Extremadura PAU Foreign Language II - English cheat sheet

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.

Question types map to task verbs: 'according to the text' = literal retrieval; 'the author suggests/implies' = inference; 'the main purpose' = global idea; 'the word X refers to' = reference resolution.

Answers to literal items are located by scanning for a paraphrase of the question stem, not for its exact words; the exam text almost always rewords the stem.

True/False items are decided only by what the text states; outside knowledge that contradicts the text never overrides it.

For 'not mentioned' options, verify absence by checking every paragraph for the concept, including synonyms and hyponyms, before selecting.

Reference questions (it, this, they, such) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes semantic sense.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Vocabulary-in-context items: substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the surrounding logic, not the most common dictionary sense.

Ordering and matching tasks are solved by locating explicit discourse markers (however, therefore, for instance) that link each paragraph to the next.

Conditionals: zero = present simple/present simple; first = present simple + will; second = past simple + would; third = had + past participle + would have + past participle; mixed = past perfect + would + base verb.

Reported speech backshift: present→past, past→past perfect, will→would, can→could; time and place markers shift (now→then, today→that day, here→there, tomorrow→the next day).

Passive transformation keeps tense and aspect: 'They have built it' → 'It has been built'; the object of the active clause becomes the subject.

Verb + preposition collocations are fixed: depend on, insist on, succeed in, apologise for, look forward to (+ -ing), be used to (+ -ing), used to (+ base verb).

Gerund after prepositions and after verbs such as enjoy, avoid, suggest, mind, finish; infinitive after want, decide, manage, afford, refuse, promise.

Word formation: noun suffixes -tion/-sion, -ment, -ness, -ity; adjective suffixes -ous, -ful, -less, -ive, -able; negative prefixes un-, in-, im-, ir-, il-, dis-.

Comparative structures: 'the more… the more…'; 'not as … as'; 'far/much/slightly + comparative'; 'the same … as'; 'different from'.

Relative clauses: defining clauses take no commas and allow 'that'; non-defining clauses take commas and never take 'that'; whose replaces possessive.

Modals of deduction: must (strong certainty), might/may/could (possibility), can't (impossibility) - 'can't' is the negative of 'must' in deduction.

Task achievement requires covering every bullet of the prompt; an unaddressed bullet caps the score regardless of language quality.

Word count is a scored constraint: staying within roughly 10% of the stated limit avoids the under-length and over-length penalties.

Register follows the prompt: formal email uses 'Dear Sir/Madam' + 'Yours faithfully'; named recipient uses 'Dear Mr X' + 'Yours sincerely'; informal uses 'Hi/Best wishes'.

An opinion essay needs a thesis in the introduction, one idea per body paragraph with a supporting example, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion is scored through linkers: addition (furthermore, in addition), contrast (however, whereas), cause (owing to, since), result (therefore, as a result), concession (although, despite + noun/-ing).

Sentence variety is demonstrated by mixing simple, compound and complex clauses and by fronting adverbials ('Despite the cost, …').

Formal writing avoids contractions, phrasal verbs where a single verb exists, and direct address of the reader as 'you' in essays.

Interactive turns (email reply, dialogue) must respond to the specific points raised, using 'As for…', 'Regarding…', 'That sounds…' to acknowledge them.

Capitalise proper nouns, nationalities, languages, days, months and the first-person pronoun 'I'; do not capitalise seasons or generic subjects.

Comma separates items in a list, introductory adverbials and non-defining relative clauses; it never joins two independent clauses alone (comma splice).

Semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses; colon introduces an explanation, list or quotation after a complete clause.

Apostrophes mark possession (singular 's, plural s') and contraction (don't, it's); 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive determiner.

British spelling is standard in this exam: -ise verbs (organise, realise), colour, favour, centre, travelling, programme.

Hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy) but not after it (the author is well known).

Sentence-final punctuation: question mark for direct questions only; indirect questions ('He asked whether…') end with a full stop.

Cohesion across sentences is built by pronoun chains, lexical repetition of key terms and discourse markers placed at clause boundaries, not mid-clause.