ECPE cheat sheet

ECPE listening has four parts; Part 1 is short dialogues with one question each, Part 2 is longer conversations, Part 3 is monologues/talks, Part 4 is longer passages with multiple questions - expect 50 items total.

Each listening text is heard twice; the first hearing is for gist and the second for confirming detail, so mark provisional answers on the first pass rather than leaving blanks.

Distractors typically repeat a word from the recording while the correct option paraphrases it; treat verbatim lexical overlap as a warning sign, not evidence.

Questions follow the order of the recording in Parts 2–4; if you lose your place, resynchronise at the next question stem's key noun, not at the start of the audio.

Speakers signal stance with intonation and hedges ("I suppose", "to be honest", "actually"); the proposition after the hedge usually carries the answer for inference items.

Negative and comparative forms decide many answers: "not as ... as", "less than", "the least likely" - underline the polarity word in the stem before listening.

Numbers, times and prices are usually corrected mid-text ("at first I thought ... but it's actually ..."); record the final stated figure, not the first.

Idiomatic phrasal verbs and fixed expressions ("put off", "run out of", "make up for") carry meaning that cannot be derived from the individual words; learn them as units.

ECPE reading comprises several passages with 50 items overall; item types are main idea, detail, inference, vocabulary in context, reference (pronoun antecedent), and tone/purpose.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but limited to one paragraph is a detail distractor, not the main idea.

For vocabulary-in-context items, substitute each option back into the sentence and check that the sentence's logic and register still hold; the most common dictionary sense is often wrong.

Pronoun-reference items: the antecedent must agree in number and gender and must be able to perform the predicate logically; test by substitution.

Inference answers must be forced by the text - if an option requires outside knowledge or an extra assumption, it is unsupported.

Extreme quantifiers ("all", "never", "only", "prove") in options usually mark a wrong answer; hedged options ("tend to", "suggest", "may") are likelier correct.

Time budget: roughly one minute per item; answer detail questions by locating the keyword in the passage first, then reading the surrounding two sentences only.

Tone and purpose questions refer to the author, not to quoted speakers; identify the author's evaluative adjectives and concession clauses ("although", "admittedly").

ECPE grammar and vocabulary is a 50-item multiple-choice section; each item has one correct option and three distractors that are grammatically plausible but lexically or structurally wrong.

Verb complementation decides many items: "suggest/recommend/insist" take a that-clause or gerund, not an infinitive with object ("suggest me to go" is wrong).

After prepositions and after "look forward to", "object to", "be used to", "in addition to", use a gerund, not a bare infinitive.

Conditional and unreal past: "If I had known" pairs with "would have + past participle"; "wish/if only" plus past perfect expresses regret about the past.

Inversion applies after negative or restrictive adverbials in first position: "Never have I ...", "Not only did she ...", "Hardly had he ... when ...".

Collocation, not synonymy, selects the answer: "make a decision", "do research", "heavy rain", "strong argument", "highly unlikely" - learn noun-verb and adverb-adjective pairs.

Countability and quantifiers: "much/little/a great deal of" with uncountables; "many/few/a number of" with countables; "less" with uncountables, "fewer" with countables.

Phrasal verbs differ by particle: "turn up/out/down/over", "bring about/up/off" - the particle, not the verb, determines meaning, so memorise verb-particle pairs with an example sentence.

ECPE writing offers two tasks (typically an article/essay and a letter/proposal); each is scored on content, organisation, grammar, and vocabulary, so a well-structured simple essay outscores an ambitious disorganised one.

Plan for 5–8 minutes: state a thesis in one sentence, list two or three supporting points, and assign one paragraph to each point before writing.

Use a four- or five-paragraph frame: introduction with thesis, two or three body paragraphs each with a topic sentence, and a conclusion that restates rather than introduces.

Cohesion must be explicit: use linkers of addition ("furthermore"), contrast ("nevertheless"), cause ("consequently"), and exemplification ("for instance") - but vary them and avoid mechanical repetition.

Register follows the task: articles may use rhetorical questions and direct address; formal letters and proposals require impersonal tone, no contractions, and conventional openings and closings.

Range is scored, so include at least one complex sentence type per paragraph - a relative clause, a conditional, a participle clause, or a concessive clause with "although/while".

Reserve 5 minutes to check subject-verb agreement, articles, tense consistency, and plural endings; these four error types account for a large share of lost grammar marks.

Word-count discipline: an answer far under the required length loses content marks; padding with repetition does not compensate, so add a concrete example instead.

ECPE speaking is conducted in pairs with two examiners; it has a warm-up, a collaborative task, and individual long turns with follow-up questions, so both interactive and monologic skills are scored.

Scoring covers discourse management, interactive communication, grammar and vocabulary range, and pronunciation; initiating and responding to your partner counts toward the score.

In the collaborative task, build on your partner's contribution before adding your own ("That's a good point about cost - and it also means ..."); ignoring the partner lowers interactive marks.

For long turns, use a fixed frame: state position, give two reasons with examples, then a brief conclusion - this guarantees coherence under time pressure.

Paraphrase rather than stall: if a word is missing, describe it ("the thing you use to ...") and keep the sentence moving; silence and long hesitations cost fluency marks.

Interactive gambits to deploy: "What do you think?", "Shall we move on to ...?", "I see your point, but ...", "Could you say a bit more about that?"

Pronunciation: place stress on content words and use falling intonation for statements, rising for yes/no questions; flat intonation reads as disengagement.

Prepare two or three flexible personal examples (a project, a journey, a decision) that can be adapted to many prompt topics instead of memorising whole answers.