Writing Part 2
Part 2: Overview
B2 First Exam
In this section:
In Part 1, you'll be given three different tasks. You must select one and respond to it.
This section will talk about the options and give general advice.
What you must do
On Task 2 of the B2 First Exam you will be able to choose between 3 different questions. You must select one and respond to it.
The choices very. You may be asked to write:
an article
a letter (both formal or informal)
a letter (both formal or informal)
a report
a review
Time Management
During the Writing paper, you will need to complete two compositions. Both texts are the same amount of words and worth the same amount of points. Therefor, you should try to spend equal amounts of time on both tasks. On the B2 First exam, you should aim to spend around 40 minutes per text.
Make sure that you give plan to both plan and check your work. Planning will actually help you write faster and will result in better pieces.
Suggested breakdown:
Planning - 10 minutes
Writing - 25 minutes
Checking - 5 minutes
A lot of people want to skip the planning and they start writing immediately. However, this often leads to disorganized composition and can lead to frustration. It's actually much wiser to plan your writing.
Having a plan will:
help your piece be more organized, leading to a higher mark for organization
help you with idea generation
make it easier to double-check that you've done everything required in the task, leading to a higher mark under content
make the writing process will be much easier and faster
result in writing which is easier to read, leading to a higher score under communicative achievement.
Planning is actually really easy and not a waste of time at all. In fact, all high-scoring compositions begin with plans.
What to write about
For each task, you will:
be given a topic.
be told who you're writing to.
told what kind of piece to do (i.e.: a letter, a report, a blog post, etc.).
have sub-questions that you must address in your work. They may or may not come in the form of bullets. Take time to read the question carefully and underline what you must answer in your piece.
ask you your opinion about something, to be supported with reasons or examples.
need to write between 140 and 190 words.
Read also the section about word usage.
Language Assessed
The different tasks will require you to use different language.
You'll be asked to do things such as:
Write in a formal tone
Write in an informal tone
Give information
Give an opinion
Make a recommendation
Offer an explanation
Give examples or reasons
Report on something completed in the past
Draw conclusions
You will also be judged on the tone of your writing.
Things like reports, formal letters, and essays will need to use a formal tone.
Informal letters, comments on blog posts, emails to friends, online comments or articles will use an informal tone.
Note:
You don’t have to be an expert about any of the topics. You will be able to chose between three options, so select the one that's easiest for you to write about.
You will most-likely need to get creative on some of the tasks. Just make something up. Remember that Cambridge exams are English tests, and are not knowledge tests. As long as what you write is plausible, you will never lose marks.
General Format
The format of each piece will depend on what your writing. However, in general, each composition will have:
An introductory paragraph
Body paragraphs about each point
You should organize your work by dedicating one paragraph to each part.
For a B2 First task, I recommend:
Introduction
Introduce the topic - say what it will be about
Mention what the piece will be about
Main body paragraph 1
Select one point
Extend by giving reasons and additional information
Give an example
Main body paragraph 2
Select one point
Extend by giving reasons and additional information
Give an example
Main body paragraph 3
(if needed)
Select one point
Extend by giving reasons and additional information
Give an example
When following this format, you can develop your composition very quickly and in a way that's nice and organized.
You will find that 190 words actually are not a lot, so you should not write too many things about each point. However, use this to your advantage; the more you write, the more possibilities there are for mistakes. So, keep your compositions short and to the point and focus on communicating your ideas clearly.
Word Length
The suggested word limit for a B2 First exam composition is 140-190 words.
Note that the word limit is only a guideline; you can go over and under without losing points. As long as you've included all the required information, you can write less words. You can also write more words provided that everything is relevant to the task.
Keep in mind:
Responses that are too short are probably missing important information, so double check that you've included everything mentioned in the task.
Responses that are too long may have irrelevant information. You will lose points for including irrelevant information. Never go off topic.