# 1 FCE structure
Now let's talk a little about the FCE structure: we will analyze, from which parts it consists and how it is estimated.
To begin with, let's say that the Cambridge First Certificate Test checks all four English proficiency skills (like most other exams): audience, reading, letter and speaking. And now about everything in order.
Part 1 - reading.
Duration - 75 minutes.
In this part of the exam, an understanding of read, grammar and Essay Writer vocabulary is checked. To do this, you need to answer 52 questions of different types: with several options for answers, with filling out empty fields, assignment tasks, as well as answers to open questions.
The latter means that you will be given text with missed words, where you need to come up with a word to complete the offers. In total, in this part of the FCE you need to read about 1000 English words.
Council from Friends: The key to success in this part is careful and high-quality training. No tricks here will help, if you have badly prepared for the exam. Perform as many typical tasks as possible to get used to the format and understand it. Pay special attention to those assignments that are crushed to you more.
Part 2 - Letter.
Duration - 80 minutes.
The second part of the FCE checks the written skills. Here you need to write two text, each500 Word Essay. The first, as a rule, is an essay in English (how to learn to write essays without errors we told before).
The second type of text you can choose yourself from the proposed formats. You can usually choose their such formats: article, letter, review, announcement, etc.
Tip from Friends: When preparing, be sure to try writing texts of different formats, and not just those that you like more. On the exam, you will have a choice of only two random formats, so well prepare for at least three, and in front of the exam, work together to perform the task with the timer included.
