CAE Use of English Part 1 // Cambridge English: Advanced Use of English Part 1 [C1]

CAE Use of English Part 1 // Cambridge English: Advanced Use of English Part 1 [C1]
How to pass the CAE Use of English Part 1

1. Don’t just describe the pictures
In this part of the Speaking test, you look at three photographs and choose two to speak about. Your task is to compare the two photos and answer the questions about them. It’s tempting to describe the pictures in detail as that’s quite common in speaking exams … but not in Cambridge Advanced! Instead, you need to describe the similarities and differences between the photos. If you spend too much time telling the examiner what you see in the photos, you won’t have enough time to make comparisons and answer the examiner’s questions. For your turn, you speak for one minute. It’s suggested you spend half the time comparing the pictures and the other half answering the questions.

Let’s look at an example for the CAE reading and use of English part 1

How might the people be feeling?
Why might they be in these situations?

In the CAE Use of English Part 1 exam, you could say: In the first picture there appears to be a person hiking in extremely hot, dry conditions like in the desert or a canyon whereas in the second picture the person looks to be ski touring in some snowy mountains. In picture one, they might be feeling boiling hot on account of the weather while in picture two they must be freezing cold! In both pictures I suppose the people are feeling exhilarated by the activities that they are doing.

‘Whereas’, ‘while’ and ‘both’ are magic words that you can – and should! – use for comparing your two chosen photos.

Take care! The answer above is a good start, but it’s not complete. It would only take about 40 seconds and only answers one of the questions asked. The examiner wants to hear whether you can talk at length (for the full 60 seconds) and develop answers to both questions.

You could go on to say: I suppose they are in these situations because they wanted to get away from it all. Maybe they felt like getting some exercise. Or perhaps they were looking to clear their minds while spending time alone in nature. I think in both cases the activities look quite challenging so the people could be looking for adventure.

Test takeaway: In the Speaking test, you’ll be graded on how relevant what you say is to the task. So, stick to the topic if you a better mark!

2. Be ready to speculate in the CAE Use of English Part 1
For the most part, there are no right or wrong answers in the Speaking test. The examiner doesn’t expect you to be an expert on the topic being discussed. Instead, they will assess you on how well you can express your ideas and opinions about that topic. In other words, the focus is less on what you say, and more on how you say it. That’s why it’s important that you practise speculating as you prepare for your exam. Let’s look at an example:

Do you know what the man is doing? I, for one, have no idea!

In the exam, you could say: It’s difficult to know what he’s doing up there. Perhaps he’s a hunter so he’s looking out for wild animals or he might just be relaxing in a strange spot…

‘Perhaps’ and ‘might’ are two examples of speculative language. Here are some others:

----------------CAE Use of English Part 1-------------
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CAE Advanced Reading and Use of English Part 1

You find all informations about the c1 advanced reading and use of english part 1 in this video.

[mariliavargasmadureira]

Thank you SO MUCH! I simply loved your tips!

[englishvibesReal]

This is a wonderful video that might come in handy, I wouldn't have imagined the exam to be this hard, there are so many subtleties, I am about to cry 🥲🥲🥲🥲