Writing
Scoring
B2 First Exam
In this section:
How writing tasks are marked on the B2 First Exam
Examiners look at four aspects of your writing: Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation and Language. This section will cover these details.
Scoring
You will be scored on:
Content - This mark is about whether or not you completed the task. Each task will ask you to include specific pieces of information and give you instructions. If you do what you're asked, you'll get a high score here.
Communicative Achievement - This mark focuses on the tone of your writing and how nice your work is to read. For example, a formal letter will use different language than an article. Also, this score evaluates how easy to read and enjoyable your writing is. If you've included a lot of highly-complex phrases that are hard to understand, you will get a lower score here.
Organisation - This mark is about how you've put your writing together. Your ideas will need to be presented in paragraphs, and in a logical order. Also, this score judges how well you've linking words and other techniques to tie your work together and make it cohesive.
Language - This mark focuses on your use of vocabulary and grammar. It will evaluate how accurate and appropriate your vocabulary us, your use of collocations, and grammar as well.
There are 40 possible marks in this paper.
Content
This mark is about whether or not you you've completed the task. Each task will tell you exactly what kind of composition to write (for example, if you need to write an essay, a letter, a report, etc.). Each task also mentions specific pieces of information which you must include, as well as instructions.
If you do what you're asked, you'll get a high score here. In fact, on B2 First it is really easy to score high here so read the task carefully and then plan your essay out so that you do not forget anything while writing.
Here, you can also lose points for including irrelevant information, so make sure that your work stays on topic and that you are not including unnecessary details.
In the example, you must:
write an essay.
write about the fashion industry and its effects on people’s lives.
address the two points listed (the importance of people’s appearance; price of clothing)
give an additional idea related to the main topic.
If you don’t have time to write about all three points, or if you choose to ignore one, you will not get full marks.
For this reason, it's really important that you plan your essay before writing.
Read the task carefully and do exactly what it says.
Content Key Points:
Read the task carefully
Identify exactly what you must do in your essay
Plan your essay before writing
Have one main idea per paragraph.
Marking Criteria
5 Marks
All of the content is relevant to the task.
The reader is fully informed about the topic.
4 Marks has features of both bands 3 and 5.
3 Marks
There may be some extra unrelated things added.
The writer may have left some things out that leave questions to the reader.
The reader is generally informed about the topic.
2 Marks has features of both bands 1 and 3.
1 Mark
There may be irrelevant things added to the writing.
It may be confusing because of errors or lack of organization.
The reader is not really informed.
0 Marks has content that is completely irrelevant to the task and the reader is not informed.
Communicative Achievement
This mark focuses on the tone of your writing and examiners will be judging if the style of your writing is appropriate to the task or not. For example, a formal letter will use different language than an article, so you will be judged on this. Because of this, it is always extremely important to identify your audience when planning your work.
For an essay or report, you should use a neutral or slightly formal style.
Depending on the audience, an article can be more informal. If you're writing for an online magazine or blog, for example, you may want to use a casual tone.
A letter to a friend should be informal and light. However, a letter to a boss or someone you do not know should be formal and professional. For details about how to write formal and informal letters, look here:
This score also evaluates how easy and enjoyable your work is to read. If you've made a lot of spelling errors or significant grammatical errors which create confusion with the reader, then you would get a lower score here, so be careful.
Comunicative Achievement Key Points:
Decide who your audience is so you can decide what kind of tone to use.
Write in a style that's appropriate for that audience.
Communicate as clearly as possible so that your work is enjoyable to read.
Marking Criteria
5 Marks
Is able to use appropriate tone and language to hold the attention of the reader.
Is able to communicate straightforward and complex ideas, as needed.
4 Marks has features of both bands 3 and 5.
3 Marks
Is able to use appropriate tone and language to hold the attention of the reader.
Is able to communicate straightforward ideas.
2 Marks has features of both bands 1 and 3.
1 Mark
Is able to communicate straightforward ideas, in a way that's generally appropriate to the task.
0 Marks has a performance below Band 1.
Organization
Organization refers to how you present your ideas. You will need to make sure you use paragraphs and organize and present your ideas in a logical fashion.
You can easily increase your score by making it very clear what each paragraph is about. Then, logically organize each sentence within that paragraph.
The easiest way to organize a paragraph is by using a format like this:
Introduce a point.
Give a reason and supporting details.
Give an example.
Here, you'll also be evaluated on your use of linking words or cohesive devices. For example, you might use words like 'whereas' and 'however' to join sentences, or use sequencing language like 'firstly' and 'secondly' to join paragraphs. Read more about Linking Words here. There are other techniques we can use, too, to make our writing sound more cohesive, and this mark will judge you on how well you use them.
Lastly, you will also be marked on your use of punctuation here.
Organization Key Points:
Structure your answers in logical paragraphs
Have one main idea per paragraph.
Support main points with an explanation and then an example.
Have a clear introduction and conclusion
Use cohesive devices to link elements together.
Use correct punctuation.
Marking Criteria
5 Marks
The content is well organized and coherent.
The writer uses a variety of cohesive devices, linking words, and organizational patterns that are appropriate and generally used well.
4 Marks has features of both bands 3 and 5.
3 Marks
The content is generally well organized and coherent.
There's a variety of cohesive devices and linking words that are used.
2 Marks has features of both bands 1 and 3.
1 Mark
The text is connected and coherent
There are basic linking words and a small number of cohesive devices.
0 Marks has a performance below Band 1.
Language
The examiners will be judging the quality of the English that you use. They want to see that you can write basic sentences correctly, and see if you can attempt more complicated ones. They also want to know if you can use topic-specific language accurately, or if you can only use basic terms. Your knowledge of collocations and phrases will be evaluated here as well.
On the exam, you can make spelling mistakes - in fact, it's to be expected. However, the meaning must be clear. If your writing is unclear and hard to understand because there are too many mistakes, you will get a lower score. So try to communicate as clearly as possible.
You will also get higher points for attempting more complex phrases, even if they are not perfect. So, try to show off what you know, without making your writing too unclear.
To get a higher score, try varying your language to make your writing more interesting.
Things you can do:
Use topic-specific or "high-level" vocabulary when you know it.
Use appropriate phrasal verbs, collocations and idiomatic language.
Try not to repeat the same word too many times.
Try to use a variety of “complex” and simple sentences to add variety and interest to your writing.
Check your writing for errors at the end.
Tip: Get feedback on your writing
Errors will lower your score, especially if they prevent the reader from understanding what you have written. Get feedback on your writing to understand your common errors and how to fix them.
Tip: Learn the different types of sentences in English
Complex sentences are actually NOT complicated. They don’t need to be long, complicated or even difficult to write. Read the section on sentence building here.
Language Key Points:
Never copy word for word parts of the original task. Use paraphrases and synonyms instead.
It's normal to repeat words, but try to vary your language and avoid excessive repetition when you can.
Try to use a combination of simple and complex sentences to make your writing interesting.
Try to use more-advanced language or grammatical structures only if your writing is still clear.
Get feedback on your writing from real human beings to become aware of your common errors and to ensure your writing makes sense.
Marking Criteria
5 Marks
The writer uses a range of vocabulary which includes less common words or phrases, that are used appropriately.
There's a range of simple and complex phrases and grammatical forms, and they are used with control and flexibility.
There may be some errors, but they do not impede on communication. The message is still clear.
4 Marks has features of both bands 3 and 5.
3 Marks
There's a range of everyday vocabulary that is used appropriately.
There may be some less-common words used, but they may not be used correctly.
There's a range of simple and complex phrases and grammatical forms, and they are generally used with a good degree of control.
There may be some errors, but they do not impede on communication. The message is still clear.
2 Marks has features of both bands 1 and 3.
1 Mark
Everyday vocabulary is generally used appropriately, however there may be repetition.
Simple grammatical forms and phrases are used well.
There are a lot of errors, but the meaning can still be determined.
0 Marks has a performance below Band 1.
Length of Responses
The word limit given to you 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.
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.
However, you will never lose marks for going over the limit, as long as what you write is relevant. Don't go off topic.
Varieties of English
Try to stick to using one variety of English (British, for example, or American). You should try not to switch between the styles.
Passing
You need to get 24/40 in the Writing paper to pass at B2 level.
Both tasks are graded equally so each writing task gets a grade out of 20. For example, if a student got 12/20 on Task 1 and a 17/20 on Task 2. then they would pass this part of the exam.
You do not need to pass every exam paper but you need to have an average of 60% across all 5 exam papers to get your B2 certificate.
If you want to find out more about how to calculate your scores, read page 4 of this document.