In the minds of ESL exam candidates, e ssay writing is one of the most daunting tasks they are required to complete, regardless of the level of the exam, the administering body or the ease with which they themselves use the language. The same applies to students who are asked to write an essay by their teachers at school. In the previous sample essays posted on the blog, the main point I stress is the need to become acquainted with this form of writing (as opposed to writing a letter, review or report, for instance), to get a feel of what authorial voice is and how to organize and progressively express the arguments you wish to make in a coherent manner. Unfortunately, the best way to prepare for exam writing or learn how to write good essays for school is to read as many essays from as many sources as possible, then write as
My two previous posts explained how to deal with two distinct types of oral examination questions as part of English-language certification qualifications. The first post gave some tips how to describe a person, place, object or activity while the second how to narrate past experiences or any kind of situations one may have had to deal with. Though these types of questions are typically part of the English oral examination for the Michigan State University (MSU) certificate at C2 level, this as well as the two previous posts can be used to train candidates of other English-language examinations, be they B1, B2, C1 or C2-level exams. Based on experience, I have seen that helping a candidate develop fluency requires building up their ability to narrate and describe, so whether they are sitting the IELTS or CPE, the ECPE or LRN, LRN, TOEFL, BULATS, TIE, ECCE, FCE and so many others that are out there on the market, knowing how to describe and narrate is a must. T...