Test and Train Practice Test 1

C1 Advanced
Writing

Important note: a computer-based version of this

paper is available in the ‘Tests’ area
on Cambridge One.
C1 Advanced Writing Test and Train Practice test 1

Sample answers and commentaries

Please note the sample answers given here show just one of many different approaches.

Sample A (Part 1, Essay)

Factors that have an impact on people when choosing a career

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions in life and so people usually need help with
their choices. But who or what is the biggest factor?
To begin with most families have a great influence on their children’s choices. In some occasions
parents force their children to follow their steps and do what they do. However young people
shouldn’t necessarily do what their parents do. That is a personal choice and parents should only help
with the choice rather than command them. Moreover they should be there to support their children
do what they like.
On the other hand personal interests might have a way greater influence than family. Usually people
tend to do what they like because that way they will be entertained while they are getting paid for it.
In my view that is the better option because they will work more diligently and have better workflow
overall. However sometimes people take the job of their intrests frivolously and take it more as a
leisure time activity than a serious job. As they say: if you are lucky, your hobby can become your job.
To conclude, the factors should only help you with your choice rather than force you to make it. It might
be helpful, however, to ask for advice from more experienced people in life like your family members.

5 All content is relevant to the task and the ideas given for the two chosen
Content
factors are well supported with arguments for and against them.
3 The conventions of essay writing are used to communicate ideas in an
appropriate way. The opening paragraph states the reason for writing and
Communicative leads into the body paragraphs, each of which explores the writer’s opinions
Achievement on one of the chosen factors. The conclusion states which factor the writer
thinks has more influence and explains why. The communicative purposes of
the essay have been achieved.
3 The text is organised into clear paragraphs and is coherent throughout.
Organisation The writer has used a range of cohesive devices and sentence structures to
develop the arguments and to express complex ideas.
3 The writer uses a variety of vocabulary and expressions in an effective way
Language (shouldn’t necessarily do, diligently, Usually people tend to). Errors are minor
ones, such as with spelling (intrests) and register (a way greater influence).

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C1 Advanced Writing Test and Train Practice test 1 Sample answers and commentaries

Sample B (Part 1, Essay)

In today’s society, more and more people find dificulties in choosing a career because of some major
factors like family and interests.
To begin with, families play a significant role when their relatives are very likely to go on with a
certain job. Parents usually have high expectations of their children and want them the same career
as they have. But this attitude among choosing a career can often cause major problems and
misunderstandings in families. In order to combat these problems families should support them in
some ways. For example, parents can support their children financially and emotionally too.
On the other hand, interests and hobbies are very important when choosing the right career. If
somebody likes a certain hobby, that means they are interested in it and passionate about it. These
type of young people who find in theirs hobbies passion should choose the same field as a job. Thus,
they will be more productive in their work. They will try to do their best to solve certain problems,
because they are motivated to do so. For instance, a book lover won’t give up so easily, because she or
he knows that it take time and patience to find the exact information they are looking for.
In conclusion, choosing a career can be difficult but with some support and passion about what you
are doing will help you to make the right choise.

4 The content is relevant to the essay task and the target reader is informed
about the opinions of the writer. The essay is well developed and presents
Content
a clear line of argument, although the examples given are not always
appropriate to the focus of the task.
3 The writer uses the conventions of essay writing with sufficient flexibility to
communicate ideas effectively, holding the reader’s attention and fulfilling
Communicative
the communicative purpose of the essay. The opening paragraph states the
Achievement
factors chosen, and each body paragraph addresses one of these to explore in
detail, considering the pros and cons of family and interests.
3 The text is organised and coherent and makes use of a variety of cohesive
devices (To begin with, On the other hand, Thus, For Instance) to effectively
Organisation
signal new points and ideas, despite occasional awkward referencing
expressions (this attitude, These type of young people).
3 The writer uses a variety of simple and complex sentence forms in a
controlled and natural way. There is a wide range of vocabulary and
Language expression used effectively, despite a number of spelling errors (dificulties,
choise) and errors with singular and plural agreement (theirs hobbies, These
type of young people, it take time).

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 C1 Advanced Writing Test and Train Practice test 1 Sample answers and commentaries

Sample C (Part 2, Review)

Technology is rapidly growing these days and there is quite a wide range of applications presented on
the market. I must admit, I do not belong to people who keep an eye on all the new applications that
come out nearly every day. However, I would like to share my thoughts on some of them that I have
recently downloaded and found quire useful.
The first application would be “EasyRead”. It is perfect for people who tend to read quite a lot. Being
an avid reader myself, I am really satisfied with how easy it is to manage and how many books it can
store. All the similar apps for reading I used to have before could have one or two hundred books at
most whereas this one contains more than five hundred files. What makes it really different from all
other apps, though, is the number of settings it has. Even if you are not into reading, you might want
to do it all the time with this app because it makes reading absolutely enjoyable!
The other app I find really useful and user-friendly is “MoneySaver”. It provides you with information
about all the sales that are currently taking place in all the shops in the city. Considering that I am
not particularly good at saving money and keeping track of my expenses, this application is extremely
helpful for me!
Of the applications mentioned above, I find “MoneySaver” more useful because it can help you pick up
a good bargain or find something which is a really good value for money. Nowadays when most people
complain about not having enough money to get by, the opportunity to save money while shopping
cannot be underestimated.

5 The writer has addressed all parts of the question and the reader is fully
Content informed about why the two apps were chosen, what they do and how useful
they are.
4 The writer has used a style and register appropriate to that of a review for
a website and has organised the review into clear paragraphs. The opening
paragraph presents a general introduction to the topic and the reasons for
Communicative
writing the review, and the body paragraphs each deal with one of the two
Achievement
chosen apps. The tone is suitably friendly and informal, which makes the
reader interested in reading the review to find out more about why the writer
has chosen to write about the apps.
4 The review is well-organised and clear. The writer uses different sentence
lengths to good effect, particularly in the opening sentences of the body
Organisation paragraphs. The effective use of a variety of cohesive devices helps the reader
follow the development of the writer’s argument (I must admit, However,
though).
4 The writer has used a wide range of grammatical structures and expressions
which are appropriate for a review (I would like to share my thoughts on, What
Language makes it really different from all other apps) as well as topic vocabulary and
expressions (store, settings, good at saving money and keeping track of my
expenses). Errors tend to be slips rather than serious in nature.

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C1 Advanced Writing Test and Train Practice test 1 Sample answers and commentaries

Sample D (Part 2, Review)

Shorten your time, Simplify your life

In today’s technological world, we cannot deny that mobile phones are essential. All the applications
available on your mobile phones assist your daily lives in planning, learning, working, connecting, etc.
By being carefully selected, the applications or “apps” for short can handle several tasks and get you
through successful life in certain ways.
One app that nowadays is mostly used is “LINE”, a message-exchanging method which has been
extremely popular among people in various countries from all over the world. Although some countries,
such as China, hasn’t allowed this app due to a political and policy reasons, we have made use of it
in various ways in our daily lives. Besides communication, we can use it as our community’s meeting
rooms, gallories, portfolios. For example, we can collect all the pictures from certain events and share
our friends, colleagues, family members on what we call “room”. Similary, the other app that I find it
very useful and helps me to complete a plenty of tasks in a structured way with a limit of time is
“WhatApp”. This app also has its “platform” to gather all the people in your life. You can create as
many platforms as you want to be organised. For instance, one platform is for my colleagues whilst
another platform is created for my customers. People from different careers surely have their own
structure of organisation and this two apps should assist their tasks without difficulties.
All in all, the two apps I chose to review here are only a tool of exchanging messages; however, there
are a plenty of apps that provide other useful methods and serve various needs of people todays.
In this communicating world, the apps reviewed above will be more and more functional and improved
continuously to serve the needs of users in the future. As a result, we all will have one of the best
tools to simplify our lives and save our time.

4 The task covers all the content points. The response is well-developed and
Content presents two apps, summarises what they do and their usefulness. However,
some of the points made are not entirely relevant to the task.
3 The communicative purpose of the writing is achieved, although some
Communicative features of style and tone are more similar to those of an essay in places,
Achievement such as the opening sentence. There is good use of a variety of structures,
and this adds interest to the text as a whole.
3 The task is generally well-organised in paragraphs and it is coherent. The
writer makes use of a range of cohesive devices to link ideas, exemplify and
Organisation
make comparisons (Although, Similary, For instance, All in all), but not always
successfully.
2 There is some appropriate use of topic vocabulary (tasks, platform,
exchanging messages). The writer uses different sentence structures and
lexis for a range of purposes – but with a number of errors, such as with
Language
spelling (galleries, Similary) – verb forms (You can create as many platforms
as you want to be organised) and sentence structures (the other app that I
find it very useful).

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 C1 Advanced Writing Test and Train Practice test 1 Sample answers and commentaries

Sample E (Part 2, Email)

Dear Sir,
I am writing to you about my latest tour with your agency, a city-break holiday in Wien during
Christmas, a three-day guided tour including accomodation.
My overall experience was utterly dissapointing. The pictures that were presented online, the
reviews and even the schedule were misleading. When I decided to book my tour, I was expecting a very
good hotel, clean rooms, three meals a day and access to a pool. In exchange, we stayed in a hostel
(not a very clean one, might I add) and we had to pay for our food. I find it useless to even mention the
pool which was definitely missing. Also, the schedule of the trip was supposed to include visits to all
the main tourist attractions, a half-day of shopping in SCS, the biggest shopping center in Europe
and a Christmas Eve dinner in the Danube Tower Restaurant. All of these were reduced to 3 museum
visits, no shopping and no reservations for dinner. We had to wait outside, in the cold, for hours!
This was my first experience with your travel agency and, considering my previous complaints,
it will probably be my last. I decided to write this, however, in an attempt to change my option.
Better information, more attention for your customers and better trained guides could all remedy
dramatically the problems that I had experienced. Also, not hiding the negative reviews on your
website would definitely be a better choice. It just seems fair that way.
I hope that you will take into account my complaint and that you will inform me about your future
decision. I do not want to have this experience be my standard when thinking about your company.
Thank you!
Best wishes,
Mrs. Paula Smith

5 All the content points of the question have been addressed fully and the reader is
fully informed about the reason for writing the email, why the city-break holiday
Content
was a disappointment and the ways in which the company could improve its
service. The writer includes how the company should deal with the complaint.
4 The tone and register of the email are appropriate to the task. The complaint
Communicative is clear, convincing and polite. The tour operator would understand why the
Achievement complaint has been made and would consider responding to what the writer
expects should be done.
4 The organisation of the email is clear and well-developed. For example,
in the second paragraph the writer makes good use of cohesive devices
Organisation within paragraphs to signal and link the various complaints (When I decided,
Also). There is also effective use of reference to link ideas within and across
paragraphs (All of these, This was my first experience).
3 There is use of a range of structures in the email which add to its effectiveness,
such as comparative forms (better information, more attention for your
customers and better trained guides); modality (had to, could, will probably be)
and adverbs of degree (utterly, dramatically, definitely). The vocabulary and
Language
expressions used are mostly appropriate for the topic (misleading, access to a
pool, the main tourist attractions). There were a number of errors with spelling
(accomodation, dissapointing) and some inaccurate use of vocabulary (change
my option, my standard)

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C1 Advanced Writing Test and Train Practice test 1 Sample answers and commentaries

Sample F (Part 2, Email)

Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing to you in order to express my dissatisfaction with the three-day guided tour which was
organised by your company in Seul at the end of last month (28-30.04.2017).
Firstly, I would like to emphasise how important this trip was for me as this was my only one chance
to visit Korea and which has been my dream since I was a child.
The trip did not meet my expectations. First of all – the food. I have clearly signed in the form that I
am vegetarian but when the tour started, it turned out that there was no vegetarian options for me
in the menu. I ended up a eating plain bread with butter, which was very disappointing as I came to try
the local cuisine. What is more, due to a busy time schedule, I was not able to visit any restaurant or
market if I wanted to bear the extra costs.
Secondly – the quality of accommodation. The brochure misled me with the picture of highly-
standarded bedroom with a beautiful view through the window. In reality the view is less “picturesque”
and certainly not “breathtaking”. When it comes to the bedroom, the brochure does not mention
anything about sharing one bathroom (per one floor) with other people! If I knew about this before, I
would reconsider my decision about participating in the tour.
In light of those problems mentioned, I suggest some ways in which your company could improve the
service. First, if the company cannot afford a better standard of accommodation – reduce the cost of
the tour. It will attract more students who don’t mind considerably lower conditions for a lower price.
What’s more, please pay attention to vegetarians when making the menu.
Yours faithfully,
Paula

4 All the content of the email expressing complaint to the tour operator is
relevant. The writer covers what the complaint is about in detail, suggests
Content how the company could improve their service. However, there is no
reference to the final point about how the writer expects them to deal with
the complaint.
3 The writer uses the conventions of writing an email of complaint with
sufficient flexibility to communicate the details clearly. The opening
Communicative paragraph introduces the background to the complaint and the two
Achievement main paragraphs address the two areas of complaint, the food and the
accommodation. The final paragraph suggests ways in which the company
could improve their service.
3 The text is well-organised and coherent, and the writer makes use of
cohesive devices and organisational patterns to good effect. For example,
Organisation
the writer makes use of signalling devices (First of all, What is more,
Secondly).
3 The writer has used a variety of sentence lengths for effect. For example, the
main paragraphs begin with short statement to introduce a complaint (The
trip did not meet my expectations. First of all – the food, Secondly – the quality
Language of accommodation). A range of grammatical structures and verb forms
have been used, although not always accurately (I was not able to visit any
restaurant or market if I wanted to bear the extra costs, If I knew about this
before, I would reconsider my decision).

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 C1 Advanced Writing Test and Train Practice test 1 Sample answers and commentaries

Sample G (Part 2, Report)

Introduction
The aim of this report is to outline the arguments for and against losing the town park which were
presented and discussed at the meeting in the town hall on Monday 15 May. We shall also try
to evaluate the overall impact of the plan on the town’s residents as the debate was heated and
provoked a lot of strong emotions.
Arguments for losing the park
The primary reason for losing the public park is the fact that the town is densely-populated with
young university graduates looking for jobs and flats locally. There is a great demand for apartments
on the market, which can generate a lot of money for the town economy. Another argument in favour
of losing the park is the financial report on maintaining this area. It shows that operating costs of
running the park are extremely high and, as the place is free of charge, it makes a loss, not a profit.
Finally, some claim that the park is the meeting spot for criminals of any sort – vandals, robbers,
muggers and the like. They hope having no park will remedy the danger of crimes happening.
Counterarguments
On the contrary, the park is ‘the green lungs’ of the town – it cleans the polluted air by releasing the
extensive amount of oxygen produced by the trees. Without it, local people may suffer from respiratory
problems and allergies. Also, the area is the natural habitat of animals and bird species, some of which are
rare or even in danger of extinction, like the squirrel or the hedgehog. Finally, this is the perfect place to
relax, to do sports, to walk your dog, to have a good time, which is so important in daily life of local residents.
Conclusion
All in all, a park serves numerous functions in any town and in any society. It definitely should be
regarded as an asset in any local infrastructure, providing facilities of different nature to both local
residents and visitors. A park is a must-have!

5 All content is relevant to the task. The writer has presented a well-developed
report which covers a range of arguments for and against losing the park
Content
and has considered the potential impact on the town and residents. The
reader would be fully informed.
4 The conventions of report writing have been used effectively, with clear
headed sections, which help the reader follow its structure. The introduction is
Communicative
clear and outlines the aims of the report. The body sections follow on logically
Achievement
from this and present the arguments for and against, while the conclusion
summarises the writer’s view on the importance of parks in general for society.
3 The report is well-organised and coherent throughout, with each paragraph
dealing with one area of the report. The points are signalled clearly through
Organisation the use of cohesive devices (The primary reason for, Another argument,
Finally, All in all) and the use of the reference pronouns to link ideas between
sentences and across paragraphs.
4 The language is varied and mostly accurate. The writer has made use of
key expressions for reports (The aim of this report is to) and has written in a
Language fairly formal, impersonal style, for example, through use of the passive voice
(were presented and discussed) and generalisations (There is a great demand
for, some claim that). Errors are minimal.

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C1 Advanced Writing Test and Train Practice test 1 Sample answers and commentaries

Sample H (Part 2, Report)

SAVE YOUR ONLY PARK!

I am writting these lines to tell you what is happening with our only park and with the ideas of our
town council.
As you should know, our own council wants to sell our only park for essential housing. In the meeting
that I attended last week we discussed about for and against losing the park.
In the one hand, they explained that selling the park for essential houses is an advantage. First,
because the town will win a lot of money to improve town’s places and resources, and second because
it will creates enough work and jobs for all the habitants.
In the other hand, and it is what I really wanted to show them last week and to show you now, is
that if we sell our only park we will lose our only green and free-pollution place in our town. As an
environmentalist, I evaluated the overall impact of the plan on the town’s residents, and I am going to
explain you, like I did in the meeting, what can hapens to us and to our town: we will not have anywhere
to go for walk; morover, we will be surrounded by buildings and essential housing inted of plants, parks,
rivers or flowers. In addition, without parks the pollution increases. As we will not have our only park,
our stress will be higher than now and we will not run away.
In conclusion, we must be concient about what we have and take care of it, of our planet and of our
healthy. I hope town’s council can be concient and understand it too.

5 All content points of the question have been covered in the report.
The writer has addressed the reason for writing and has presented the
Content
arguments for and against losing the park, along with the potential impact
on the town and residents.
3 The report is written in paragraphs, with the introduction stating the
reason for writing and each of the following paragraphs dealing with
a different area of the report. The body paragraphs give a number of
examples to support the arguments given, while the fourth paragraph
Communicative
explains the writer’s views on the potential impact of losing the park. The
Achievement
conclusion summarises the opinion of the writer. The style and register are
sometimes not appropriate for a report, which requires a less personal and
more formal tone (it is what I really wanted to show them last week and to
show you now, and I am going to explain you, like I did in the meeting).
3 The text is generally well-organised and coherent and uses a variety
Organisation of cohesive devices (In the one hand, In the other hand, morover, In
conclusion), though with some inaccuracy.
2 The writer uses a range of vocabulary, including collocations (essential
housing, overall impact, pollution) and a variety of sentence structures
for stylistic effect (As an environmentalist, In addition, without parks the
pollution increases) and verb forms and tenses (if we sell our only park we
Language
will lose our only green and free-pollution place, we will be surrounded by
buildings). There are a number of errors with spelling, vocabulary and
structures which do not impede communication (writting, habitants,
concient, we discussed about for and against, what can hapens).

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