The document provides an overview of the format and content of the First Certificate in English (FCE) examination, which assesses English language proficiency at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference. It describes the 5 exam papers: Reading, Writing, Use of English, Listening, and Speaking. For each paper it outlines the number of parts, questions, timing, marks, task types, and content assessed. The Reading, Writing, and Use of English papers involve multiple choice, gap fill, and matching questions. The Listening paper tests understanding of short texts and conversations. The Speaking paper involves personal interviews and discussions between candidates.

1. LEVEL B2 OF THE COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES (CEFR)

2. FCE CONTENT AND OVERVIEW FCE EXAM PARTS ( PAPERS) 1: READING (20%) 1 HOUR 2. WRITING (20%) 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES 3: USE OF ENGLISH (20%) 45 MINUTES 4: LISTENING (20%) APROX. 40 MINUTES 5: SPEAKING (20%) 14 MINUTES

3. FCE EXAM FORMAT. PAPER 1 PAPER 1: READING, GENERAL DESCRIPTION Time allowed: 1 hour Number of parts: 3 Number of questions: 30 Marks: 20% of total Lengths of texts: 550–700 words per text: about 2,000 words to read in total Texts may be from: newspaper and magazine articles, reports, fiction, advertisements, letters, messages, informational material (e.g. brochures, guides, manuals, etc.)

4. FCE. PAPER 1. READING. PART 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE What's in Part 1? A text with some multiple-choice questions. Each question has four options (A, B, C or D) and you have to decide which is the correct answer. What do I have to practise? How to understand the details of a text, including opinions and attitudes. How many questions are there? 8 How many marks do I get? Two marks for each correct answer.

5. FCE. PAPER 1. READING. PART 2: GAPPED TEXT (SENTENCES IN CONTEXT) What's in Part 2? A text with some empty spaces (gaps). After the text there are some sentences taken from the text. You have to choose the correct sentence for each gap. What do I have to practise? How to understand the structure and follow the development of a text . How many questions are there? 7 How many marks do I get? Two marks for each correct answer.

6. PART 3:READING FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION (WHICH PERSON?) FCE. PAPER 1. READING. What's in Part 2? A series of questions and a long text or several short texts to read. For each question, you have to decide which text or part of the text mentions some specific information . What do I have to practise? How to find specific information in a text or texts. How many questions are there? 15 How many marks do I get? ONE mark for each correct answer.

7. FCE. PAPER 2. WRITING. PAPER 2: WRITING Time allowed: 1 hour 20 minutes Number of parts: 2 Number of questions: Part 1: one compulsory question Part 2: one question from a choice of five Marks: 20% of total Types of task: article, email, essay, letter, report, review, story

8. FCE. PAPER 2. WRITING.

9. FCE. PAPER 2. WRITING. PART 1, QUESTION 1. LETTER/ E-MAIL What's in Part 1? Some material to read (up to 160 words). You have to write a letter or email using the information in this material. What do I have to practise? Writing a letter or email. You may have to apologise, compare, describe, explain, express opinions, justify, persuade, recommend, and/or suggest something. How many questions are there? One compulsory question. How much do I have to write? 120–150 words

10. FCE. PAPER 2. WRITING. PART 2. QUESTIONS 2-5: ARTICLE, ESSAY, LETTER, REPORT, REVIEW OR STORY What's in Part 2? A choice of five questions. The answer you have to write will be one of the following: an article, essay, letter, report, review or story. What about Question 5? If you read one of the set books and want to write about it, you may decide to try Question 5. You have a choice of two tasks 5 (a) or 5 (b) for this question. What do I have to practise? Writing different types of text: articles, essays, letters, reports, reviews. Depending on the question, you will have to advise, compare, describe, explain, express opinions, justify and/or recommend something. How many questions are there? One task to be selected from a choice of five. How much do I have to write? 120–180 words

11. FCE. PAPER 3. USE OF ENGLISH. PAPER 3: USE OF ENGLISH. GENERAL DESCRIPTION Time allowed: 45 minutes Number of parts: 4 Number of questions: 42 Marks: 20% of total

12. FCE. PAPER 3. USE OF ENGLISH. PART 1. GAP FILLING. MULTIPLE CHOICE CLOZE What's in Part 1? A text in which there are some missing words or phrases (gaps). After the text there are four possible answers for each gap and you have to choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D). What do I have to practise? Vocabulary – words with similar meanings, collocations, linking phrases, phrasal verbs, etc. How many questions are there? 12 How many marks are there? One mark for each correct answer.

13. FCE. PAPER 3. USE OF ENGLISH. PART 2. GAP FILLING: WORD PRODUCTION What's in Part 2? A text in which there are some missing words (gaps). You have to find the correct word for each gap. What do I have to practise? Grammar and vocabulary. How many questions are there? 12 How many marks are there? One mark for each correct answer.

14. FCE. PAPER 3. USE OF ENGLISH. PART 3. GAP FILLING: WORD FAMILIES/ WORD FORMATION What's in Part 3? A text containing ten gaps. Each gap represents a word. At the end of the line is a ‘prompt’ word which you have to change in some way to make the correct missing word and complete the sentence correctly. What do I have to practise? Vocabulary – word building: the different words which you can make from a ‘base’ word, e.g. ‘compete’ becomes ‘competition’, ‘competitor’, ‘competitive’, competitively’ or ‘uncompetitive’. How many questions are there? 10 How many marks are there? One mark for each correct answer.

15. FCE. PAPER 3. USE OF ENGLISH. PART 4. KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS What's in Part 4? A sentence followed by a key word and a second sentence which has a gap in it. You have to use the key word to complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first sentence. What do I have to practise? Grammar and vocabulary – rewriting sentences with different words so that they mean the same thing. How many questions are there? 8 How many marks are there? Up to two marks for each correct answer.

16. PAPER 4: LISTENING PAPER 4: LISTENING. GENERAL DESCRIPTION Time allowed: about 40 minutes Number of parts: 4 Number of questions: 30 Marks: 20% of total

17. PAPER 4: LISTENING PART 1: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICE FOR DIFFERENT SITUATIONS Eight questions to test candidates’ ability to listen for gist in a series of unrelated texts. The testing focusis spelled out in each question

18. PAPER 4: LISTENING PART 2: LISTENING. SENTENCE COMPLETION This part tests candidates’ ability to listen for specific words or phrases focusing on detail and specific information. The test is presented in the form of 10 questions. Candidates need to listen and complete the questions.

19. PAPER 4: LISTENING PART 3: LISTENING. MULTIPLE MATCHING This part focus is on the skill of listening for general gist, detail, purpose, attitude, opinion, etc. Candidates listen to five short texts with different speakers, which are related in some way (E.g.: travel, a journey, vehicles, etc)

20. PAPER 4: LISTENING PART 4: LISTENING. MULTIPLE CHOICE In this part, the predominant focus is on testing the candidates’ ability to listen for opinion, main idea, gist and specific info, and based on one long test.