How to Upgrade Your Writing for the Extended English Matura Exam (Without Writing More)

 

Many students prepare seriously for the extended English exam. They understand the topics, write correctly, and stay on task. Yet their results often do not fully reflect their real potential. The reason is simple: at higher levels, writing is assessed less for ideas and more for the quality of language used to express them.

In practice, this means that the goal of writing changes significantly between the basic and extended levels. On the basic exam, the main objective is to communicate clearly and answer the question, for example: Working from home is good because people save time. On the extended exam, however, the same idea would be expressed more carefully: Working from home can be considered beneficial, as it allows employees to save a significant amount of time. The content is identical, but the linguistic level is clearly different.

One of the most effective habits to develop is learning to avoid simple, repetitive structures. Sentences such as It is good, It is bad, or It is important are perfectly acceptable at lower levels, but they limit performance in more advanced tasks. Compare the basic version It is important to learn foreign languages with the advanced alternative There is no doubt that learning foreign languages plays a crucial role in modern society. The idea remains the same, but the second version sounds more formal and academic.

Another useful strategy is to build a small repertoire of advanced sentence starters that can be applied to almost any topic. For instance, instead of writing Many people think that social media is harmful, you could write A growing number of people believe that social media may have a negative impact. Instead of We should think about the problem, you might write What needs to be taken into account is the seriousness of this issue. These structures help create distance, objectivity, and a more professional tone.

Vocabulary also plays a major role, yet improving it does not require memorising hundreds of new words. A more effective approach is to replace the most basic words with slightly more formal equivalents. For example, instead of good for people, you can write beneficial to individuals; instead of bad for health, use harmful to physical and mental well-being; instead of many people, write a large number of individuals; and instead of this problem, say this issue. Small changes like these can significantly raise the perceived level of your writing.

To see how this works in practice, compare the following two versions of the same argument. The basic version might be: Students are stressed because they have too much to study and no time to rest. The extended-level version would be: Students often experience high levels of stress due to an excessive workload and a lack of time for rest. The second sentence is more precise and far more advanced.

A useful practical rule is to include at least one “premium sentence” in every paragraph. This should be a sentence that sounds as if it could come from an academic article, for example: From a broader perspective, the increasing pressure on young people reflects wider changes in modern education systems. Even if the rest of the paragraph is simpler (but not too simple 😆), this one sentence strongly influences how the examiner perceives the entire text.

In terms of learning strategy, it is far more effective to rewrite existing texts than to produce large numbers of new ones. Writing one essay and then consciously upgrading every sentence trains exactly the skills that advanced writing requires. Over time, students should also create a personal “bank” of useful structures and phrases that can be reused across different topics.

Practice Section: How to Train Effectively

Exercise 1 – Rewrite the sentences

Rewrite the following sentences in a more advanced way:

People get tired at work.

This problem is big.

School helps people in life.

Many students feel stressed.

We should think about our health.

Exercise 2 – Combine the ideas

Turn three simple sentences into one advanced sentence:

Teenagers use social media. It takes a lot of time. They cannot focus.

People work a lot. They have no free time. They feel unhappy.

Technology changes communication. People meet less. Relationships are weaker.

Exercise 3 – Upgrade the style

Rewrite these using formal vocabulary:

People get angry because of stress.

This thing is bad for children.

Many people don’t like their jobs.

The problem is getting worse.

We need to change our habits.

Word Upgrades: Basic → Advanced

Basic

Advanced

good - beneficial / advantageous

bad - harmful / problematic

important - crucial / significant

big - significant / considerable

small - minor / limited

many - numerous / a large number of

people - individuals / society

problem - issue

thing - factor / aspect

make - cause / lead to / result in

get- obtain / receive / experience

help - contribute to / facilitate

use -  utilise / make use of

show - demonstrate / indicate

start - initiate

end - conclude

change - modify / transform

need - require

think - believe / assume / argue

deal with - address

find - discover / identify

High-Impact Academic Phrases

These phrases work in almost any essay topic:

• It can be argued that...
• There is no doubt that...
• One of the main drawbacks is that...
• Although it may seem that...
• This raises the question of whether...
• From a broader perspective...
• What needs to be taken into account is...
• It cannot be denied that...
• This issue has become increasingly relevant...
• A growing number of people...
• In the long term...
• As a result of...
• In contrast to...
• With regard to...
• It is worth considering whether...
• It plays a crucial role in...
• It has a significant impact on...
• It contributes to the development of...

Useful Sentence Openings

• These are perfect for introductions and body paragraphs:
• In recent years, there has been a growing interest in...
• Nowadays, more and more people...
• One of the most important aspects of this issue is...
• A key factor that should be considered is...
• An increasing number of individuals...
• It is widely believed that...
• From an educational perspective...
• From a social point of view...
• When discussing this topic, it is important to remember that...

Students do not need to relearn English from the beginning. They already have the ideas, the grammar, and the basic vocabulary. What they truly need is to learn how to repackage their thoughts in a more formal, precise, and academic way.

In other words, they already know what to say.

The real challenge is learning how to say it at a higher level.

And that is exactly what the extended English matura exam is designed to test.

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