Información CPE - PAPER 3

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PAPER 3 : Use of English

What’s in the Use of English paper?

The Cambridge English: Proficiency Use of English paper has four parts with different types of tasks which test grammar and vocabulary.  

Summary

Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes
Number of parts: 5
Number of questions: 44
Marks: 20% of total

Parts 1–5

Part 1 (Open cloze)


What's in Part 1? 		A text in which there are some numbered gaps. You have to identify the right single word to fill each gap.
What do I have to practise? Grammar and vocabulary.
How many questions are there? 15
How many marks are there? One mark for each correct answer.

Part 2 (Word formation)


What's in Part 2? 		A text containing numbered gaps, each of which represents a word. At the end of the line is a ‘prompt’ word which you have to change in some way to complete the sentence correctly.
What do I have to practise? Vocabulary – word-building.
How many questions are there? 10
How many marks are there? One mark for each correct answer.

Part 3 (Gapped sentences)


What's in Part 3? 		Each question contains three sentences, each with a missing word which you have to identify. For all three sentences the missing word is the same and it must be the same part of speech.
What do I have to practise? Vocabulary – collocation, phrasal verbs and word combinations.
How many questions are there? 6
How many marks are there? Two marks for each correct answer.

Part 4 (Key word transformations)


What's in Part 4? 		For each question, you have a ‘lead-in’ sentence followed by a key word. There is then a response sentence with a gap. Using the key word, you have to complete the response sentence in 3–8 words so that it means the same as the ‘lead-in’ sentence.
What do I have to practise? Grammar and vocabulary.
How many questions are there? 8
How many marks are there? Up to two marks for each correct answer.

Part 5 (Comprehension questions and summary writing task)


What's in Part 5? 		Two texts with two comprehension questions (Questions 40–43) for each text. For the last question (Question 44) you have to write a summary of both texts in 50–70 words.
What do I have to practise? Questions 40–43: vocabulary, recognising and understanding rhetorical and stylistic devices and referencing. Question 44: selecting information, linking and sentence construction.
How many questions are there? 4 + 1 summary writing task
How many marks are there? Questions 40–43: two marks for each correct answer. Question 44: a total of 14 marks (up to 4 marks for content and up to 10 marks for summary writing skills).

DOs and DON’Ts

DOs

  1. Read the instructions, texts and questions very carefully.
  2. Decide on one answer and avoid writing alternative answers to a question.
  3. Check your spelling in all parts.
  4. Feel free to do the parts of the paper in the order that suits you best.
  5. Re-read all your gap-filling work and check that the sentences you have created sound natural.
  6. Re-read your summary, paying particular attention to the errors you know you make.
  7. Read the whole text to make sure you understand the writer's arguments before trying to answer questions. (Part 1, 2 & 5)
  8. Remember that the missing words are more likely to have a grammatical focus rather than a lexical one. (Part 1)
  9. Make sure you transfer your answers accurately from the question paper to the answer sheet; correct spelling is essential. (Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4)
  10. Use the local and global context to help you decide what fills the gaps. (Parts 1, 2, 3 & 4)
  11. Make sure that you think about all the changes a word may require: suffix, prefix, internal, more than one, singular, plural or negative, change of word class. (Part 2)
  12. Make sure the same word fits all three sentences. (Part 3)
  13. Make sure you haven't left out any information from the prompt sentence. (Part 4)
  14. Look carefully at the kind of question you are being asked to answer, especially if the question has more than one focus to it (Part 5).
  15. Select relevant information from the texts for your summary. (Part 5)
  16. Plan your summary before you write it. (Part 5)

DON'Ts

  1. Don't write too little or too much when answering the summary question.
  2. Don't only include three content points in your summary.
  3. Don't write a draft of the summary if you are running out of time.
  4. Don't copy from the texts when writing the summary or answering a question that tells you to write 'in your own words'.
  5. Don't include examples in your summary.
  6. Don't use too many linking devices in your summary because of the word limit.
  7. Don't leave any question unanswered – you don't lose marks for incorrect answers.
  8. Don't alter the word given. (Part 4)
  9. Don't write more than eight words, including the given word. (Part 4)
  10. Don't write out the full sentence. (Part 4)

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