Hello and welcome to this tutorial explaining what the differences are in three different levels of what's considered advanced writing. Specifically the differences between B2 level, C1 level, and C2 level. B2 is considered intermediate, C1 is advanced, and C2 is more termed proficiency level. Okay, here we've got three sentences. Last winter I went to Spain. I had a great time there. I met really interesting people. Now, clearly, the idea that the author is communicating in these three sentences is obvious. There are no grammatical errors, there are no spelling mistakes. Generally, this is clear writing. However, it's not native-sounding writing. What level would you guess this is? Well, that's right, you guessed it. This is B2 level. Let's take a look at how we could improve this level of writing to create what's considered advanced level. Okay, there's our standing example as we've seen. Now, how would we go about creating a more C1 level of English? more academic sounding English, more native sounding. Last winter I went to Spain, where I had a very enjoyable time. I met some truly interesting people. Now you can see that we've already made one change, which is to combine these sentences, which is the marker of more advanced and more fluent sounding writing. And we've also sort of pimped up, up to the level of formality. In the vocabulary, instead of using the word great, we've used enjoyable. Instead of really, truly. Okay, so it's already improved. However, this isn't what would be considered proficient or C2 level academic writing. What would that look like? Here's C2. Last winter, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Spain, where I had a truly enjoyable experience, as well as an opportunity to meet some extremely interesting people. Now what you see here is the sentences have been combined into one, and in English this is not considered too long. The grammar is accurate, and the sentence reads fluently. And instead of using sort of ordinary vocabulary, we've upped the level to C2 by using some more exotic vocabulary, such as distinct pleasure. truly enjoyable, extremely interesting, and instead of just using the word time, which is kind of pedestrian, kind of ordinary, we've used the word experience as well as a synonym, opportunity. Now already in this example you can see that C2 level English incorporates longer, more fluent sentences with what are called sub-clauses in English. as well as more varied sentence structure and more sort of exotic academic vocabulary. Let's take a look at another example. Okay, this is an example from a reflection report written by a student. That student is a teacher of English, and this student was writing about something that had gone well in her teaching. Here was the raw writing at B2 level. The student wrote, I asked around to my colleagues about how they handled teaching to their classes. It seemed I was not the only one with a problem. They didn't have an answer to my problem, but I did feel better because now I knew I wasn't the only one with this problem. Then I decided to give my pupils a questionnaire with questions on how to make the English lessons more easy and more fun for them. Okay, again the message is clear, but there's a lot of repetition in, for example, we've got three problems here within the space of two sentences. It's awfully monotonous, repetitious sounding. We've also got questionnaire, questions, more easy, more fun. Again, there's a way that we can improve the level of English to C1, and let's see what that is. I asked around to see how my colleagues handled teaching to their students. It seemed I was not the only one with a problem. They did not have an answer to my problem, but I did feel better knowing I was not the only one with this problem. I decided to give my pupils a questionnaire with questions focusing on how to make the English lessons easier and more fun for them. Okay, there are some improvements here. For example, instead of saying, they didn't have an answer, I wasn't the only one, we've now upped the level of formality by writing the words separately. This is the marker of advanced level academic writing. They did not have an answer to my problem. I was not the only one. Okay, instead of saying, I did feel better because now I knew. Here we've changed it to, I did feel better knowing. We've used a gerund, an ing form that helps the fluency. I got rid of the word then because it's just unnecessary. I decided to give my pupils a questionnaire with questions focusing on. That's a little more specific than this language which is a bit vague. And we've also used a comparative. We've used the word easier instead of more easy. And again, that's more correct grammar, and it's also more varied. Okay, so it's already been improved, but we're still missing that C2 element. What might that be? Well, let's take a look. I inquired amongst my colleagues as to how they managed to succeed in teaching English to their students. And it quickly became evident. that I was not the only one with this problem. Unfortunately, my colleagues did not have a ready answer to my problem. However, I did feel better knowing I was not the only one facing this particular difficulty. I decided to ask my pupils to complete a questionnaire. I designed this myself, requesting their input on how to make the English lessons easier and more enjoyable for them. Already, you can see that we've increased the level of academic sounding language. Instead of saying I asked around, I inquired amongst my colleagues. How they handle teaching? Well, it's not just handling it, it's how you manage to succeed. We've also combined two sentences here, again creating a subclause with a comma. It seemed, we've changed to, it quickly became evident. All right. Unfortunately, we've used a nice linker here because, again, this pulls these two thoughts together, and that's missing in this C1 level example. Instead of using the word but, however always sounds more academic and more advanced, and instead of again writing the word problem, we've instead written this particular difficulty. So again it's all about varied vocabulary. In more specific language, well, you didn't simply, she didn't simply give her pupils a questionnaire, she asked them to complete it. And then she designed it herself, as she states here, requesting their input on how to make the English lessons easier. And instead of saying fun, we've now written more enjoyable. Okay, let's look at yet another example. From the same reflection report written by a student, here is the raw writing at B2 level. I discovered that sometimes a questionnaire is needed in the classroom. After I did one in my class and we agreed to change my teaching a little bit so they could learn better, I also did some with other classes. There were no big changes there. Oh, no. But anyway, it is good to ask for the pupil's, uh-oh, mistake, point of view now and again. I find that for me it is the best way to know if and how I can make my lessons and my teaching better. Okay, there are a few mistakes unfortunately which need to be improved so we can achieve advanced level. And again we see that sentences should be combined and perhaps we should use some more advanced vocabulary. Well, let's do it. I discovered that sometimes a questionnaire is needed in the classroom. After I did one in class, okay, just got rid of my, and we mutually agreed, ooh that's a nice, what's called a collocation, those words go nicely together in English, you often see them together. And we mutually agreed on changing my teaching a little bit to accommodate their learning needs. That's a much more advanced sounding way of saying, so they could learn better. a little bit to accommodate their learning needs. I also did some with my other classes. There were no big changes, aha, and we've also improved. Here we have there were no big changes there. That's the incorrect form of there. That's not correct. Here we fixed it. There were no big changes necessary there, but nevertheless, it's much more formal sounding way of saying but anyway, But nevertheless, it is good to ask for the point of view of students now and again. This was a mistake. If you're talking about something that is of the pupils, that is their point of view, you would need an apostrophe here to show that it's possessive. However, it gets a bit tricky. Where do you put the apostrophe? Well, what we've done here is try to avoid it by saying the point of view of students. That sounds a bit clunky in English. In a moment, we'll take a look at an improvement. I found that for me, it is the best way to know if and how I can improve on my lessons and teaching instead of how I can make my lessons better, how I can improve on. Again, more C1 level writing. We've used some lovely combinations of words that native speakers would use. Okay, but let's aim for C2, shall we? I discovered that occasionally a questionnaire requesting input from learners themselves is the best course of action. Indeed it can be extremely beneficial to ask students directly what they think would be most effective as this creates a democratic and egalitarian method of learning. Doing so can also enable youngsters to take a greater level of control of their own learning process. We've used some more specific vocabulary here, and in fact we've written a bit less, but said more with more specific wording. So instead of saying sometimes, we've upped it to occasionally. And here, this is rather vague. I would say desks are needed in a classroom. A whiteboard is needed in a classroom. Here, you've used a questionnaire requesting input because that is the best course of action. It's a teaching strategy. It's a methodology. Again, more specific language. And actually here we've left this out entirely. Why? Because it's kind of unnecessary. The author explains that She went on to do this sort of questionnaire with other groups, but it wasn't actually useful, or it didn't yield anything. Well, let's just leave that out then. That's rather unnecessary and redundant. And then we can use the space to say something more specific and relevant. And then we get to use words and vocabulary such as extremely beneficial, most effective, democratic, egalitarian. And then in our last sentence, doing so or in doing so, this can enable youngsters, so we've used a nice word here, enable, to take a greater level of control and again We've made this more specific language. You'll also see that we've used different words, synonyms, students, youngsters. There are lots of synonyms in English. Use them. Let's look at one more example. This is an example from a student of aviation who was writing a curriculum vitae, a resume. Here's the original at B2 level. Unfortunately, it is rife with mistakes that are not acceptable at advanced and proficiency level. I have learned a lot on my present job at this company. In the world of aviation, it is important to stay accurate and do not make any mistake. which could lead to an unsatisfied customer. I take care of the little details, which are easy to miss. I focus on customer service and go beyond the basic service expectation. Now again, it is clear what the author is attempting to say, but there are some mistakes in the sentence, namely, one here, one here, one here. And there's definitely some vocabulary to be improved. All right, let's take a look. Advanced level. I have learned... a lot at my present job at this company. In the world of aviation, it is important to stay accurate and not make any mistakes, which could lead to customers, customers in general, being unsatisfied rather than this sounds like it's one customer in the world of aviation and unsatisfied. Here we've talked about customers in general. In English, you do not take care of details. You take care of your children, your pets, your relatives, your hair, your skin. In English, you pay attention to details. which are easy to overlook or dismiss as insignificant. Again, upping the level of vocabulary are easy to miss. Well, let's use more specific language. Easy to overlook or dismiss as insignificant, unimportant. It's all about synonyms. Okay, now shall we take a look at the C2 level improvement? Here it is. I have learned a great deal. Oh, that sounds much nicer than a lot. I've learned a great deal in my current position. Already that's an improvement over my present job. My current position at this company. For instance, here's a nice linker. These sentences are examples of what the person has learned. Thus, For instance, I now know that in the aviation sector, it sounds a bit more professional than the world of aviation, it is vital to maintain a high degree of accuracy. So instead of saying it's important to stay accurate, this is much more specific and appropriate language for a curriculum vitae. In addition, One should not make mistakes which could lead to customer dissatisfaction. That's a much more advanced sounding way of saying customers being unsatisfied. I endeavor, I try, I strive to pay attention to small details which are often easy to overlook or dismiss as insignificant. Additionally, I am customer service orientated. and always strive to provide more than just the basics in quality service. Okay, so again, let's recap. What are the markers, the indicators, of more advanced level academic writing? First off, using linking words and linking phrases to connect ideas. This will help writing to read fluently and smoothly. And more importantly, this is how natives write at an advanced level. At advanced level, in academic writing especially, accurate grammar, punctuation, and spelling are of paramount importance. They are crucial. Using more academic or formal vocabulary, words that you might not come across every day, this is the marker of higher level writing. Okay. Overall readability. One bit of advice might be once you've written a piece, read it out loud to yourself. Now in an exam setting, you might want to whisper or do this silently in your head, but you need to read the piece again so that you as a reader can see if it's readable. Does it flow smoothly? And lastly, try to aim for less repetition. in sentence structure, so varying the structure of your sentences, using commas and sub clauses to create longer more fluent sentences is key, and indeed word choice, thus synonyms, instead of using the word then you could say therefore, instead of writing that is why or that is the reason why, use a word like therefore, thus, hence Instead of always using the word important, vary your word choice using words such as crucial, vital, significant. Hopefully this tutorial has helped to indicate to all of you what advanced level writing entails. Good luck!