The Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English
Examination
The Use of English Exam- Paper 3 (1 hour 30 minutes)
By Viv Quarry (www.vivquarry.com)
The Use of
English paper is in six parts with a total of around 70 questions. Candidates
must write all of their answers on the answer sheets provided and have one and
a half hours to complete the exam. Questions in parts 1 - 5 are worth one mark
each and in part 6 questions carry a maximum of two marks each.
BEFORE THE TEST
You should
practice transformations of linking words with a positive to negative change
(too - not enough), Gerund/infinitive (interested in - want to), indirect and
reported speech ("Where is...?" - She asked him...), relative
pronouns (He was born.. - The house where he...), Part of speech/ vocabulary
(Have a job - be out of work / find a word - look it up), grammatical (active -
passive / modal verbs / pres. perf etc) and comparative, superlative and
in/equality transformations (smaller - not as big as). Before the Use of
English test, make sure that you have revised the grammar section at the back
of your course book.
Make sure
that you have got a highlighting pen to mark areas in a text, a pencil and
several reserves to mark the answer paper and an efficient rubber to make
corrections.
SPECIFIC AREAS OF YOUR NOTEBOOK TO REVISE:
Articles,
Gerund or infinitive, Irregular verbs, Make, do, have & go, Phrasal verbs,
Prepositions, uncountable & plural nouns + Linking words and prefixes and
suffixes worksheets. Vocabulary from all vocabulary areas in your notebook.
THE TEST
Part 1 - Multiple choice cloze test (15
questions)
There will
be a text with 15 gaps. Under the text you will find 15 four-part multiple
choice questions to fill in the missing words in the text. This is mainly a
test of your vocabulary.
Part 2 - Open cloze test (15 questions)
A text with
fifteen gaps in it. You have to write ONE appropriate word into each gap. This
is a test of both grammar and vocabulary.
Part 3 - Error correction (approx. 15
questions)
A text of
about 200 words with errors which you have to identify.
Part 4 - Word formation (15 questions)
You will see two short texts with fifteen gaps. You have to fill the gaps
with an appropriate word using the prompts given.
Part 5 - Register transfer (15 questions)
You will
find a text with sentences in diagram or table form, followed by a gapped text with
the same information in a different level of formality.
Part 6 - Gapped text (5 - 10 questions)
You will
see a text with gaps, and underneath are the phrases or sentences which have
been removed. You have to match the phrases or sentences to the gaps in the
text.
EXAMINATION TECHNIQUES:
The writing
exercise in part 6 is worth more marks than any other section, so do this part
first while you are still comparatively fresh.
TRY NOT
TO SPEND MORE THAN ONE MINUTE ON EACH MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION.
It is
common in Cambridge exams to put a question at the start of the test which a
native speaker would find difficult. The reason they do this is to see if the
student will spend a long time trying to answer the question (and still
probably get it wrong), and then run out of time so he or she hasn't got time
to answer the easier questions later in the test. Make sure that you have a
watch visible in front of you during the exam. If you find a question
difficult, make a note of the question number and leave it until you have
finished all of the questions that you can answer. Go back to it at the end,
and if you still can't answer it, guess.
In multiple
choice questions, there are often two answers which are similar, one which
looks correct and is usually a 'red herring' - this means an answer which looks
correct at first sight (it may include words taken from the text) but it is
there to distract you, and one answer which is completely wrong. The correct
answer will usually be found as one of the two similar answers. (See example
below)
|
a) Looks
correct. (Red
Herring) |
c) Looks
incorrect. (Wrong) |
|
b)
Similar. (Possible) |
d)
Similar. (Possible) |
For all
types of cloze tests (gap filling), always skim read through the entire text
before attempting to fill in the gaps. Then deal with the gaps in paragraphs or
sentences.
When
choosing a word or expression to fill in a gap do the following:
A. Identify the part of speech (one word
gaps)
Is it: a
noun, a verb, a modal verb, an adjective, an adverb, a preposition, a linking
word or an article?
If it's a
verb, what form should it be (present, past, past participle, gerund or
infinitive).
B. Are there any prefixes and suffixes to
help me understand it?
C. Does the context (before or after the
word) help to explain it?
D. Are there any prepositions in the text
which may help me identify the word.
E. Is there a word in my language which is
similar? Yes - Is it a false
friend?
More than
one word?
A. Is it a phrasal verb which you know?
B. Is it an idiom that you know?
At the end
of the exam, make sure that you have answered all of the questions on the
answer paper. If there are any questions that you haven't been able to answer,
guess the answer. In the CAE, you won't lose marks for incorrect answers, so
guess and in a multiple choice question you stand a one in four chance of
getting it correct by accident!
FINALLY!
Relax! Next
is the listening test, take it easy and do the best you can.