CAE Writing: Grammatical Structures to Use

One of  the four criteria on which your CAE writing papers are going to be assessed is Language. Not only does it evaluate how accurate you are (that is if there are any mistakes in the texts) but also, and it's even more important, how wide the range of  your vocabulary and grammar is. Accuracy and vocabulary range are topics for further posts. What I am going to talk about today is how you can be successful in showing a rich enough range of grammatical structures in your CAE writing papers.

Having studied loads of materials for CAE preparation including such coursebooks as CAE Gold, CAE Objective, Complete CAE and CAE Result, I can say that there is a certain number of grammatical structures which are considered to be sophisticated enough for the advanced level writing. What it means is that you are very likely to get a high score for your range of grammar if you make a good use of these structure.

Here they are

1. Emphasis with Inversion

This is when we use inverted word order  AUXILIARY VERB + SUBJECT (generally characteristic of questions) in affirmative sentences to make them sound more emphatic.

You can use inversion after certain 'negative' expression at the beginning of the sentence:
- never / rarely / seldom / never before /
- not until /  not since / not for one minute / not even once / at no time
- on no account / under no circumstances/ in no way / on no occasion
- only when / only if / only in this way / only then / only after
- little
- not only ... but also
- scarcely / hardly / barely ...when
- no sooner ....than

Here are some example sentences with the inversion:
Never before had I seen such a professional performance.
Not until it was too late did they see the sign.
Under no circumstances should you let children play with fire.
Little did he realise that he was being watched.
Scarcely had she got home when the phone rang.

You can also use inversion in conditional sentences, which is very common in formal pieces of writing such as a letter of complaint or apology. What we do is omit 'if' and change the places of the subject and the predicate.

Should  I receive no satisfaction, I will be forced to take matters a step further.
Had he known, he would have made arrangements. 

You can find a good presentation on Inversion here

2. Cleft Sentences

This is certain structures that help us emphasise a particular part of a sentence.

- IT IS / WAS + SUBJECT / OBJECT + [THAT / WHO ...]
It is the principal who is responsible for the school budget.
It is for the school budget that the principal is responsible.

- WHAT + SUBJECT + VERB + INFINITIVE

What we need is to address the road congestion issue.

- ALL / THE LAST THING + SUBJECT + VERB + IS / WAS

The last thing people want is encroaching on the suburbs.

3. Participial Clauses

They may be used for the following reasons:

- to link two events in time
- to provide a reason
- instead of a conditional construction.

Opening the door, I saw ... (= when I opened the door...)
Being the richest of us, she paid the bill (= because she was the richest...)
Eaten in small quantities, chocolate is good for our health (= if you eat it in small quantities...)

4. Relative Clauses

Be sure you know how to use both identifying and non-identifying relative clauses.

The person to whom the letter is addressed lives is Moscow.
The roads in the inner city are heavily congested, which is why it may take hours to get to your workplace.

5. Comparative Structures (Double Comparatives / All the More)

The more absurd it appeared, the more appealing it became. 
The lack of any programme for changing the industry is all the more striking given the obstacles that the likes of John Davis persistently put in their way.