See this sample Article from the Cambridge English First (FCE) Writing paper with feedback from a teacher

Writing Class: Article

Task Type: Article

Question
You have been asked by the editor of your school magazine to write an article on the following topic:

Today's television

"A load of old rubbish" or
"More choice than ever before"?

Is today's television still good value for money?

Write your article for the magazine (around 140-190 words).

Makeover: Nadan

Read Nadan's answer to this question below. Try correcting the piece of writing yourself first: use the marking codes to think about what might be wrong (or what's good) about the piece of work. Then when you're ready, click the green buttons in the text for our feedback.

TV: Is it a good thing?

Television is one of the most important inventions of the century. Almost everyone owns a TV set at home today. Be it educational or entertainment, life would be so boring without one nowadays. Gd

First of all, thanks to television we have the latest information at our fingertips Gd. We are constantly informed of what is happening around the world without leaving home. Furthermore, television has made learning at home possible. In fact, some tv C stations dedicate their programmes to specific interests.

A further advantage is that old people living alone find television a - very good company. It helps them forget their loneliness.

On the other hand, too much television can create problems in the family. If it /\ not the constant argument of which channel to watch, it is the isolation of family members. One WW watching television doesn't feel like talking or being disturbed as they are so absorbed in what they are watching. Hence, the term 'couch potato'. Too much television implies /\ lack of outdoor activities and we find that there are less and less WW people taking exercises.

Television, nevertheless, remains one of the most interesting inventions. Carefully controlled viewing makes it an indispensable instrument in our daily lives P otherwise, it can turn into an addiction with harmful consequences.

Feedback

This article demonstrates excellent language control; it is virtually error-free.
Let's look closely at the task itself now.
Today's television: "A load of old rubbish" or "More choice than ever before"?
Is today's television still good value for money?
Unfortunately you don't really get to grips with the above questions. What you have written is more of a generalised essay on TV rather than a comment on its quality and value for money. You have to be very careful in the exam to answer all aspects of the tasks or you could lose valuable marks.
To sum up, therefore, there are no problems in terms of language expression - just make sure that you pay close attention to the task in the exam and answer the right question!

Marking Code

/\ Word(s) missing

- Omit word

C Capitalization

Gd Good

O Organisation

P Punctuation

PE Poorly expressed

R Register/Formality

SS Sentence Structure

S Spelling

T Tip

WF Wrong form

WO Word order

WT Wrong tense

WW Wrong word

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Cambridge English: First