Islington Centre for English's Director of Studies and Cambridge Examiner, Vanessa Lister BA DELTA, offers the following advice for the Speaking part of the First Certificate English (FCE) exam:
"Students must remember to fully answer the question, otherwise they will lose marks. For example, "What do you think the difference is between watching TV and going to the cinema? The answer should be exactly what they have asked you! It does not mean, "Which do you prefer...?" Many students make this mistake and give their preference and don't compare the two. Also note that the examiner is giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your comparative language in this case so make sure you use at least some of the following expressions:
"Compared to TV, cinema is a more exciting activity because..."
"TV is much cheaperthan the cinema because..."
"While TV and cinema have many similarities, they are also different in many important ways, such as..."
"Watching a film at the cinema is not nearly as flexible an activity as watching something on TV. By this I mean that..."
