Observations of a Cambridge Examiner: Preparation of the Paper 3: Use of English

The next part of the CAE exam is Paper 3, the Use of English paper. Many people consider this to be the grammar paper, but it's not exactly just grammar but, as the title suggests, how to use English in a varied and commanding way. Grammar plays an important part, but so does vocabulary, structures, collocations and expressions. It is designed to demonstrate your rich understanding of how to use English.

This is something that you are going to need to spend time studying, there is nothing natural about the exam and having a good level of English does not mean that you will be familiar enough or have enough command of all that will be asked of you in the exam. As I have mentioned in a previous blog, people often come to me around two months before the exam wanting intensive preparation for the exam, but learning all the grammar and lexical uses of English takes a lot longer to acquire.

Again, as in the other papers, techniques of how to do the paper are very important and it is necessary to learn clearly what is expected of you in the exam and how to fulfill the different tasks set in the different parts of the exam. This is something that can be done intensively before the exam if you have already studied a lot for the exam as these techniques are as important as your English ability.

In my opinion a lot of this paper is quite 'mathematical', a lot of it is formulaic with a need to recognize the structures you are presented with, you need to ask yourself questions, such as, what part of speech am I deal with? Is it a verb, noun etc and is it a collocation or phrasal verb? in which case, do I need to use a preposition? and so on.

Again, as I have mentioned before you need .... preparation, preparation..... and practice!!

Good luck!!

PAPER 3 – USE OF ENGLISH

The Use of English paper is designed to test the ability to apply knowledge of the language system,

including control of grammar, lexis, cohesion and coherence.

Part 1: Multiple-choice cloze: The focus is on lexicon and lexico-grammar. It is a modified cloze text containing twelve gaps which is followed by four multiple-choice options to choose from. It is necessary to be familiar with collocations of verbs, nouns, adjectives and prepositions. As well as having a good, rich vocabulary and knowledge of structures, phrasal verbs and grammar. It is a good idea to make a guess at what the word could be before you look at the choices as this will help you to focus your mind on the correct choice.

Part 2: Open cloze: The focus of this part of the exam is grammar and lexico-grammar. It is a modified cloze text containing 15 gaps which you must fill in with the correct word. Again, as in part 1 a solid knowledge of collocations, grammar, expressions and structures is necessary to recognize the missing word. Remember that the gaps are not going to be ransom but specifically chosen from the CAE level preparation work that you will have done by studying all the appropriate grammar and so on. It is really important to read the text carefully first before attempting to answer any of the questions, focusing on the meaning of the whole sentence, paragraph and text, rather than concentrating on the meaning of phrases in isolation.

Part 3: Word formation: The focus is again on lexicon and lexico-grammar as in Part 1. There is a text containing ten gaps, each gap corresponds to a word, the stem of which is given beside the text on the appropriate line and must be changed to form the missing word. A knowledge of the parts of speech is necessary as well as the formations of the stem word, including negatives, prefixes and suffixes and words formed from the same stem. A common error is forgetting to use the plural forms when necessary.

Accurate spelling is essential in this part of the paper. Some candidates lose marks, even though they have provided the appropriate word, because they misspelled it. It s a silly and frustrating way to lose marks.

Part 4: Gapped sentences: The focus here is lexical. the questions are made up of three discrete sentences. Each sentence contains one gap. The gapped word is common to the three sentences. You must write one word which is appropriate in all three sentences and there are five questions each is worth two points. This part is the part which most people do not like, to be honest, if you are not doing it in the exam it is quite fun to test your knowledge of vocabulary and a lot of people enjoy challenging themselves on this part. However, it can be very frustrating in the exam and often people get frustrated by the lack of inspiration - so breathe, relax and stay calm during this part. 

Part 5: Key word transformations: The focus here is on lexicon and grammar. there are eight separate questions, each with a lead-in sentence and a gapped second sentence to be completed in three to six words, one of which is a given ‘key word’.A solid knowledge and preparation is needed to be familiar with all the different structures, collocations, prepositions, tenses and general grammar points, if you prepare well, these should be easily recognizable. However, there is also frequent use of phrasal verbs and expressions which you are expected to know and unfortunately if you do not, then answering the question correctly will prove very difficult. Each question is worth two points  allowing one point for silly, small errors or spelling mistakes. Though, it also means the chance to gain points if you do it well. 

Recommendations for preparation for the Use of English Paper:

At CAE level, you are expected to read extensively so as to be able to use a wide range of

vocabulary in different contexts and to manipulate structure and form accurately. These skills are tested in different ways on the paper. To summarize points that have been mentioned above:

Vocabulary

• In Part 1, collocation is tested, as well as knowledge of phrasal/prepositional verbs and

recognition of lexical appropriacy and shades of meaning.

• Part 3 is a word-building task. You will have to understand the surrounding context in order

to produce the correct form of the word and also to recognize whether a negative affix or a plural form is required. Accurate spelling is essential.

• In Part 4, you will have to provide the one word which fits appropriately into three

unconnected gapped sentences. Accurate spelling is essential. Any activities which draw

your attention to the different meanings and collocations associated with particular lexical

items will be useful.

• Part 5 is a key word transformation task. You are required to manipulate vocabulary,

structure and form, within a defined context. Any activities which increase awareness of

collocations and expressions with parallel or synonymous meanings are useful. 

 

To be successful in these parts, you need to build up you active vocabulary. Developing an efficient personal system of recording newly acquired vocabulary, and the context in which this vocabulary is used, will help the learning process. You should also pay attention to correct spelling. 

Structure and Form

• In the Part 2 open-cloze task, you should check that your answers are correct in the context of the whole sentence, paragraph and text. Providing an answer which is correct only in the context of the immediate phrase is often not sufficient.

• Part 5 is a key word transformation task. You are required to manipulate structure and form, as well as vocabulary, within a defined context. Any activities which focus on different ways of expressing the same ideas using different structures and/or expressions would be useful. You need to study the example you are given at the start of Part 5 carefully. You must include the given key word, which should not be changed in any way, in your answer. The answer should not be more than six words in length, and the key word counts as one of the six words. Any contractions count as two words. You will not required to write the whole sentence on their answer sheets – only the missing part of the sentence.

You should remember how important it is to copy correctly from the stimulus sentence any 
words which are required in the answer. It is also important to include words/ideas in the 
answer which are crucial for maintaining the same meaning as the stimulus sentence, for 
example, a time reference. It is equally important that ideas not contained in the stimulus 
sentence should not be introduced into the answer. The meaning of the transformed sentence 
must be as close as possible to the meaning of the stimulus sentence.One way of doing this 
is by crossing out the parts already used in the sentence, thereby clearly showing you which 
are the words you must use.

DOs and DON’Ts for CAE PAPER 3 – USE OF ENGLISH 

DO think about a variety of ways in which you can develop your English outside the classroom.

DO think about how you learn vocabulary best, and then develop strategies to help this process.

DO read the whole surrounding context before deciding on an answer.

DO consider the options carefully in Part 1 before choosing your answer.

DO remember that in Part 3 at least one question will probably test the use of prefixes.

DO make sure that in Part 4 the word you produce fits correctly into all three sentences.

DO check your spelling, as incorrectly spelled words will lose you marks.

DO make sure your handwriting is clear and easy to read and that you have used capital 
letters for all your answers.

DO write only one letter in each box on the answer sheet.

DO make sure you transfer your answers to the answer sheet as you finish each part of the 
test.

DON’T change the given key word in your answers in Part 5.

DON’T use more than six words in your answer in Part 5. Contractions count as two words.

DON’T wait until the end to copy all your answers onto your answer sheet. 

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