____________________________________________________________________________________

Certificate in Advance English (CAE)

CAE has five papers: Reading, Writing, English in Use, Listening and Speaking. Each paper contributes 20% towards the final result.

Reading (Paper 1) - Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

The paper has four parts: each based around one or two texts with corresponding reading comprehension tasks. The style and content of the texts are based on the types of material that candidates could expect to encounter in everyday situations and may include information leaflets, newspapers and magazines or letters.

Candidates are expected to be able to understand the main point, identify text structure, deduce meaning or read closely to extract specific details.

Writing (Paper 2) - Time: 2 hours

Candidates demonstrate their ability to write in English in response to a number of tasks, including one longer piece of at least 250 words. At this level they should have a good control of written English and be able to use the appropriate tone and register for different audiences; they will be required to write several different types of text.

English in Use (Paper 3) - Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Candidates complete a variety of tasks, which test their ability to recognise and use the structures of English in context. The tasks include gap-filling exercises, text completion, word formation, register transfer and error correction.

Listening (Paper 4) - Time: approximately 45 minutes

Candidates demonstrate their ability to understand and extract information from a number of recorded texts, which may include announcements, telephone messages, radio broadcasts, talks and interviews. Candidates are tested on their ability to understand the main points, details and specific information of what they hear and the attitudes and opinions of the speakers. Tasks include sentence completion, multiple choice and multiple matching.

Speaking (Paper 5) - Time: approximately 15 minutes

The speaking paper assesses candidates’ ability to sustain conversation and interaction with others. Candidates are assessed in pairs, by two examiners. Task types include a ‘long turn’, a problem-solving task and wider discussion of topics previously raised.