The First Certificate of English exam (FCE) has followed new specifications since December 2008. This means it is a little different from the previous exam. In the table below, we describe the new FCE exam.
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First Certificate of English |
| Paper 1: Reading |
3 parts to complete in 1 hour.
30 questions in total |
| Part 1 |
Multiple choice (8 questions)
Candidates choose A, B, C or D to answer questions on the text. |
| Part 2 |
Gapped text (7 questions)
Candidates complete a text with missing sentences which by choosing sentences from a jumbled list. |
| Part 3 |
Multiple matching (15 questions)
Candidates match a prompt to a relevant text. |
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| Paper 2: Writing |
2 tasks to complete in 1 hour 20 minutes. |
| Part 1 |
Question 1 - Compulsory task
Candidates write a letter or email based on input material. |
| Part 2 |
Questions 2-5
Candidates choose to write one of the following: an article; an essay; a review; a report; a short story. Question 5 is on a set book. |
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| Paper 3: Use of English |
4 parts to complete in 45 minutes. |
| Part 1 |
Multiple choice cloze (12 questions)
Candidates choose the correct missing words from a choice of 4. |
| Part 2 |
Open cloze (12 questions)
Candidtes complete a gapped text with a correct word. |
| Part 3 |
Word formation (10 questions)
Candidates form the missing words from a text by changing the stem words given. |
| Part 4 |
Key word transformations (8 questions)
Candidates complete a sentence using a key word so that it means the same as the lead-in sentence. |
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| Paper 4: Listening |
4 parts to complete in approximately 40 minutes. |
| Part 1 |
Multiple choice (8 questions)
Candidates listen to 8 short recordings of people talking in different situations and choose the right answer A, B or C |
| Part 2 |
Sentence completion (10 questions)
Candidates listen to a 3 minute recording and complete some notes. |
| Part 3 |
Multiple matching (5 questions)
Candidates listen to a series of related monologues and match each extract to the correct option from a choice of six. |
| Part 4 |
Multiple choice (7 questions)
Candidates listen to a recording and answer multiple choice questions on it. |
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| Paper 5: Speaking |
4 parts to complete in 14 minutes per pair of candidates |
| Part 1 |
Interview
Each candidate answers the interlocuter's questions about themselves. |
| Part 2 |
Individual long turn
Candidate A talks for a minute about a pair of photographs, after which Candidate B is invited to make a brief comment on the topic of the photographs. Then Candidate B is given 2 different photographs and talks about them for a minute, after which, Candidate A is invited to comment on the topic of the photographs . |
| Part 3 |
Collaborative task
Candidates work together to carry out a task based on some pictures. This part lasts 3 minutes. |
| Part 4 |
Discussion
The interlocuter will ask both candidates some questions which are related to the topic in part 3. This part lasts for 4 minutes. |
For more information about the First Certificate of English exam, visit the Cambridge ESOL website using the link on the left.
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