Alba María Martínez Navarro

C1 ADVANCED
(CAE)
 Exam parts.
01 Reading and Use of English
(1 hour 30 minutes)

02 Writing
(1 hour 30 minutes)

03 Listening
(about 40 minutes)

04 Speaking
(15 minutes per pair of candidates; 23
minutes per group of three)
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
The C1 Advanced Reading and Use of English paper is in eight parts
and has a mix of text types and questions.

Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes

Number of parts: 8

Number of questions: 56

Lengths of texts: 3,000–3,500 words to read in total.

Newspapers and magazines, journals,

Texts may be from: books (fiction and non-fiction),
promotional and informational materials.
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 1 (Multiple-choice cloze)

A text in which there are some numbered

gaps representing a word or phrase.
What's in Part 1? There are four possible answers for each
gap and you have to choose the correct
answer (A, B, C or D).

Vocabulary , idioms, collocations, shades of

What do I have to practise?
meaning, phrasal verbs, fixed phrases etc.

How many questions are there? 8

How many marks are there? 1 mark for each correct answer.
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 1 (Multiple-choice cloze)
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 2 (Open cloze)

A text in which there are some gaps, each

of which represents one missing word.
What's in Part 2?
You have to find the correct word for
each gap.

What do I have to practise? Grammar and vocabulary.

How many questions are there? 8

1 mark for each correct answer.

How many marks are there?
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 2 (Open cloze)
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 3 (Word formation)

A text containing eight gaps. Each gap

represents a word. At the end of the line
What's in Part 3? is a ‘prompt’ word which you have to
change in some way to complete the
sentence correctly.

What do I have to practise? Vocabulary and word formation

How many questions are there? 8

1 mark for each correct answer.

How many marks are there?
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 3 (Word formation)
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 4 (Key word transformations)

Each question consists of a sentence

followed by a ‘key word’ and a second
sentence with a gap in the middle. You
What's in Part 4?
have to use this key word to complete the
second sentence, in 3 to 6 words, so that
it means the same as the first sentence.

What do I have to practise? Grammar, vocabulary and collocation.

How many questions are there? 6

How many marks are there? up to 2 marks for each correct answer.
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 4 (Key word transformations)
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 5 (Multiple choice) - READING SECTION

A text with some multiple-choice

questions. For each question, there are
What's in Part 5?
four options and you have to choose the
correct one: A, B, C or D.

Reading for detail, opinion, tone, purpose,

What do I have to practise?
main idea...

How many questions are there? 6

How many marks are there? 2 marks for each correct answer.
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 5 (Multiple choice)
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 6 (Cross-text multiple matching)

Four short texts with multiple-matching

questions. You must read across all of the
What's in Part 6?
texts to match a prompt to elements in
the texts.

Understanding and comparing opinions and

What do I have to practise?
attitudes across texts.

How many questions are there? 4

How many marks are there? 2 marks for each correct answer.
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 6 (Cross-text multiple matching)
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 7 (Gapped text)

A text with some numbered gaps which

represent missing paragraphs. After the
text there are some paragraphs which
What's in Part 7?
are not in the right order. You have to
read it and the paragraphs and decide
which paragraph best fits each gap.

How to understand the structure and

What do I have to practise?
development of a text.

How many questions are there? 6

How many marks are there? 2 marks for each correct answer.
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 7 (Gapped text)
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 8 (Multiple matching)

A series of multiple-matching questions

followed by a text or several short texts.
What's in Part 8?
You have to match a prompt to elements
in the text.

Reading for specific information, detail,

What do I have to practise?
opinion and attitude.

How many questions are there? 10

How many marks are there? 1 mark for each correct answer.
READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
Part 8 (Multiple matching)
 WRITING
In the two parts of the C1 Advanced Writing paper, you have to
show that you can write different types of text in English.

Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes

Number of parts: 2

Part 1: one compulsory question

Number of questions: Part 2: one question from a choice of
three

Task types: A range from: essay, letter/email,

proposal, report, review.
 WRITING
Part 1 (Compulsory question)

You read a text, then write an essay

based on points included in the text.
What's in Part 1? You’ll be asked to explain which of
the two points is more important,
and to give reasons for your opinion.

How many questions are there? one compulsory question

How much do I have to write? 220-260 words.

 WRITING
Part 1 (Compulsory question)
 WRITING
Part 2 (Situationally based writing task)

You write a text from a choice of

text types – letter/email, proposal,
report or review. To guide your
What's in Part 2?
writing, you’ll be given information
about context, topic purpose and
target reader.

Three tasks, from which you must

How many questions are there?
choose one.

How much do I have to write? 220-260 words.

 WRITING
Part 2 (Situationally based writing task)
LISTENING
The C1 Advanced Listening paper has four parts. For each part you have to listen to a
recorded text or texts and answer some questions. You hear each recording twice.

Time allowed: About 40 minutes

Number of parts: 4

Number of questions: 30

Monologues: radio broadcasts, speeches,

talks, lectures, anecdotes, etc.; or
Recordings may be from:
interacting speakers: radio broadcasts,
interviews, discussions, conversations, etc.
LISTENING
Part 1 (Multiple choice)

Three short extracts from conversations

between interacting speakers. There are
What's in Part 1?
two multiple-choice questions for each
extract and you have to choose A, B or C.

Listening for feeling, attitude, opinion,

What do I have to practise?
purpose, function, agreement...

Number of questions: 6

How many marks are there? 1 mark for each correct answer.
LISTENING
Part 1 (Multiple choice)
LISTENING
Part 2 (Sentence completion)

A monologue lasting 3 minutes. You have to

complete the sentences on the question
What's in Part 2?
paper with the missing information which
you hear on the recording.

Listening for specific information, stated

What do I have to practise?
opinion.

Number of questions: 6

How many marks are there? 1 mark for each correct answer.
LISTENING
Part 2 (Sentence completion)
LISTENING
Part 3 (Multiple choice)

A conversation between two or more

speakers of approximately 4 minutes. You
What's in Part 3?
have to answer some multiple-choice
questions (A, B C or D).

Listening for attitude, opinion, agreement,

What do I have to practise?
gist, feeling, speaker purpose...

Number of questions: 6

How many marks are there? 1 mark for each correct answer.
LISTENING
Part 3 (Multiple choice)
LISTENING
Part 4 (Multiple matching)

A series of five themed monologues of

approximately 30 seconds. On the question
What's in Part 4? paper, there are two tasks and for each
task you have to match each of the five
speakers to one of eight possible answers.

Listening for attitude, opinion, agreement,

What do I have to practise?
gist, feeling, speaker purpose...

Number of questions: 6

How many marks are there? 1 mark for each correct answer.
LISTENING
Part 4 (Multiple matching)
 SPEAKING
The C1 Advanced Speaking test has four parts and you take it
together with another candidate.

Time allowed: 15 minutes per pair of candidates

Number of parts: 4

with the examiner

You have to talk: with the other candidate
on your own

There are two examiners. One of the examiners conducts the test (asks you
questions, gives you the paper with things to talk about, and so on). The other
examiner listens to what you say and takes notes.
SPEAKING
Part 1 (Interview)

Conversation between the candidates and

the interlocutor. The examiner asks
What's in Part 1? questions and you may have to give
information about your interests, studies,
careers, etc.

Giving information about yourself and

What do I have to practise? expressing your opinion about various
topics.

How long do we have to speak? 2 minutes

SPEAKING
Part 1 (Interview)
SPEAKING
Part 2 (Long turn)

The interlocutor gives you 3 pictures and

asks you to talk about 2 of them. You have
to speak for 1 minute without interruption
What's in Part 2? and the interlocutor then asks the other
candidate to comment on what you have
said for about 30 seconds. You do the
same with the other candidate.

Comparing, describing, expressing opinions,

What do I have to practise?
speculating.

How long do we have to speak? 1 minute plus a 30-second response

SPEAKING
Part 2 (Long turn)
SPEAKING
Part 3 (Collaborative task)

The examiner gives you spoken instructions

to discuss for 2 minutes (3 minutes for
groups of three). Then, the examiner will
What's in Part 3?
ask a decision-making question. You have 1
minute to decide together (2 minutes for
groups of three).

Exchanging ideas, expressing and justifying

What do I have to practise? opinions, suggesting, reaching a decision
through negotiation, etc.

How long do we have to speak? 3 minutes

SPEAKING
Part 3 (Collaborative task)
SPEAKING
Part 4 (Discussion)

Further discussion with the other

candidate based on the topics or issues
raised in the task in Part 3. The
What's in Part 3?
interlocutor asks each of you some
questions and you discuss them with the
other candidate.

Expressing and justifying opinions, agreeing

What do I have to practise?
and/or disagreeing.

How long do we have to speak? 5 minutes

SPEAKING
Part 4 (Discussion)
MARKING CRITERIA
For C1 Advanced, the following scores will be used to report results:
MARKING CRITERIA
What is on my certificate?
TYPE OF EXAM
Features Paper based. Digital

Location At an authorised exam centre, school, or external venue

Registration Up to 4 weeks before

Up to 2 working days before exam date
exam date

Exam set up On paper On computer (available on PCs, laptops and

Macs)

Task types Identical

Exam content Same questions for all candidates

TYPE OF EXAM
Features Paper based. Digital

Speaking test Face-to-face

Listening test Digital audio player Headphones with volume control

Reading and Writing Paper with a pen and Computer with keyboard, screen and
test pencil mouse

Paper certificate sent to the exam centre within 3 months of the

Certificates
exam date