WHAT IS AN ARTICLE?

An article is a text that expresses your opinion and knowledge about something. It
should be an entertaining text that gets the readers attention and informs them.

THE STRUCTURE OF AN ARTICLE IS SIMPLE:

 Title
 Introduction
 Description (develop your idea)
 Recommendation and ending
 

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?

The 2020 version of the B1 Preliminary involves writing two texts of 100 words. You
need to write an email, and then either an article or a stroy. You have the choice
between the two, do not write both of them. For more information on how to write an
article, see this post.
 

The examiners are looking at the following criteria:

1. Content
All of the content in the writing should be aimed at answering the question. It should
be easy to understand and also take into account who is reading it. E.g. if it is a letter
to a friends, it must be informal and familiar.

2. Organisation
The organisation aspect of the evaluation refers to how clearly you present your
ideas. If it is a letter, it must resemble a letter. You need to do it with paragraphs, the
paragraphs must not be too short and they need to be set into separate topics. If you
write a story it can be all in one paragraph but it needs to include a beginning, middle
and end.

3. Language
This part of the assessment focuses on the use of vocabulary and grammar. You
need to show flexibility in their use and also include cohesive devices (X5) such as
because, as, but, however, for example, like, and, in addition etc. To get a good
grade in this part your grammar and vocabulary need to be accurate, appropriate
and easy to understand.
 4. Communicative achievement
They are looking at communication of ideas; it must be clear, relevant to the question
and the target reader, use good simple language with some complex grammar.

Structure of an article:
Separate each part into a separate paragraph.

Beginning:
Engage the reader and make them want to read more, you can begin with a question
or a general opinion

Middle:
State your main points and relate them to personal experiences and opinions

Ending:
Summarize your main points but make an overall point to make the reader think they
have learned something from reading the article

Suggested grammar structures:

Impersonal passive: It is said that HBO make the best movies in the world.
Modal verbs: It might be a good idea to take your time.
Conditionals: If I were you, I would watch it at the cinema.
Relative clauses: I know someone who lives in that area.
Wish: I wish I could eat chocolate every day.
 

Example of a question: 
You see this post on an English language website
 
What types of books do you most enjoy?
Do you prefer reading or watching TV and what is the best way to take advantage of
your free time?
 
Write an article about these questions. The best articles will be published on the site.

Example answer:
 

The most interesting way to spend your free time

Have you ever thought about the best way to spend your free time? If you want to
know the key to making the most of your leisure time, this article is a must read.

Instead of turning on the TV every time you get home, why not try picking up a book.
Reading is a great way to relax and it is also a fantastic way to open your mind.
There is nothing like looking forward to getting home and reading a book that you are
into. It helps you unwind, improve your imagination and it can even help you to learn
a foreign language.

I have no doubt that reading will improve your life. If I were you,I would choose a
new book today!

Useful language: Use these key phrases to answer the questions in the task
 

Involving the reader

 Have you ever thought about…?
 How would you feel if …?
 What would you think of…?
 Are you one of those people who …?
 If the answer is …, you should….
 What do you reckon to …?
 What would live be like if…
 Just think for a moment…
 Just imagine…
 

Try to use extreme adjectives instead of intensifiers

 Very good = awesome, excellent, fantastic
 Very bad = awful, terrible, disturbing
 

Making the article lively and interesting (use adverbs)

 importantly
 surprisingly
 worryingly 
 the most amazing 
 absolutely
 suddenly
 amazingly
 fantastically
 frighteningly
 

Developing your points

 Another advantage of …
 On top of all that…
 What is more, …
 Above all,,,
 The reason I think this is…
 The reason I feel this way is…
 On top of that, …
 Let’s start with …
 

Giving your own opinion

 In my opinion, …
 In my eyes, …
 To my mind, …
 As far as I am concerned, …
 Speaking personally, …
 From my point of view, …
 As for me / As to me, …
 My view / opinion / belief / impression / conviction is that …
 I hold the view that …
 I would say that …
 It seems to me that …
 I am of the opinion that …
 My impression is that …
 I am under the impression that …
 It is my impression that …
 I have the feeling that …
 My own feeling on the subject is that …
 I have no doubt that …
 I am sure / I am certain that …
  I think / consider / find / feel / believe / suppose / presume / assume /
reckon that …
 I hold the opinion that …
 I dare say that …
 I guess that …
 I bet that ….
 I gather that …
 It goes without saying that …
 

Justifying opinions
To begin, you can use these basic (B1) phrases to justify an opinion in English:
 because…
 the reason is…
 the reason I believe that is…
 the facts suggest…
 the evidence shows…
 taking into account what I have seen…
 

Making recommendations and suggestions:

 It would be a good idea to…
 Wouldn’t it be better to…?
 Why don’t we…?
 What about… ?
 How about… ?
 Shouldn’t we… ?
 Let’s consider…
 Why not… ?

 WRITING CHEAT SHEET

EXAMPLE QUESTIONS: (TITLES PROVIDED)

 LANGUAGES: THE BEST LANGUAGE TO LEARN
 PLACES: THE BEST PLACE I HAVE EVER VISITED
 ADVICE: THE MOST USEFUL BIT OF ADVICE I HAVE
EVER RECEIVED
 TV SERIES: THE MOST EXCITING SERIES I HAVE SEEN
THIS YEAR
 RESTAURANT: THE BEST RESTAURANT I HAVE EATEN
IN
  B1 ARTICLE QUESTIONS

 B1 GENERAL ENGLISH COURSE

 B1 CAMBRIDGE COURSE