Guide to using the tests 

 
Welcome to The Business Upper Intermediate tests. These tests reflect the contents of the 
units in The Business Upper Intermediate Student’s Book. They have also been designed to 
reflect the content and level of the Cambridge ESOL BEC Vantage examination. The 
structure of the tests, which cover the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking, 
and the range of question types, are similar to those in the examination and include topics and 
vocabulary specified in the BEC Vantage syllabus. There are two types of test: 
 

•  Eight Progress Tests for units 1–8 
•  Two Review Tests for units 1–4 and units 5–8 
 

Progress Tests 

There are eight Progress Tests, one after each unit, with four parts to each test: Reading, 
Writing, Listening and Speaking. The time needed to do each test will depend on individual 
classes and on the administration of the Speaking section. Guide times are given for the other 
parts of the tests. 

 

Part 1 Reading – two tasks 
 
Task 1 – one text on a unit topic 
Question types include: matching; multiple-choice questions; multiple-choice cloze; proof 
reading. 
Time: 10–15 minutes 
 
Task 2 – gap-filled text on the unit grammar or vocabulary 
Time: 5–10 minutes 
 
Part 2 Writing – two tasks 
 
Task 1 – email composition task (50–60 words) 
An impression mark of between 0 and 5 is given for each piece of writing, according to the  
scale below. 
Time: 15 minutes  
 
Task 2 – sentence writing 
Question types include: sentence transformation; sentence construction; writing questions for 
given answers. 
Time: 5–10 minutes 
 
Part 3 Listening – two tasks 
 
Tasks 1 and 2 – based on the coursebook listening texts 
Question types include: summary and sentence correction; phrase completion; true or false; 
matching statements to speakers; dictation; taking notes; answering questions; listening for 
phrases and expressions used; matching statements with conversations. 
Time: 20 minutes 
  
Part 4 Speaking – one task 

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One presentation task from a choice of the two given.  
 
In small classes the presentations can be given to the whole class and marked by the teacher. 
Alternatively, in larger classes, the presentations could be delivered in small groups, with the 
students marking their peers according to the criteria. A third alternative is for the teacher to 
listen to the presentations in a separate room. A choice of two are given to provide task 
variety. 
 
The time taken for this part of the test will depend on the number of students. 
 
An impression mark of between 0 and 5 is given for each presentation, according to the scale 
below. 

 

Review Tests  

There are two longer Review Tests – one after Unit 4 and one after Unit 8. These test the 
course materials in the previous four units and are longer than the Progress Tests.  
 
Part 1 Reading – four texts 
 
Part 2 Writing – two text production tasks 
Task 1 – writing a letter, report, proposal, etc. (100 words) 
Task 2 – writing a report based on graphic material supplied (120 words) 
 
Part 3 Listening – four tasks 
 
Part 4 Speaking – two tasks 
Task 1 – a presentation, similar to those in the Progress Tests 
Task 2 – a group discussion task 
 
Overall timing of the Review tests will depend on the class and how the Speaking section is 
administered. You should be able to estimate how long these tests will take based on your 
students’ performances in the Progress Tests. These tests are very similar to the Business 
English Certificate (BEC) examination. 

 

Marking the tests 

 
Marks are indicated on the tests themselves for each section of each test. Please see the Tests 
Answer Key for checking answers.  
 
Please see below for suggested marking schemes to be used for the Writing and Speaking 
sections. These marking schemes are based on those followed in external testing. 

 

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Writing marking 

 

Give each piece of writing an impression mark based on the scale below and related to the 
level of your students. 

 

15 points  Very good response. 

All content points included and dealt with properly. 
Natural written language demonstrated. 
Wide range of appropriate grammar and vocabulary used with few serious errors. 
Well organized and structured with appropriate linking phrases and paragraphing. 
Very positive impact on reader. 
Appropriate length. 

12 points  Good response. 

All content points included. 
Natural written language demonstrated. 
Range of appropriate grammar and vocabulary used with few serious errors. 
Mostly well organized and structured with appropriate linking phrases and 
paragraphing. 
Positive impact on reader. 
Appropriate length. 

9 points  Satisfactory response. 

Major content points included. 
Mostly natural written language demonstrated. 
Range of grammar and vocabulary used with some errors but these do not impede 
communication. 
Reasonably well organized and structured with some use of appropriate linking words 
and phrases and paragraphing. 
Positive, rather than negative, impact on reader. 
Appropriate length. 

6 points  Poor response. 

Major content points not included. 
Limited range of grammar and vocabulary used with frequent errors.  
Not clearly organized and structured. 
Negative impact on reader. 

3 points  Weak response.  

Basic errors in grammar and vocabulary. 
Disorganized text with no linking or paragraphing. 
Very negative impact on reader. 

0 points  Task not attempted, not completed or too short. Not enough language to assess. 

 

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Speaking Marking 

 
Give each presentation an impression mark based on the scale below and related to the level 
of your students. 

 

5 points  Very good response. 

All content points included and dealt with properly. 
Natural spoken language demonstrated. 
Wide range of appropriate grammar and vocabulary used with few serious errors. 
Well organized and structured with appropriate linking phrases and emphasis using 
word stress and pausing.  
Very positive impact on listener. 
Appropriate length. 

4 points  Good response. 

All content points included. 
Natural spoken language demonstrated. 
Range of appropriate grammar and vocabulary used with few serious errors. 
Mostly well organized and structured with appropriate linking phrases and emphasis 
using word stress and pausing. 
Positive impact on listener. 
Appropriate length. 

3 points  Satisfactory response. 

Major content points included. 
Mostly natural spoken language demonstrated. 
Range of grammar and vocabulary used with some errors but these do not impede 
communication. 
Reasonably well-organized and structured, with some use of appropriate linking words 
and phrases and some attempts at using word stress and pausing for emphasis. 
Positive, rather than negative, impact on reader. 
Appropriate length. 

2 points  Poor response. 

Major content points not included. 
Limited range of grammar and vocabulary used with frequent errors.  
Not clearly structured.  
No or few attempts at using word stress and pausing for emphasis. 
Negative impact on reader. 

1 point 

Weak response.  
Basic errors in grammar and vocabulary. 
Unstructured presentation. 
Very negative impact on reader. 

0 points  Presentation not attempted, not completed or too short. Not enough language to assess. 

 

 

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