Example of an article

Comments

Online friendships – true or false? The learner uses a heading that

is relevant to the topic of the article.
In recent years, technology has taken over our daily lives. Many

people claim that they simply couldn’t imagine a life without the

internet and social media. So are your online friendships doing you
The learner introduces the topic in
more harm than good? the first paragraph and uses a
rhetorical question to engage the
It has become commonplace in our society to argue that reader.

technology is the reason for people being socially distant and

experiencing loneliness. Some studies do show a correlation The paragraph identifies

contrasting viewpoints, making it clear
between social media usage and low self-esteem, although there is where there is support for one view or
no solid proof showing that this is the main cause. Indeed, others another.

have come to the defence of the internet and claim it has done the
The learner is trying to vary
opposite – helped to revive social relationships. Some people find it
sentence structure and vocabulary.
easier to form relationships when they are hidden behind a screen.

It allows them to be themselves without fear of rejection, ridicule

and judgement. Soon, they become confident enough to merge

their virtual personalities with their offline personalities, becoming

a more authentic version of themselves.

The learner uses an appropriate
linking word at the beginning of the
However, it can be said that online relationships are weaker and
paragraph to show they are about to
not as real as face-to-face relationships. Online relationships are offer a new contrasting argument.

formed easily and quickly. They’re not the same as a physical

relationship. You might not know anything about an online friend

other than the things they choose to post on the internet. Unless

you make a point of communicating with all of them for at least

two hours every week, you can’t even call it a real friendship. The

strength of an offline relationship lies in the experiences you share

together in the real world.

True, it could be argued that online relationships are not

particularly meaningful, but saying that social media friendships

are false is not correct. ‘You and your real friends may not The learner develops the
always be able to meet in person,’ explains one lifestyle expert. argument that online friendships are

Social media can be used to keep in touch and ensure that your
 Comments

relationship stays in tact until the next time you meet, and where useful and supports it by reference to
a quotation from an expert.
else can you bond over silly and fun things like memes and cute

cat videos? Your social media friendship ensures that no matter

how far apart you are, you can always be there for each other.
Having discussed a number of the
arguments, the learner leaves the
reader with a strong impression of the
value of social media friendships.

© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2023 v1

2
Example email

Comments

Subject: ‘Room-for-a-break campaign The learner uses a subject line

that identifies the topic of the email.
Hello Team,
The email is to be sent to all staff
working at the company, so a greeting
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the recent
that includes everyone is appropriate.
discussions about whether or not our company should join the

‘Room-for-a-break’ campaign. I have researched the campaign,

taken all of your opinions into consideration and will explain why I

have decided we should join with some slight changes. In this paragraph, the learner
reminds readers of the situation and
Some say that taking a nap at work is counter-productive, while introduces the decision that will be
others say that it will increase effectiveness at work. The problem explained.

is if you have the ability of bouncing back after a relaxing nap or

not. Other companies which have nap rooms have found that some

people take napping too far, but I am confident that will not be a

problem for us. Mid-afternoon napping will be encouraged only

Each paragraph deals with just
when it is necessary. one feature of the campaign.

Innovation rooms on the other hand I believe will increase

everyone’s creativity. In our innovation room there will be couches,

music, coffee and dim lights. It will be a room for staff to relax in

and to think in. You will be able to stay there and socialise or just

think how we could improve our company. I hope you will use it

wisely so that it can become something permanent after the

Each paragraph includes relevant
campaign.
support and details to explain what
has been decided about each part of
Sporting equipment will also be made available in the office. This is
the campaign.
better than going to a separate gym because it saves time and you

will not miss out on important discussions with your co-workers. It

means you can exercise and carry on working so you will not get

behind with important deadlines but will still get a break.

The focus of each paragraph is
clear in its first line.
At the end of the campaign we will look at how productive

everyone has been to decide if we should carry on with nap rooms,

innovation rooms and sporting activities in the office or not. I am

impressed with the extra work you have all put in to make this
 Comments

happen so I am trusting you with this campaign. There is a short

survey to fill in before we start – please complete this before

Friday.
The closing section explains what
Let’s make room for a break and see how it goes. will happen next and what employees
are expected to do.
[Name]
The sign off makes it clear that a
final decision is still to be made.

© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2023 v1

2
Example of a report

Comments

To the Principal

A report on the school career day

Career day, held on the 20th September this year, gave many
students an opportunity to discuss their existing career plans with
experienced professionals. This report outlines what students felt
the day offered them, what they most enjoyed about careers day The learner introduces the topic
and outlines the key aspects the
and what they learned as well as how the day could have been
report will focus on.
improved further.

Insights
The learner uses clear, relevant
All of those who had been asked to present on their industry were sub-headings to show organisation
honest and open about what they see as the pros and cons within and clarity.
their fields. This new knowledge required students to think
critically about how and whether various career paths may suit
their individual interests and values. Most people enjoyed the
The learner has grouped points
skills and personality quiz which we took part in before break. together helpfully for the benefit of the
Whilst many found it fun to reflect on themselves through the reader. This shows an excellent
sense of purpose.
quiz, resulting in high levels of engagement, some said that the
results have made them think about niche career paths which they
had never considered before. The learner uses a range of
appropriate vocabulary.
Highlights

Having discussed the career day with classmates, I noticed that

The learner’s choice of linking
some aspects of the day were mentioned consistently. Particular words, phrases and grammatical
highlights included the set of presentations outlined in A Day in structures are consistently appropriate
for the style and register of a report.
the life and the time set aside to talk with visitors who had each

been set up on their own table. Whilst a small number of students

did find it difficult to drop into conversations and intimidating to

approach somebody for a specific discussion about a career which

they had only just been introduced to, others were more confident.

It was suggested that some less formal time being to mingle at the

beginning may have resulted in more beneficial or easier

The learner distances themselves
interactions. from the criticism and maintains an
objective perspective, reporting what
was said indirectly.
 Comments

Learning

The majority of students overwhelmingly enjoyed the career day

and learned a lot about themselves and what they might want to

do in the future. The personality quiz certainly helped me to

progress with my own thinking and the presentations promoted

me to look more closely at joining the navy rather than pursuing a

career in banking which I had been considering beforehand.

To summarise, I personally feel that the careers day was well The learner includes a concise
conclusion and offers their
organised with plenty of different industries involved and overall
recommendation.
was very useful. I recommend that the day is also run for future

year groups, with changes incorporated as you see fit as I believe

they will be able to benefit similarly.

© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2023 v1

2
Example of a letter

Comments

Dear Hotel Manager, The learner uses the title of the

I am writing this letter in connection to the wedding celebrated at person they are writing to since they
do not know the manager personally
your hotel of my son, and his now wife, that was on 16th April,
and are writing about a matter related
2022. Overall, the celebration was enjoyable and we would like to the hotel.
to thank your decoration team especially for doing such an
The learner introduces the topic in
excellent job. All our guests liked the simple, yet elegant, this opening paragraph.
combination of gold and silver. The lighting was perfect as well.
The learner politely acknowledges
the positive aspects of the hotel’s
However, there were several mistakes that put a dent in our
work to suggest they are taking a
otherwise great experience. Firstly, even though the quality of the reasonable and balanced view.
food was admittedly fantastic, some guests were served with food The candidate uses a range of
appropriate linking words to connect
they had never ordered. Secondly, many guests had to wait or did
their points, e.g. ‘firstly’, ‘admittedly’
not get any of the items they had asked for. My wife and I ordered ‘however’, ‘furthermore’ ‘likewise’,
‘moreover’.
the lamb chops and shrimp sizzlings. It was almost ten o’clock

when our food finally arrived and instead of lamb chops and

shrimp sizzlings, we got fish cutlets! Furthermore, the hotel was

told that there would be around 140 guests, hence, to prepare

food for 14o people. Disappointingly, there was food for just 110

and some of the 127 who arrived had to be served something else.

Embarrassingly, the hotel team had also misspelled my daughter-

in-law’s name on the wedding cake. Likewise, several guests There is good evidence of a sense
of purpose and audience in this
who had booked to stay the night were informed at the last
paragraph.
minute that there were no rooms available after all. Moreover, on

leaving the hotel they discovered that their cars were blocked into

the car park and it took staff hours to find the drivers.

I expect the hotel to compensate for these mistakes and refund my

son the money he paid for the food for thirty people more than

we got. Additionally, I would request that you send the newlyweds

a new cake with their names spelled correctly and an apology

The learner maintains a calm and
for the accident. Finally, I expect that you take the necessary
firm tone in this concluding paragraph
actions to avoid such situations with car parking in future. I trust to make it clear what action they are
expecting from the hotel.
you will be agreeable to my requests.

Your faithfully, The learner uses an appropriate

sign off.
[Full Name]
Example speech

Comments

Good morning everyone. How did you all spend your weekend? Did The learner poses a question to
involve the audience.
you go hiking perhaps or climb the mountains? Guess what I

did. Not hiking, not climbing, no – I spent the whole of The learner is showing that they
are thinking about how these words
yesterday afternoon learning vocab with my best friend Tony! That would be spoken – varying the pace
sounds a bit weird and boring, doesn’t it? But in fact it was and using a dramatic pause to
engage their audience.
quite the opposite so keep listening and I’ll tell you more…
The learner is taking account of
Let me think, it was probably a Friday afternoon when Tony and I
the audience reactions.
were on our way home after school and both noticed a giant
poster placed just at the entrance of subway line 1 ‘Volunteers
The learner uses appropriate
wanted - £50 awards to be won.’ £50 – it’s a lot right?
linking words and phrases to connect
Obviously, Tony and I stopped to read this poster in more detail. their ideas together, maintaining a
semi-formal but relaxed tone.
This poster says: ‘A test about computer-based vocab learning
The learner makes a few attempts
method needs volunteers’. Specifically, ‘volunteers are divided to
at more complex structures.
two groups. The first group will learn with computers, while the

second group will learn the same words with traditional printed

books.’ Fellow classmates, you know how torturing it is to

memorise English vocabulary, don’t you? But as Tony and I The learner uses rhetorical
both wanted the £50 award, we still decided to apply to be devices appropriately to keep their
audience engaged and make sure
volunteers and luckily we ended up in the first group. they are on the same side.

It was fun because it was designed like a game. First of all, the

screen shows you 5 words and their meanings, and then a teacher

pops up and reads each word aloud and explains its usage in

sentences and context. You then have to read these words as

correctly as possible so that the computer can identify the words

and give you a score. Then you enter a battle part – yes, that’s

right, the fun part is you get a chance to test your skills and beat

others.

Although Tony and I didn’t get the £50, this computer-based

The learner has organised their
learning experience completely changed our attitudes to lexical anecdote into clear paragraphs and
offers some detail and development in
learning and was a great way to spend our weekend. each, finishing back full circle where
the speech began with the
Thank you Miss Stanley for asking me to deliver this speech and observation that they had had a fun
thank you all for listening. weekend.