Cambridge
Certificate of Proficiency in English
Paper 2: Composition
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Only write what you KNOW is RIGHT |
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Your list of 'favourite' mistakes |
(in preparation) |
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Don't make...mistakes...by being too
ambitious |
………………………: no 2 |
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Keep EXACTLY to your timetable |
………………………: no.3 |
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………………………: no.4 |
PAPER 2 COMPOSITION
2 hours
Write two only of the following compositions. Follow the instructions exactly.
1 Describe a street you know well and explain
what it means to you personally. (About 350 words.)
2 What duties do children owe to their parents,
and parents to their children? (About 350 words.)
3 Write a story beginning with the words: When
I knocked on the door of my parents' house, it was opened by a man who said
nobody by my father's name had ever lived there. (About 350 words.)
4 You have just returned from an expensive
package holiday organised by a well-known tour operator. Many of the promises
made in their brochure were unfulfilled. Write a letter of complaint asking for
compensation. (About 300 words.)
5 [This fifth question will ask you to write
about 350 words on a subject connected with one of the three books you can
study (if you want to – you do not have to) for this part of the
examination. The books will be different each year. My advice is that you
should not try to write on these book subjects unless you have a really
good and experienced teacher of literature to help you. And even then, you must
remember that studying these books will take time and energy away from your
study of English as a language. You can always read books both before you
prepare for the examination, and afterwards!]
Your list of 'favourite' mistakes
Immediately you sit down at your place in the examination
room, take a piece of paper and write down on it the list of the mistakes that
you tend to make.
Put the list in front of you where you can see
it, and look at it often, as you write, to remind yourself of your own special
problems. If you do this you will find it very difficult to make those
particular mistakes. Here is an imaginary example of what a personal list might
be for students of English as a foreign language:
Past/Present Perfect
NOT 'do something for doing' (purpose)
NOT 'the nature, the life'
since: NOT 'since three weeks'
NOT 'suggest somebody to do'
word order: NOT 'I eat seldom eggs'
if: NOT 'if I would'
NOT 'by my car'
NOT 'bigger as'
NOT 'a so beautiful town'
which, by the time the examination comes, you
should have been able to turn into a 'shorthand' list, like this:
Past/Present
Perfect Purpose
the
since
suggest
Word order
if
Transport prepositions
Comparisons
so/such
It is an exam in the English
language, not in handwriting! It is madness to copy your composition out again,
so whatever you do, don't! Time that you might spend copying it out must be
spent on essential things (such as those 'favourite' mistakes).
Write on every second line.
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make can cross it out write |
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Then, if you |
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clearly |
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/on the line above. Don't draw a lot of
balloons and arrows and confuse |
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yourself as well as the examiners. |
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Don't let your line become complicated,
with lots of bits added on to it. If |
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necessary, cross the whole line out and
write it again above. |
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Keep EXACTLY to your
timetable
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First composition |
45 minutes |
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Second composition |
45 minutes |
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Checking |
30 minutes |
At
the end of 45 minutes stop, and start the second composition, even if
you are in the middle of a sentence. Rigid self-discipline is essential here.
Do
not write too much. You are wasting time if you do; and the more you
write the more possibilities there are for making mistakes.
Stop
at the end of 45 minutes even if you have not written the number of words they
have told you to write. You can write a little more later.
There
is a little practical trick you can use to count the number of words you have
written, not only in your compositions but in any parts of an exam where you
need to know how many. Never actually count each separate word you write in an
exam. That is a terrible waste of valuable time. Instead, long before the exam,
in fact when you first start preparing for it, find out how many words you
personally write on average in three lines. Then, when you want to know at any
time how many words you have written, you need only quickly count how many
groups of three lines there are.
Write on the subject the
paper tells you to write on
You must write about the
subject set in the examination; don't change the subject and write about
something slightly or completely different. Follow the instructions on the
paper.
Only write what you KNOW IS
RIGHT
You
cannot pass with lots of mistakes, however clever you intend your sentences to
be. Remember that you must show the examiner what you know, not what you do not
know. If you do not make mistakes, and you write on the subject they ask you to
write on, you are certain to get fairly good marks at least, even perhaps very
good marks. So if you are not absolutely sure that what you want to write is
correct, do not write it. Write something different.
In
a composition nobody makes you write particular words, so don't make yourself
do so. It is quite true that the examiners will want you to use English
that suits the subject. But your English will not suit the subject if it is
wrong.
It
is an examination in English, not in philosophy or originality.
For
this reason, too, if you have a choice of subjects you should not always
choose the subjects that interest you or that you like. Choose the subjects
that you know most English about. If you are crazy about boats and the sea, for
example, and one of the subjects given happens to be 'sailing', do not write
about them unless you know the English words you must use. Choose
another subject.
Check for each of your
'favourite' mistakes SEPARATELY
If at the end of 90 minutes
you find you have written too few words, you will have to add a few more. But finish
as quickly as you can.
Please, whatever you do, never leave the examination room early, however
much you are dying for a cigarette or a cup of coffee. There is always important
work for you to do. You cannot check too often, if you do it in the right way.
I would like to make a special suggestion to all speakers of languages
without definite or indefinite articles (the and a). For you the
problem is usually, of course, that you leave the article out. So it is
no good worrying in a general way about articles, however passionately, because
you cannot study what is not there!
You must think about nouns.
When you check, think about every noun you have written in turn and
decide whether it needs an article, and if so, which. (Chinese- and
Japanese-speakers, among others, should ask themselves three questions about
every noun, in the following order:
1 Should it be plural?
2 Should there be a preposition?
3 Should there be an article?
The question about the article comes last because the answer often
depends on the answer to the first two questions.)
Don't make avoidable mistakes
through being too ambitious
There
is something very important to bear in mind about the Proficiency essays.
I
emphasize again the point I made in my introductory section. My advice is not
for those who are confident they can write a grade A essay. It is for those who
worry that they will not be able to write well enough.
One
of the worst things you can do if you are not confident is to try to be clever.
You will almost certainly get low marks for your Proficiency essays if you try to
do what you cannot do because you feel you have to write very 'advanced', very
elegant, very sophisticated language. You may be impressed by the high standard
of Proficiency. But an essential way in which it is high is that you must quite
simply not make a lot of mistakes. Mistakes that are allowed in lower level
exams are not permissible at the Proficiency level.
It is true that the
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate have written that in the Proficiency examination candidates
are "expected to demonstrate some sophistication of language use;
narrowness of expression, i.e. over-simplistic [sic – see note 2]
language or a limited range, although accurate, may not be enough to achieve a
satisfactory level in the [composition] paper."
But they will also be looking
for correct grammar, punctuation and spelling, and use of the right words. As
the Syndicate have pointed out in the past, candidates are often below standard
"because their control of language is not adequate for the thoughts they
wish to express" and they go in for "the meaningless contortions of
'translatese"'.
The Syndicate has provided a
table which summarizes the "criteria for assessment". These criteria
divide compositions into seven categories.
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marks out of 20 |
criteria for assessment |
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19-20 |
Excellent control and
selection of language, virtually error-free; outstanding in treatment of task |
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16-18 |
Clear evidence of
sophisticated language used with only occasional native-speaker-type lapses;
ambitious in concept and approach |
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11-15 |
Reasonably fluent and
natural language with only occasional minor errors; task well developed, with
appropriate treatment of the rubric. |
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8-10 |
Ideas communicated but
language limited or marred by error; task attempted but not adequately
realized. |
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5-7 |
Lack of language control
shown by numerous errors; topic area neither extended nor explored. |
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1-4 |
Errors and narrowness of
expression impede communication; content irrelevant or length of writing too short. |
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0 |
Totally irrelevant, or too
little language for assessment. |
This is not as informative as
one would like it to be. But I think it makes it clear that you are not going
to get more than 10 marks if you make a lot of bad mistakes.
So we must come back to the basic principle. Do not
show the examiner what you do not know. It is useless to be ambitious in a
composition if you do not have the means for achieving your ambition. It is
useless to attempt a style you cannot achieve in the foreign language. It is
useless to use words you do not know how to use. It is useless to try to produce everything that the
examiners require if all you produce is incorrect grammar, illogical sentences
and the wrong words.
If you are very, very good at
the foreign language - and, as I say, my advice is not for you - you will
perhaps be able to express yourself as effectively in the foreign language as
you can in your own. But most people cannot get anywhere near this, and it is
foolish to try. The only results will be that you use words in the wrong way,
that you write 'translatese' nonsense (translating direct from your own
language), that you produce muddled, illogical sentences, and make grammar
mistakes that you would never make in simpler, less ambitious sentences.
Examiners may not like the
simple subject-verb-object type of sentence very much. But a
subject-verb-object sentence that is right is much better than a confused
complicated sentence that is wrong. Bad mistakes cannot be sophisticated language.
(But in preparing for writing
discussion-type essays it is well worth learning a number of beginnings to sentences or
paragraphs. I list some suggestions for these below. The material in brackets
can be replaced by other material.
This is clearly (a problem, an issue etc.) of the greatest importance.
This is (a problem, an issue etc.) of vital interest to (everybody etc.).
This is (a problem, an issue etc.) about which I feel very strongly.
This problem concerns all of us.
This is one of the most important (problems, issues, etc.) facing the world
today.
I think we must first define what we mean by (democracy, education,
etc.).
It depends what we mean by (democracy etc.).
It depends how we define (democracy etc.).
Since (human beings etc.) first appeared on the Earth (men etc.) have
(oppressed women etc.).
From the earliest times (the individual) has (been the victim of
society).
The situation has changed considerably since (those days etc.).
For the last (five decades etc.) oil has (dominated the world economy
etc.).
(Education, oil etc.) has (three main purposes, two great advantages etc.).
By far the most important (purpose is to…, advantage is that…)
Let's take (rail transport, the underprivileged etc.) first.
First……Second……Lastly/Finally……
Where (road transport, the middle classes) is/are concerned...
(People, Experts, Politicians etc.) have been looking for solutions to
this problem (for many years) etc.
It seems as if very little can be done about (it, the problem, etc.)
(Scientists etc.) have been
trying to find an effective answer to the problem (for years now) (but so far
without success).
As yet, nobody has succeeded in finding a satisfactory solution.
Several solutions/plans have been put forward.
The fact remains that…
This (solution, suggestion, plan etc.) is all very well, but…
This (solution etc.) has serious (snags, drawbacks).
There is one serious snag (and that is that…)
I think it is questionable whether (prison ever does any good to anyone etc.).
The great advantage of (the microchip etc.) is that…
A good thing about (the new technique) is…
A very encouraging development is (the way that etc.)…
We must consider the (social aspect etc.) as well.
There is (not much, quite a lot etc.) to be said in (its, their etc.) favour/in
favour of
(This plan etc.) has the further advantage that…
The same applies to (universities, the developing countries, amateur sport
etc.).
This is also true of (air travel, team sports etc.)
On the other hand…
The (practical, political, economic) considerations are not the only ones.
Some people argue that…
It is often maintained that…
A favourite argument is that…
There is a widespread belief that…
One of the main arguments heard in favour of … is that
(Opponents of, Supporters of this argument etc.) assert/maintain that…
What the people who argue like this seem to forget is that…
Many people fail to realize that…
It is not often realized that…
A point that is (often, usually etc.) missed is that…
But that is a false argument (because…, in view of the fact that…etc.)
This is not really a tenable position.
This is an untenable position.
There is a serious flaw/are several flaws in (this, their etc.) argument.
I am firmly convinced that…
I am strongly in favour of (noun, or –ing).
I am (totally, bitterly) opposed to …
I would argue that…
With (a car you can stop wherever you want) whereas (with a train you are much
more limited in this respect etc.).
Although these are naturally
only a few out of hundreds of possible expressions, they will take you quite a
long way If you
can learn thirty or
so of these, and use some of them at the right point, you will find that not
only do they greatly impress the examiner, but that they take up a nice lot of
words on the page, thereby saving you the trouble and time of thinking of some
more ideas to fill up the space with. But do remember that you cannot just
throw them in whenever you think it's time for another nice idiomatic
expression. YOU MUST FIT THEM CAREFULLY TO THE CONTEXT. DON'T USE ANY YOU DO
NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE USE OF.)
So
again and again we must come back to the truth that it is no good showing the
examiner what you cannot do. And do not despise short sentences and simple
language. Two of the finest twentieth-century writers in English on the sort of
subject you will often be asked to write compositions on were Bertrand Russell
and George Orwell. They both wrote simply and clearly, often in very short
sentences. You will find you can often keep yourself out of trouble by
remembering that the full stop is your best friend.
I
must also give a special warning against building too many sentences around nouns.
Sentences based on nouns are not only often unEnglish; they tend to be much
more difficult to get right. Much more knowledge is needed to fit nouns
correctly into a sentence, because for them the linguistic conventions tend to
be far stricter. One has to know the particular verbs, the particular
adjectives, the particular prepositions that fit a given noun. One usually has
far greater freedom if one makes verbs the key words of one's sentences;
one is much less likely to make mistakes with sentences based on verbs.
For
instance:
These cars can travel at very high speeds.
This
is a simple example of a noun-based sentence. It is based on speeds. To
get it right we have to know that:
(a) speed can be used as a countable as
well as an uncountable noun;
(b) high - not fast - is the
conventional adjective with speed;
(c) at is the right preposition with speed;
(d)
travel is a correct verb with speed - go would not be
truly idiomatic in this sentence.
But
if we choose go as the key to our sentence, we have no need of any
special knowledge of that kind. We simply say:
These cars can go very fast.
You
personally may have known all the points (a)-(d) that I have explained above.
But I hope you can understand the principle. Here is a more complicated example
where you may not know the various 'rules' of vocabulary.
Doubts might be entertained in certain quarters as to whether an
alternative procedure might not, in preference, be adopted.
The
sentence is formed around the nouns doubts, quarters, procedure
and preference. First of all we have to know that those are themselves
the right nouns to use.
Having
got that far we have to know that entertain and adopt are the
right verbs for doubts and procedure, that the adjective alternative
suits procedure, that in is the right preposition for both quarters
and preference, and that the proper expression linking doubts and
the second part of the sentence is as to whether. Isn't it better to say
what the sentence in practice simply means?
Some people might think there is a better way
Here
the verbs think and is are the key words.
Essay construction: don't waste time on it
The Syndicate say that the language rather than content is the main
concern in the marking of the compositions, and that marks are not deducted for
unorthodox opinions. But it also says that candidates are expected to present
their arguments logically, and that the material should be well organized, both
"as a whole and in terms of individual paragraphs." There should be a
clear pattern of connected ideas. Essays do not have to be particularly
original or interesting, but the examiners may criticize candidates for not
dealing with the subject properly, or for jumping suddenly from one point to
another.
However, do not forget that examiners' judgement of these things is to
quite a large extent subjective. No two examiners are going to mark a
composition exactly alike in these respects.
It is therefore impossible to know in advance how the examiners are
going to judge your compositions as regards organization and the development of
your ideas. So in your preparation for the examination, I believe that spending
time and effort on essay organization, if you are still making a lot of
mistakes in your grammar and vocabulary, is a luxury you cannot afford. A sense
of proportion is needed here. Please get your grammar and vocabulary right
first.
Grammar and vocabulary
are objective problems. You can know definitely whether you are right or wrong.
Concentrate on this area of certainty, not on the vague uncertainty of
beautifully constructed essays. If you can write largely without mistakes, and
keep to the subject, you will be very unlucky if you do not get at least
reasonable marks. You might even get very good ones.
But you won't if you make bad mistakes, however well your essay is organized.
Once again you must be firm with your teacher. If your composition
teacher spends time on essay construction, talking to you about how to produce
striking beginnings, elegantly developed middle sections and effective endings,
and about details like paragraphing, you should ask her or him whether these
things are going to make the difference between passing and failing for you
personally; whether she or he is confident that you have already shown
that your practical command of grammar and vocabulary is so good that there is
no doubt that you will pass as far as they are concerned; whether all
that is needed to tip the balance is some training in essay construction.
(My advice should perhaps be modified in one respect here, however. If
you can master a small set of elegant opening
sentences that you know are absolutely right and that can be adapted to a variety of subjects, and can use one of them at the beginning of each
composition in an exam, you may well influence the examiner in your favour.
Exam markers are human too. While a single superb sentence right at the end of
an otherwise mediocre or downright poor composition is unlikely to do you any
extra good, at the very beginning it will very possibly make the examiner think
more kindly about the rest. But you must be careful. Don't use such prepared
sentences unless you are absolutely sure they fit the context.)
Summing up
The biggest mistake you can make in the composition paper is to aim too high. We can finally put this aspect of the Proficiency essays another way:
If you try to be "ambitious in concept and approach" and try to use "natural language", and fail to do so, the best you can hope for is precisely that: that you fail to achieve those things.
But the worst and more probable result is that your mistakes will cause you to lose far more marks than you would have lost if you had not been so ambitious.
So
wherever you are not absolutely certain of yourself: KEEP IT SIMPLE.
Note 1. In fact both "would" and "will"
are found with if in English, but the situations in life which are
expressed by "if…will" or "if…would" are rather
rare. You can find an explanation of this on the Questions & Answers page. The problem
for German-speakers – and others – is that they tend to use the "if…would"
and "if…will" combinations for practically all conditional (if)
situations, where it is almost always wrong.
Note 2. It is a rather shocking fact that the word
"simplistic" is used incorrectly here in the Syndicate's 1998 CPE
handbook. You can check this for yourself if you look in the New Oxford
dictionary of English, first published in 1998. What the writer really
means is no more than "simple".
Practical information
Sets of past Certificate of Proficiency examination papers can be
obtained direct from:
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate
(UCLES)
Syndicate Buildings
1 Hills Road
Cambridge CB1 2EU
United Kingdom
e-mail: helpdesk@ocr.org.uk
(These are quite expensive - they now cost over £5 each.)
The Syndicate also publishes from time to time a Certificate of Proficiency Handbook, which contains detailed information about the examination. (This is free.)
You can get information about the Syndicate's
examinations in English as a Foreign Language at:
e-mail efl@ucles.org.uk
tel. +44 1223 553355
fax +44 1223 460278
and at their web site www.cambridge-efl.org.uk
The Cambridge University Press (The Edinburgh
Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, U.K. e-mail: eltmail@cup.cam.ac.uk
) publishes volumes of earlier Proficiency exam papers. They are entitled:
Cambridge Proficiency
Examination Practice, followed by the number of the volume. (At
least 6 have been published so far.) Each volume contains 5 sets of practice
tests. There is also a teacher's book, with answers, to go with each volume.
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Proficiency examination, please write to the editor. He will do his best to
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