Writing Success: C1 Advanced (CAE)
Philo and Sophia guide learners through a sharper, more evaluative essay and three demanding Part 2 options.
Writing paper: 1 hour 30 minutes
2 parts
Reading and Use of English is a separate paper — see our guide
Philo
Sophia, the B2 First essay asked a student to discuss two given ideas and add their own. Does C1 Advanced simply ask for more of the same, at greater length?
Sophia
Longer, yes — but the thinking asked for is different in kind, not just degree, Philo. The C1 Advanced essay doesn't just want both ideas discussed. It wants a judgement: which of the two points is more important, and why. That's evaluation, not just description.
Philo
A genuine argument, then, rather than a balanced survey of both sides.
Sophia
Precisely — and our Essay Writing Guide's thesis-statement and body-paragraph sections are exactly the tools for building that argument clearly. Let's look at both parts of the paper.
Part 1Compulsory essay: judge which of two given points matters more, with reasons — 220–260 words
Part 2Choice of one: letter/email, proposal, report, or review — 220–260 words
1 The Evaluative Essay
Short input material presents a general topic along with two bullet points representing different angles on it. The task is to write an essay of 220–260 words that explains which of the two points is more important, giving reasons for that judgement, while still showing awareness of the other point.
Example prompt
"Some people say that reducing traffic in cities matters more than making public transport free. Which is more important?" — with both ideas given as bullet points to weigh against each other.
Where the Essay Writing Guide comes in.Everything from choosing and defending a clear thesis to structuring persuasive body paragraphs, covered in our Essay Writing Guide, applies directly here — with the added step of explicitly weighing one point against the other rather than simply presenting both.
Practise writing a one-sentence judgement before drafting the full essay: "X matters more than Y because..." — everything else can build outward from that sentence.
2 Choosing the Right Part 2 Task
Three task types are offered, each in 220–260 words, and only one needs to be written.
Letter or EmailWritten for a specific reader and purpose, in a register matched precisely to who is being addressed
ProposalSuggests a course of action to a specific audience, structured with clear headings and persuasive reasoning
ReportPresents findings and makes recommendations to someone in authority, in a clear, organised, factual style
ReviewGives a considered opinion on a book, film, or event, balancing description with genuine evaluation
Strategy: Proposals and reports reward clear headings and a logical structure almost as much as the language itself — a well-organised answer with simpler language regularly outperforms an unstructured one with more ambitious vocabulary.
How Writing Is Scored
Both parts use the same four subscales, each out of 5: Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation, and Language. At C1, examiners expect a wide range of vocabulary — including less common words used naturally — and only occasional errors that never affect understanding.
0–5Content
0–5Communicative Achievement
0–5Organisation
0–5Language