CAEL Integrated Task: Listening to Write 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CAEL lecture on public health introduces a problem, then outlines three solutions. Your integrated response should:
- Describe only the problem in detail and ignore the solutions
- Present the problem and all three solutions as the lecturer structured them (Correct answer)
- Choose the best solution and argue for it while omitting the others
- Reframe the content as a general essay on public health
Correct answer: Present the problem and all three solutions as the lecturer structured them
A complete integrated response reflects the full structure of the lecture, including both the problem and all proposed solutions.
Question 2: During a CAEL listening excerpt, the professor uses a rising intonation at the end of a statement. What does this typically signal in academic lectures?
- The professor is making a definitive conclusion
- The professor may be inviting audience reflection or signaling uncertainty (Correct answer)
- The statement is unimportant and can be skipped in notes
- The professor is reading directly from a textbook
Correct answer: The professor may be inviting audience reflection or signaling uncertainty
Rising intonation in academic speech often signals a rhetorical question or an area of uncertainty, both worth noting.
Question 3: Which of the following transitions, if used in a CAEL integrated response, best signals that you are shifting from summarizing one idea to introducing a contrasting one?
- As a result
- In contrast (Correct answer)
- For example
- In addition
Correct answer: In contrast
'In contrast' explicitly marks a shift to an opposing or different idea, which is essential for accurately representing lectures with multiple perspectives.
Question 4: A CAEL student writes: 'The professor discussed various aspects of the topic.' This sentence is an example of:
- A strong topic sentence that grounds the reader in the source
- A vague statement that lacks specific content from the lecture (Correct answer)
- An appropriate way to begin an integrated writing response
- A sophisticated paraphrase of the lecture's introduction
Correct answer: A vague statement that lacks specific content from the lecture
Vague phrases like 'various aspects' add no informational value and fail to demonstrate that you understood the specific content of the lecture.
Question 5: In the CAEL Integrated Task, the recommended approach for using your own background knowledge is to:
- Blend your prior knowledge freely with the lecture content throughout the response
- Use background knowledge only to help understand the lecture, not as content in your response (Correct answer)
- Replace unclear lecture content with information you already know on the topic
- Dedicate the final paragraph entirely to your own expertise on the subject
Correct answer: Use background knowledge only to help understand the lecture, not as content in your response
Background knowledge aids comprehension but the written response must be grounded in the listening source, not the test-taker's prior knowledge.
Question 6: You are revising your CAEL integrated response and realize you used the word 'said' eight times to attribute ideas to the lecturer. The best revision strategy is to:
- Leave it as is, since repetition of attribution verbs is acceptable in academic writing
- Vary the attribution verbs using words like 'argued,' 'noted,' 'explained,' and 'highlighted' (Correct answer)
- Remove all attribution verbs and present every idea as your own
- Replace 'said' with 'stated' in all eight instances
Correct answer: Vary the attribution verbs using words like 'argued,' 'noted,' 'explained,' and 'highlighted'
Varying reporting verbs demonstrates lexical range and more precisely conveys the lecturer's rhetorical purpose in each instance.
Question 7: A CAEL integrated response is scored in part on 'task fulfillment.' Which of the following most directly threatens this scoring criterion?
- Using a mix of simple and complex sentences
- Writing a response that addresses a different topic than the one in the lecture (Correct answer)
- Including minor grammatical errors in otherwise clear sentences
- Beginning sentences with transitional phrases like 'First' and 'Finally'
Correct answer: Writing a response that addresses a different topic than the one in the lecture
Task fulfillment requires that your response directly addresses the content of the assigned listening passage; writing off-topic fails this criterion entirely.
CAEL Integrated Task: Listening to Write 5
A CAEL lecture on public health introduces a problem, then outlines three solutions.
Your integrated response should: