FCE Writing Part One/ FCE Speaking Part Two
Try to find similarities and differences between two FCE Writing Part One email answers, for example the ones you and your partner wrote for homework or two model answers. Use as many phrases from below as you can to make those comparisons. You can also talk about the process you went through to write them, the difficulties you had, etc.
Possible topics:
The finished answer
Topics/ information included Length
Paragraphing/ Organisation Starting and ending
Formality/ Friendliness
The process
Difficulties writing Timing (time for planning, editing, etc)
Extra work after the time limit
An overall summary of how similar or different the two emails are
- fairly/ really quite/ really/ almost completely/ totally different (overall) (because…)
- quite/ rather/ very similar (in terms of/ if you look at…)
- have (quite) a lot in common (for example…)
- don’t have a lot/ much in common, but…
- There are a couple of/ a few/ some/ quite a lot of/ many similarities, (such as…)
- There are two or three/ several/ lots of/ loads of differences, (including…)
- There are more similarities than differences between… and… (For instance,…)
- share (a couple of/ a few/ quite a lot of/ a lot of) features, (e.g….)
Individual similarities and differences
The first similarity or difference that you mention
- The biggest/ main/ most important similarity between… and… is…
- The most striking/ most obvious/ most noticeable difference between… and… is…
- The first similarity I noticed is…
- One difference which stands out is…
- The only similarity between… that I can see is…
Other similarities and differences
- Another (important/ big) similarity is…
- One more (striking/ obvious/ noticeable) difference is…
- Both… and …
- … but/ whereas…
- …, and… is as well.
- …, and so is…
- … and… does too.
- One thing that… and… have in common is…
- (slightly/ somewhat/ quite a lot/ a lot/ far far)… er
- (a bit/ a great deal/ much much) more…
- not (nearly/ quite) as… as…
- …and that is (more or less/ almost) the same for…
- … In contrast,…
Without looking above, try to remember or think of as many phrases as you can for the three functions you just looked at.
An overall summary of how similar or different two things are
Individual similarities and differences
The first similarity or difference that you mention
Other similarities and differences
Use these gapped sentences to help with the task above. Please copy the phrases into the gaps above rather than just filling in the gaps.
An overall summary of how similar or different they are
Overall…
- fairly/ really quite/ really/ _______ completely/ totally different (because…)
- quite/ rather/ very similar (__________ terms of/ if you look at…)
- have (___________) a lot in common (for example…)
- don’t have a lot/ _______ in common, but…
- There are ______ couple of/ a few/ some/ quite a lot of/ many similarities, (such as…)
- There are two or three/ several/ lots of/ _________ of differences, (including…)
- There are more similarities _______ differences between… and… (For instance,…)
- share (a couple of/ a few/ ____________ a lot of/ a lot of) features, (e.g….)
Individual similarities and differences
The first similarity or difference that you mention
- The biggest/ main/ _____________ important similarity between… and… is…
- The most striking/ most obvious/ most noticeable difference _______… and… is…
- The first similarity _________ noticed is…
- One difference which stands ___________ is…
- The only similarity between… that I __________ see is…
Other similarities and differences
- Another (important/ _________________) similarity is…
- One more (striking/ obvious/ ______________) difference is…
- Both… and …
- … but/ _______________…
- …, and… is ______________ well.
- …, and ___________________ is…
- … and… does _________________.
- One _____________ that… and… have in common is…
- (slightly/ somewhat/ quite a lot/ a lot/ far ______)… er
- (___________ bit/ a great deal/ much much) more…
- not (nearly/ quite) as… ________________…
- …and that is (more or _____________/ almost) the same for…
- … ____________ contrast,…
Check any different phrases which you wrote down. Note that most of the phrases above can be easily changed to the opposite function, e.g. by changing “similarity” and “difference”.
Use those phrases to do FCE Speaking Part Two tasks, first using the phrases, second using the gapped phrases, and finally with no help.
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PDF for easy saving and printing: Compare and contrast the emails FCE writing and speaking
Related pages
FCE Writing Part Two emails and letters page
Teaching Emailing: Interactive Classroom Activities (over 300 pages of photocopiable materials)
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