Aptis Advanced: Writing Test 2 with Sample C1 Answers
Here’s another Aptis Advanced Writing with C1 answers. We’ll start by giving you the test questions to work on yourself, and we highly recommend that you do so. It’s always a good idea to see what you can come up with before reading our version with model answers. So open a new document, or grab a pen and paper!
Before you start writing, make sure you fully understand all the questions and what you have to do. Make a quick plan what you’re going to write.
You must answer the questions without going off-topic, keep to the word-count, and use level-appropriate grammar and vocabulary. remember to use paragraphs in Parts Two and Three (the answers in Part One are too brief for that). Last but not least, always check your spelling and punctuation. (In the exam, remember to edit your writing before clicking to the next question.)
If you’re not familiar with the exam format, you’ll find an overview of each of the three parts of the Writing Test in Advanced Writing Test 1. Remember, the total time allowed for the writing test is 45 minutes, so try to complete it within exam timing.
Once you’ve done that, you can go on to watch the video and study the script!
Aptis Advanced Writing Test 2
Part One: Three written responses to questions
You are a member of a book club. You are talking to three other members in the book club chat room. Talk to them using sentences. Use 30 to 40 words per answer. You have 10 minutes in total. Answer all three questions.
Book Club Chat
Ahmad: Hi! Welcome to the club. I’ve always been into reading, especially novels, and I usually read about three a month. What about you?
Sofia: Welcome. Can you tell me something about the type of books that are popular in your country?
Nur: Who’s your favourite author, and why are you interested in him or her?
Part Two: Email response
You have received this email from the airline you recently flew with. Read the e-mail and the notes you have made. Write a reply using all the information in your notes, and express how you feel about the situation.
You should write between 120 and 150 words.
Dear Passenger
Thank you for flying with us recently. We value your custom and would like to hear about your experience. Firstly, we want to know your opinion of our cabin staff (1), as your safety is of the utmost importance. Were they able to help you in any way? We would also like to know what you thought about the plane (2) and its facilities. Finally, we would like to hear your suggestions for improving the overall flying experience (3).
Yours faithfully,
Customer Services
Your notes
- Staff very young and inexperienced – chatted to each other all the time – but friendly.
- Plane clean, very new – but seats were uncomfortable.
- Too many announcements selling things.
Part Three: Article for website publication
Life Today is a website that accepts short articles from members of the public on subjects of popular interest. You have been asked to contribute an article on the subject of ‘How do people spend their time?’ You have already done some research on the subject in note and diagram form. Use information from your research notes to help you write an article that is both informative and interesting.
Write between 180 and 220 words.
Notes
- Some predictable patterns?
- Sleeping seems to be the most uniform result
- This is the latest information, but times are only an average
- Cultural differences seem to play a role
Time spent per activity
country | Work per day | Sleep per day | Eating and drinking per day |
USA | 251 mins | 8hrs 48 min | 63 mins |
Ireland | 231 mins | 8hrs 11 mins | 85 mins |
Italy | 149 mins | 8 hrs 33 mins | 127 mins |
Reference https://ourworldindata.org/time-use-living-conditions
Now watch John talking you through each part of the test, highlighting useful language in the sample C1 answers and giving you advice. You’ll find the script for this Advanced Writing with sample C1 answers below the video.
Aptis Advanced Writing with Sample C1 Answers: Test 2
Part One
You are a member of a book club. You are talking to three other members in the book club chat room. Talk to them using sentences. Use 30 to 40 words per answer. You have 10 minutes in total. Answer all three questions.
Book Club Chat
Ahmad: Hi! Welcome to the club. I’ve always been into reading, especially novels, and I usually read about three a month. What about you?
Hi Ahmad, wow – you’re a real bookworm! I suppose I get through about one novel each month. Unfortunately, work eats into my free time these days, but if I worked less, I’d probably do the same!
Sofia: Welcome. Can you tell me something about the type of books that are popular in your country?
Funnily enough, I was in my local bookshop just the other day, and I noticed they had a list of best-sellers on the wall. The top three in fiction were all psychological thrillers, while cookbooks topped the non-fiction charts.
Nur: Who’s your favourite author, and why are you interested in him or her?
If I had to pick just one writer, I’d say Agatha Christie. I can’t resist a good whodunnit! Her books may not be highbrow literature, but I love the way she weaves the plot and creates three-dimensional characters.
Part Two
You have received this email from the airline you recently flew with. Read the e-mail and the notes you have made. Write a reply using all the information in your notes, and express how you feel about the situation.
You should write between 120 and 150 words.
Dear Passenger
Thank you for flying with us recently. We value your custom and would like to hear about your experience. Firstly, we want to know your opinion of our cabin staff (1), as your safety is of the utmost importance. Were they able to help you in any way? We would also like to know what you thought about the plane (2) and its facilities. Finally, we would like to hear your suggestions for improving the overall flying experience (3).
Yours faithfully,
Customer Services
Your notes
- Staff very young and inexperienced – chatted to each other all the time – but friendly.
- Plane clean, very new – but seats were uncomfortable.
- Too many announcements selling things.
Dear Customer Services
I am writing in response to your email pertaining to my recent flight.
With regard to the cabin crew, boarding and disembarking were very efficiently managed. Although I didn’t require assistance personally, I noticed that they were prompt in coming to the aid of passengers with young children.
However, when it came to serving the snacks, they were rather disorganised, mixing up several orders. I attribute this to lack of experience, as they were all very young.
As for the plane itself, it was obviously brand new, which made me feel secure. There was adequate storage space, and the toilets were clean. In terms of comfort, I felt rather cramped and could have done with more legroom.
I would suggest that the overall experience could be improved by reducing the constant announcements about inflight sales and the duty-free trolleys blocking the aisle.
Yours faithfully,
John Harrop
Part Three
Life Today is a website that accepts short articles from members of the public on subjects of popular interest. You have been asked to contribute an article on the subject of ‘How do people spend their time?’ You have already done some research on the subject in note and diagram form. Use information from your research notes to help you write an article that is both informative and interesting.
Write between 180 and 220 words.
Notes
- Some predictable patterns?
- Sleeping seems to be the most uniform result
- This is the latest information, but times are only an average
- Cultural differences seem to play a role
Time spent per activity
Country | Work per day | Sleep per day | Eating and drinking per day |
USA | 251 mins | 8hrs 48 mins | 63 mins |
Ireland | 231 mins | 8hrs 11 mins | 85 mins |
Italy | 149 mins | 8 hrs 33 mins | 127 mins |
Work to live, or live to work?
This perennial question usually comes up when we’re fed-up at work. We find ourselves wondering if it’s all worthwhile. So let’s have a look at the habits of three nationalities, to see if we’ve got the right work/life balance.
Going by the latest numbers, the inhabitants of the country with the highest GDP in the world – the USA – predictably work the longest hours. They also spend the most time sleeping – after all, they must be tired! The average American devotes barely more than an hour per day to eating.
At the other end of the spectrum are the Italians. With their culture of living and eating well – ‘la dolce vita’ is famous throughout the world – it’s no surprise to see they spend more than two hours a day eating and drinking. Their working day is by far the shortest.
The Irish fall between these two camps. Although their working day is considerably longer than that of the Italians and not much shorter than in the USA, they only spend 85 minutes per day eating. Meanwhile, the activity with the least variation in time per country is sleeping.
While these numbers are, of course, only a generalisation, they definitely give us food for thought. So – keeping that in mind – how does your life compare?
Highlighted language
In the video John explains some of the vocabulary that comes up in this particular article. In contrast, the language we’ve highlighted here is intended as ‘scaffolding’ to help you write your Part Three answers in general. Scaffolding is actually what you see on the outside of a building while it’s being constructed. It’s a framework that helps the people working to move from one part of the building to another, and gives support. In the same way, the highlighted language provides you with a structure for your article.
Of course, all the answers will depend on the question, but these expressions will help you discuss numerical results and trends.
Next Steps
Obviously, make sure you’ve studied Aptis Advanced: Writing Test 1.
Read Aptis Advanced: How to Write an Article and our Top Tips for passing the Writing Test.
As we pointed out before, all practice is good practice, so why not practise with the Aptis General and Aptis for Teachers tests? You’ll find all these and more in our Guide.
And remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel – make sure you click on the bell so that you’ll receive notifications when we publish more Advanced Tests.