Englisch: Reading, Listening, Writing and Language in Use
What is tested
The English exam assesses receptive and productive skills at B2 level: understanding gist and detail in written and spoken texts, recognising opinion and tone, and producing coherent texts such as an opinion essay, a formal email or a report. Candidates need a solid command of tense and aspect (present perfect versus past simple), conditionals, passive voice, reported speech, modal verbs for speculation, and linking devices (however, therefore, although, despite). Vocabulary ranges from education and environment to technology and work.
Typical traps
A frequent error is answering with the text's wording instead of paraphrasing, which loses marks in summary tasks. In multiple-matching listening tasks, distractors mention the same keywords as the correct answer but contradict the speaker's stance. Word-formation items punish candidates who ignore the required part of speech: success versus successful versus succeed. In writing, register slips (contractions in formal emails), missing topic sentences and repetitive vocabulary lower the band. Watch countability and articles too: information, advice and research are uncountable.
Rule of thumb and example
Rule: read the question, predict the answer, then listen or read. Prediction primes you to hear the paraphrase rather than the keyword.
Example of register shift: informal “I wanna ask if you could maybe help me out” becomes formal “I am writing to ask whether you would be able to assist me.” The meaning is identical, but the second version fits a formal email. Apply the same transformation when summarising: replace the source's phrasing with your own structure.