Phase 6 · Prepare for the review
Current issues library
Background on the themes the Communication Task draws from, with the competing considerations and no prescribed view.
Who this is for:Candidates at any stage
The Communication Task is based on current issues in the industry, and you are expected to respond as an engaged engineer rather than as a technical expert. This is background on the themes ICE publishes.
16 themes
Read for the tensions, not the facts. What makes a good response is showing that you understand why a question is difficult.
No view is prescribed here — what is assessed is knowledge and relevance, use of English, and clarity, not agreement. ICE also expects you to be familiar with the two most recent Presidential addresses, which are on the ICE website.
How to use these
Read for the tensions, not the facts. What makes a good Communication Task response is showing that you understand why a question is difficult — that decarbonisation costs money now for benefit later, that resilience means paying for capacity you hope never to use. Facts alone produce a flat answer.
Have a position, and know its weakness. A response that acknowledges the strongest argument against it reads as considered. One that pretends there is no argument against it reads as unexamined.
Keep them current yourself. Every entry carries a published and last-reviewed date. These are summaries with sources, not a news feed, and where an entry is more than a few months old you should check what has changed. ICE also expects you to be familiar with the two most recent Presidential addresses, which are on the ICE website and are not summarised here.
Do not memorise. Ten prepared paragraphs will not fit the scenario you are given, and a transcribed passage is obvious. What transfers is understanding the shape of the argument.
Related pages and tools
- Communication TaskWhat it is at each level, the rules that govern it, how it is marked, and how to prepare for it.
- Practice tasksFifty original practice tasks across both levels, with a learning mode and a genuinely closed-book timed simulation.
- InterviewHow reviewers question, how to answer without waffling, and what to do when you do not know.
- Question bankOriginal practice questions across all seven areas and both levels, each with what it is testing and what a strong answer contains.