Useful phrases for the FCE writing exam

SUGGESTED ANSWERS Emails and letters -Salutation: Dear Sir/ Madam/ Dear Sir or Madam Dear Mr/ Ms + family name Dear + given name Hi + given name -Opening line: Thank you for… It was so nice to hear from you. I am writing to you to/ about/ because… How are you? -Starting paragraphs: First of all, I have/ had some questions about/ In answer to your questions about… There were also a few things I wondered about…/ Now I’d like to answer what you asked me about…/ You also asked me about... -Indirect questions: Could you (possibly) tell me…? I also wanted some information about… I (really) need to know… -Closing line: (I’m) looking forward to hearing from you (soon)/ seeing you soon. Thanks in advance. Thanks again. If you need any further information/ If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me./ If there’s anything else you want to know, drop me a line anytime. -Closing salutation: Yours Best regards All the best Love See you (textspeak abbreviations like CU are not acceptable in FCE, for some reason)

Reports -Opening the introduction: The purpose of this report is to… I have written this report to… This report has been written in order to… -Explaining what you did in order to write the report: In order to prepare this report… To do so, I… The data in this report was obtained by… In order to help make this decision,… … asked/ discussed/ gave out a questionnaire/ surveyed… -Giving the most important information: The main/ most important/ biggest/ most significant… -Contrasting: However,… In contrast,… Although…,… -Reporting what people said: A few/ Some/ Many/ Most/ The majority of/ Almost all the people said/ reported/ complained/ recommended/ believed/ thought… … are concerned/ worried/ surprised… -Giving more information: In addition…/ …also… The second most important/ biggest/ most significant… Another/ An additional/ A further… -Summarizing: Although reactions were mixed, on the whole… On balance,… It can be seen from the data/ reactions/ information above that… Looking at all the things people said, on the whole… Taking everyone’s comments into consideration,… Despite the… above, in general it is clear that… Overall,... -Concluding: For this reason,… Due to this,… Therefore,… -Recommendations:I (strongly) recommend/ my recommendation is to/ it is recommended that…

Stories -Near the beginning: At first… First of all… One day/ morning/ evening/ night… I decided… At that time… When/ While I was… During lunch/ work/ a lecture… -Near the middle: At the end of the first day/ hour… In the first couple of minutes/ days/ hours… Unfortunately,… To my amazement,… By the middle of the… I seemed to be running out of time… However, my plans changed completely when… Suddenly…/ Completely out of the blue,… Then/ Next/ (Just/ Straight) after that/ (A moment/ A little while) later… -Near the end: Eventually… In the end… At the end (of)… Looking back now I’m (so) glad that I…/ I (so) happy I didn’t…/ I (really) regret… After it was all over… It wasn’t (at all/ quite) what I had expected but… On the last day,… Just in time,… Luckily,…/ To our relief,… It was then that (I realised)…

Essays Making points Many people feel that ... First and foremost, ... It is widely believed that ... It would be ideal if ... Another argument in favour is ... It is clear from the facts that ... The benefits of ... outweigh the disadvantages. On the whole, I think ... Contrasting points On the other hand ... Other people think ... An opposing argument is ... Giving opinions I personally feel that ... I find it hard to see why ... I certainly don't believe that ... It is difficult to believe that ... I object to the cloning of animals. Organising and linking your ideas First of all, … Secondly, … In addition, … Moreover, … Furthermore, … So … As a result, … Therefore, … However, … On the one hand…/On the other hand … On the whole … While it is true to say … Finally, … To summarise, … In conclusion

Articles Heading / Title Freezing! (dramatic) My Lone Walk to the North Pole (a summary) What’s the big idea? (a question) You’re already well equipped to prevent crime (surprising) Opening Did you know …? What would you do if …? General Structure Give your article a heading or headline which makes the subject clear and also catches the reader’s attention. Divide the article into paragraphs to help the reader follow the argument. Begin with an interesting introduction – an example, perhaps, or a question. End with an overall comment or concluding.