Module 7 · Advanced Grammar & Spiral R&UoE · Lesson 28
Spiral R&UoE Mixed Practice
All four parts in one sitting
Warm-up · Section 1
4 minGet talking
Rank P1, P2, P3, P4 from EASIEST to HARDEST for you personally. What part of your ranking would surprise an experienced examiner?
Without reading the items, look at any R&UoE part shown to you. Can you name P1/P2/P3/P4 within 3 seconds of seeing the layout? What's the visual signal?
Which R&UoE part has the LOWEST score density (marks per minute) — and what does that mean for your timing?
Grammar focus · Section 2
8 minThe four R&UoE modes — what each rewards
Quick rule
P1 MULTIPLE-CHOICE CLOZE rewards COLLOCATION knowledge — choose between four near-synonyms by what fits the surrounding words. RACE through; ~9 min for 8 items. P2 OPEN CLOZE rewards GRAMMATICAL fluency — most blanks are grammar words (articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, pronouns); ~9 min for 8 items. P3 WORD FORMATION rewards MORPHOLOGY — convert a root word to fit the slot (noun/adj/adv/negative prefix); ~9 min for 8 items. P4 KEY-WORD TRANSFORMATIONS rewards GRAMMAR + LEXIS together — rewrite a sentence using a given keyword in 3–6 words; ~12 min for 6 items (2 marks each, so it's the highest-stakes part per item). The mode-switch is the skill: 5-second recognition, 30-second attack plan, move on.
Examples
P1 signal: 4 options in brackets after each blank. STRATEGY: read the WHOLE clause, eliminate by COLLOCATION.
P2 signal: blanks without options. STRATEGY: assume grammar word; check the surrounding clause for trigger (preposition, article, auxiliary).
P3 signal: a ROOT WORD in CAPITALS in the margin. STRATEGY: identify needed part of speech FIRST, then morphology.
P4 signal: a sentence + a KEYWORD + a target ('in 3-6 words including the keyword'). STRATEGY: rebuild OUTWARD from the keyword; count words.
Quick check
Question 1.In P1 multiple-choice cloze, you choose between options by:
Question 2.In P2 open cloze, MOST blanks are:
Question 3.In P3 word formation, the FIRST decision is:
Question 4.In P4 KWT, the most common error is:
Question 5.Which part has the HIGHEST score density (marks per minute)?
Vocabulary · Section 3
6 minWords & phrases to own
to bear on
P1 collocation trap — 'this issue bears on the decision'
e.g. These findings bear directly on the policy under review.
Use it now
Use 'bear on' instead of 'relate to' in a real-context sentence.
↻ Recycled in writing
on the strength of
P2/P1 collocation — basis for a decision
e.g. He was hired on the strength of his portfolio.
Use it now
Use 'on the strength of' instead of 'because of'.
↻ Recycled in writing
to set out (a case / a plan)
P1 collocation — formal articulation
e.g. The chair set out the case for the merger in three minutes.
Use it now
Use 'set out' instead of 'explain' in a formal context.
↻ Recycled in writing
in the wake of
P1/P2 phrasal — 'following'
e.g. In the wake of the trial, the policy is being reviewed.
Use it now
Use 'in the wake of' instead of 'after' in a news-style sentence.
↻ Recycled in writing
to the extent that
P2/P4 connector — calibrated consequence
e.g. The reform succeeded to the extent that absence fell sharply.
Use it now
Use 'to the extent that' to qualify a strong claim.
↻ Recycled in writing
in light of
P1/P2 connector — basis or context
e.g. In light of the new evidence, the recommendation has been revised.
Use it now
Use 'in light of' instead of 'because of' in a formal sentence.
↻ Recycled in writing
Pair / group discussion
- Which of these phrases would you have GUESSED was 'too formal' but is actually standard in CPE Reading texts?
- Which one feels uncomfortable in your speech but natural in your writing — and why?
Complete each stem about yourself
- On the strength of ______ , the committee ______.…
- In light of ______ , the recommendation ______.…
- The reform succeeded to the extent that ______.…
- In the wake of ______ , several teams ______.…
Rank & justify
Rank by how often they appear in P1 multiple-choice cloze passages.
- on the strength of
- in light of
- in the wake of
- to the extent that
- set out a case
Quick write (60 seconds)
Use FOUR of today's phrases in a single 60-word formal paragraph about a recent policy or decision.
Pronunciation · Section 4
3 minMuttering options aloud — the under-rated R&UoE technique
For P1 and P3, candidates who MUTTER each option under their breath while reading the surrounding clause score higher. Why: phonology activates collocational memory ('on the strength OF' sounds right; 'on the strength FOR' doesn't). Use this in mocks; it's silent enough for the exam room. In P4, mutter the rewrite aloud BEFORE writing — if it doesn't sound natural, it isn't.
- ON the STRENGTH of his PORTfolio ↘.
- in LIGHT of the NEW EVidence ↘.
- IN the WAKE of the TRIal ↘.
- to the exTENT that ABsence FELL ↘ SHARPly ↘.
Reading · Section 5
8 minReading P5 spiral — multiple choice on a dense passage
Mock CPE Reading P5 · single-text multiple choice
Reading P5 spiral — multiple choice on a dense passage
A short, dense passage on urban design. The questions reward INFERENCE from cohesion, not topic recall.
On the design of public spaces · Pre-reading
Among urban planners, the case for narrow, slow streets has shifted from contested to broadly accepted over the past decade — and yet the public conversation has barely caught up. In the wake of the most recent retrofitting trials, residents have continued to describe the changes in terms that planners themselves abandoned years ago: 'restrictive', 'inconvenient', 'anti-driver'. This gap, between professional consensus and lived perception, is what the latest studies set out to explain.
What appears to underpin it is not, as is often assumed, a failure of communication. Residents understand the safety case perfectly well. The gap is one of FRAMING. Planners present narrower streets as a gain — safer for children, more legible for pedestrians, easier on cyclists. Residents experience them as a loss — of time saved, of space owned, of habits assumed. The framing of the gain is largely correct on the merits; the framing of the loss is largely correct on the feel. Both are real, and the second one is what planners, on the strength of the new evidence, must learn to address.
Question 1.What is the 'gap' the writer identifies?
Question 2.What does the writer say is NOT the cause of the gap?
Question 3.The writer's main claim is that:
Question 4.The phrase 'on the strength of the new evidence' signals:
Question 5.The closing 'Both are real' refers to:
Listening · Section 6
8 minListening — an examiner explains why candidates lose marks on R&UoE
Notes
Before you listen — examiner feedback
- ▸Listen for: the THREE most common causes of lost marks.
- ▸Note which part each cause applies to.
- ▸Decide: which one applies most to YOU?
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Scrub the bar or use ± 5 s to jump.
Show transcript
Examiner (English, f, senior speaking examiner):The three things candidates lose marks on, in roughly this order. First — and this is mostly in P4 — exceeding the word count. The candidate has the right grammar AND the right lexis, but the rewrite is seven words instead of six. Both marks gone. Second — in P3 — picking the wrong AFFIX FAMILY. They've correctly identified that the slot needs a noun, but they form an adjective. One mark gone. Third — across P1 and P2 — over-thinking. The blank is a banal preposition; they reach for the elegant option and miss the natural one. The fix for all three is the same: mutter the surrounding clause aloud, with your candidate answer in place, before you commit.
Question 1.The examiner's NUMBER-ONE source of lost marks is:
Question 2.In P3, the common failure is:
Question 3.In P1 and P2, candidates LOSE marks by:
Question 4.The fix for all three is:
Question 5.Which part has the HIGHEST PENALTY per error, per the examiner?
Visual stimulus · Section 7
3 minPer-part timing & score-density chart
The right ATTACK ORDER protects time AND maximises score.
Notes
R&UoE timing & score density
- ▸P1 — 8 items, 1 mark each, ~9 min. SCORE DENSITY: low. STRATEGY: race; trust your first collocation.
- ▸P2 — 8 items, 1 mark each, ~9 min. SCORE DENSITY: low–medium. STRATEGY: assume grammar word; banal answer usually right.
- ▸P3 — 8 items, 1 mark each, ~9 min. SCORE DENSITY: medium. STRATEGY: name part of speech FIRST, then morphology.
- ▸P4 — 6 items, 2 marks each, ~12 min. SCORE DENSITY: HIGHEST. STRATEGY: rebuild from the keyword outwards; count words BEFORE writing.
- ▸Total: ~45 min for ~30 raw marks. Leave 3 min at end for re-checking P4 word counts and P3 spellings.
Discuss in pairs
Where is your CURRENT time leak? Which part should you race in your next mock?
Exam skills · Section 8
3 minMixed 12-item mini-sitting under timing
Strategy
- 1.See the layout → name the part within 5 seconds.
- 2.Name the strategy within another 5 seconds.
- 3.Execute. If you don't have an answer in 60 seconds, mark and move on.
- 4.Return to flagged items at the end ONLY if you have time. Do NOT sacrifice the next part for one item.
- 5.Always recheck P4 word counts before you stop — the highest score density part is the highest reward for recheck.
- 6.Mutter aloud (or sub-vocalise) when stuck.
Example
WRONG RATE 35% in P3, TIME LEAK in P1 → homework focuses on P3 morphology drills AND on P1 race-through practice (8 items in 9 minutes max).
Practice · Section 9
7 minFill in the blank
Question 1.He was hired on the ____ of his portfolio.
Question 2.In the ____ of the trial, the policy is under review.
Question 3.These findings ____ directly on the policy under review.
Question 4.In ____ of the new evidence, the recommendation has been revised.
Question 5.The reform succeeded to the ____ that absence fell sharply.
Question 6.The chair ____ out the case for the merger in three minutes.
Writing · Section 10
4 minPut it in writing
Your task
Plan (in 4 minutes) your personal R&UoE attack plan for the real exam. Four lines, one per part. Each line names YOUR strategy, YOUR time budget, and YOUR known failure mode.
- • Four lines — one per part.
- • Each line: strategy + time + known failure mode.
- • Plan reflects YOUR data from the mixed mini-sitting and module homework.
Before you submit
- ☐ P1 line names a collocation strategy and a time cap.
- ☐ P2 line acknowledges grammar-word default.
- ☐ P3 line specifies the part-of-speech-first rule.
- ☐ P4 line includes word-count recheck as a non-negotiable.
Show model answer
P1 (8 items / 8 min): mutter aloud; first collocation usually right; my failure mode is over-thinking near-synonyms — race, don't deliberate. P2 (8 items / 9 min): default to grammar word; my failure mode is missing 'have' / 'been' / 'such' — re-read the surrounding clause. P3 (8 items / 9 min): name part of speech FIRST, then morphology; my failure mode is picking adverb when adjective needed — re-read the slot. P4 (6 items / 12 min + 3 min recheck): rebuild from keyword; my failure mode is exceeding word count — count BEFORE writing AND on recheck.
Speaking · Section 11
6 minMake it a real conversation
Speaking — defend your wrong answers (4 minutes). Take any 4 wrong answers from your mini-sitting. For each, you have 30 seconds to: (1) name WHY you chose what you chose, (2) name the strategy you SHOULD have used, (3) say what you'd do differently next time. The point is NOTICING YOUR THINKING — not whether the answer was 'almost right'.
After each 30-second turn, partner names the diagnosis.
Is the wrong answer due to KNOWLEDGE, STRATEGY or TIME?
Knowledge gap
Learner didn't know the collocation/affix/structure — content review needed.
Strategy slip
Learner had the knowledge but mis-attacked — drill the mode-switch.
Time pressure
Learner ran out of time on this part — re-allocate the budget.
Compound
Two or more of the above — fix STRATEGY first; knowledge gaps shrink when time is right.
Useful phrases
- I chose ______ because I read it as ______.
- What I should have done is ______.
- The strategy I'll use next time is ______.
- My failure mode here is ______ — I'll watch for it on ______.
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Stretches if time allows. Closes Module 7 — readiness band table is in Teacher Mode. ~14 min total
Homework · Section 12
Take-homeTake it home
Complete one full R&UoE mock (Parts 1–4 only, ~45 minutes) under exam timing. Mark by part AND record time per part. Identify WRONG RATE and TIME LEAK parts.
Build a personal P1 collocation bank: 20 collocations from your wrong answers across the module. Memorise 15. Test self with cloze format.
Re-attempt the Reading P5 spiral passage from today. This time, mark every COHESIVE TIE that supports an inference question. Compare to the answer key.
Update your personal attack plan (today's writing task) with the data from your homework mock. Re-allocate time per part if needed.
Recap · Section 13
Wrap-upWhat you've learned
- R&UoE is a MODE-SWITCH skill: 5 seconds to recognise, 5 seconds to choose strategy, 60 seconds max per item.
- P1 = collocation · P2 = grammar word · P3 = part of speech first · P4 = rebuild from keyword + count words.
- P4 has the HIGHEST score density (2 marks per item) — protect time for it and always recheck word counts.
- Common loss modes: P1 over-thinking · P2 missing grammar word · P3 wrong affix family · P4 word-count breach.
- Mutter aloud (or sub-vocalise) to activate collocational memory — silent, allowed, and proven to help.