Marta’s tips to pass your Cambridge Exam!

4th April 2019

Our fantastic Assistant Operations Manager, Marta, originally from Spain passed her FCE (First) years ago.

She also obtained her CAE (Advanced) and then her CPE (Proficiency).

Marta wants to share with your her tips and advice to be well prepared to pass this Cambridge exam.

Reading and Use of English:

“For this part of the exam, I would recommend practising sample/past papers as much as possible. The more you practise the less you will worry about what you have to do, and you will be able to focus more on your answers. Past papers (from real exams) will also give you a good idea of what kind of words or texts you can expect to see in your exam.”

Writing:

“Make sure you are familiar with the structure of all the different types of text that may come up in the exam (essay, email, article, review…). I would also suggest underlining what you are asked to do in the exercise as a reminder (e.g. “use all the notes provided” or “give your own opinion”), because the examiners will check that you have covered everything.”

Listening:

“My top tip for the listening test is to never switch off! The meaning of a whole sentence can change with just one word or after the next sentence, so listen carefully to the full recording.”

Speaking:

“On the day of the exam, don’t be afraid of saying “Can you repeat, please?” if you didn’t understand or hear the question, or “Let me think/I never thought about this question before” if you need a few seconds to come up with an answer. We all do this in real life, and it is better than staying silent! Also, whenever you learn a new word or expression that you find particularly interesting and that may impress the examiner, write it down and try to use it in the exam if you can.”