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C1 Advanced (CAE) · Paper 2 · 73 tasks

C1 Advanced Writing: the complete guide

Two tasks, 1 hour 30 minutes, 220–260 words each: a compulsory essay, then your choice of email or letter, proposal, report or review. What examiners look for at C1, the marks you need, and an AI examiner that marks your writing in about a minute.

Try one now · Part 1

The essay asks you to discuss two of three ways to reduce traffic, and to say which would be more effective.

Which sentence does what the task asks?

  1. Both of these ideas are important in different ways.
  2. While cheaper buses would help, it is the congestion charge that would change habits fastest.
  3. Cheaper buses are good. A congestion charge is good too.

The task asks you to decide, not only to describe.

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The two parts, and where students lose marks

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  1. Part 1 · Essay: Discuss two of three points, and say which matters more and why · 19 tasks. Length: 220–260 words, compulsory. Time: 45 min, suggested. C1 students score: 71%.
  2. Part 2 · Email or letter, proposal, report or review: A task for a given reader and purpose, in the right format · 54 tasks. Length: 220–260 words, choose one task. Time: 45 min, suggested. C1 students score: 69%.

Communicative Achievement is where C1 students score lowest: 3.1 out of 5 on average. Write for the reader the task names: a report, a review and a letter each need their own style and tone.

Average marks from 384 tasks marked by the AI examiner, for 130 C1 students on Cambridge Ready.

The marks you need for a C1

180 on the Cambridge English Scale

What the examiners mark

About 3 out of 5 on each scale (24 of 40 marks) gives 180, a C1.

Writing is one of five scores, and your overall result is their average, so every mark here counts towards the grade.

From Cambridge’s published conversion tables. The exact mark varies slightly from paper to paper.

The method

Six habits that hold under time pressure

  1. Plan for 5 to 8 minutes per task. A clear plan is the quickest route to a good Organisation mark.
  2. In the essay, choose two of the three points and say which is more important, with reasons.
  3. Use the opinions in the task as a starting point, in your own words.
  4. In proposals and reports, use headings and make a clear recommendation.
  5. Show range where it fits: a conditional, a passive, a cleft sentence.
  6. Keep 5 minutes to check agreement, articles and spelling.

The traps

The mistakes we see most

Write a Part 1 essay → Marked on the four Cambridge scales in about a minute. One free marked task a month.

Questions students ask

How long is the C1 Advanced Writing paper?

1 hour 30 minutes for two tasks of 220–260 words each. Part 1 is a compulsory essay; in Part 2 you choose one task.

How many marks do you need to pass C1 Advanced Writing?

About 24 out of 40 in Writing, which gives 180 on the Cambridge English Scale, the C1 level. That is about 3 out of 5 on each marking scale. You pass on your overall score, the average of all five skills.

Which Part 2 task is easiest in C1 Advanced Writing?

None is easier in itself. Pick the format you know: reports and proposals reward clear headings and recommendations, reviews a clear opinion, and letters the right tone for the reader.

Can I get my C1 Advanced writing marked online?

Yes. Write any task here and an AI examiner marks it on the four Cambridge scales in about a minute, with corrections quoted from your own text. One marked task a month is free.

All C1 Advanced Writing tasks (73)

C1 Advanced Handbook, Cambridge English

Cambridge C1 Advanced Teacher's Guide for Writing, Cambridge English

Cambridge English Advanced 1, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 2, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 3, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 4, Cambridge University Press

Other levels