Exam Information
Overview
The Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English consists of five papers.
Paper 1 Reading (1 hour 30 minutes)
Paper 2 Writing (2 hours)
Paper 3 Use of English (1 hour 30 minutes)
Paper 4 Listening (approx. 40 minutes)
Paper 5 Speaking (19 minutes)
Each paper tests a different area of your ability in English. The overall grade is based on all five papers, which are weighted equally; there are three pass grades (ABC) and two fail grades (DE). Typically, grade C corresponds to 60% of the total marks. There is also an optional background reading text for Paper 2 only.
Paper 1 Reading
The paper has 40 questions and is divided into four parts.
Part 1 Multiple-choice questions
There are three short unthemed cloze texts with six four-option multiple-choice questions on each text. The focus of the question is on vocabulary, including collocations, idioms, linkers, complementation and phrasal verbs. (See Exam Focus Unit 1, page 14.)
Part 2 Multiple-choice question
There are four short themed texts from different genres with two four-option multiple-choice questions on each text. The focus may be on content or detail, opinion, attitude, purpose of text, implication and text organization features such as references and comparison. (See Exam Focus Unit 10, page 146.)
Part 3 Gapped Text
You will be given a single long text from which paragraphs have been removed. These are given in jumbled order for you to replace in their correct place in the base text. To do this you need to think about cohesion (linking devices), underlying ideas, the structure of the text and the overall meaning. (See Exam Focus Unit 5, page 68.)
Part 4 Multiple-choice questions
You will be given a single long text from a range of genres and sources with seven four-option multiple-choice questions. The focus of these questions is the same as for Part 2. (See Exam Focus Unit 7, page 98.)
Marking: there is one mark for each correct answer in Part 1, and two marks for each correct answer in Parts 2-4.
Paper 2 Writing
The paper is divided into two parts and you are asked to complete two writing tasks. You have to write 300-350 words for each answer.
Part 1 has one question only which is compulsory. You will be given a task with one or more short texts (from the same source) to give you ideas for your writing, and you will be expected to present and develop ideas supporting your opinions with evidence. It may be:
an article (See Writing section in Unit 13.)
an essay (See Writing section in Units 1 and 7.)
a letter (See Writing section in Unit 1.)
a proposal (See Writing section in Unit 2.)
Here is an example of Part 1 task.
TASK You have seen the email below posted on the website of your local football club. You decide to write a letter to the local council responding to the points raised and making constructive suggestions for solving the problem. 300-350 words. |
Parking on match days is an absolute nightmare. I had to park a kilometre away from the ground for the match on Saturday and then I got clamped! I've got to come in by car - the bus service is so bad - so what am I supposed to do? The council has clearly got it in for football supporters - but after all, we're bringing money into the town. There's plenty of land around that could be used for car parks. It's high time someone did something about it. |
Part 2 has four optional questions, from which you choose one. Question 5 will always be on the set text. The other questions may include:
a letter (See Writing sections in Units 4 and 8.)
a report (See Writing sections in Units 6 and 10.)
an article (See Writing section in Unit 9.)
a proposal (See Writing section in Unit 5.)
a review (See Writing sections in Units 3 and 12.)
Question 5 is made up of three questions, one on each optional prescribed background reading text 9see examples in the Writing section in Unit 14). The task may be to write a letter, an essay, an article, a review or a report.
Marking: each question in the paper carries equal marks and you will be penalized for writing very short answers. Spelling and punctuation will be taken into account. It is important that you use appropriate vocabulary and style, and that you organize your writing appropriately for the task set.
Paper 3 Use of English
The paper has 44 questions and is divided into five parts.
Part 1 Open cloze text
This consists of a text with 15 gaps which you must fill in with a single appropriate word. You must write your answers in capital letter on the answer sheet. There may be more than one acceptable answer, but the focus is primarily on structure and on grammatical patterns and collocations. You may be penalized for incorrect spelling. (See Exam Focus Unit 3, page 45.)
Part 2 Word information
This consists of a text with 10 gaps, each one corresponding to a word. The stems of these missing words are given beside the text, and you have to write the word in its correct form in capital letters on the answer sheet. You will need to be aware of prefixes and suffixes as well as compound words. (See Exam Focus Unit 2, page 32.)
Part 3 Gapped sentences
You will be given six sets of three discrete sentences, with a gap in each sentence. You need to find a single word that you can use in the gap of all three sentences in each set. You will need to think about collocation, phrasal verbs, idioms and lexical patterns. You must write your answers in capital letters on the answer sheet. (See Exam Focus Unit 8, page 114.)
Part 4 Key word transformation
This part consists of eight separate sentences. You have to transform each sentence so that it is as close as possible in meaning to the original sentence, using a given word that you may not change in any way. You will be given the beginning and end of the transformed sentence. The emphasis is on whole phrases rather than individual words or grammatical structures, though you may need to think about the effect of the given word on the grammar of the sentence. You may not use more than eight words in the gap and you may be penalized for incorrect spelling. (See Exam Focus Unit 11, page 164.)
Part 5 Comprehension questions and Summary writing task
You will be given two texts on a similar topic though from different genres. Each text will be followed by two comprehension questions which focus on awareness of the style and vocabulary of the texts, and on referencing. The questions may involve interpreting meaning an identifying the function of specific language items in the text. Your answers may not need to be in full sentences, and some questions may specify that you should use your own words. These questions are testing comprehension rather than writing skills, and grammatical errors will not be penalized unless they make your answer impossible to understand.
You will then be asked to complete a summary task using relevant information taken from both texts. This tests your ability to choose relevant information to answer the given question and to express this in a clear, well-organized paragraph of 50-70 words. Your summary should not be in note form and should be in formal or neutral style. You should always try to use your own words rather than lifting the words of the text, and you should include appropriate linkers. You will be marked on relevance, organization and accuracy of language. If you write more than the required number of words then you will lose marks. (See Exam Focus Unit 4, page 54.)
Marking: there is one mark for each correct answer in questions 1-25 and two marks for each correct answer in questions 26-43. There are 14 marks for question 44: this is four marks for content and 10 for summary writing skills.
Paper 4 Listening
This paper has 28 questions and is divided into four parts, each with a recorded text or texts. In each part you will hear the recording twice. The texts may be taken from announcements, radio broadcasts, public speechless, interviews, talks, lectures or meetings and you may hear a variety of accents.
Part 1 Three-option multiple-choice questions
You will hear four short extracts from monologues or conversations with interacting speakers, and you will have to answers two three-option questions for each extract. This task may test your understanding of purpose, attitude, opinions and feelings expressed by the speakers as well as gist, main idea and detail. (See Exam Focus Unit 12, page 178.)
Part 2 Sentence completion
You have to complete nine gaps in sentences with information from the text, which will be a monologue or near-monologue. These sentences form a summary of the text and will focus on abstract ideas, opinions or feelings as well as specific information. Most answers are short, consisting of a word or short phrase from the text, and must fit grammatically into the sentence. Spelling must be correct. (See Exam Focus Unit 9, page 128.)
Part 3 Four-option multiple-choice questions
You will hear a conversation with interacting speakers, and there will be five four-option multiple-choice questions focusing on opinion, gist, detail and inference. (See Exam Focus Unit 6, page 83.)
Part 4 Three-way matching
You will hear a conversation between two speakers. You will then have to decide which of a series of statements reflects the views or opinion of which speaker. You will also have to decide whether the speakers agree on some statement. You will need to listen for the attitude of the speakers which may not be stated but may be given through intonation or choice of expression. (See Exam Focus Unit 14, page 199.)
Marking: there is one mark for each correct answer.
Paper 5 Speaking
This paper consists of three parts, and you will take the test with another candidate. If there is an odd number of candidates then the last ones may take the test in group of three. There will be two examiners, an interlocutor and an assessor. The interlocutor will manage the test by asking questions and setting up the tasks, but the assessor will not speak to you. You will be assessed throughout on your range of grammar and vocabulary, your ability to develop arguments, the clarity and appropriacy of your pronunciation, the way you communicate with your partner and your overall performance during the test.
Part 1 Conversation with the interlocutor (3 minutes)
The interlocutor will ask you and your partner to talk about yourselves and to give your own opinion on various topics.
Part 2 Two-way conversation between you and your partner (4 minutes)
You will be given a picture or group of pictures and asked to complete a task together. This will involve comparing and evaluating the pictures(s) and then giving opinions and making decisions on a topic related to the pictures(s).
Part 3 Long turn and discussion (2 minutes for each long turn plus 8 minutes general discussion)
You will each be given a prompt card with a written question and prompts to give you ideas for answering the questions on the card. You will be asked to talk for two minutes on your questions, and your partner will then be given a different (but related) question to talk about for two minutes. The interlocutor will then ask general questions related to the topic of both your long turns to generate a discussion between you and your partner.
(For help with all the sections of the Speaking paper, see Exam Focus Unit 13, page 190. These are examples of Speaking prompt cards and follow-up questions on the topic of each unit on pages 226-229. These can be used to extend your ability to talk about the topic by discussing them in class, or they can be used for further Speaking practice in exam format.)