat Dranobarg Mourtaina wich are nearby, and the Blyde River Canyon and beautiful Sodwana Bay. One of my tends even tweed Ce Mecanique Yeo de Ok leave eat that for now. op mene vouhave anymore Make the offer questions or wat any mor informaton. Give my love to your Mum 10 follow up with eT ‘ditional information, ‘needed. Cheers. Dan Paul Cambriage English; Advanced Writing bank 199>» Exam tack — Part 2 ‘A former colleague has set up her own catering business and has asked for your help in improving her website. Choose two or three points for improvement, focussing on design, ease of use and organisation. Write proposal explaining how your recommended changes will make the website more attractive as well as easier for ‘customers to navigate. Write your proposal. >» Approach » A proposal is usually written in a formal register. Depending on the circumstances ~ in the scenario we are using here, for example - the tone could also be semi-formal because the people concerned know each other personally. A proposal would not typically be informal. Maintain a consistent tone throughout the proposal > In structure, a proposal should have a logical title, an introduction which provides some background, a main bady made up of the suggestions you are proposing and a conclusion which summarises what you have already said. The main body can be structured any number of wavs. using headinas or bulleted lists. for example. You can always adapt the layout to suit the needs of a given proposal as long as your points are clearly separated, organised and easy for the reader to follow. » A proposal is similar to a report but itis generally created in response to a problem, prompting action or further discussion. Its function is usually to convince somebody ‘of something rather than just reporting facts and statistics. For this reason, make an effort to incorporate persuasive language into your report. I's also a good idea to have ‘some business vocabulary to draw from in case the proposal is business-based, » Even if you think of lots of ideas and suggestions for the proposal in the exam, resist the temptation to include too many. t's better to present a few well-developed suggestions than a long list of ideas. » To make your proposal more effective, expound a litle on your suggestions. Mention, for example, how they can be implamented and what they will accomplish, > In some cases, you may wish to discuss finances and budgetary requirements in ‘your propesel. This is optional unless expressly stated in the question. Useful phrases This issue could be resolved by This proposal will discuss .. ‘The benefit of making this change would ‘As requested, | am submitting this bes proposal on .. would strongly recommend ‘The sim of this proposal is to In this proposal | will outline Main body Based on this issue, | would suggest ‘Taking all these points into Roamer consideration, Having assessed the situation, | believe ... ‘What | propose here is i It would be advisable to ... | trust you will give this proposal careful ‘consideration. ‘The following steps need to be taken .. ‘One way to counter this problem is to 200 cambridge English. Advanced Writing bank>» Model answer ‘The ttle should make the subject of the proposal obvious. Use concise headings for clarity, Explain what the ‘and how it ‘Tie the points of the proposal together in your conclusion, Proposal for improvements ta the Orderin walattn een . [ Give a bacic overviow ‘As requested am submitting the folowa propa toimprove the. ——— jnvour oedation, website of your Onder catonng business le Design The existing design is adequate, but not compeling The slow scheme Is dul and would benef from seme bnghter tones, eis asa text ‘Make sure your heavy. which | suggest breaking up witn various rye-catching imagen ‘suggestions and |recommend including some shots ofthe dishes and platters you © ———— recommendations are ‘offer. and photos of catered events ssowing hapoy quests ‘easy for the reader to Ease of use The whole pont about ease of use lo that every victor to your site should have a positive user experience, and there are some basic steps yuan take in thie regard, For example, set the main mena aurase che ‘tp of the page; people do not enjoy seraling dow too far The rule of ‘thumb hae ia veep imple Organisation Good organisation allows potential customers to find what they need ‘quickly. Currently, the site lacks a clear structure: ts too cluttered «and has too many tabs presented inna logical order. Making ast of ‘the most importars topos and deciding on a hierarchy for them wil ‘eraure that your key contents obvious ata glance. My advice would be to.choose the most popular event types, such as weddings, parties, corporate event, Conclusion ‘To sum up, the lesues with the site can be recolved by following the ‘steps Ihave outined above all of which can be easily and inexpensively Impemented ‘cambridge Enalish: Advanced WettIna bank 204> Exam took — Part 2 ‘You see this pop-up ad on your local tourist information office website. Here at Happy Trails we are working on a new travel ‘guide for visitors to your area. We need the latest information on all forms of entertainment currently on offer in your town. If you would like to contribute to this chapter, please send a report describing the options. available. Write your report. >» Approach » Reports are typically written in a formal or semi-formal register. Pay attention to the input text and keep the reader in mind as you create your report. » Unlike a proposal, the purpose of # report | to Inform rattver thar persuade. Information in @ report should be presented in an organised format, making it easy for the roador to identify the fects. Use imperzonal etructurae to procent information, for example It seems/appears that... There seems to be ... It has been noted/suggested that > The structure should feature a ttle, introduction, main body and conclusion. You are free to choose any atyle of layout for the main body but your goal chould always be clarity. » In your repor, you can invent statistics, incidents, examples, place names and s0 on 10 support your ideas. Try to stick to plausible data so that the report does not sound too unrealistic. > Most reports are entirely neutral, but some also feature the writer's opinion. Check the Input text to see if it might be appropriate to include your own opinions. Useful phrases Introduction Opinions vary on the subject of .. The purpose of this report is to . Astor. This report is based on ‘What seems clear is that . Further to your request for a report There evoms tobe growing demand On i This report looks at .. «has proved to be extremely popular. Due to the fact that. ‘Main body With regard to .. Conclusion ‘Among the events on offer... Itean therefore be concluded that ... There appears to be widespread The obvious conclusion to be drawn agreement that... from this report. For the reasons provided ... | rust this report will receive due ‘consideration. 1202 cambridge Enalish: Aavanced writing bankThink of lev oareiecan ieee and concise title. i Introduction The amet ie rpor sto thatrav the mi try oF Beas the pot ns irertorert oonticn ie oweses a ekeiatet ‘obvious headings. Pee Getting here ‘Az loomtion io a kay soneitoration or tourats, the aoneniense of Oldtown s a great advantage. A domestic airport i etuated ust 30 kilometres away and the train station connect with several major routes, What's on offer (Otdtown i. refreshing mx of old and new, combining sites of historical Interest wth exciting new event. has something for everyone, and here are just some: ‘Sub-headinas helo to ee enema Pree ‘categorise different Culture and hertaae ‘types of information. * Viet the castle onthe outskirts of town fora stunning example oF medieval architecture. * Spend an afternoon in the museum on New Street which alo ‘Features an award-winring range of exhibitions for children, Bulloted lists draw the ' Enjoy a leisurely river walk, stopping for a picnic in the botanic Piet gardens, Thirty-minute waking tours depart from the town hall ‘key pointe, ‘every two hours, A fascinating literary tour i now on offer too. ‘Nightlife 1 The Oldtown Theatre runs a compeling programme of plays ‘showcasing local talents well as siting productions * Check out the line-up of bands playing at the Waterfront Halk always book in advance for weekend performances. * Laughter abounds atthe comedy cus on Cak Road, opento the publ on Thursday ad Friday night, Conclusion orient From the information provided in this report, I's clear that Oldtown summarises the lo worthy ofa dedicated chapter in the new travel guide report. Cambridge English: Advanced Writing bank 203,>> Exam task ~ Part 2 ‘You see this notice on an events website based in your area. WE NEED YOUR HELP Here at the Riverfront Theatre we'd like to add to our database of ‘event reviews. If you were at last night's concert given by the student band, Atmosphere, we'd love to hear from you. Please send your review of the concert to the email address below. Write your review. >» Approach » Reviews are published to describe something. such as a book, film or performance, to the public and to indicate the quality of this product or event. Although a review is ‘an opinion piece, it’s a good ides to try to offer a balanced view rather than entirely positive or entirely negative comments, » As always in the Writing paper, study the question and the input text carefully in order to establish exactly what you are being asked to produce and to decide which register you should use. Noting the audience here, an informal or semi-formal tone ‘seems appropriate in this case. In structure, you ean use headings and other formatting styles if you wish. You might decide to first describe the concert and then follow this with your opinions, or You could introduce your views in tandem with the points in your description. State the subject of the review at the beginning and make sure your opinion is stated (or restated) in the concluding paragraph. > Use descriptive language. Include colourful adjectives and adverbs to really convey to the reader what the event was like. » Be careful not to submit a basic list of criticisms and praise. It's important to develop ‘your ideas and to support your points with examples in the review. In other words, don't simply comment that it was good or bad, say why it was good or bad. Useful phrases This event took place at ‘What made it a success was ... «+ something of a let-down, Where it fell down was While | understand this criticism, | also In my opinion, . foe... {found it rather ... {t's worth mentioning that . Unfortunately, . ‘Thie would appeal to A particular weakness was . What | particularly appreciated ... Slightly disappointing was .. However, ovetall {It was an incredible performance. | highly recommend... itseems to me that .. ‘On batance, . ‘You might think .. 1204 Cambridge English: Advanced Writing bank>> Model answer Choose a suitable title Don't spend too Jona trying to think of Enjoy the Atmosphere! ‘somathing clever. “The Riverfront Theatre was the place ta be last Thursday eversng Try to open with 2 Up and coring ba, tanga aye ter here ct 8 ectenn tt wit Sere erent lacenying minut, at once delghting ther already sold fanbase ee oe rica per tanec reader's tention vara. Atmosphere have ee aun or oes row Costa — oF four prmanant band merbera, they keen that sound Freeh by ‘ideally, provide a rear worn th quest peromere no caste aeretyot te beckground to intrnraatctarnones fo ear re nan gare goer —— rock hich occalralysoaned by pop eat nd eatly yr. iit es ot adapn ncaa woman ascots was cacnin Goe ine paet astra awry bardvitha Msc end tig wun ltoranates es ty wa poo at he gringo set twas aly ret Li ary god rota ead site dan Ec has a power stage Dain roaence He conecio wh the crowd nant drag rem vu mona teowhintat ed ctrg dobronten ruang eae tec decane aN Hosni comes ey tine Some the sos wre 0 ae they shod have een ostive na nope and the bass plaver came in late a few times. Still this did nothing to comments. ‘fol th oral nprece Aim tor a song ‘our ey eh go ares bad athe et oppor Thay conclusion and mat aes dele tr ret nga geet ly ee ote swore or edogaceL aur cle eo Sameer Ccambricige Enalist: Advanced Writing bank 205;