About the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)

There are five parts to the CAE exam: 

• Reading: You will need to read and understand different types of text, including fiction and non-fiction books, newspapers, magazines and informational materials.
• Writing: You will have to write in two different text styles, such as essays, proposals, reports and reviews. You may write about a set reading text if you prefer.
• Use of English: This paper requires you to demonstrate your knowledge of English vocabulary and grammatical structures at C1 level. 
• Listening:  You’ll answer questions after listening to either short monologues or conversations.
• Speaking: You take this with one or two other candidates and will have to speak alone, with the examiner and with the other candidates.

Learn more about CAE at the Cambridge website. 

Prepare with the British Council

You can follow an exam preparation course in any of the British Council Teaching Centres in Spain. On these courses you will learn how best to approach the different papers. This will include: 

• techniques for doing the reading tasks quickly and efficiently
• how to organise and compose the different writing options: narratives, reports, articles etc
• the types of grammar and vocabulary exercises which appear in use of English and how best to approach them
• hints and techniques for listening
• how to produce the best English possible on the day of your speaking exam 

More preparation help

If you’d prefer to prepare the CAE on your own, take a look at the Cambridge ESOL exam preparation site. You can download many free materials, such as a short booklet about the exam, information for candidates, sample exam papers and sound files for the Listening Test materials. 

Top tips for CAE answers your last-minute questions. There are also many other books and materials to help you prepare for the CAE. 

Do you have a disability?

If you have a disability, please contact your local British Council Exams centre to find out how we can help. You can also get more information on the Cambridge exams site.