Course description

The CPE test is ideal if you want to work or study abroad, or if you want to develop a career that requires language skills (e.g. business, medicine or engineering) Upon passing the exam, you will receive a certificate awarded by the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. The CPE certificate is recognized by thousands of universities and employers throughout the world. Reading (Paper 1), 1 hour and 30 minutes
The reading section assesses your ability to read and understand texts taken from a wide range of sources, including fiction and non-fiction books, journals, newspapers and magazines. You are expected to understand the meaning of written English, including recognizing words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs and whole texts. The test also includes understanding text content, organization and structure, development of ideas, opinions and attitudes.
Writing (Paper 2), 2 hours
The writing section assesses your ability to write non-specialized texts types such as letters, articles, reports and reviews for a specific purpose and target reader, covering a wide range of topics. This paper also includes questions on set texts. Responses are should be between 300 and 350 words long.
Use of English (Paper 3), 1 hour and 30 minutes
In this section, you are expected to demonstrate your knowledge and control of the language by completing various tasks by using words, sentences and texts. These include fill in the blank, word formation exercises, comprehension questions and a summary writing task.
Listening (Paper 4), 40 minutes (approx.)
The listening section assesses your ability to listen to, and understand texts taken from a variety of spoken texts including interviews, discussions, lectures and conversations. It tests the ability to understand the meaning of spoken English, to extract specific information from a spoken text, and to understand speakers' attitudes and opinions.
Speaking (Paper 5), 19 minutes (approx.)
This assesses your ability to interact in conversational English in a wide range of situations. This portion of the test is taken in pairs. The paper contains three parts, including an interview section, a collaborative task and an individual minute-long turn speaking opportunity with follow-up discussion. In order to prompt discussion, test takers are provided with visual and written stimulus.