The exam is made up of two parts: written and oral.

The written part lasts 135 minutes (2 hours 15 minutes). The maximum mark available is 90 and the minimum pass mark is 50.

The written examination has the following parts:

  • listening to a text on academic topics – 20 marks 
  • reading a text on academic topics – 25 marks
  • knowledge of grammar and vocabulary (transformations, open cloze, word formation) – 25 marks
  • writing (e.g. descriptions of graphs, diagrams, processes, report, transactional letter) – 20 marks

The assessment criteria for the written examination can be found in the document below:

The oral part lasts about 20 minutes. You may obtain maximum 20 marks and the minimum pass mark is 10.

The structure of the oral examination:

  • questions asked by the interlocutor
  • an individual ‘long-turn’ on a topic from a selected card (technology, science, studies, politics, current events, etc.) 
  • a conversation between the candidates on a topic from a selected card, testing the candidates’ ability to use language for expressing and justifying opinions, evaluating and reaching a decision through negotiation  

In the oral examination candidates may be awarded a maximum of 5 marks for each of the following aspects:

  • grammatical correctness and range of vocabulary
  • pronunciation,
  • ability to construct complex sentences,
  • overall impression.

Please note

The oral examination can be taken only after passing the written part.

Exemption from the oral examination

You may seek exemption from the oral examination if you have completed a 60-hour course (two modules) in Academic English with a grade of minimum 4.5.

In such cases, the marks for the oral part will be awarded according to the following principle:

  • If you have completed these two modules within one semester (a 60-hour course):
    • end-of-semester grade – 4.5 = 14 marks in the oral exam
    • end-of-semester grade – 5.0 = 16 marks in the oral exam
  • If you have completed these two modules within two semesters (two 30-hour courses):
    • two semesters completed with a grade of 4.5 = 14 marks in the oral exam
    • two semesters completed with a grade of 4.5 and 5.0 = 15 marks in the oral exam
    • two semesters completed with a grade of 5.0 = 16 marks in the oral exam

In order to pass the C1 Examination in Academic English you must obtain a pass both in the written and oral part. 

 The final exam grade results from the sum of marks awarded in both parts of the exam: 

MarksGrade
95-1105.0
87-944.5
78-864.0
70-773.5
60-693.0