book review c1 example

How to write a review? | C1 Advanced (CAE)

The main purpose is to describe and express a personal opinion about something which the essay writer has experienced (e.g. a film, a holiday, a product, a website, etc.) and to give the reader a clear impression of what the item discussed is like.

Check our Writing Guide below – to see how to write a CAE review in detail.

C1 Advanced (CAE) Review: Structure

Fce, cae, cpe, practice, write & improve, c1 advanced (cae) review: writing guide.

We will use the example CAE review topic below:

You see the following announcement on a website, Great Lives:

Reviews wanted Send us a review of a book or film that focuses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society.

Did you learn anything new about the person’s life from the book or film? Did the book or film help you understand why this person made their important contribution?

Write your  review (around 220 – 260  words)

Step 1: Briefly analyse your task…

The first thing is to find underline a description part , where we have to describe something like a film, book, restaurant or anything else. Next , find a discussion part where need to give opinion and or make a recommendation or suggestion.

On top of that, find the  target reader who is always specified so you know exactly who you are writing for and who is going to read your review.

Reviews Wanted Send us a review of a book or film that focuses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society. (to describe)

Did you learn anything new about the person’s life from the book or film? Did the book or film help you understand why this person made their important contribution? (to answer/discuss)

Thanks to this, we have all the elements we need to write a great review below:

You need to describe: B o ok or film that focuses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society

You need to answer/discuss:

• Why this person made an important contribution?
• Did you learn anything new about the person’s life?

Who is the target reader: website, Great Lives 

We know now that the target readers are the users of the website, so the writing style can be quite direct and informal (idioms, phrasal verbs).

Now we can start building our structure and writing a review.

Practice Tests Online

Step 2: title.

The review should start with the title, and there are several ways to write it:

• imagine you’re reviewing a book you can write  [Title] by [Author]
• if you were reviewing a hotel you could write the [name of the hotel] – a review
• or you can just write something catchy but it has to point to what you are going to review

Title (book): Green Lantern by Stephen King (by) Title (hotel): Ibiza Hotel in Barcelona – a review (a review) Title (restaurant): Taco Bell: U n forgettable experience (catchy)

we will use this title in our guide : TITLE : Mandela: Striving for Freedom — a review

Step 3: Introduction

The other function of your introduction is to engage the reader . There are certain tools we can use to achieve that for example, we can ask a rhetorical question.

It is a question that doesn’t really need an answer it is there as a stylistic feature that engages the reader and makes them interested in the topic

Make your introduction at least 2-3 sentences long.

INTRODUCTION: Have you ever been so passionate about something that you would sacrifice your very best years for it? In the film Mandela: Striving for Freedom we get not only a glimpse of Nelson Mandela’s life, but rather dive deep into who he was and how he changed a whole country . This autobiographical film, based on the book, and released in 2013, tells the amazing story of an even more extraordinary man.

                  – rhetorical question

                  – identification of reviewed item

  TIP : Don’t waste your time looking for a real book or a real movie to match your review. Make it up or change the facts to suit the review, it doesn’t have to be real.

Step 4: The body paragraphs (main content) 

Unlike essays, your paragraphs don’t have to be of the same length (however, should be longer than the introduction or conclusion).

Use idioms , phrasal verbs and colloquial language  –  informal language is appropriate for your target reader – users of the website, Great Lives

See the example below, in which we dedicate one paragraph to one   point…

[Why this person made an important contribution?]

While the whole film captivated me throughout, there was one aspect that truly stood out to me. Nelson Mandela and his second wife Winnie had a one-of-a-kind relationship driving each other to continue and grow the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa even after Mr Mandela was captured and imprisoned. It is a testament to their dedication and partnership and something ‘that a lot of us can learn from.

[Did you learn anything new about the person’s life?]

Despite having a strong and driven partner in his wife, I still used to be astonished by the fact that someone would simply sacrifice themselves and give up a big part of their life to help others, but this biopic made me reconsider. Witnessing segregated society and all the racial abuse the black community had to endure during apartheid, there was no other option for Nelson Mandela than to stand up and fight for equality.

                      – topic-specific vocabulary

                   – engaging/interesting vocabulary

                    – relevant details

Step 5: Conclusion / Recommendations

It will contain your general impression and your verdict/recommendation .

Use this paragraph to make an objective assessment of the reviewed material. You may then recommend or dissuade your readers from seeing/attending it.

CONCLUSION: All in all, Mandela: Striving for Freedom gives some incredible insight into the life of one of the world’s most famous and influential personalities of the 20th century. It would be a shame not to watch it so I highly recommend that you check your favourite streaming service as soon as you can and I promise you won’t regret it.                 – recap, what you like about the film

                 – recommendation

See full review…

Full review.

Mandela: Striving for Freedom — a review

Have you ever been so passionate about something that you would sacrifice your very best years for it? In the film Mandela: Striving for Freedom we get not only a glimpse of Nelson Mandela’s life, but rather dive deep into who he was and how he changed a whole country. This autobiographical film, based on the book, and released in 2013, tells the amazing story of an even more extraordinary man.

All in all, Mandela: Striving for Freedom gives some incredible insight into the life of one of the world’s most famous and influential personalities of the 20th century. It would be a shame not to watch it so I highly recommend that you check your favourite streaming service as soon as you can and I promise you won’t regret it.

Check your (CAE) Review

C1 advanced (cae) review: example reviews, cae review sample 1.

You have seen this announcement on your favourite music website.

Have you ever been to an amazing concert venue?

Write a review of the best music venue in your local area and tell us about what makes it so special. Say who you would recommend it for a why?

The best entries will be published on our website.

Model answer:

The Apollo: The Theatre of Dreams

Never before have you seen such an amazing spectacle as you will see in the Apollo. It´s not only the facilities and personnel that make this venue so great, but also the amazing acoustics of such a large venue.

From the moment you enter the place there is an awe about it. All of the greatest acts of recent times have played here and you can feel the buzz as soon as you enter. The crowd are so close to the stage that they can literally feel the droplets of sweat coming off of the brows of their favourite artists, this creates an amazing connection between the musicians and the audience and I can tell you, the fans go wild!

I´d definitely recommend this venue to anyone, it has a great feel to it and the prices are at the lower end of what you would expect to pay in such a place. They also don’t go over the top on drinks prices, and through it sounds weird, it´s not all that difficult to get to the bathroom which is a plus. So, without a doubt, the next time your favourite group is playing, come on down to the Apollo, oh, and did I mention it is in London? It couldn´t get any better.

Get Your (CAE) Review Checked!

Cae review sample 2.

You see this announcement in an international magazine.

The most UPLIFTING and the biggest DOWNER . It’s sometimes hard to choose a film that fits your mood purely on the basis of the poster or the description on the cover of the DVD. That’s why we want to publish reviews of the most uplifting and the most depressing films our readers have seen, so that others know what to watch and what to avoid. Send in a review which describes the most uplifting film you’ve ever seen and the one you found the biggest downer. Make sure you give reasons for your choices.

Write your  review  in  220-260 words  in an appropriate style.

A tale of two films

If I were to present two of the most contrasting films about overcoming adversity it would be The Blind Side (2009)  and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Whereas the former left me with a huge grin on my face, sadly, the latter left me feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Doctor Zhivago , directed by five-time Oscar winner David Lean, is set in the Bolshevik revolution and follows the title character, who must adapt to the new order while pining for Lara, the beautiful wife of a political campaigner. The director succeeded in creating a film that is thoroughly engaging but full of gritty realism, cruelty and tragic irony. Take the tissues!

The Blind Side , which is based on a true story, is also a bit of a tearjerker, in a completely different way. Starring Sandra Bullock, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of a rich white mother in Tennessee who takes a homeless black teenager under her roof. Understandably, the gentle giant thinks he isn’t good at anything but his new mother sees his potential to become a football star and part of the family. The plot is based on a true story, making it all the more touching.

I would strongly recommend  The Blind Side . It will appeal to a range of people and is a great choice for a movie night. Although  Doctor Zhivago  is a classic, I think it has more of a niche audience and is best saved for when you want a dose of gloom!

C1 Advanced (CAE) Review: Example topics

Cae example topic 1.

You see the the following announcement on a website, Great Lives:

REVIEWS WANTED Send us a review of a book or a film focusses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society.

Write your review in 220-260 words

CAE Example topic 2

You see this announcement in an international magazine called Cinefilia.

THE MOST UPLIFTING AND THE BIGGEST DOWNER. It’s sometimes hard to choose a film that fits your mood purely on the basis of the poster or the description on the cover of the DVD. That’s why we want to publish reviews of the most uplifting and the most depressing films our readers have seen, so that others know what to watch and what to avoid. Send in a review which describes the most uplifting film you’ve ever seen and the one you found the biggest downer. Make sure you give reasons for your choices.

Write your review in 220-260 words in an appropriate style.

CAE Example topic 3

You see the following announcement in a magazine:

SEND US YOUR REVIEW

Have you read a book or seen a film that has a central character whose life is affected by an event or decision they make early in the story What did you learn about the person’s character? Did the book or flim help you to understand how the person was affected by this event or decision? Send us your review for our next issue

Write your review for the magazine readers. (220-260 words)

C1 Advanced (CAE) Review: Tips

• Think about what you are trying to achieve and the structure of your review.
• You should also start a new paragraph for every item/aspect you are addressing in your review. 
• Include a final recommendation or evaluation
• Don’t forget!  The target reader is specified in the question, so the candidate knows not only what register  is appropriate, but also has an idea about the kind of information to include. 

C1 Advanced (CAE) Review: Writing Checklist

After writing your text, you can check it yourself using the writing checklist below.

How to do that? Simply check your text/email by answering the questions one by one:

• Have I covered all the key information required by the task?
• Have I written only information which is relevant to the task?
• Have I developed the basic points in the task with my own ideas?

Communicative Achievement

• Have I achieved the main purpose(s) of the text (for example, explaining, persuading, suggesting, apologising, comparing, etc.)?
• Have I used a suitable mix of fact and opinion?
• Have I used a suitable style and register (formal or informal) for the task?

Organisation

• Have I used paragraphs appropriately to organise my ideas?
• Have I used other organisational features appropriately for the genre of the text (for example, titles, headings, openings, closings, etc.)?
• Is the connection between my ideas clear and easy for the reader to follow? (For example, have I used appropriate linking words, pronouns, etc. to refer to different things within the text?)
• Are the ideas balanced appropriately, with suitable attention and space given to each one?
• Have I used a wide range of vocabulary?
• Have I avoided repeating the same words and phrases?
• Have I used a range of simple and more complex grammatical structures?
• Have I correctly used any common phrases which are relevant to the specific task or topic?
• Is my use of grammar accurate?
• Is my spelling accurate?

C1 Advanced (CAE) Review: Grading

Would you pass c1 advanced (cae), c1 advanced (cae) review: useful phrases.

We will finish it with some useful vocabulary mostly used to organize information. Although it is taking a shortcut, if you learn several expressions for each paragraph in each type of text that could be on your exam, you will certainly be able to create a very consistent and well-organized text.

What I liked

What I liked most was ….. The thing I liked most was …. I was pleasantly surprised by …..  ….. would appeal to …..  If you get a chance to ….

What I disliked

What I disliked most was ….. I was disappointed by …… I was disappointed with ….. I was very disappointed by …..  I was very disappointed with ….

Reviews of books:

main character is set in comedy science fiction thriller romance comedy: author written by chapter factual fiction unbelievable bestseller chapter ending

Reviews of films, tv programmes, plays:

lead role star role star star actor star actress starring secondary role He plays a ……. She plays a ……. written by …. is set in ….. based on a true story …. believable true to life not very believable far-fetched comedy romance science fiction ending

Reviews of hotels, restaurants, etc:

location service setting attractive setting disappointing setting owned by run by head chef (restaurant) waiters (restaurant) staff ……. staff at reception …….(hotel hotel facilities …. reasonable prices ….. good value for money ….. excellent value for money ….. expensive a bit expensive overpriced not worth the money poor value for money always fully booked book in advance

The script seemed rather conventional/predictable to me. The plot struck me as completely bizarre/absurd/incomprehensible The characters are appealing and true to life The dancers were quite brilliant/amateurish

Recommendations

I would strongly encourage you not to miss/not to waste your money on… I would definitely recommend seeing/visiting/reading/having a look at …

• How to Write a Review for Cambridge C1 Advanced

• Posted on 28/09/2022
• Categories: Blog
• Tags: C1 Advanced , CAE , Cambridge Exams , Writing

Are you planning to take the Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) exam?

If so, you will need to complete two pieces of writing during the Writing paper. Part 1 is always an essay , while part 2 gives you two different questions and you must choose only one of them to complete. One of these may be a review.

As writing the perfect review for part 2 can be quite tricky, we have created this handy guide with everything you need to know to impress your examiner and get top marks in your exam.

Let’s get started!

Before you Begin

Imagine this! It’s exam day, you turn the page and see this question:

Question taken from Cambridge English Language Assessment website . (September 2022)

What is the first thing you need to do after reading your question? Well, you need to consider the following things:

• Who is our reader? This helps you know what style to write in.
• What is the topic? What are you writing a review for?
• What do you need to include? Which questions do you need to address?

We recommend you read the question carefully and underline the key information.

Now that you understand the question, it’s time to plan your review.

Three Steps to Writing the Perfect C1 Advanced Review

Step 1: plan it.

Planning your review is one of the most important steps so you don’t waste time correcting any big mistakes later!

Think of a book or film which focuses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society. When you have one in mind, you can start thinking of the structure of your review. Take a look at the example structure here:

1. An interesting title

2. An introduction

3. A summary of the plot

4. What did I learn about the person’s life from the book/film?

5. How did the book/film help me understand why this person made their important contribution?

At this stage, it is important to also think about the vocabulary you want to use. Remember to use advanced C1 vocabulary in your review (try to avoid ‘very’ and ‘really’).

Here is some advanced vocabulary that you can use to describe films and books:

Step 2: Write it

Now that you have your plan, it’s time to start writing!

Firstly, think of a title. You can keep it simple if you cannot think of anything too creative. For example, it could just be the name of the book or film that you’re reviewing.

Next is the introduction. A nice feature to use here is a rhetorical question . This is a question you ask your audience to grab their attention, for example:

Have you ever watched a film that has had a long-lasting impression on you?

Or you could include a general statement about the book or film:

The film Super Size Me received glowing reviews from critics. Spurlock’s story is eye-opening and gives the viewers some food for thought .

You could also give some background information about the film or book:

The plot of the film Super Size Me centres around Morgan Spurlock, a director who conducts a social experiment to highlight the effects of consuming McDonald’s fast food for an entire month.

Now you need to move onto the main paragraph. Here you should summarise the plot of the film or book. For example:

At the beginning of the film, Spurlock undergoes a medical examination to ensure he doesn’t cause long-lasting irreversible damage to his health. Throughout the month, he only consumes McDonald’s meals…

After briefly describing the plot (remember, no spoilers!), you can address the two questions.

For the conclusion, you need to sum up your thoughts on the book/film. You can do this by using some of the phrases below:

– Taking everything into consideration,…

– All things considered,…

Step 3: Check it

Checking your writing is probably the most important step. You don’t want to avoid losing out on points over tiny mistakes, right?

Here are some points to think about while checking your review:

• Have I answered all the questions?
• Have I stayed within the word limit?
• Have I used the appropriate writing style?
• Is my spelling correct?
• Have I used punctuation correctly?
• Have I used advanced vocabulary and a good range of grammar?
• Is everything connected and coherent ?

Useful Grammar

Make sure you are using a range of grammatical structures in your exam. Your grammatical accuracy as well as your grammatical range are both taken into consideration by the examiner.

Take a look at some of these grammar points that you will most likely come across in the C1 Advanced exam:

Conditionals

Cleft sentences

Modal verbs

Remember that you will also need to know these for the reading and use of English section of the exam, so it’s a good idea to brush up on your grammar!

Top CAE Writing Part 2 Exam Tips

Here are some important exam tips to help you feel more prepared when writing your review:

• You have 90 minutes in total for the whole exam
• Divide your time equally between part 1 and part 2 of the writing exam
• For part 2, use 10 minutes to plan , 25 minutes to write , and 10 minutes to check
• You have a word count of 220 and 260
• The review could be for a film , book , hotel , magazine , restaurant or a product

Remember to get plenty of sleep before your exam so you feel well rested for the big day. Good luck!  

Looking for Help with your CAE Exam Preparation?

If you’re looking for guidance and feedback to help you pass your Cambridge C1 Advanced exam with confidence, then take a look at our exam preparation courses . Classes are dynamic and practical and our friendly professional teachers will help you get the score you need.

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Gripping (adj): something that holds your interest (usually a story).

Cliffhanger (n): a story which is exciting and suspenseful because you don’t know what will happen next.

Fast-paced (adj): lots of exciting action happening quickly.

Letdown (n): a disappointment.

Second-rate (adj): not impressive, mediocre.

Eye-opening (adj): some information that is new and surprising.

Food for thought (exp): something worth seriously thinking about.

Undergo (v): to experience something, usually something unpleasant or a change.

Irreversible (adj): cannot be reversed.

Coherent (adj): a piece of text that is clear and is connected well.

Brush up on (pv): to improve your knowledge of something that you may have forgotten a little.

adj = adjective

exp = expression

pv = phrasal verb

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• By: oxfordadmin
• Posted on 14/09/2022

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Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE): How to Write a Review

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Introduction

A review may be about a book, magazine, film, play or concert; it may also be about a product or a service. A review in the C1 Advanced Writing paper does not merely ask for a general description of the thing reviewed, but requires an evaluation of its suitability for a particular purpose or audience. The target reader is specified in the task, and candidates should be encouraged to use this information when choosing appropriate ideas and language to include in their response. from: Cambridge English First Handbook for Teachers

In the C1 Advanced Writing exam there are two parts. Part 1 always requires you to write an essay while in Part 2 you can choose from different text types. Apart from reviews, you can also decide to pick a proposal , a report or an email/letter .

Reviews are fun!

Reviews are fun because reading reviews is fun. Who doesn’t enjoy a few opinions from other people before making the decision on which restaurant to go to, which film to watch or which book to buy? Also, in our day and age, we are constantly looking at social proof for a wide range of topics so reviews are much more natural to us than they were only a few years ago when the internet wasn’t everywhere so you might even have written about a few of your own experiences online.

Of course, when writing a review for C1 Advanced you have to follow a specific structure and fulfill certain requirements, but the good thing for you is that they are always the same so you can study and practise them and become better every single day until you get to the official exam and it won’t be a problem for you anymore.

We are going to look at different aspects of review writing, from looking at a typical task and its structure, useful language and mistakes to avoid. If you are interested, keep reading.

>>> Find out how your C1 Advanced writing is marked. <<<

What a typical review task looks like

Speaking from my experience as a teacher and preparing numerous students for the exam, I can say that most review tasks look pretty much the same. The structure is very very similar and once you know what to look for, you can use it to your advantage by saving a lot of time and going into the test ready and calm.

When you see a writing task for C1 Advanced (not only reviews, but really all of them), you should always ask your self a few very specific questions which can help you to better understand what you have to do and set you up for a successful writing exam.

• What is the situation? (topic)
• What exactly do I have to include in my review? (main points)
• Who is going to read the review?

To find the answers to these three questions read the task very carefully and underline the key information.

I underlined the information in different colours as each colour refers to one of the questions from above. First of all, the topic is underlined with red. Secondly, the main points or questions you have to answer in your review are green and, finally, you are writing for a website called Great Lives (blue).

This structure is usually the same in every task so make sure that you look for the same type of information whenever you sit down to practise reviews.

You might ask yourself why it is so important to know who you are writing for, but this tells you exactly if you should use formal, neutral or informal language. Imagine you had to write to your boss or the director of your school. You would choose a more formal style than if you were writing to your friends. In our example, we should choose something that is more of a neutral style. After all, we don’t the people on the website, but we want to keep it light and as interesting as possible.

When writing in a neutral style you can use contractions like ‘I’m’ or ‘don’t’ and you can use phrasal verbs as well as interesting adjectives and adverbs to make your review more lively. However, I wouldn’t recommend using slang words or too many colloquial expressions nor anything that is too formal as you would in an essay or formal letter.

How to organise your review

Now that we know what the task’s topic is, what exactly we need to include and the tone we should write in, it is time to look at the structure of a review. Luckily, this can be repeated from review to review and you simply have to change the content depending on the topic and main points.

Remember, there are two main questions for you to answer here (Did you learn anything new about the person’s life? Did the book or film help you understand why this person made their important contribution?) It makes a lot of sense to give each of those questions their own paragraph as they talk about different aspects of your review.

Additionally, you should add an introduction (with a title) in which you create some anticipation and engage the reader as well as a conclusion where you summarise your main points and make a recommendation (because that’s why we read reviews). In total, that comes to four paragraphs which could look like this:

• Title/Introduction
• What new things did you learn about the person’s life?
• Do you now better understand why the person made their important contribution?

Conclusion/Recommendation

Obviously, your main topic paragraphs should be longer than the intro and conclusion, and keep in mind that there is a word limit of 220-260 words.

Always plan your review

I say this in every article I write here on teacherphill.com and I’m going to say it again in this post because it is such an important piece of advice. Unfortunately, many candidates simply ignore or forget about it and find themselves in the official C1 Advanced exam nervous and unprepared so I want you to include this in your practice.

Whenever you sit down to write for your exam preparation, make a plan before you start your review, report, proposal, email/letter or essay. It only takes 3-5 minutes and it can save you so much time down the road when you need to make corrections.

A plan can be very short and only include a few keywords that you add under each heading so you know what you want to write about and don’t have to rethink everything halfway through the writing task.

• Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Ask a question to engage reader. Brief life background.
• New things I learned – his work as a lawyer, marriage problems, his reliance on Winnie
• Why did he do all of it – oppression in South Africa was terrible
• Conclusion: The film gives great insight into Mandela’s life. I definitely recommend it.

There you have it. It took me just a couple of minutes to jot down my ideas and now that they are recorded on paper we are ready to write our review.

The different parts of a review

After looking at how to analyse a task as well as organise and plan your review, it is time to get into actually writing it. We are still going to work on our example task and, of course, you might have to adjust your language and content for different topics, but you should get a good idea of what is expected from you when writing a review for C1 Advanced.

The introduction of a review aims to engage the reader from the beginning. You want to create interest and anticipation of what you have to say about the book, film, restaurant or whatever else you might be reviewing.

It is always a good idea to start with a question because you can involve the reader’s own mind and, therefore, generate the engagement you want. Also, don’t give any spoilers, but hint at what’s going to come in the rest of the text .

Let’s look at a possible introduction.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – a review Have you ever been so passionate about something that you would sacrifice your very best years for it? Would you even put it ahead of your family and friends? In the film Mandela: Lond Walk to Freedom we get not only a glimpse of Nelson Mandela’s life, but rather dive deep into who he was and how he changed a whole country.

I gave my review a title, which doesn’t have to be fancy, and in the introduction I didn’t do anything crazy either. It starts with a couple of questions to generate interest and I don’t give away too much of the storyline. Obviously, a lot of people know something about Nelson Mandela’s life, but that’s not the point. Give the reader just a tiny little taste so they want more and keep reading.

The body of your review for C1 Advanced includes all the main topic points that we elicited earlier from the example task.

Each point gets its own paragraph to make sure that the text is clearly organised.

You also want to make sure that you keep the reader’s attention which you have carefully caught in the introduction. Treat it like something very valuable that you don’t want to lose again until the end of your review.

While the whole film captivated me throughout, there was one aspect that truly stood out to me. Nelson Mandela and his second wife Winnie had a one-of-a-kind relationship driving each other to continue and grow the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa even after Mr Mandela was captured and imprisoned . It is a testament to their dedication and partnership and something that a lot of us can learn from. Despite having a strong and driven partner in his wife, I still used to be astonished by the fact that someone would simply sacrifice themselves and give up a big part of their life to help others, but this biopic made me reconsider. Witnessing a segregated society and all the racial abuse the black community had to endure during apartheid, there was no other option for Nelson Mandela than to stand up and fight for equality .

I’ve highlighted some of the more important language features for you. At the beginning of each paragraph, I play with contrasting statements (while, despite) as this keeps the reader guessing. I also tried to use some vocabulary that is specific to Mandela’s life (anti-apartheid movement, sacrifice themselves, segregated society, racial abuse…had to endure, stand up and fight for equality) and some words and expressions to make the review more interesting for the reader (one-of-a-kind, captured and imprisoned, it is a testament to…, astonished).

All of these little things together make for an engaging review that the reader wants to read fully and thoroughly.

To finish your review you need a conclusion in which you summarise what you’ve written up to this point and make a recommendation to the reader. After all, that’s why we read reviews in the first place – we want someone to tell us about a product or an experience and see if they would recommend it or not.

There is some specific language that you should incorporate when you make a recommendation because you want to persuade the reader and make the examiner happy :

• I recommend/suggest [title/name] to + person
• I recommend/suggest + -ing
• I recommend/suggest that …
• You should + base verb
• You might want to + base verb

Nothing crazy, but you want to cover all the bases.

All in all, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom gives some incredible insight into the life of one of the world’s most famous and influential personalities of the 20th century. It would be a shame not to watch it so I highly recommend that you check your favourite streaming service or buy the film as soon as you can and I promise you won’t regret it.

You see that it is very much straightforward. The first sentence recaps what I like about the film and the second one makes a recommendation and tries to persuade the reader (“I promise you won’t regret it.”).

How your review is marked

The marking scheme in C1 Advanced is pretty complex and there are a lot of things for the examiner to consider when checking your review. For this reason, I decided to write an article about how the writing paper in CAE is marked and you check it out by following the link below.

>>> Find out how your writing in C1 Advanced is marked. <<<

Now it is up to you

Take the advice in this article and start practising reviews. With more experience it will become easier and easier for you and when the official exam comes around, you will be ready.

Lots of love,

Teacher Phill 🙂

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Cambridge English: Advanced

Check out students' answers to Flo-Joe's CAE Writing tasks with a teacher's feedback

• Writing Class

Writing Class: Review

Task type: review.

Question You see the following announcement in a magazine:

Write your review for the magazine readers. (220-260 words)

Makeover: Anja

Read Anja's answer to this question below. Try correcting the piece of writing yourself first: use the marking codes to think about what might be wrong (or what's good) about the piece of work. Then when you're ready, click the green buttons in the text for our feedback.

This is a very good answer Anja. You've given a summary of the person's character and the impact on him of the decision to save JFK. The review is written in an appropriate format and in an engaging style that would hold the reader's attention throughout. It's clearly organised. Starting with an introduction to the book, two main body paragraphs and a well-crafted conclusion bringing the review to a close. Good use of cohesive devices to link your ideas and sentences together. Finally, you have used language flexibly and shown your ability to describe simple and complex ideas clearly. I have made a couple of stylistic comments, which I think helps a couple of sentences flow a little better, but these are subjective rather than corrections. Well done!

Marking Code

/\ Word(s) missing

- Omit word

C Capitalization

O Organisation

P Punctuation

PE Poorly expressed

R Register/Formality

SS Sentence Structure

T Tip (Not wrong but a suggestion)

WF Wrong form

WO Word order

WT Wrong tense

WW Wrong word

CAE Info and Practice

Cae resources to buy.

Lesson Plans and Ideas

Cambridge CAE – Writing Part 2 (review)

Do you know of anyone who has changed the world for the better? Someone who has positively impacted society? Using a free CAE writing exam, we will discuss the topic and teach advanced students how to write a successful review. All while following the writing assessment criteria.

The other day, I was preparing an advanced lesson plan for one of my General English students. I usually look for inspiration all around and often go to my all-time favourite coursebook –  English File C1.1   by Oxford Publishing. One of the units deals with book and film reviews and gives a wide range of vocabulary that can be used to describe them. That’s when I felt inspired to use this class and adapt it to my CAE student – a passionate acting student, interested in art, literature and films.

I want her to be engaged in the topic and at the same time, I want her to learn how to answer each part of the Cambridge exam successfully. That’s why I headed to the  Cambridge English  website and downloaded their free  C1 Advanced Handbook for Teachers , which offers free exams and explanations for successful writing exams. I’m always up for using free official resources and adapting them to my class. I feel like this is the most insightful and reliable source you can find.

The lesson plan and the presentation with all the links needed to complete the class are available to download for free at the end of the post!

The lesson starts by showing posters of six impactful films and asking students about the people shown in the pictures and what they may have in common. I tried to include some classics ( Schindler’s List ), some oldies ( Gorillas in the Mist ) and some new films ( Hidden Figures ). All of them are quite well-known, and your students should have seen at least a few of them. The common factor is that they tell stories of people who had a positive impact on society. If your students watched some of those films, you can elicit examples of the ways in which they impacted society. Ask if they know of anyone else, famous or not, who also made/is making a difference in the world.

Show a picture of Audrey Hepburn and ask if anyone knows who she is. As the picture from Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of the most iconic in the world, your students should be familiar, at least with her image. Say that you’re going to watch a short video on Audrey Hepburn. Ask to predict who she was: Audrey Hepburn – an international m__________ s__________, f__________ i__________ and h___________ . Watch the first 20 seconds of the video, Audrey Hepburn – International Superstar, Fashion Icon, & Humanitarian by Biography, and elicit the answers (movie star, fashion icon and humanitarian).

Read eight questions about Audrey Hepburn and watch the whole video (you can turn on the subtitles if necessary). Students answer the questions with short answers. Did they know about the humanitarian side of Audrey Hepburn? Were they surprised? Ask if the video convinced them to read a biography about Audrey Hepburn’s life.

Read a book review (you can find it in the C1 Advanced Handbook for Teachers, page 45). Ask if this review convinced them to read the book. Do they think that it’s a good review? What would they change about it? The most common answer will be the lack of paragraphs and many spelling errors. Students divide it into four paragraphs (introduction, point 1, point 2, recommendation) and correct any errors they can find.

After reading the review, say that this is a piece of writing based on a real Cambridge exam task. Ask to predict two main points of the exam task. Show the exam task and see how close they were to the real answer.

Present the writing assessment scale and explain how it works. The maximum number of points students may get in each part is 20 points – 5 points for content, 5 points for communicative achievement, 5 points for organisation and 5 points for language. Students read the answer one more time and score it out of 20. Check and discuss their answers. Compare their scores to the one given by the Cambridge examiner. Are they surprised by any of the comments? Not only does this task explain any doubts about the scoring system, but it also shows how strict or lenient the examiners are. Remind them about the importance of having clear answers, as examiners read tens of identical pieces of writing, and clear organisation will be reflected in their final score.

Set the homework task. Students think about the film or book that focused on a person who made an important contribution to society. Brainstorm some ideas and if you have enough time, students may plan their answers and present them to you and the rest of the class.

Click below to download the lesson plan and the presentation.

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Published by joannaesl

A CELTA certified ESL teacher based in Altea, Spain. I share my experience regarding teaching in Spain, getting into ESL from scratch, but I also like to prepare lesson plans and classroom content. View all posts by joannaesl

1 thought on “Cambridge CAE – Writing Part 2 (review)”

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