Many of my C1 students ask me how they can make sure they are using all the knowledge that they have to their advantage.
And, well, it is in fact a very good question… and if you have ever wondered how you can prove you are a CONFIDENT C1 SPEAKER, or WRITER, or MEDIATOR…keep reading because this article is certainly for you.
Hi! My name is Toya Santa-Cruz. I’ve been an EOI teacher for 15 years and I created EOI Por Libre to help you succeed at your EOI Exam.
Here I’m going to share with you 5 WAYS TO SHOW YOU ARE A CONFIDENT C1 SPEAKER.
So, we’re going to be looking at:
- how to use comparatives
- how to use adverbs
- how to use simple inversions
- how to use either and neither
- how to use emphatic structures that will make a difference.
HOW YOU USE COMPARATIVES
Of course, you can always resort to the typical the more, the less… but there some other ways you can prove you are a confident C1 speaker with comparatives:
USE A SUPERLATIVE WITH A MODAL VERB
For example:
It is urgent for companies to help society the best way they can.
Or…
Given the circumstances, I did the best I could with what I had.
HOW TO USE ADVERBS
Adverbs are a great way to show you are a confident C1 Speaker. You can use them in several ways. I’ll give you three below:
- Introduce sentences with and adverb + enough:
“Oddly enough, we find it hard to improve our eating habits despite the well-known the benefits of cutting out sugar and cutting down on salt”
- Introduce a sentence with an adverb + a prepositional phrase
Luckily for the environment, more and more people are becoming conscious consumers.
Fortunately for us, many private companies are implementing measures to help employees improve their work-life balance.
- Using adverbs in middle position in a sentence:
Somebody must surely know what the best option would be.
I can honestly say I’m trying my best to do my bit for the environment.
Shoppers will probably have noticed the many tactics online retailers use to make us buy impulsively.
Other adverbs that you can easily introduce in middle position are:
ACTUALLY, CURRENTLY, CLEARLY, SIMPLY.
HOW TO USE SIMPLE INVERSIONS
First and foremost, if you’re finding it hard to use inversions naturally, choose just a couple of them and try to find examples for each of the topics you are preparing.
Let’s take NOT ONLY, for instance.
“Not only did the virus make everyone sick, but it also spread more easily as more and more people caught it”
“Not only do we need to be aware, but we also need to start taking action”
And then, you have the basic inversion “Had I Known… I would have…”
“Had I known it would need it to advance in my career ladder, I would’ve given more importance to my English studies when I was at university”
HOW TO USE EITHER AND NEITHER
There is this sentence that I find super useful for any topic related to social issues, government policies, legal matters, educational matters, etc:
“Either there’s something wrong with people, or there’s something wrong with the system”
Or about environmental issues:
“Either we haven’t yet realised how urgent it is, or we’re so selfish we don’t care about the planet we’re leaving for future generations”
HOW TO USE EMPHATIC STRUCTURES
CLEFT SENTENCES
What I think is important is that we give students more credit.
What we do know is that we have the power to decide as conscientious consumers and that our choices can make a difference.
YOU CAN ALSO START A SENTENCE WITH WHATEVER, WHEREVER, HOWEVER, ETC.
Whatever you do, don’t believe what they say.
Wherever we live, we’re affected by climate change.
However it happened, now is the moment to learn from our mistakes and do something different.
FRONTING
When you think about it, it makes total sense.
Fronting is really useful when you want to provide a conclusion:
At the end of the day, other things are surely more important than saving a few euros, like ethical ways of manufacturing products.
All in all, we should all be involved in making the world a better place and be totally aware that every little counts.
Ok, so far so good! And if you want more quality content for your exam, download our new app!
In our free App you will find resources like readings, listenings and audios about the topics of the EOI Exam. You will also have scripts that you can read while you listen and that will help you expand your vocabulary, structures, phrasal verbs and collocations, so you can use them later more naturally.
I’m sure you’re gonna love it!! You can download it TOTALLY FREE. And remember, PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT so keep up with the hard work and see you soon!
