Cambridge has a particular way of writing. It is based on research and investigation at one of the leading educational institutions in the world. In this post I want to explain some of the features of the method. If you understand it you can get a better mark in the exam. You might also end up writing clear and consistent prose.
The problem
If you want to show off how much of a language you know, what do you do? You could find all the most difficult and complicated words you can. You could say that the real language is on the streets and always use up-to-date idioms. Or you could focus on thinking clearly and saying what you mean. This is the option that Cambridge prefers. I think it is an excellent way of learning to write.
We can understand how it works by looking at Cambridge’s assessment categories.
Content
Content means, quite simply, that you have to answer the question. It is worth spending some time with that question to make sure that you understand it fully. Read too quickly and you might miss an important detail. Perhaps it asks you to quote a reference, for example. Perhaps it asks you to choose two aspects to talk about. You get 5 points for content, equal to 25% of the mark and it is hardly English at all. I would call it common sense. It is also an excellent skill for life. When you apply for a job you had better read the requirements closely before you write anything!
Communicative Achievement
Cambridge puts a heavy emphasis on communication. I think this is the way it should be. If the reader has to struggle to understand what you are saying, you are going wrong. Divide your sentences. Some can be longer, with subordinate clauses that add interest and variety to your writing. Make others short. When you read over your writing, which I encourage you to do slowly and subvocalising, you should look out for places where you pause and stumble. If you do not know what you are saying, the reader will struggle even more.
Register is the other important aspect of Communicative Achievement that you cannot ignore. Written and spoken English are quite different. There is a range of registers between formal and informal. If you are writing a formal text, such as an essay or a letter of application, you should not use colloquial expressions, ask chatty questions, or use short forms such as isn’t, can’t, and so on. By contrast, when you are writing to a friend you should make your sentences shorter, cut out those formal discourse markers, and make a close approximation to spoken language. That means usng phrasal verbs when you can.
Organization
Your writing must be organized. In practice this means having two main paragraphs in the text, an introduction and a conclusion. You can use the content points to guide you. Make your points as clearly as you can by stating the idea, giving an example and then commenting on it.
Divide your text with appropriate linkers such as these (informal on the right):
- furthermore //what’s more
- by contrast //well, so, anyway
- firstly, lastly //in the first place
- on the one hand
- on the other hand
- whereas //you know, like, so
- moreover //right, like, you know
- similarly //like
- in conclusion… // to sum up, so basically
At the end of the piece you need to bring it all together. You do not need to repeat everything you said before. You do need to refer to your argument and state what your position is.
Language
Why is language not the first category? It is a language examination after all. Each of these categories is awarded five points and you can earn a good number of points just by reading the question, thinking clearly and laying out your ideas logically. Cambridge wants to emphasise that the purpose of language is to communicate. Do not forget this.
Nothing I say about language changes what I have said above. If your writing fails to communicate, no tricks will help you.
However, there are some things that examiners like to see:
- modal verbs: could, should, might
- modal verbs with perfect tenses: the cat might have eaten the pizza
- passives in appropriate place: cats are often thought to be greedy
- quality adjectives that do not repeat. Try not to use good/bad, big/small.
- quality adverbs. Avoid very and really except in informal writing
- appropriate vocabulary for the subject
You are not expected to be perfect. You are rewarded for being adventurous. You could write a technically perfect but extremely simple piece of prose and not get all the language points.
Two Final Points
Plan and proofread.
When you plan you should be thinking of the words and expressions you are going to use. They will not give you marks for the vocabulary that is in the question, so if you can use your planning time to generate some better words that is an excellent use of time. Similarly, if you are writing about pets and use the word pet ten times, you are wasting words that could be giving you points.
Proofreading is just readiing over what you have written afterwards. You should look for punctuation errors, spelling mistakes, agreements between subject and verb, and unnecessary repetitions. If you are low on words, put in some quality adjectives. You can kill two birds with one stone by using adverb-adjective combinations: highly-qualified. Look out for the slips we all make, such as it’s/its and this/these.