Module 8 · Mock Exam 2 & Writing Genres II · Lesson 29
Mock Exam 2 Full Sitting
Reading & Use of English · Listening · Writing · Speaking
Warm-up · Section 1
4 minGet talking
In ONE line: which paper do you predict will hurt MOST today — and why? Compare to your L17 result.
What's the sentence you say IN YOUR HEAD when 30 seconds pass and you don't have the answer? Is it useful — or panic?
Once you commit an answer in a block, you don't return. Why is that — and what habit does it train?
Grammar focus · Section 2
8 minStamina-mode lexis — internal scripts under load
Quick rule
Under exam load, fluent learners switch from English-monitoring (slow, accuracy-focused) to STAMINA MODE (fast, decision-focused). The internal scripts that work: 'best guess, move on', 'flag and return', 'commit'. The internal scripts that break candidates: 'maybe', 'I'll just re-read', 'almost'. The C1+ marker is decisiveness UNDER UNCERTAINTY — making a defensible call in 5 seconds rather than a perfect call in 30.
Examples
Under 10s on a P1 item: 'Best collocation — commit.'
Over 30s on a P4 item: 'Flag, move on, return only if time.'
Mid-Listening, missed one answer: 'Lost. Park it. Catch the next question.'
Mid-Writing, stuck on a sentence: 'Worst version, keep moving. Edit in the last 5.'
Quick check
Question 1.Best internal script when you've spent 30 seconds on one P1 item?
Question 2.Best internal script after missing one Listening answer?
Question 3.Why does PHYSICAL FLAGGING help internal scripts?
Question 4.What does 'commit' mean in mock 2?
Question 5.What is the BAND-RAISING behaviour under uncertainty?
Vocabulary · Section 3
6 minWords & phrases to own
to commit (an answer)
mark it and don't return
e.g. Best collocation — commit.
Use it now
Use 'commit' as an internal verb on the next 3 R&UoE items.
↻ Recycled in reading
to flag (an item)
physically mark to return ONLY if time allows
e.g. Flag, move on, return only if time.
Use it now
Flag in margin; do not return without explicit time budget.
↻ Recycled in reading
to park (a lost moment)
to consciously drop a missed item to protect the next
e.g. Lost. Park it. Catch the next question.
Use it now
Use 'park' in Listening when you miss an answer.
↻ Recycled in listening
to land (a paper)
to finish within time without rushing the last items
e.g. I landed Reading with 90 seconds to spare.
Use it now
Self-rate each block: did you LAND it or rush the close?
↻ Recycled in writing
worst version
the deliberately-imperfect sentence you write to keep moving
e.g. Worst version, keep moving. Edit in the last 5.
Use it now
Use 'worst version' in Writing block C today.
↻ Recycled in writing
stamina dip
the predictable accuracy drop in the third quarter of a long paper
e.g. I had a stamina dip in Reading P6 — wrong rate doubled.
Use it now
Note your dip on the evidence sheet.
↻ Recycled in reading
Pair / group discussion
- Which of today's internal scripts is the HARDEST for you — and what would make it easier to use?
- Where does your stamina dip typically fall (paper, time-in-paper)?
Complete each stem about yourself
- Best guess on this item — ______.…
- Lost on that Listening question — ______.…
- Worst version of this Writing sentence — ______.…
- I'll commit to ______ and move on.…
Rank & justify
Rank by which script SAVES the most marks across a full exam:
- commit
- flag
- park
- worst version
- land
Quick write (60 seconds)
Write your own 4-line internal-script bank for mock 2 — one line per block (R&UoE / Reading / Listening / Writing). Use today's verbs.
Pronunciation · Section 4
3 minSub-vocalising under speed
Sub-vocalising (silently 'reading aloud' inside your head) raises P1 and P3 accuracy by activating collocational and morphological memory. It must be FAST — not the slow, anxious re-read. Practice: take a P1 item, sub-vocalise all four options into the slot at speaking speed; commit to the first that 'sounds right'. The same technique for P3: sub-vocalise the slot with each morphology option.
- ON the STRENGTH of his PORTfolio ↘ — sub-vocalise FAST.
- in the WAKE of the TRIal ↘ — sub-vocalise FAST.
- the COMmittee MADE a DEcision ↘ — try DECIde, DEcisive, deCISion — commit.
- ON the BALance of the EVidence ↘ — fast, commit.
Reading · Section 5
8 minMock Block A — R&UoE P1+P4 + Reading P5 (compressed 15-min block)
Compressed mock · keep within block timing
Mock Block A — R&UoE P1+P4 + Reading P5 (compressed 15-min block)
Three sub-blocks: P1 (3 items, 3 min), P4 (3 items, 6 min), P5 reading (1 short passage, 4 questions, 6 min). NO returns between sub-blocks.
Time = 15 minutes total · do NOT exceed · Mock 2 · Block A
P1 ITEMS — choose the best option for each blank. 1. The committee acted ______ the strength of the new evidence. (a) on (b) in (c) by (d) with 2. In the ______ of the inquiry, three policies were revised. (a) wake (b) wave (c) way (d) wall 3. The chair ______ out a clear case for delay. (a) set (b) put (c) laid (d) took
P4 ITEMS — rewrite using the keyword in 3–6 words inclusive. 4. KEYWORD: NEVER · 'I have never seen a more careful proposal.' → 'Never ______ a more careful proposal.' 5. KEYWORD: WHAT · 'The committee most needs evidence, not opinion.' → '______ the committee most needs is evidence, not opinion.' 6. KEYWORD: ONLY · 'The change can be justified only by piloting it.' → '______ piloting it can the change be justified.'
P5 PASSAGE — 'There is now a near-consensus among policy researchers that small, sustained interventions outperform large, one-off announcements. The evidence is steady across health, education and transport. And yet announcements remain the dominant political instrument. What appears to underpin this gap is not a lack of evidence but the structure of political reward: a sustained intervention is invisible until it succeeds, while an announcement is visible the moment it is made.' Q7. The 'gap' the writer identifies is between: (a) health and education (b) evidence and political behaviour (c) cost and benefit (d) policy and law Q8. 'What appears to underpin' signals: (a) certainty (b) speculation (c) calibrated stance with named cause (d) doubt Q9. 'Invisible until it succeeds' means: (a) hidden by design (b) only recognised once outcomes appear (c) censored (d) classified Q10. The writer's main claim is that announcements dominate because: (a) they work better (b) they are cheaper (c) the structure of political reward favours visibility (d) researchers prefer them
Question 1.P1 item 1 — the correct collocation is:
Question 2.P1 item 3 — 'set out a case' is the collocation. Which option fits?
Question 3.P4 item 4 — best rewrite within 3–6 words:
Question 4.P4 item 6 — best rewrite with ONLY:
Question 5.P5 Q7 — the 'gap' is between:
Listening · Section 6
8 minMock Block B — Listening P2 (8-min compressed)
Notes
Pre-listen brief — Block B timing
- ▸PARK any missed answer immediately. Do not anxiously re-listen.
- ▸Write ONLY the word/phrase the speaker uses.
- ▸30 seconds at the end to recheck spellings.
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Scrub the bar or use ± 5 s to jump.
Show transcript
Speaker (English, m, transport policy analyst):The most consistent finding across our three-year study is this: small, sustained changes — a redesigned crossing here, a slower speed limit there — outperform large announcements by a factor of roughly three to one, measured in injury reduction. The trouble is they are politically INVISIBLE until the data arrives. The second finding, equally consistent, is that the COST of these small interventions is reliably under-estimated, by about 20%, because consultation always takes longer than the optimistic plan. The third finding, and the one we did not predict, is that PUBLIC TRUST rises faster after sustained interventions than after announcements — but the rise lags the change by roughly eighteen months, which is also the average political cycle. Most administrations therefore reap none of the trust gain they paid for.
Question 1.Small sustained changes outperform large announcements by a factor of:
Question 2.Costs of small interventions are under-estimated by about:
Question 3.Public trust rises after sustained interventions, but the rise lags the change by roughly:
Question 4.Why do most administrations 'reap none of the trust gain they paid for'?
Question 5.Which of the three findings did the analyst NOT predict?
Visual stimulus · Section 7
3 minThe compressed mock blueprint
Five blocks; tight timing; one evidence sheet at the end. Today is data collection, not teaching.
Notes
Mock 2 — blueprint
- ▸Block A — R&UoE P1+P4 + Reading P5 · 15 min · accuracy + speed under switching.
- ▸Block B — Listening P2 · 8 min · park-and-move discipline.
- ▸Block C — Writing P2 plan · 5 min · plan only; full draft is homework.
- ▸Block D — R&UoE P2 · 4 min · grammar-word default test.
- ▸Block E — Speaking P3 · 3 min + 1-min self-rating · negotiation moves from L22.
- ▸Evidence sheet — capture wrong rate AND time per block; deliver to L30.
Discuss in pairs
Tick the block where you feel your stamina dip most.
Exam skills · Section 8
3 minMock Block C — Writing P2 plan (5 minutes)
Strategy
- 1.Headings first (Overview · What works · What doesn't · Verdict + recommendation).
- 2.Plan ONE marked structure per section MAX — and only where the unmarked version loses the point.
- 3.Plan the calibrated recommendation BEFORE drafting — name the certainty level.
- 4.Density target: 1.5–2 nominalisations per sentence; recycled-noun link per section.
- 5.Plan an honest 'what doesn't' section — review without it has no credibility.
- 6.Reserve last 5 min of drafting time (in HW) for word count and recheck.
Example
Sample plan: OVERVIEW (nominalised: 'The redesign of Marshall Square') · WORKS (Pacing; access; calibrated 'is highly likely to') · DOESN'T (Wayfinding; one cleft: 'It is the signage, not the layout, that lets the project down') · VERDICT (recommend 'on the balance of the available evidence' with one specific fix).
Practice · Section 9
7 minFill in the blank
Question 1.Mock Block D · The committee acted ____ the strength of the new evidence.
Question 2.Mock Block D · The reform succeeded ____ the extent that absence fell sharply.
Question 3.Mock Block D · ____ no circumstances should the deadline slip.
Question 4.Mock Block D · ____ this report most clearly shows is a systemic failure.
Writing · Section 10
4 minPut it in writing
Your task
EVIDENCE SHEET (5 min, end of mock). Capture FIVE numbers from today: wrong rate per block (A/B/C-plan/D), time used per block, and a single line on the block where your stamina dipped most. This sheet drives L30.
- • Numbers only where possible.
- • One line on stamina dip — when, where, why.
- • Bring the sheet to L30 — without it, L30 has no diagnostic to work from.
Before you submit
- ☐ Wrong-rate captured per block.
- ☐ Time-used captured per block.
- ☐ Stamina-dip block named and reason hypothesised.
- ☐ ONE 'good news' note — what HELD UP under load.
Show model answer
EVIDENCE SHEET — Mock 2. Block A — wrong rate 4/10 (40%) · time 16 min (over by 1). Block B — wrong rate 2/5 (40%) · time 8 min (on). Block C — plan complete · all four sections headed · ONE cleft flagged. Block D — wrong rate 1/4 (25%) · time 5 min (over by 1). Stamina dip: end of Block A — P4 word-count breaches concentrated in last two items. Good news: Block C plan integrated marked-syntax + calibration spontaneously.
Speaking · Section 11
6 minMake it a real conversation
Mock Block E — Speaking P3 (3 minutes) + 1-minute self-rating. Scenario: a city council must choose ONE public-space priority (a · pedestrianisation / b · cycle infrastructure / c · accessibility upgrades / d · greening). Negotiate to a joint decision in 3 min. Then 1 min: rate your performance on negotiation moves (push back · build on · converge · decide).
After Block E, rate honestly.
Did the Module-6 negotiation moves SURVIVE the mock context?
All four moves visible
Module 6 integrated under load. Band 5 territory.
Three of four
One move slipped — name which and why.
Two of four
Significant slip — schedule L30 with negotiation rehearsal.
Negotiation collapsed
Mock pressure overrode the technique — L30 priority.
Useful phrases
- I'd push back gently on ______ , because ______.
- Building on what you said, ______.
- Where we seem to be converging is ______.
- Shall we land on ______?
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Stretches only if time allows; today's priority is the mock and the evidence sheet. ~14 min total
Homework · Section 12
Take-homeTake it home
Write the full 220–260 word CPE Review from your Block C plan. Include headed sections, ONE marked structure, a calibrated recommendation and at least ONE recycled-noun link per section.
Re-attempt the Block A P5 passage with NO timing. Compare your answers to your in-block answers. Where you got it right in the un-timed re-read but wrong in the block, the issue is STRATEGY, not knowledge.
Re-write your evidence sheet in 4 lines that you'll bring to L30. Each line: block + wrong rate + time + ONE hypothesis on cause.
Record a 60-second self-debrief of the mock. Use 'on the balance of evidence', 'what surprised me was', and at least one marked structure. Listen back: are you being honest or defensive?
Recap · Section 13
Wrap-upWhat you've learned
- Mock 2 is data collection — the lesson is L30.
- Stamina is a TRAINABLE skill: internal scripts + physical flags + park-and-move discipline.
- Wrong-under-time but right-untimed = strategy issue; wrong both = knowledge gap. Different fixes.
- Evidence sheet is non-negotiable — bring it to L30.
- Module 7 gains are only real if they SURVIVE mock pressure. Today tests that.