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/ Writing an effective essay: Cambridge B2 First
Cambridge B2 First

Posted on 28/02/2018 //
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Students take language certifications like the Cambridge B2 First qualification for lots of different
reasons. You might do it to motivate yourself to improve your language abilities, to prove your level
of English to an employer, or even to achieve an ambition like travelling around the world and going
to live in an English-speaking country.

The Cambridge B2 First exam includes a two-part writing section, which can be daunting for some
people. So if you’re thinking about taking an exam like this, we have some top tips to help you write
an excellent exam essay.

Most of the advice in this article can also be applied to any exam where you have to write an
essay, such as the C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency or IELTS.

Writing test structure

 

Before we get into the details, let’s take a look at the structure of the writing paper. You have 80
minutes to write two texts – and it will go quickly!

The first part is the essay; the second part is an article, email, letter, report, or review.
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You
to the use of will
ALL thebecookies.
given the essay title and two ideas or prompts. It’s essential that you include both of
these ideas in your essay, as well as another relevant idea that you have to come up with yourself.
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You have to write 140-190 words in each part and it shouldn’t take you more than 40 minutes per
answer.
  
 
Writing an essay in three steps (https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/)
 

Take a look at this example from a sample paper and then think about how you would answer it in
an exam:

Essay title:

Some parents teach their children at home rather than sending them to school. Is this a good or a SEARCH
bad thing for the children?

Ideas:
Search for:

 1. having a parent as a teacher RECENT POSTS

 2. making friends

 3. ….. How To Write A B2 First Formal

 
Email/Letter
(https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/how-
to-write-a-b2-first-formal-email-
letter/)
Question taken from http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/first/exam-format/
(http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/first/exam-format/) (Cambridge Assessment
4 Conditionals In English And
English, Feb 2018).
When To Use Them
(https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/4-
What could the third idea be? Stop reading, grab a pen and write down some ideas! Keep them
conditionals-in-english-and-when-
general, but relevant. When you’ve finished, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see some of
our ideas*. to-use-them/)

  Passing Cambridge C1 Advanced Part

5: Reading and Use of English

Step One: plan it (10 minutes) (https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/passing-

cambridge-c1-advanced-part-5-reading-
and-use-of-english/)

7 Of The Best Apps For Learning

English Vocabulary
That’s what my old history teacher used to tell me. I hate to admit it, but he was right! If you don’t (https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/7-
usually plan before you start writing, you really need to get into the habit. Ten minutes may seem a of-the-best-apps-for-learning-
lot, but the more time you spend planning, the clearer your ideas will be and the quicker the writing english-vocabulary/)
process will be.
How to write a B2 First informal
A good place to start is to brainstorm keywords and phrases related to the topic.
email/letter
(https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/how-
to-write-a-b2-first-informal-email-
letter/)

Next, you should think about how you’re going to begin (the introduction), how you’re going to
connect the three main ideas (the body) and how you’re going to finish (the conclusion). If you
know where you’re headed, you’re much less likely to get lost along the way!
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to the use of
  ALL the cookies.

Step Two:
Cookie settings write it (25 minutes)
ACCEPT

 
 OK, you’ve got our plan – you’re good to go! It’s important to know what the examiners are looking
 for. The mark you get for the essay is based on the following four aspects: 
(https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/)
Content: Have you included all three ideas? Remember, all content should be 100% relevant to the
topic, so don’t go off on a tangent!

Communicative achievement: Is the style or tone of your essay appropriate? It should be neutral
and quite formal, so avoid contractions (e.g. it’s, don’t, they’ll) and first person pronouns (e.g. I, me,
my, we, us, our).

Organisation: Does your essay follow a logical order? To help your writing flow, try to include linking
words. Here’s a website (https://www.englishgrammar.org/common-linking-words/) with some
examples.

Language: Have you used a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures? Don’t always write
the first word that comes to mind – look for synonyms
(https://justenglish.me/2014/04/18/synonyms-for-the-96-most-commonly-used-words-in-english/).
Using some complex structures (e.g. different verb tenses, passives, inversion) will boost your
marks, but be sure to use them correctly!

Step Three: check it (5 minutes)

 

This final step is essential. It’s your chance to read (and re-read) your essay to identify any mistakes.
No matter how careful you’ve been, there are probably a few things that you can improve. Check for
spellings. Check for plurals. Check for verb agreement (https://www.thoughtco.com/correcting-
errors-in-subject-verb-agreement-1690350). Basically, check everything!

5 quick tips to improve your proofreading

 

 Keep a list of (your) frequent mistakes, so you know what to look out for

 Read it slowly

 Use your finger to guide your eyes

 Correct one thing at a time (e.g. only punctuation, then only spelling)

 Focus on the little words (pronouns, articles, prepositions, etc.)

 

Still not sure if this is the right exam for you?

 

There are many benefits of earning an English certification, but before you decide to do so, it’s very
important to check your English level (https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/levels/#tab13). This will help
you select the right exam course and make sure you don’t waste time completing one that’s too
hard or too easy for you.

If you decide to do an exam preparation course (https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/english-

courses/cambridge/) with us, one of our trained level testers will work with you to assess your level.
But, if you can’t wait until then, here’s a multiple-choice test
(https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/levels/level-tests/english/) for you to complete to give you some
idea.

This article (https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/difference-cambridge-english-exams-first-advanced-

proficiency-ielts/) also outlines the differences between the Cambridge and IELTS exams to help you
decide which exam is for you.

Glossary for Language Learners

 

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Daunting (adj): something that worries you because it might seem difficult to do.

Prompts (n): something serving to suggest or remind.

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To come up with (pv): to think of something such as an idea or a plan.
to the use of ALL the cookies.
To get into the habit (exp): to begin to do something regularly or often.
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Headed (adj): destined for.

 You’re good to go! (exp): you’re ready!
 
To go off on a tangent (exp): to start doing, discussing, or thinking about something completely
(https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/)
different.

To flow (v): to proceed smoothly and continuously.

Key

n = noun

adj = adjective

pv = phrasal verb

exp = expression

v = verb

*Example ideas: ‘group work’, ‘bullying’, ‘class sizes’, ‘working parents’, ‘free curriculum’

Pass your Cambridge Exam with Oxford House Barcelona

 Interested in taking a Cambridge preparation course at Oxford House Barcelona? Check the different
Cambridge courses (https://oxfordhousebcn.com/en/english-courses/cambridge/) we can offer you.

2 COMMENTS

Brenda 02/06/2020
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

english (https://www.learnenglish4freeonline.com/) 30/05/2020

Saved as a favorite, I love your web site!

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