CAE Study Guide 2026

The subject of the participle clause must match the subject of the main clause; 'she' finished the essay and 'she' closed the laptop, making option B correct.

While not all .com websites are unreliable, the .com domain is primarily for commercial entities and lacks the inherent academic, governmental, or institutional vetting often associated with .edu, .gov, or peer-reviewed publications. Therefore, information from a generic .com webpage should be approached with more skepticism and cross-referenced, making it a potential source of doubt regarding its credibility and accuracy.

'Meticulous' means extremely careful and precise; 'thorough' is the closest synonym among the options.

'Totally a success' and 'results are great' are informal expressions that create a register clash in academic writing.

Part 4 tests the ability to understand attitudes, opinions, and the interplay between speakers in a longer, authentic-style conversation.

This is a third conditional (past hypothetical): 'If I had studied harder, I might have passed' — past perfect in the if-clause, would/could/might + have + past participle in the main clause.