Philo and Sophia work through every part of the Reading and Use of English paper together
These follow the same mechanics you've already met at FCE — multiple-choice vocabulary gaps, then open grammar gaps, then word-formation stems — but the vocabulary is noticeably less common, and the distinctions between near-synonyms are finer.
1.
"elegantly constructed" is the natural collocation for an argument — "built" and "formed" are close in meaning but don't collocate as naturally with "argument" in formal register.
Just as at FCE, but the grammar tested leans more advanced: inversion, cleft sentences, and more sophisticated reported speech are common.
Answer: had Sophia argued with such confidence
Starting a sentence with "Never" at this level often triggers inversion — "had Sophia argued" rather than "Sophia had argued."
One text, six four-option questions covering detail, opinion, attitude, tone, purpose, and the main idea — like FCE Part 5, but the text is longer and the distinctions between answer options are subtler.
At this level, more than one option is often partly true. Choose the option that's fully supported by the text, not just the one that sounds plausible.
Four short texts on the same topic, each by a different writer. Four questions ask you to identify which writer expresses a particular opinion, or which two writers agree or disagree on a point.
Which writer holds a different view from Writer B about what made the Library significant?
Answer: Writer A (and D) — both downplay scale in favour of the Library's openness to speculative work, directly opposing B's emphasis on size.
Summarise each writer's core stance in one phrase before comparing them — trying to hold all four full texts in your head at once makes agreement and disagreement much harder to spot.
One text with six paragraphs removed, seven options given. The same skill as FCE's Part 6, but tracking coherence across paragraph-length gaps rather than sentence-length ones.
A text (or several short texts) with ten questions matching detail, opinion, attitude, or specific information to the right section or writer.
Because Part 8 has the most questions relative to its length, many candidates find it pays to attempt it early for a first pass and return to finish it once the other parts are secure.
There's no single correct order to attempt the paper in — find what works for you and practise it consistently.
8 marks
8 marks
8 marks
12 marks (2 per question)
12 marks (2 per question)
8 marks (2 per question)
12 marks (2 per question)
10 marks
That's 78 marks from 56 questions. Notice how much weight sits in Parts 4, 5, and 7 — each worth double per question, just as at FCE.