15/06/2021 Writing — FCE Exam Tips

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Tips and advice

for the
Cambridge B2
First writing test.
How to write essays, reports, reviews, and articles.

B2 First Writing Test Tips

1. Introduction
Table of Contents
You have 80 minutes to write
two texts. The first text will
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B2 First Writing Test always be an essay and

Tips should be 140-190 words long.
1. Introduction The second text can be an
2. Time management article, informal email or letter,
3. You can't cook a formal email or letter, a
without a recipe report, or a review and should
4. Content be 140-190 words.
5. Communicative
Achievement The examiners give you a
6. Organisation grade based on 4 things:
7. Language
• Content - Did you write
8. FCE Essays
what you were asked to
9. FCE Reports
write?
10. FCE Reviews
11. FCE Articles • Communicative
11. Frequently Asked achievement - Was your
Questions 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?

Your first step should be to read this article and get the free tool
it mentions:

PRACTICE AND IMPROVE YOUR

WRITTEN ENGLISH WITHOUT A
TEACHER
Is it possible to write better without a teacher looking over
your shoulder? What if there was an app that could help?

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15/06/2021 Writing — FCE Exam Tips

Would you try it for free? If yes, you need to read this
article!

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 of my 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.

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

Example: Before I started writing this page I listed all the sub-
headings. I knew how I would start, and how I would finish. It's
much easier to write with the structure already prepared.

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:

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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. 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.

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That means you need to study how to write in different ways.

Spot the difference in tone in this extracts from letters:

1.

Yo, John,

Guess what? I bunked off school and tramped 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

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Cambridge love when you link sentences together with words like
'whereas' and 'however', and link 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).

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!

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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 the 'while' connects the first two parts and
the question connects the last two.

8. FCE Essays
You have to write an essay, so this is the first thing you should
learn to write. Essays are about giving information and your
opinions, comparing and contrasting.

Title: Use a title at the top of your essay. The title should be
interesting so that someone would want to read the article.
Imagine two friends share a link on Facebook. Which are you
more likely to click on?

1.

Why Pollution is Bad

2.

Climate Change is Fake, and Here's Why

Most people would click on the second one! You don't have to be
so provocative in your essay, but do try to make it interesting.
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Structure: Use the task as the structure. In the example from

question 4, you could have these paragraphs:

• Introduction
• The Transport Pollution Problem
• Pollution in Rivers and Seas
• Pollution at Home
• Conclusion

- Try to connect the title you have chosen with the conclusion. If
you call your essay 'Climate Change is Fake!' you should end by
saying 'and that's why climate change is not real.'

- You should write in a balanced way - don't only say that

something is good or bad. Example:

'It's clear that pollution from cars is a big problem that should be
looked at. The air in some cities is not fit for humans. But the car
isn't totally a villain - it's also a symbol of freedom for many
people. So we need a solution that lets people drive their cars,
but without being too harmful. For example, electric cars let
people get to work but are cleaner than diesel engines.'

- As a minimum, move from paragraph to paragraph by using

phrases like 'firstly, secondly'. But try to learn some more
advanced versions, too.

- There's more help in this article:

HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY FOR FCE

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This article will help you write great essays in the FCE
writing exam.

Read More →

9. FCE Reports
Often, you'll be able to choose to write a report in part 2. The
reader will usually be your teacher or a group you belong to. You
have to give facts and make recommendations.

Example:

A group of English students is coming to your college.

Your English teacher has asked you to write a report on
one local tourist attraction. In your report you should

• describe the attraction

• say what you can do there
• explain why you think students would enjoy visiting it

If I were writing that, I'd use this structure:

(Title:) Report on Old Trafford Football Stadium

Introduction

The aim of this report is to describe Old Trafford and to

say why it's the best destination for students who visit
our college.

Old Trafford

(a description of the stadium, its history)

Activities

(what you can do there - the stadium tour, the gift shop,
touch the magical grass)

Why It's Perfect for Visitors

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(the tour is given in English so it's good practice, football

is universally popular, it's great for taking photos)

Conclusion

For the reasons I have mentioned, I highly recommend

visiting Old Trafford with the visiting students. I'm sure
they will all have a great time.

10. FCE Reviews

Reviews are quite a good choice for part 2 because you've
probaby read thousands of reviews in your own language -
reviews of movies, video games, hotels and so on. So you should
be quite familiar with the format.

The main skills you need are: describing things, explaining, and

giving your opinions.

IMPORTANT - You are allowed to lie in the exam! I personally hate

the movie Titanic, but I remember quite a lot about it. If I had
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the task of reviewing a movie I love, maybe I would choose

Titanic. The story is clear in my head, I remember the names of
the actors, the director and the theme song... I can pretend to
like it if it helps me pass the exam...

- Like in the essay task, I encourage my students to use an

interesting title. 'Titanic - Their Hearts Will Go On'.

- Use the question to help you structure your review.

- Go to the following link for more help:

HOW TO WRITE A REVIEW FOR FCE

Do you want to know how to write a review for FCE? This is
the website you need!

Read More →

11. FCE Articles

Articles in First Certificate are usually written for English
magazines or newsletters. The main thing is to make your articles
interesting to read, and to give your opinions on the topic.

IMPROVING AN FCE ARTICLE

I give feedback on a B2 First article written by a student,
then show an improved, rewritten version.

Read More →

11. Frequently Asked Questions

Q - Do I have to use British spelling?

A - No. You can use American spelling.

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