Compare your FCE articles
Cambridge First Certificate Writing Part Two, linking to Speaking Part Two
Look at your partner’s answer to the last FCE Writing Part Two article task and let them look at yours. Find similarities and difference between them, using as many different comparing and contrasting phrases as you can. Don’t say what is good or bad (that is your teacher’s job!), just talk about features they share and contrasts between them. Your teacher will tell you if you can or should use the phrases on the last page below to help make comparisons.
Possible topics:
- Content (= What you wrote about)
- Introduction/ Start
- Ending (
- How formal or informal
- Language (e.g. linking words, ambitious language/ high-level language, rephrasing, informal language such as idioms)
- Length
- Paragraphing/ Structure/ Organisation
- Planning/ Process
- Timing
- Title
- How you tried to make the article interesting for the reader
- Using your imagination/ Making things up
- What was difficult and easy about writing it
- Extra work after finishing the timed task
Report back to the class on these things in this order:
Summarising how similar or different they are overall/ in general (and why you say that)
The biggest similarity or difference
(Other) similarities
(Other) differences
Brainstorm phrases can you use to talk about similarities and differences in the four categories above, for example in Speaking Part Two.
Use thee mixed phrases on the next page to help.
Mixed phrases
- a lot… er than…
- almost completely different
- almost the same (in terms of…)
- and so…
- and the same thing is true for…
- and… as well.
- and… too.
- as… as…
- both… and…
- but
- compared to…
- completely different
- considerably more… than
- don’t have much in common
- fairly different
- Generally,…
- have a lot in common
- have little in common
- however
- In contrast,…
- In general,…
- neither…
- not nearly as… as…
- not quite as… as…
- One (small but important) contrast between…
- One thing that… have in common…
- Overall,…
- quite a lot …er than
- share one feature
- slightly more… than…
- somewhat …er than…
- the main…
- the most important…
- the most noticeable…
- the most obvious…
- the most striking…
- the… which most stands out…
- There are more differences than similarities between…
- There are more similarities than differences between…
- very different
- very similar (because…)
- whereas,…
Check with the suggested answers or as a class. Then use similar phrases to compare two photos in Speaking Part Two and/ or to compare different kinds of FCE Writing tasks (e.g. a letter task and an email task).
Suggested answers (in no particular order)
Summarising how similar or different they are overall/ in general (and why)
- almost completely different
- almost the same (in terms of…)
- completely different
- don’t have much in common
- fairly different
- Generally,…
- have a lot in common
- have little in common
- In general,…
- Overall,…
- There are more differences than similarities between…
- There are more similarities than differences between…
- very different
- very similar (because…)
The biggest similarity or difference
- the main…
- the most important…
- the most noticeable…
- the most obvious…
- the most striking…
- the… which most stands out…
(Other) similarities
- and so…
- and the same thing is true for…
- and… as well.
- and… too.
- as… as…
- both… and…
- neither…
- One thing that… have in common…
- share one feature
(Other) differences
- a lot… er than…
- but
- compared to…
- considerably more… than
- however
- In contrast,…
- not nearly as… as…
- not quite as… as…
- One (small but important) contrast between…
- quite a lot …er than
- slightly more… than…
- somewhat …er than…
- whereas,…
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