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C2 Proficiency (CPE) · Paper 2 · 36 tasks

C2 Proficiency Writing: the complete guide

Two tasks in 1 hour 30 minutes: an essay that summarises and evaluates two short texts in 240–280 words, then an article, letter, report or review in 280–320. What examiners expect at C2, the marks you need, and an AI examiner that marks your writing in about a minute.

Try one now · Part 1

One of the two texts says:

Remote work saves employees hours of commuting, but it can leave them cut off from the colleagues they learn from.

Which sentence summarises it best in your own words?

  1. Remote work saves employees hours of commuting but can leave them cut off from colleagues.
  2. Working from home removes the daily journey, yet it may also isolate people from those who help them grow.
  3. Remote work has good and bad points.

Examiners want the writer’s ideas in your words, with nothing lost.

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The two parts, and where students lose marks

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  1. Part 1 · Essay: Summarise and evaluate the key points of two short texts · 9 tasks. Length: 240–280 words, compulsory. Time: 45 min, suggested. C2 students score: 65%.
  2. Part 2 · Article, letter, report or review: A task for a given reader and purpose, written with precision · 27 tasks. Length: 280–320 words, choose one task. Time: 45 min, suggested. C2 students score: 62%.

Language is where C2 students score lowest: 2.8 out of 5 on average. Keep a list of the mistakes you make most and check for them at the end. A wider range of structures, used accurately, also lifts this mark.

Average marks from 52 tasks marked by the AI examiner, for 28 C2 students on Cambridge Ready.

The marks you need for a C2

200 on the Cambridge English Scale

What the examiners mark

About 3 out of 5 on each scale (24 of 40 marks) gives 200, a C2.

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. In Part 1, find the key points in each text before you write a word.
  2. Summarise in your own words, then evaluate: say how convincing each idea is.
  3. Give your own view as well as the writers’, and keep it clear to the end.
  4. In Part 2, write for the reader named in the task, with a register to match.
  5. Show range with control: a precise word beats a rare one used loosely.
  6. Keep 5 minutes to proofread. At C2, small slips stand out.

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 C2 Proficiency Writing paper?

1 hour 30 minutes for two tasks: a compulsory essay of 240–280 words, and one Part 2 task of 280–320 words chosen from several.

How many marks do you need to pass C2 Proficiency Writing?

About 24 out of 40 in Writing, which gives 200 on the Cambridge English Scale, the C2 level. That is about 3 out of 5 on each marking scale. You pass on your overall score, the average of all five skills.

What is the C2 Proficiency Part 1 essay?

A compulsory essay of 240–280 words. You read two short texts on the same topic, summarise their key points and evaluate them, giving your own view.

Can I get my C2 Proficiency 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 C2 Proficiency Writing tasks (36)

C2 Proficiency Handbook, Cambridge English

Cambridge C2 Proficiency Teacher's Guide for Writing, Cambridge English

Cambridge English Proficiency 2, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English: Proficiency 1, Cambridge University Press

Other levels