FCE Review Writing Task – Common Mistakes Analysis
1 Introduction
Under exam pressure, students often produce writing that falls short of FCE requirements. Common issues include poor organization, informal language, and lack of critical analysis. Let’s examine a review that demonstrates these typical problems, written by Maria during a practice session.
Key Terms
- critical analysis
- detailed examination and evaluation of something
- falls short
- fails to meet expected standards
2 FCE Review – Poor Writing Example
Your task: Write a review of a film you have seen recently for your school’s English-language magazine.
The Latest Action Movie – ‘Speed Force’
I saw this movie yesterday and it was really really good! The main actor Tom Davidson plays a racing driver who has to save the world from bad guys. The special effects were amazing and everything went boom! The story was ok but sometimes I didn’t understand what was happening because there was to many explosions.
The acting was good and bad. Tom Davidson was cool but the other actors were not so good. The girl who played his girlfriend was pretty but she didn’t do much except scream. The car chases were exciting but went on for to long.
I think people should watch this film if they like action movies and cars and explosions. But if you want something clever maybe you shouldn’t watch it. It’s quite expensive at the cinema so maybe wait for DVD.
I give it 7/10 stars!
Key Terms
- special effects
- visual or audio effects created for films
- car chase
- scene where one vehicle pursues another
3 How Many Errors Did You Spot?
Before we analyze this review in detail, take a moment to identify the problems you notice. Consider these areas:
– Register and tone
– Organization and paragraphing
– Critical evaluation
– Grammar and spelling
– Vocabulary choice
Key Terms
- register
- level of formality in language
- tone
- style or way of expressing ideas