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The Cambridge First Certificate Examination in English has
five papers:- Reading; Speaking; Writing; Listening and Use of English. Each
paper is worth twenty per cent of the total result. This means that if you get
a bad mark in one paper, it is still possible to pass the exam by getting an
above average mark in another paper. The pass grades are ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’. The
fail grades are ‘D’, ‘E’ and ‘U’. ‘U’ stands for ‘unclassified’, and it either
means that your English is very bad, or you overslept, stayed in bed and
forgot to take the exam.
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The reading paper has four parts, and there is a text to read in each
part with questions which are related to the text. All together there
are thirty five questions, and the type of texts could be chosen from newspapers, magazines, holiday
brochures, advertisements, advertising leaflets, letters, text extracts
from books (fiction or non-fiction). So it’s a good idea to read
anything and everything you can in English before the exam. You have one
hour and fifteen minutes in the exam to answer all of the questions.
1. Multiple Matching
Matching headings, sub-headings, titles etc. to their appropriate
paragraphs in a text, or matching people or places to specific sentences.
2. Multiple Choice
Choosing the correct answer from a selection of answers or finishing
sentences from a choice of sentences.
3. Gapped Text
Deciding where sentences or paragraphs belong in a text. The sentences,
or paragraphs, have been removed, and you have to put them back again in
the correct place.
4. Multiple Matching
Finding information in a text, or texts, and matching the information to
questions which carry a similar meaning. |
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You must answer two questions in this paper. You have one hour and
thirty minutes, and you are asked to write between 120 and 180 words for
each question.
The paper is divided into two parts, and you must answer the question in
part one. It is always a transactional letter, although sometimes it is
formal and sometimes informal. In part one you are given information and
prompts in the question, so you basically have to expand the information
in the form of a letter in order to answer the question.
In part two you have a choice. There are four questions and you have to
answer one. The choices are :
• A letter (if the letter in part one was formal, this
will be informal. If part one was informal, this letter will be formal.
It maybe a letter applying for a job, for example).
• An article (for a school magazine, college newspaper
etc.).
• A report.
• A composition.
• A short story
• A question on set books (not covered on this course)
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Grammar - everybody’s favourite! There are five different parts in this
paper, and 65 questions altogether. You have one hour and fifteen
minutes to answer all the questions. Here are the five different parts:
1) Multiple choice cloze. A text with 15 gaps. You have to choose
which is the best word for the gap from a selection of four words. The
focus here is mainly on vocabulary (words with meaning like nouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs).
2) Open cloze text. Similar to multiple choice cloze, but without
the choice. 15 gaps in a text, and you have to think of a word to fill
the gap. This mainly tests grammar but there could be some missing
vocabulary too (think about auxiliary verbs, articles ‘the’, ‘a’, ‘an’,
prepositions, phrasal verb particles, conjunctions etc).
3) 'Key' word transformations. There are fifteen of these and you
have to make a sentence which means the same as the one before, using
the ‘key’ word which is given in the question. This part tests grammar
and vocabulary.
4) Error correction text. There is a text with some correct lines,
and some with extra and unnecessary words. You have to find the extra
words in the text.
5) Word formation. Here you have a text with ten gaps. You are
given a root word and you have to change it to a verb, adjective, adverb
etc. in order to complete the text. This tests vocabulary. |
 
There are four parts to the listening exam, and thirty questions in all.
You hear the listening texts twice and the exam lasts for about forty
minutes. Expect to hear some different accents (Irish, Australian,
American, London, Scottish, Welsh etc.), and different texts (phone
calls, lectures, radio programmes, quizzes, interviews, plays etc.). As
with reading, it is a good idea to expose your ears to as much English
as possible, and as much variety as possible, before the exam.
Part One
There are eight short extracts in the first part, and they are not
connected. You have to answer a multiple choice question about each one.
You may be asked about how the speakers are related, how the speaker is
feeling (angry, upset, exited etc.), the general subject of the text or
the purpose of the conversation.
Part Two
Here you have to complete notes and fill in missing information while
you are listening to a monologue or conversation which lasts for about
three minutes. Remember, you hear every text twice.
Part Three
You hear different people speaking about a related topic, and you have
to match the speakers to written information on your question sheet. The
different people speak for about thirty seconds each.
Part Four
This is a fairly long monologue or conversation which lasts about three
minutes. You have to select answers to questions related to the text.
The questions may be true or false, yes or no, multiple choice etc.
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The speaking test has four parts and should last for about fifteen
minutes. There are usually two exam candidates and two examiners. One
examiner asks the questions and explains the tasks, the other sits in a
corner and listens to your English.
Part One - Introductions
This lasts for four minutes, and the examiner will ask questions about
where you are from, if you work or study, your family, hobbies and
interests, future plans, likes and dislikes etc. This part of the test
is supposed to help you to relax and stop being nervous.
Part Two - Describing photographs
Four minutes again, but this time you speak for a minute about two
photographs. You compare and contrast the photographs, give your opinion
and try to relate the photographs to your own experience. Your partner
then comments on your photographs, and /or what you have said, for about
twenty seconds. Then your partner speaks for a minute about two
different photographs, and you comment after for about twenty seconds.
Part Three
This part lasts for about three minutes, and you should only speak to
your partner. The examiner will tell you what to do, and you may have to
discuss a photograph, talk about a map, solve a problem, put things in
order, choose the best, worst, most popular etc.
Part Four
This section continues the theme or topic from part three, and it is
really a chat between you, your partner and the examiner. The examiner
will ask you some questions related to part three and develop and widen
the conversation. This part lasts for four minutes.
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