The A2 key exam is a basic level qualification that shows your ability to use English to communicate in simple situations and is a great exam to take if you are new to learning English. The exam tests you in reading, writing, listening and speaking. In this blog I am going to be giving a guide on both parts and some tips to keep in mind when you are taking the exam yourself as well as writing these examples together. Let’s go!
First let us take a look at part one of the writing. Part one is a guided writing that is 25 words or more. Here you will usually write an email or note to a friend about a given topic. The point is for the learner to respond to the email in a similar style all while using the topic specific vocabulary and grammar in the process and possibly even providing reasoning for the answers.
Take a look at this writing task and the questions along the side:
Take your time and answer these questions then scroll down to the answers.
Now let us remember the parts of a typical email.
Now we can start to write.
With a salutation to a friend a simple informal “hi” will do but let's look at some options: Hi/hello/hey…..and for you Texas lovers “howdy” 🤠
And there you have it! You can see by the colors of the text where each part of the structure from before is. By following this simple guide to the part one writing and following the steps, you will find yourself writing a successful email you can be proud of.
Some extra tips:
Address your friend to make the note more personal.
Use connectors such as “because, and, so etc.”
Giving reasons for your answers provides more body to the email and makes it seem more real.
Be yourself, there is no penalty for originality.
Check your work before moving on, you always want to cross your Ts and dot our Is before turning anything in.
Next let’s take a look at part 2 of the writing. Part two is a picture story where you will write a short story of 35 words or more based on three pictures. This part of the exam allows you to use a bit more of your imagination as parts of the writing can be made up to add a bit of variety in the vocabulary and story telling. By answering three simple questions you can build your context and then you can let your imagination run free when connecting the information together by using the contents of the picture to help you assume. Take a look at these pictures...
Earlier I mentioned three questions to help you build your context but what could they be?
WHO??? WHERE??? WHAT???
Answer these questions for each picture and then scroll down to check your answer!
And after you answer these questions you can try to assume things about the situation and provide extra context to fill in the gaps when connecting the story by answering the why and when.
Now we can put everything together and use typical story style, connectors to connect each picture, grammar and the extra information you came up with…
Some extra tips:
Be creative but realistic.
Make sure to read after finishing just like the first writing.
Make it personal, dont be afraid to give names and make up dates etc.
Remember stories you've read yourself and the way in which they are told.
I hope you have enjoyed everything because that completes this lesson on A2 writing. Remember these steps and tips and I'm sure you'll do great on the exam! Thank you for reading and good luck!
Sources:
Cambridgeenglish.com