B2 First - Writing Test Tips

1. Introduction

You have 80 minutes to write two texts. The first text will always be an essay and
should be 140-190 words long. The second text can be an article, informal email or
letter, a formal email or letter, a report, or a review and should be 140-190 words.

The examiners give you a grade based on 4 things:

 Content - Did you write what you were asked to write?

 Communicative achievement - Was your writing too formal, too informal, or
just right?
 Organisation - Did you link paragraphs and sentences? Is there a logical flow
from start to finish?
 Language - Did you show off your sparkling vocabulary or did you use basic
words? Did you make lots of grammar and spelling mistakes?

2. Time management

The two texts are worth equal points and have the same word lengths, so you should
spend equal time on them. That gives you 40 minutes per text. Spend some of that
time planning and some checking. For example:

 Planning - 10 minutes
 Writing - 25 minutes
 Checking - 5 minutes

You might think that's too long for the planning stage, but the more you plan the
fewer problems you will have later.

3. You can't cook without a recipe

Many students hate the planning stage and like to just start writing as soon as
possible. But the finished product is normally not very good. Imagine a chef in a
restaurant - does he go into the kitchen and start throwing vegetables into pans? No -
he gets a recipe and follows the plan!

So, take a deep breath, think about what you have to write, what you want to write,
and how you can write it.

You can even start to think about good words you know, and advanced sentences
that you can include.
4. Content

Now let's look at what Cambridge cares about in your writing. The first point is the
content itself. If you are asked to write a letter to your friend and you write a poem -
well, it doesn't matter how good that poem is. Maybe you can write the best poem in
the history of the world - the examiner will be impressed, and then give you zero
points.

Here's a sample FCE writing task:

You have to write about pollution and the environment, and you have to include 3
points. 2 of those points must be transport, and rivers and seas. If you don't include
transport you can't get full marks in the exam. If you don't write about damage to
the environment, you can't get full marks.

READ THE TASK AND DO EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS

5. Communicative Achievement

The next thing Cambridge wants is for you to show that you understand about tone
(formal or informal). In the previous example, you were asked to write an essay for
your English teacher. How formal should that be? You're not writing to a lawyer so
you don't have to be super formal, but you aren't writing to your best friend, so you
shouldn't be too casual.

For that essay, you should use a neutral or slightly formal style.

That means you need to study how to write in different ways. Spot the difference in
tone in these extracts from letters:

1.

Hey John,

Guess what? I took off school and hanged up and down the beach all day. Great fun! I found some
nearly-fresh muffins in a box, so that was lunch sorted. Free food! Niiiiiice.

2.

Dear Mr and Mrs Biggins,

I regret to inform you that we have taken the decision to suspend Jack from school for the next week.
Not only did he fail to come to school today, but we received a call that he had stolen a container of
confectionery from a local business.

In short, try to make sure that what you write is appropriate for the person you are
writing to.

6. Organisation

Cambridge loves when you link sentences together with words like 'whereas',
‘although’, 'however', and other linking devices, and paragraphs with phrases like
'Firstly, secondly'…

You must learn how to use these phrases if you want a good grade.

One easy way to get a higher score in 'organisation' is to ask a question, and then
answer it.

7. Language

Your writing will be more interesting and you'll get a better grade if you can use a
wide variety of language. Use high-level vocabulary when you know it; don't repeat
the same word too many times; don't make too many mistakes; try to use a variety
of grammar (not just 'subject verb object' all the time): relative clauses (who, which,
etc.), passive voice, reported speech, for example.

You will be rewarded if you learn (and use) some appropriate phrasal verbs, idioms,
and collocations. Compare these sentences:

1. The food was good and the service was good and we had a good time.

2. The food was delicious while the service was faultless. Did we have a good time?
Absolutely!
I hope you agree that the second is much nicer to read. Is it much harder to write?
Not really. And if you don't know the word 'faultless' you might know a different word
that would fit. Even if you said 'good' again, the sentence would get you a much
better score in FCE because 'while' connects the first two parts and the question
connects the last two.