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CPE: Certificate of Proficiency in English
Who is it for?
This exam test English ability at the highest possible level and demonstrates that a candidate can communicate with fluency approaching that of a native English speaker at a C2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
How much does it cost to take CPE?
Fees are set by test centres.
What is the test like?
The test has these sections:
Reading and writing - 1 hour 10 minutes
Listening - 30 minutes
Speaking - an interview, 10 minutes
CPE scores
You will receive a separate score for each of the four skills (Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking) and Use of English, giving you a clear understanding of your performance. These five scores are averaged to give you an overall result for the exam.
When can I take the test?
Arrange with your closest test centre. The paper-based test can be taken 6 times a year. The computer-based test is available once a month.
Reading and use of English
Writing
Reading and Writing are taken together: 1 hour 10 minutes
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Reading part 1: A single text with eight gaps. Candidates must choose one word or phrase from a set of four to fill each gap.
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Reading part 2: A modified cloze test consisting of a text with eight gaps. Candidates think of the word which best fits each gap
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Reading part 3: A text containing eight gaps. Each gap corresponds to a word. The stems of the missing words are given beside the text and must be changed to form the missing word.
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Reading part 4: Six discrete items with a lead-in sentence and a gapped response to complete in 3–8 words including a given ‘key’ word.
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Reading part 5: A long text followed by some multiple-choice questions, each with four options.
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Reading part 6: A text from which paragraphs have been removed and placed in jumbled order after the text. Candidates must decide from where in the text the paragraphs have been removed.
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Reading part 7: A text, or several short texts, preceded by multiple-matching questions. Candidates must match a prompt to elements in the text.
Reading and Writing are taken together: 1 hour 10 minutes
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Writing part 1 : Some material to read (two texts, each approximately 100 words). Using the information in this material, you have to write an essay.
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Writing part 2 : A choice of four questions (2–5). For Questions 2–4, you may have to write an article, a letter, a report or a review.
Time allowed : about 30 minutes
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Listening part 1: Four short, unrelated recordings lasting approximately 1 minute each. You have to listen to the recordings and answer two multiple-choice questions for each recording. Each question has three options (A, B or C).
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Listening part 2: A monologue or prompted monologue lasting 3–4 minutes. The questions are a series of incomplete sentences. You have to listen to the recording and identify the information you need (one to three words) to fill each gap.
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Listening part 3: A recording with interacting speakers lasting 3–4 minutes. You have to listen to the recording and answer a series of multiple-choice questions, each with four options.
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Listening part 4: Five short, themed monologues, of approximately 35 seconds each. There are two multiple-matching tasks. Each multiple-matching task requires the selection of the five correct options from a list of eight.
Listening
Speaking
Time allowed: 10-12 minutes
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Speaking part 1 (Interview): Conversation between the interlocutor and each candidate. The examiner asks each of you a series of questions, addressing a question to each of you in turn, to give you an opportunity to talk about yourselves.
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Speaking part 2 (Collaborative task): The interlocutor gives you some spoken instructions and one or more pictures to look at. First, you have to answer a question which focuses on your reaction to aspects of one or more pictures (1 minute). The second part is a decision-making task which you have to do with the other candidate.
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Speaking part 3 (Discussion): The interlocutor gives you a card with a question and some ideas on it and you have to speak for about 2 minutes on your own. After you finish, your partner has to comment and the interlocutor then asks you both a question on the same topic. The interlocutor follows the same procedure with your partner and then leads a discussion with both of you.
Practice Links
In this section you will find some links that it will of great help for each of the parts of the CAE and som others where you can practice all parts of the exam.