Writing
Scoring
C1 Advanced Exam
In this section:
How writing tasks are marked on the C1 Advanced Exam
Examiners look at four aspects of your writing: Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation and Language.
This section will cover these details.
Scoring
You will be scored on:
Content - This mark is about whether or not you completed the task. Each task will ask you to include specific pieces of information and give you instructions. If you do what you're asked, you'll get a high score here.
Communicative Achievement - This mark focuses on the tone of your writing and how nice your work is to read. For example, a formal letter will use different language than an article. Also, this score evaluates how easy to read and enjoyable your writing is. If you've included a lot of highly-complex phrases that are hard to understand, you will get a lower score here.
Organisation - This mark is about how you've put your writing together. Your ideas will need to be presented in paragraphs, and in a logical order. Also, this score judges how well you've linking words and other techniques to tie your work together and make it cohesive.
Language - This mark focuses on your use of vocabulary and grammar. It will evaluate how accurate and appropriate your vocabulary us, your use of collocations, and grammar as well.
There are 40 possible marks in this paper.
Content
This mark is about whether or not you you've completed the task. Each task will tell you exactly what kind of composition to write (for example, if you need to write an essay, a letter, a report, etc.). Each task also mentions specific pieces of information which you must include, as well as instructions.
If you do what you're asked, you'll get a high score here. In fact, on C1 Advanced it is really easy to score high here so read the task carefully and then plan your essay out so that you do not forget anything while writing.
Here, you can also lose points for including irrelevant information, so make sure that your work stays on topic and that you are not including unnecessary details.
In the example, you must:
write an essay.
write about facilities and why they should receive funding.
write about two of the facilities listed on the card.
explain which facility is more important for local authorities to give money to
give reasons for your answers
If you've spent all of your time discussing one facility and why it should receive money, but run out of time to talk about another, you cannot receive full marks.
If you decide to write about facilities not mentioned on the card, while ignoring the ones present, you cannot receive full marks.
Also, you cannot receive full marks if you do not explain which facility is more important. People often forget this part, so don't let it happen to you!
To make sure you do everything you need to do, read the task carefully and do exactly what it says. Plan you essay before writing it.
Content Key Points:
Read the task carefully
Identify exactly what you must do in your essay
Plan your essay before writing
Have one main idea per paragraph.
Marking Criteria
5 Marks
All of the content is relevant to the task.
The reader is fully informed about the topic.
4 Marks has features of both bands 3 and 5.
3 Marks
There may be some extra unrelated things added.
The writer may have omitted some things that leave the reader with questions.
The reader is, on the whole, informed about the topic.
2 Marks has features of both bands 1 and 3.
1 Mark
There may be irrelevant things or some misinterpretations in the task.
The reader is not really informed.
0 Marks
Content is totally irrelevant.
Target reader is not informed.
Communicative Achievement
This mark focuses on the tone of your writing and examiners will be judging if the style of your writing is appropriate to the task or not. For example, a formal letter will use different language than an article, so you will be judged on this. Because of this, it is always extremely important to identify your audience when planning your work.
For an essay or report, you should use a neutral or slightly formal style.
Depending on the audience, an article can be more informal. If you're writing for an online magazine or blog, for example, you may want to use a casual tone.
A letter to a friend should be informal and light. However, a letter to a boss or someone you do not know should be formal and professional. For details about how to write formal and informal letters, look here:
This score also evaluates how easy and enjoyable your work is to read. If you've made a lot of spelling errors or significant grammatical errors which create confusion with the reader, then you would get a lower score here, so be careful.
Comunicative Achievement Key Points:
Decide who your audience is so you can decide what kind of tone to use.
Write in a style that's appropriate for that audience.
Communicate as clearly as possible so that your work is enjoyable to read.
Marking Criteria
5 Marks
Is able to communicate complex ideas in an effective way, with flexibility and ease
Holds the reader's attention with ease
Fulfills all communicative purposes
4 Marks has features of both bands 3 and 5.
3 Marks
Holds the target reader's attention
Communicates straightforward and complex ideas, as appropriate
2 Marks has features of both bands 1 and 3.
1 Mark
Holds the reader's attention
Communicates straightforward ideas
0 Marks has a performance below Band 1.
Organization
Organization refers to how you present your ideas. You will need to make sure you use paragraphs and organize and present your ideas in a logical fashion.
You can easily increase your score by making it very clear what each paragraph is about. Then, logically organize each sentence within that paragraph.
The easiest way to organize a paragraph is by using a format like this:
Introduce a point.
Give a reason and supporting details.
Give an example.
Here, you'll also be evaluated on your use of linking words or cohesive devices. For example, you might use words like 'whereas' and 'however' to join sentences, or use sequencing language like 'firstly' and 'secondly' to join paragraphs. More examples include: first of all, furthermore, in addition to this, on the other hand. Read more about Linking Words here. There are other techniques we can use, too, to make our writing sound more cohesive, and this mark will judge you on how well you use them.
Lastly, you will also be marked on your use of punctuation here.
Organization Key Points:
Structure your answers in logical paragraphs
Have one main idea per paragraph.
Support main points with an explanation and then an example.
Have a clear introduction and conclusion
Use cohesive devices to link elements together.
Use correct punctuation.
Marking Criteria
5 Marks
Text is a well-organised and coherent whole
Uses a variety of cohesive devices and organisational patterns with flexibility
4 Marks has features of both bands 3 and 5.
3 Marks
Text is well organised and coherent
Uses a variety of cohesive devices and organisational patterns to generally good effect
2 Marks has features of both bands 1 and 3.
1 Mark
Text is generally well organised and coherent
Uses a variety of linking words and cohesive devices
0 Marks has a performance below Band 1.
Language
The examiners will be judging the quality of the English that you use. Are you writing with basic terms, or are you able to specify using more topic-specific words, and use higher-level vocabulary with precision? Are you writing with basic, simple phrases, or can you create complex sentences and communicated complicated ideas? How is your spelling? Is it correct? Is your writing clear, or is it hard to understand because there are too many mistakes?
In this part, you can make spelling mistakes. While it's expected that you might make some mistakes, they should not impact on the message and there should be very little of them. If your writing is unclear and the meaning of your phrase is lost, you will lose marks. Your writing should be clear at this level. You should have no problem communicating straightforward ideas at this level. A high-level student will be able to write even complex ideas with ease and flexibility.
To get a higher score, very your language to make your writing more interesting. Also use changes in tone and style to create dynamic writing that holds the reader's attention.
Things you can do:
Use topic-specific or "high-level" vocabulary when you know it.
Use appropriate phrasal verbs, collocations and idiomatic language.
Try not to repeat the same word too many times.
Try to use a variety of “complex” and simple sentences.
Check your writing for errors at the end.
Tip: Get feedback on your writing
Errors will lower your score, especially if they prevent the reader from understanding what you have written. Get feedback on your writing to understand your common errors and how to fix them.
Tip: Learn the different types of sentences in English
Complex sentences are actually NOT complicated. They don’t need to be long, complicated or even difficult to write. Read the section on sentence building here.
Language Key Points:
Never copy word for word parts of the original task. Use paraphrases and synonyms instead.
It's normal to repeat words, but try to vary your language and avoid excessive repetition when you can.
Try to use a combination of simple and complex sentences to make your writing interesting.
Try to use more-advanced language or grammatical structures only if your writing is still clear.
Get feedback on your writing from real human beings to become aware of your common errors and to ensure your writing makes sense.
Marking Criteria
5 Marks
Uses a range of vocabulary, including less common lexis, effectively and precisely
Uses a wide range of simple and complex grammatical forms with full control, flexibility and sophistication
Errors, if present, are related to less common words and structures, or are slips
4 Marks has features of both bands 3 and 5.
3 Marks
Uses a range of vocabulary, including less common words, appropriately
Uses a range of simple and complex grammatical forms with control and flexibility
Occasional errors may be present but do not impede communication
2 Marks has features of both bands 1 and 3.
1 Mark
Uses a range of everyday vocabulary appropriately, with occasional inappropriate use of less common words
Uses a range of simple and some complex grammatical forms with a good degree of control
Errors do not impede communication
0 Marks has a performance below Band 1.
Length of Responses
The word limit given to you is only a guideline; you can go over and under without losing points. As long as you've included all the required information, you can write less words.
Keep in mind:
Responses that are too short are probably missing important information, so double check that you've included everything mentioned in the task.
Responses that are too long may have irrelevant information. You will lose points for including irrelevant information.
However, you will never lose marks for going over the limit, as long as what you write is relevant. Don't go off topic.
Varieties of English
Try to stick to using one variety of English (British, for example, or American). You should try not to switch between the styles.
Passing
You need to get 24/40 in the Writing paper to pass at C1 level.
Remember that there are two tasks that are graded equally, so each writing task gets a grade out of 20.
For example, if a student got 13/20 on Task 1 and a 12/20 on Task 2. then they would pass this part of the exam.
You do not need to pass every exam paper but you need to have an average of 60% across all 5 exam papers to pass and get your C1 certificate.
If you want to find out more about how to calculate your scores, read page 5 of this document.