An older Linguaskill guide can contain useful English practice while giving the wrong instructions for your current exam. Timings and task types deserve a separate check before you build your study plan.
The most useful question is not whether a resource has “2026” on its cover. It is whether its tasks match the version you will take.
What changed, and when?
Cambridge’s support guidance confirms a Writing update on 8 October 2025. In the version covered by that notice, a single essay with a 45-minute limit was replaced by two tasks—an email and an essay—with 55 minutes available. This is a specific documented change, not a complete history of all Linguaskill versions. Cambridge’s dated Writing update.
What does the current Writing module contain?
| Version | Part 1 | Part 2 | Total time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linguaskill | Email; recommended minimum 50 words | Essay; recommended minimum 250 words | 55 minutes |
| Linguaskill Business | Email; recommended minimum 50 words | Report; recommended minimum 250 words | 55 minutes |
Part 1 contributes 25% of the Writing score and Part 2 contributes 75%. Cambridge also describes separate adaptive Reading and Listening modules, each approximately 40 minutes with a maximum of 59 minutes and a variable number of questions. Cambridge’s current exam format.
These differences matter when you compare older materials with your booking. Confirm your modules and whether you are taking Linguaskill or Linguaskill Business.
Practise completing the purpose of an email
For an email task, fluent sentences are only part of the job. Your response also needs to do what the reader needs.
Try this original practice activity, which is not an official exam question:
A colleague wants to move a meeting. Write an email explaining why the original time no longer works, suggesting another time and asking for confirmation.
After writing, highlight the sentence that addresses each requirement. If one is missing, you have found a useful improvement target before worrying about more impressive vocabulary.
A sentence such as “Could you confirm whether Thursday afternoon would suit you?” is useful because it performs a clear communicative function. Learn phrases together with their purpose.
Give the longer task enough attention
For an essay, practise stating a position, developing reasons and choosing relevant examples. For a report, practise organising findings and recommendations for the intended reader.
One possible practice routine is to set aside roughly fifteen minutes for the email and forty for the longer task, including planning and checking. Treat that as a working allocation you can refine—not an extra rule imposed by the exam.
After your first timed attempt, ask: did the email consume too much time? Did the longer answer contain developed points? Did you leave space to check sentence boundaries, verb forms and missing words?
How often is Linguaskill updated?
The sources reviewed do not give a fixed annual schedule for task changes. A support-page update date may record an editorial change rather than a new exam launch.
Check the official format and sample materials when you book, then again before your final preparation period. If your course and the official guide disagree, establish which version each describes.
Start with the BeFluent Linguaskill mini test to begin identifying areas for practice. Use Cambridge’s official preparation materials to familiarise yourself with the current exam interface and tasks.