Review Lab 10 — Final CPE Simulation

Lab scenario

A full simulated exam day — Reading & Use of English, Listening, Writing and Speaking — followed by a group talk in which learners articulate, in C1 English, what changed across the course.

Skills you'll practise

Full exam performancePulling it all togetherStance & nuanceExam-day language

Stations

Practice rotation

Five stations · ~12 min each. Stations 1-4 are the FOUR PAPERS in compressed mock form, run under strict exam discipline. Station 5 is the reflective course-close — C1 syntax, calibrated stance, and a final readiness band.

60 min total

Station 1 · 12 min

Paper 1 · R&UoE + Reading (compressed full paper — exam discipline)

Compressed R&UoE (P1+P2+P3+P4 micro-sample) + Reading (P5 multiple choice + P7 gapped text). Minute-per-mark budget. Commit-and-move. Last-60-seconds guess. The protocol from L37 in action.

P1 · 'Few would dispute that the rebuilding of public spaces is ____ the most contested civic projects of the present decade.'

P2 · 'On the balance ____ the cases reviewed, public consultation lifts outcomes.'

P3 · 'The committee's ____ (PREFER) for incremental change shaped the redesign.'

P4 · 'The framing of the question is what needs revisiting, not the act.' KEY WORD: REVISITED. 'What ____ ____ ____ is the framing, not the act.'

READING P5 · 'The author's central claim is best paraphrased as:' (passage: the urban-redesign argument from L37 Block A)

READING P7 · GAPPED TEXT · Best fit for the gap after 'Marshall Square drew loud criticism in its opening months — and the warmest praise three years on':

Station 2 · 12 min

Paper 2 · Listening (compressed full paper — freeze rule live)

Three compressed extracts — P1 short, P3 long interview, P4 multiple matching. Freeze rule from L33 + anchor breath from L37 + pencil-guess discipline. Cascading-freeze prevention is the centre of gravity.

Extract 1

Extract 1 (Listening P1 style) — recent CPE candidate (Italian, m) interviewed after the real exam.

Extract 1

Tap play to listen. Scrub the bar or use ± 5 s to jump.

The speaker's central claim is that:

Extract 2

Extract 2 (Listening P3 style) — long interview clip. CPE coach (Scottish, m) on the four-scale ceiling in Speaking.

Extract 2

Tap play to listen. Scrub the bar or use ± 5 s to jump.

The coach's central claim is:

Extract 3

Extract 3 (Listening P4 style) — five-speaker multiple matching, ONE extracted. Speaker (Polish, f, recent Band-5 candidate) on what surprised her after the exam.

Extract 3

Tap play to listen. Scrub the bar or use ± 5 s to jump.

What single change does the speaker name?

Station 3 · 12 min

Paper 3 · Writing (compressed full task — 8/30/7 split LIVE)

ONE Writing P2 task (proposal OR review OR report) under the strict 8/30/7 split, compressed to 12 min total (plan 3 / draft 7 / edit 2). All Module 7-10 standards visible: marked syntax, calibration, cohesion, register, reformulation moves, cleft closer.

Scenario

Your local arts council has asked for proposals on which ONE form of public arts funding to expand next year — (a) free city-centre concerts, (b) community theatre grants, (c) public-library cultural programming, (d) artist residencies in schools. You have written a CPE Proposal recommending ONE option.

Task · 250 words (±10) — write a full draft in 7 min, edit visibly in 2 min

Write a CPE Proposal (250 words) recommending ONE option, with headed sections (Background · The case · Considerations · Recommendation). All Module 7-10 standards visible: at least ONE marked structure (cleft / inversion / WH-cleft), at least ONE calibrated recommendation, at least TWO recycled nouns, register-cell match (semi-formal persuasive), cleft OR calibrated closer. Strict 8/30/7 split — compressed to 3/7/2 today.

Self-check

Plan complete in 3 min — register cell named, marked structure flagged, calibrated recommendation named, ONE recycled noun pre-planned.
Draft complete in 7 min — 250 words, headed sections, register held throughout.
Edit complete in 2 min — three SUBSTITUTES (precision lexis), two CUTS (filler), one RECAST (marked structure or calibrated claim).
Reformulation moves from L38 visible (FLAT→CALIBRATED, GENERIC→SPECIFIC, STATEMENT→CLEFT).
Cohesion from L40 visible (given-new chain at least once, recycled nouns at least twice).
Closer line LANDS — cleft OR calibrated, with prosodic clarity if read aloud.

Station 4 · 12 min

Paper 4 · Speaking (compressed full paper — P1 + P2 + P3 + P4)

Full Speaking paper compressed: P1 interview (2 min) + P2 long turn (2 min) + P3 collaborative (4 min) + P4 discussion (4 min). All four scales visible. Interactive Communication is the centre of gravity (L39). Calibrated push-back on at least one P4 question.

1. P1 INTERVIEW (2 min): teacher asks four questions — name, where from, what you do, AND 'how do you feel walking into a high-stakes exam today?'. Answer the fourth using Module 8 evaluative voice + L37 stake-management language.
“On the balance of my three mocks, I'd describe my state today as ______.”“What I notice is ______, which I'd put down to ______.”“The main change between Mock 1 and today is ______.”“What helps most is ______.”
2. P2 LONG TURN (2 min): teacher offers a photo pair (a busy crowded café vs a quiet library reading room) and asks 'Which would the people in the photos prefer to spend an afternoon in, and why?'. Speak for 60 seconds (with 30s prep). Deploy ONE range stamp (IT-cleft / WH-cleft / concession+counter), ONE calibration phrase, hand-back closer.
“Both images show ______, but they take ______.”“On the balance of what I can see, ______.”“It's the ______ , rather than the ______ , that ______.”“That's where I'd land — what would you add?”
3. P3 COLLABORATIVE (4 min): with teacher (or partner) as collaborator, negotiate which TWO of four public-arts funding options (free concerts · community theatre · library programming · school residencies) the local council should expand. Deploy the interaction triangle (invite · build · hand back) at least once each. Land a decision in the final minute.
“On the balance of the four options, it's ______ , rather than the others, that ______.”“Building on what you said about ______ , I'd add ______.”“Let me just complete that thought — ______.”“Where we converge is on ______. Shall we land on those two as our recommendation?”
4. P4 DISCUSSION (4 min): teacher asks four discussion questions on public funding, culture and access. Teacher interrupts at least ONCE and asks ONE question the candidate has no opinion on. Candidate must deploy: ONE calibrated push-back, ONE 'hold the floor' move under interruption, AT LEAST TWO marked structures across the four answers.
“I'd push back on the framing of that — on the balance of what I've seen, the more useful question is ______.”“Let me just complete that thought — ______.”“It's the ______, rather than the ______, that ______.”“On the balance of the cases reviewed, ______ is highly likely to ______.”

Station 5 · 12 min

Course-close reflection — what changed across the course

C1 reflective synthesis. Learner articulates, in C1 English using course language, what changed across the 40 lessons + 10 labs — and what they walk into the real exam with. Teacher confirms readiness band and signs the protocol.

Discuss

1. On the balance of the 50 sessions, what changed MOST measurably for you — and what's the evidence?
2. Of the named techniques (anchor and commit · reformulation · interaction triangle · 8/30/7 split · register matrix · walking-in sentence), which TWO are now reflex, and which ONE still needs the protocol to deploy?
3. What's the gap between the candidate who walked into Lesson 1 and the candidate who walked into Lesson 40 — in one calibrated sentence, using course language?
4. What's your one-line walking-in sentence — and why THAT sentence, in your own words?

Self-audit · tick what was true

R&UoE — minute-per-mark discipline reflex; commit at 15-20s on P1 and P4; default grammar-word habit on P2; abstract-noun reach on P3.
Reading — anchor breath at perceived stake-spikes; first-defensible-call on P7 gap-fills; calibrated inference paraphrase on P5.
Listening — freeze rule reflex (pencil guess + listen for next); cascading-freeze prevention; stance + calibration paraphrase on P3.
Writing — 8/30/7 split held; three substitutes + two cuts + one recast per edit; given-new chain + recycled nouns + cleft or calibrated closer; register cell matched per genre.
Speaking — all four scales visible without forcing; interaction triangle reflex; range stamp at the contrast moment in P2; calibrated push-back on at least one P4 question; flat voice under interruption.
Protocol — one-page protocol and exam-day script signed, dated, in the bag; walking-in sentence rehearsed; let-go list explicit; morning protocol minimal.
Course-language fluency — anchor · commit · land · settle · reset · grip · reformulate · calibrate · cleft · concession+counter · interaction triangle · register cell · marker phrase — used as natural verbs, not as named techniques.

Ready for a full paper?

Sit a complete CPE simulation — Mock 1, Mock 2 or the Official Exit Test — in real timing.

Mock Exams & Exit Test

Review Lab complete

Talk through your work with your teacher or study partner, then move on.

Last lesson of module Mock Exams & Exit Test