1. Read the main text through first to get an idea of what it is about and how the writer develops his or her subject matter.
2. Use clues in the paragraphs before and after the gaps to help you choose the ones that fit.
3. Clues may lie in the grammar, punctuation and/or vocabulary.
4. Try to guess the sort of information that might be missing.
5. Check any phrases/short sentences which you have not used to see if they could fit in the gap.
6. When you have finished the task, read through the completed text to make sure it makes sense

• Nouns, verbs, and adjectives with prepositions (advantage of, worried about, apologize for)
• Fixed phrases (every now and then, by chance, under no circumstances)
• Phrasal verbs (move away, pick up, take out, grow up)

• providing courses and qualifications

• work experience programmes

• careers advice

Yes! You must make a plan to organise your writing. On the day of the exam, you will be stressed and feel pressure. A plan is your way of organising you text and your thoughts.

What happens if I write more than 190 words?

Nothing… Well, almost nothing. In the past for every 5 words extra, they took away a point, however, now they do not. It is not good to go over 190 words because of time, but you can. I wouldn´t write more than 200 words because they will probably lower the mark they give you for content. They will determine some of it to be unnecessary.

What counts as a complex language in the exam?

You MUST use complex language at B2 level. You must use attention-grabbing vocabulary and a variety of grammar structures. The passive voice, relative clauses, modal verbs, conditionals, reported speech and inversions all count as COMPLEX grammar forms and you must use them. 

Me, myself, I:

Everybody likes to talk about themselves, but when (for example) you’re writing about environmental issues, you should be talking about the environment and not about yourself.

YOU:

The way word you is used in informal speech ‘You should have seen it!’ ‘if you know what I mean’ is not appropriate in formal writing. At best it sounds chatty and informal; at worst, disrespectful or even offensive. The word you points a finger at the reader. But the readers are not friends of yours, and you have no right to make assumptions about them.

For example, lots of teenagers have better knowledge in technology, so they can teach the older generation how to deal with gadgets. In our gymnasium there are special classes for the senior people where they are taught to work on computers, and their teachers are teenagers. 

Moreover, teenagers have the great knowledge in ecology, and they are really concerned on saving the planet alive. We talk a lot about environment on classes, we take part in ecology olympiades and contests for the best ecological projects and often won them, so we have a lot to tell the others about environmental problems and ways of their solving. 

Besides this, teenagers can teach adults foreign languages. According to the statistics, 50% of adult generation of our country don’t know any foreign languages, so we can help them to come by the new knowledge or to improve that what they have. And, of course, students from foreign countries can teach Russian students their language, and Russians can teach them Russian. It is sometimes done in linguistic centres. 

To sum up I can say that teenagers have great knowledge in many fields of study, so they can also teach the people of older generation and their classmates and friends. 

For example, lots of teenagers have better knowledge in technology, so they can teach the older generation how to deal with gadgets. In our gymnasium there are special classes for the senior people where they are taught to work on computers, and their teachers are teenagers. 

Moreover, teenagers have the great knowledge in ecology, and they are really concerned on saving the planet alive. We talk a lot about environment on classes, we take part in ecology olympiades and contests for the best ecological projects and often won them, so we have a lot to tell the others about environmental problems and ways of their solving. 

Besides this, teenagers can teach adults foreign languages. According to the statistics, 50% of adult generation of our country don’t know any foreign languages, so we can help them to come by the new knowledge or to improve that what they have. And, of course, students from foreign countries can teach Russian students their language, and Russians can teach them Russian. It is sometimes done in linguistic centres. 

To sum up I can say that teenagers have great knowledge in many fields of study, so they can also teach the people of older generation and their classmates and friends. 

• the least active?

• the cheapest?

• the best to do with friends?

• the healthiest?

• the most relaxing?

• the most popular among young people?

Which would be easier and the most difficult for you to do if you were a professional sportman?

1. Which sports do you find ...

• good for both girls and boys?

• most complicated to learn?

2. Are there any sports you would like to try?

3. Do you have a hobby you would like to make into a career like Clare did?

• Vocabulary – similar words. Do you know the difference between see, look, watch, and stare? What about hear, listen, and listen to? Some questions will look at similar sets of words, so know when to use each!

• Phrasal verbs. A phrasal verb is a phrase that is made of a verb and one or two particles. The particles are prepositions, adverbs, or both. The meaning of the phrasal verb is different than the words alone.

  For example, carry on. The word missing may be the verb “carry” or the particle “on.” I recommend writing a phrasal verb list in the back of your notebook. Add new phrasal verbs with their definition(s) and example sentence(s) each time you learn a new one. Remember, some phrasal verbs have MANY different meanings depending on the context.

• Idioms. An idiom is a group of words that has its own meaning different from the words by themselves. 

For example, keep an eye on someone/something. One of the words, in this case, probably “keep”, “eye” or “on”, will be missing and you need to recognize it. Just like when learning phrasal verbs, write a list of common idioms as you learn them.

• Collocations. A collocation is a set of words that go together. 

For example, a hard frost. There aren’t any rules for collocations. You just have to remember them as a set. Try to write down a list of collocations as you learn them.

Do you lose your temper easily?

Do you normally keep your temper?

Can you say that you have a vivid imagination?

Do you know anyone who is highly intelligent?

Do you know anyone who is painfully shy?

Do you normally make snap decisions or you consider everything properly?

Have you ever played a joke on someone?

Did you throw out a tantrum when you were a child?

Do you know anyone who is brutally honest?

What would you never come to terms with?

Do you keep your word when you promise to do something?

Do you know anyone who is supremely confident?

Do you have a selfish streak or are you altruistic?

3. You must use the key word in the gap and you cannot change it in any way.

Reading every day is probably the best thing you can do if I had to choose one kind of practice. Not only do your reading skills improve with regular practice, but you can also work on your grammar and vocabulary at the same time. Read whatever you enjoy for 5-10 minutes a day and highlight a few new words or expressions. You can then look them up in a good online English dictionary or a good grammar book.

In part 4 (and every other part, really) the best way to start is by making a plan. Knowing a step-by-step process to go through an exam task can give you a feeling of security so you stay cool and calm.

This first step seems so obvious, but I am asking you to read the two sentences very carefully. Be clear about what the first sentence means, what grammar you can see and if there are any specific collocations or phrasal verbs. Don’t skip this part because it is the foundation for everything else in this task.

Once you have done that you can see that there are only those structures of the sentence left which you have to change and put in the gap.

In step 3 we have to keep two things in mind. Firstly, you have to use between 2-5 words. If you use only one or more than five, you will lose marks. Also, contractions like ‘I’m’ or ‘don’t’ are counted as two words, so please be careful.

‘Can’t’ is the only exception because it contracts ‘cannot’ which is just one word. Secondly, you have to use the key word in the gap as part of the 2-5 words without changing it.

With all of that in mind, let’s have a look at our example from before again.

Here, we have two different structures we need to transform:

1. was in favour of (blue)

2. visiting (green)

   
   

In the second sentence we can see part of two structures we have to use for this transformation:

1. thought it would be (blue)

2. to (green)

Remember that we have to use the key word ‘idea’ in our answer. When you are in favour of something it means that you are happier with one option rather than another one or we could say that we think it is a good IDEA. Ha, there we have it! Our second sentence, therefore, starts with

Joan thought it would be a good idea to…

After this structure we use an infinitive (to + base verb) so I have already added ‘to’. Now we can look at the second structure. We need a synonym of ‘visit’ that we can use with ‘to’ (green circle). For me, the best option here is ‘go to’ so our final sentence becomes: Joan thought it would be a good idea to go to the museum.

It is always a good idea to check your sentences again before you write everything on the answer sheet. Go through the six items again one by one and check if the second sentences have the same meaning as the first ones. This last step is going to help you recognise little mistakes and correct them.

In our example we used five words, the key word without changing it and the two sentences are as similar in meaning as possible. 2 marks for us…yay! 🙂

With the red line the answer is broken up in two parts. If both of them are correct, you gain 2 marks. If you get one of the two parts right, you still get 1 mark so even if you are not sure, try to get at least one part of your answer right. It could make the difference and help you pass.

Secondly, spelling is also part of the marking in Reading & Use of English so double check your spelling before writing down any answers. It would be a shame if you got an answer marked incorrect just because you misspelled it.

2. This year’s holiday by the sea wasn’t / was not as exciting as last year’s skiing holiday.

3. Maria says there’s / there is no / little point (in) visiting the museum because it’s not very interesting.

4. Everyone is looking forward to our trip to China next month.

5. When I was in Sweden, I was able to pick up some Swedish.

6. The architecture here reminds me of the buildings in Amsterdam.

1. If Leila goes to bed early, it makes a (big) difference to how she feels the next morning.

2. Max was still late for work in spite of the fact (that) he took the early bus.

3. Last year I decided to give up eating / having fast food for lunch.

4. Melanie goes jogging as well as answering her important emails before breakfast.

5. I must get my television fixed / repaired / mended as soon as possible.

6. Clara says it’s / it is unusual for her to go out at

the weekend.

1. The heavy snow led to some schools closing for a couple of days.

2. Steve doesn’t pay (much) attention to the weather forecast.

3. John regrets not taking an umbrella to work this morning.

4. Donna said that with the exception of Friday, every day last week had been really hot.

5. We’ve never had weather as bad as this in July.

6. The heat / temperature / hot weather must have been unbearable where you were staying.

Examiner:

Here are your photographs. They show people doing different activities in their free time. I'd like you to compare the photographs, and say how you think the people can benefit from spending their free time doing these different activities.

2. Firstly ...

3. At the same time ...

4. Also ...

5. I think they also benefit because …

b. introduce the first point he wants to make?

c. add additional points?

First of all

In addition

To start with

What is more

These are usually nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs, not small grammar words like articles or prepositions.

2. It's great for your health and helps you to relax.

3. At the same time, they're having fun together...

4. ...which is important because it builds up their social relationships and their friendships.

5. Also, it's good to see girls playing serious sports.

6. I think it goes against the idea that boys have better athletic ability than girls.