Writing Part 1
Planning an Essay
C1 Advanced Exam
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Writing Part 1
In this section:
Strategies for planning the C1 Advanced Part 1 Essay.
Why you should plan
Why you should plan
A lot of people want to skip the planning stage and immediately start writing. However, this often leads to disorganized essays and can lead to frustration while writing. It's actually much wiser to plan your writing, and the entire process will be easier as a result.
Having a plan will:
help your piece be more organized, leading to a higher mark for organization
help you with idea generation
make it easier to double-check that you've done everything required in the task, leading to a higher mark under content
make the writing process will be much easier and faster
result in writing which is easier to read, leading to a higher score under communicative achievement.
Planning is actually really easy and not a waste of time at all. In fact, all high-scoring essays begin with a plan.
Identify what the task is about
Identify what the task is about
Here's an example C1 Advanced Part 1 essay:
Before planning, it is crucial that you know exactly what to write about so take a moment to read the task clearly.
Luckily, Part 1 C1 Advanced writing tasks are always set up in a similar fashion, so you will be prepared about what to do.
Identify the Audience
Identify the Audience
In the example above, we know we are writing an essay so our audience will probably be academic in nature. Whenever we write an essay, we must use a neutral or slightly-formal tone, and we also should use a formal tone whenever writing to a teacher.
It's always important to identify the reader so we know what kind of tone to use. For example, the style you use in an essay or report will be different than the style you use for an informal letter. You will be marked on how well you do this, so it's always important to identity the reader.
Identify the Tasks
Identify the Tasks
Each question will always tell exactly what you must write about.
In an essay, it will list three bullet points which you must address. You must select two to talk about.
In the above example, I am going to talk about:
museums
sporting centres
It will also give you some quotes you can reference in your writing. These are optional and you do not need to use them if you don't want. If you do use them, you must paraphrase the information; you can never copy word for word part of the original task.
Answer the Question
Answer the Question
These tasks always ask you to give an opinion. In this task, it asks: a question you must answer. In this task, the question is:
"You should explain which facility is more important for local authorities to give money to, giving reasons in support of your answer."
Don't forget to answer this question. Sometimes people just write about the two points without making their opinion clear. Don't make this mistake.
In this case, my answer will be: Museums are the most important facility for local authorities to give money to.
Note: If you get a question that asks your opinion, always pick a side, even if you don't really have one.
It's possible that you will have no strong feelings about the topic. However, it's easier to write an essay when you pick a side; your opinion and essay will be clearer to the examiner, resulting in a higher mark.
Outline
Outline
An essay should have both an introduction and conclusion. You can organize your essay quickly and easily by dedicating one paragraph to each part.
For a C1 Advanced essay task like the one above, the paragraphs will be:
Introduction
Bullet point 1 (museums)
Bullet point 2 (sports centres)
Conclusion
Planning the Paragraphs
Planning the Paragraphs
Here are many ways you could organize your paragraph. I suggest this way:
Each supporting paragraph should have:
One sentence introducing one of the points.
One sentence for why it is or isn't the best choice with a clear reason or example.
One sentence which addresses the main question.
Using this format ensures that:
each point is addressed
each point has some relevant supporting information or an example
each paragraph ties back to the main question of the essay (great for a high score under organization.)
What to talk about
What to talk about
A lot of people really struggle with idea generation. They think that their ideas must be really clever or interesting, so they waste a lot of time brainstorming, trying to think of good things to write about.
Your ideas do not need to be amazing. In fact, they can be stereotypical and overused. This is not an ideas test; it is a communication test. You do not need to impress the examiner with original, brilliant ideas, you only need to impress them with your English!
Instead, write about whatever is:
easy for you to talk about that you have vocabulary for
easy to explain
easy to think of examples for that are logical and support your position
This will also make your essay clearer and easier to understand for the examiner, resulting in higher scores under communicative achievement and organization.
The Body Paragraphs
The Body Paragraphs
As I mentioned before, pick things that are easy for you to talk about. You get no extra points for creativity or amazing ideas.
Also, it doesn't matter which order you write the points in. You could write about everything in the same way its presented in the task, or begin with your point and address the other two last - it doesn't matter. Do whatever is easiest for you.
Body Paragraph 1:
Introduce the topic (Sports Centers)
Point - They make lots of money from sponsorships and advertising
Tie it to the question - They don't need the money as much as museums do
Body Paragraph 2:
Introduce the topic (Museums)
Point - It is much harder for them to earn revenue through sponsorships and advertising and they rely on public support
Tie it to the question - They need the money more
Conclusion
Conclusion
The conclusion will finish your piece. Your conclusion should:
Summarize the main point of your writing.
Not have new ideas.
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