C1 Advanced study guide
C1 Advanced · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
C1 Advanced is a Cambridge English Qualification at CEFR level C1, designed for learners who need to prove high-level English for study and work. Cambridge describes it as the logical step between B2 First (or B2 First for Schools) and C2 Proficiency, and notes that more than 11,000 educational institutions, businesses and government departments around the world accept it as proof of high-level achievement in English. The exam is made up of four papers - Reading and Use of English, Writing, Listening and Speaking - and takes about four hours in total. It is available as a digital or a paper-based test, with the same component formats in each case. Topics on this exam: Reading and Use of English, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. The C1 Advanced study guide has 4 sections and about 1,381 words.
01Reading and Use of English
Reading and Use of English is a single 90-minute paper of eight parts, and the marks are not evenly spread: the six Key Word Transformations in Part 4 carry two marks each, so they weigh as much as the whole of Part 3. Parts 1–4 test language systems. Part 1 is a multiple-choice cloze where collocation, fixed phrases and phrasal verbs decide the answer rather than grammar alone. Part 2 is an open cloze: exactly one word per gap, usually a grammar word such as an auxiliary, preposition, pronoun, article or conjunction.
386 words, about 2 min02Writing
Writing lasts 90 minutes and contains two tasks of roughly 220–260 words each. Part 1 is compulsory: an essay built from two of three bullet points, plus an idea of your own. Part 2 offers a choice - letter or email, proposal, report or review - always addressed to a specified reader. Four equally weighted criteria.
338 words, about 2 min03Listening
Listening runs about 40 minutes across four parts and 30 questions, with each recording heard twice. Part 1 : three short unrelated extracts, two three-option questions each, testing function, attitude and agreement. Part 2 : a monologue with eight gaps; you write a word or short phrase, generally no more than two or three words, spelled as heard. Part 3 : a conversation with six multiple-choice questions on opinion and detail.
336 words, about 2 min04Speaking
Speaking lasts about 15 minutes with two candidates and two examiners. Part 1 : personal questions on familiar topics. Part 2 : each candidate compares two photographs for about a minute, then answers a short question about the partner's photos. Part 3 : a collaborative discussion task leading to a decision.
321 words, about 2 min