does an fce essay need a title

How to Write an Essay for B2 First (FCE) Writing

Luis @ kse academy.

• noviembre 24, 2019

As you probably know already, Cambridge English exams usually have some or all of the following parts: Reading, Writing, Use of English and Listening. In this post I am going to talk about the FCE Writing B2 part and, more specifically, about how to write an essay for FCE Writing . We will see a good example of an essay for FCE and you can check out a full FCE Writing Guide where you can find more examples of emails , letters and other types of writings.

Essay Sample Answer

Este artículo también está disponible en castellano.

What are the parts of the FCE Writing?

The First (FCE) Writing has only two parts. For each part, you must write a composition which will depend on the instructions you receive for each task. For the  first part , you will always be asked to  write an essay , as it is the only option provided. However, in the  second part , they allow you to choose one out of 3 options. These include  different types of writing , which are : letters/emails ,  articles ,  reviews and  reports . Each piece of writing must have between 140 and 190 words , approximately.

Since they are different types of writing , the language and structures to use will also differ. But that’s what I’m here for, to explain to you exactly how to write each part. And today, I’m starting with  how to write an essay .

How to Write an Essay for FCE Writing

An  essay is an opinion writing with which we analyse a topic , a situation or an issue from different points of view , providing different arguments and expressing our opinion about it. For this reason, an  essay must have the following features:

• Purpose: What we usually do with an essay is to analyse and assess a topic, situation or issue which, in some way, is interesting or controversial. It is normally set as a writing task after a class debate. In the exam, you have to imagine the debate, obviously.
• Tone and style: Given that you’re writing about a  serious or controversial issue , an essay is written in a formal style, so we must stick to an objective tone and style . Our language must be formal, thus avoiding words that are simply too common or generic (E.g.:  things, stuff, get,   etc.) and contractions (E.g.:  can’t, don’t, won’t,  etc.).
• Structure: Like every piece of writing,  an essay must present a defined structure . For starters, we can choose either to give it a title or not. Personally, I would say that it is more appropriate to have an essay with title . Then, the body must be divided into introduction, idea 1, idea 2, idea 3 and conclusion. This means that, in general,  essays must have 5 paragraphs ,   although it is not entirely necessary.
• Opinion:  There are countless ways of expressing your opinion in an essay, so you must choose the one that suits you best. However,  it is advisable to remain impartial throughout your writing and give your opinion only in the last paragraph , as a conclusion. But, as I say, it is optional. The most important thing is that you justify everything you say in your essay.
• Coherence: Coherence is essential in every type of writing, but especially in an essay. As it tends to be an argumentative text, you must avoid writing incoherent paragraphs that have nothing to do with one another. Your ideas must  follow a logical order and be well connected with appropriate linkers .

FCE Writing Essay Example

Now that we are familiar with the  characteristics of an essay for First (FCE) Writing , let’s take a look at an  example of an essay at B2 level , both at the task and at a sample answer.

Instructions of an Essay

In the following image you can see the instructions of an essay which involves a typical topic, that of the environment:

In these instructions, we must pay attention to the following:

• The  first paragraph introduces the topic: … different ways in which you can protect the environment.
• The  second sentence is usually the same in every task:  Write an essay using  all the notes…
• In the box , you are given the main topic as a question and they give you something to talk about:  recycle, using bicycles and walking, your own idea . As you can see, you have to come up with the third idea, something connected to the topic which is not provided in the exam task.

Given the model task above, each paragraph will correspond to a different idea, apart from the introduction and conclusion. Again, it is only natural to have 5 paragraphs. So, the best way to know how to write an essay for FCE Writing is to take a look at an  example of an actual essay for FCE Writing :

At first sight, the essay has  a title and 5 paragraphs (introduction + idea 1 + idea 2 + idea 3 + conclusion). And if we stop to read the essay more carefully, we’ll notice the following things:

• The paragraphs are visual and well defined , which is very important.
• The title summarises the topic  of the essay. Another option is to use the question ( What can people do to help protect the environment? ) as title. However, it usually tends to be too long, so I prefer to summarise it into a shorter heading.
• Introduction: it introduces the topic in a general way and it leads to the second paragraph (first idea).
• Paragraph 2: it deals with idea 1.
• Paragraph 3: it deals with idea 2.
• Paragraph 4: it deals with idea 3.
• Conclusion: we express our opinion to conclude and summarise the essay.
• It uses connectors to define the development of the essay:  firstly, second, finally, etc.
• It doesn’t use many contractions or pet words.
• One of the things that
• In the last few decades,
• For this reason,
• First, / Second, / Third,
• By doing so,
• For example,
• In conclusion,

This is a good example of an essay for FCE Writing . By the way, you must bear in mind that it has been written to simulate a strong B2 level, without reaching C1.

FAQ: Do I get penalised for writing over 190 words?

This is the most typical question in this part of the exam and the answer is « yes and no «. Let me explain myself. Cambridge English examiners don’t count the number of words and penalise you based upon that fact alone. There’s a rumour going around among teachers and pupils that says that for every 10 words over 190, they take «this many» points off, but it is not true. However, think about this: if you’ve written 50 or 100 words more than asked, you are probably including irrelevant information to the task , right? Now that’s a reason for losing points. In the same way that if you  write under 140 words you are probably missing essential information , don’t you think?

For this reason, I always recommend writing up to 10 or 20 words over the limit. In this way, you won’t lose any points for including irrelevant information.

FCE Writing Guide with examples (pdf)

Although I intend to write more posts on how to do each piece of writing for FCE, if you don’t want to wait any more, simply download the official KSE Academy FCE Writing Guide . In this guide you will learn:

• How to write an essay  and 3 examples.
• How to write an article  and 3 examples.
• How to write a review  and 3 examples.
• How to write a report  and 3 examples.
• How to write an email or letter  and 3 examples.
• Over 300 useful expressions for every FCE Writing .

Would you like to see a sample of this guide? Here it is!

Did you find this useful?  Why not share it with other teachers and students of English? Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, y YouTube. 🙂

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Tips for the FCE Writing Section (B2 English)

By Fabio 6 Comments

Hey friend, how is life? In this blog post I’m going to review some useful insights to ace the Writing part of the FCE exam , also known as Cambridge English: First but also as First Certificate in English.

So you know already one fundamental notion: Cambridge Assessment English exams have as many titles as Daenerys Targaryen . 😂

This post looks in more depth at the Writing part but if you feel like having a broader vision of the FCE exam, here you have it –>  First Certificate in English (FCE): How to Ace it

To pass the exam is no easy feat and the Writing is certainly one of the hardest. Language conventions, style, lexicon … 😔 In the Reading and Use of English at least you only have to fill empty spaces :-/ in here, you have to compose a text from scratch.

You are given a few guidelines and you’re left with a blank space to scrabble in. No wonder some of us find this part to be difficult .

Well, it does not have to be: with the right preparation and tools, you can pass the exam with flying colours, FCE Writing included.

⚠️ WARNING: THIS POST IS NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED ⚠️

👎 Downside: you’re reading a lengthy piece . I couldn’t make it exhaustive and short at the same time, sorry.

👍 Upside: you do not need to look any further on the Internet. This <brag alert> is the most comprehensive guide available concerning the FCE Writing </brag alert>.

I invite you to put it in your Favourites in order to come back, every now and again, to explore the different parts and suggestions, as you happen to need them. 🔖

And now, let’s dive into the matter.

Cambridge English: First – The Writing section

You’re given 80 minutes for two different tasks:

• Essay (compulsory for everybody).
• Review, report, letter, email or article (you have to pick one of those proposed).

So, it makes forty minutes for each text. In reality, you can spend seventy minutes on one and ten on the other : it’s absolutely fine. In this time, you have to do it all:

• Jot down ideas ,
• brainstorm vocabulary you’d like to use,
• blueprint the text, 🗺️
• pass it on a fair copy,
• checking GSP (Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation), 🔬 and
• deliver it to the examiner.

Both texts have to be between 140 and 190 words long each.

Cambridge English: First: On paper or computer?

You can either go for the paper-based exam or for the computer-based exam : one of the two major differences between them lies indeed in the FCE Writing section.

In the paper-based exam, you write on, surprise surprise , paper . 📝 That means you have to do it the good old way: basically, draft first then neat copy. Thus, you have to factor in the time to do this all and make a final check round before to deliver it.

In the computer-based exam, you write on… (drum roll) … a digital screen . 💻 That means you don’t have to worry about initial draft and final draft : there won’t be crossing-outs, ink stains, bad handwriting. However, you still have white paper, pens and pencils in case you want to scribble some notes aside.

Also, if you go for the computer-based exam, you have some extra perks:

#1 You have a stopwatch right before your eyes, on top of the screen, flashing red when the time is about to end; ⏱️

#2 You also have a word counter , below the screen, so that you can keep your text length under control the whole time.

Are in essence the paper-based and the computer-based versions of the Writing the same? Absolutely the same . It’s just a different medium. If you feel like scrabbling ideas on paper , you can still do it: you are provided with blank paper and pens and pencils, whereas necessary, before the beginning of the exam.

So, should you go for the paper-based exam or the computer-based one? Whatever floats your boat. ⛵ Surprisingly, many candidates prefer the paper-based one.

Want to know more about the two formats? Read: Paper or Computer: Choose your Cambridge English Exam Format .

Cambridge English: First – Writing: Traps you should be aware of

Along these years in the field, I’ve seen many students underestimating this task. Why? Because they think they’re already able to write . Among the remarks I heard the most:

• I’ve been sending emails in English in my job for years now, what need do I have to prepare?
• I’m quite used keeping in touch with my Erasmus friends by sending emails and texting them 📱 , no need for further studies.
• I read a lot in English: British newspapers, sport magazines, travel newsletters… it shouldn’t be hard to craft a few words-text.

There are sooooo many misconceptions here. 🤔

#1 Email is just one of the six options you may have in the FCE Writing section. Besides, you may be writing for a thousand years but doing it wrong.

#2 Texting and emailing informally a friend is NOT the same as to write an email with the required language and conventions to someone who’s not a friend. And again: email is just one of five options in the FCE writing; WhatsApp messages are not yet considered as a type of text from the Cambridge folks deserving to be introduced in any exam.

#3 Reading is the compulsory starting point if you want to write 📚, but then, there’s more work to do.

The truth of the matter is the following, beautifully articulated by Benjamin Franklin:

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

For the great majority of us, real life just does not provide the type of preparation you need to pass the exam . Who do you send an essay to? What do you write a report for? OK, I think I made myself clear on this point. Now, an interesting question.

Any textbook to prepare myself for the FCE Writing task?

Is there any book you’d recommend to improve specifically the Writing section of the FCE exam? Yes, there is FCE Writing Masterclass by Marc Roche . I’d rather say it’s a must-study.

Be VERY mindful of an irrefutable fact: if you know how to write, speaking will follow .

This is an all too often overlooked concept: a horde of learners presume talking well in a given language is all about pronouncing right and training amply the talking itself. Wrong!

First, you need to get your linguistic act together: having something to say, being able to tell it in an articulated matter ; pronunciation, prosody, rhetoric come later. Writing is to speaking as walking is to running.

Want to know more about the Speaking part? Read: FCE Certificate: A Recipe for Success in FCE Speaking .

Now, let’s dig into the kinds of Writing you will encounter in the B2 First exam, one by one.

FCE Writing: Essay

The Essay is the only component of Part 1 of the Writing. It’s compulsory . In it, you have to talk about a topic, mentioning two points you’re provided plus a point of your own. 🖊️ In other words, in an essay you give info, you explain your viewpoint, you compare and contrast.

The consumption of dietary supplements has been growing exponentially and various voices call for a more stringent regulation about them. What do you think?

Write about:

• The online sales of such supplements;
• health hazards associated with their consumption;
• … … … … (your own idea).

So, in less than 200 words you have to talk about the two points offered plus a point of your making.

What are some basic principles you should follow?

• You have to show a B2 lexicon : tablets, superfoods, nutraceutical, etc;
• the composition must be structured in paragraphs , linked one another with proper connectors ;
• you have to tap into a language portfolio to express comparisons, explanations, agreements and disagreements, personal views.

What do I mean in point 3 ? Making use of:

• Although, despite, even if;
• firstly, to begin with, first of all;
• on the one hand, on the other hand; f
• or example, for instance;
• additionally, on top of that; to summarise, in conclusion…

You got me.

How would I organize my time ? Ideally, I would:

• Budget some three-four minutes to take note of all the useful words and sentences I may use to show how good is my English,
• then another couple of minutes to draft a roadmap of my text,
• do the actual writing, the bulk of it,
• then I’ll eventually sum it all up and conclude,
• to eventually make a last check round to seek and destroy any mistakes.

A word of advise (or two) (maybe three):

#1 Keep your words under control.

The maximum limit of words is quite tight: if you don’t pay attention, you’ll end up writing twice as much in order to cover all the points.

#2 Keep your brainstorming skills sharp.

Far from the exam, is a good thing to do the following exercise. Open up a newspaper, pick an article: what topic is it? Nuclear wastes? Climate change? Online banking security breaches? 🔓

Perfect! Pick them, write them on paper then brainstorm for a few minutes what words and structures to use in the essay .

#3 Save some time for the end.

It is useful to allow, at the very end of your 80 minutes, some spare 3-4 minutes to come back to the essay , to read it again in search for mistakes again and incongruences. Why?

Because after forty minutes of being on top of the essay, you may not be able any more to spot such undesired intruders. The distance given by half an hour and attention on something else, gives a useful semi-fresh perspective on it .

What is that I shouldn’t say but it is better for me to say?

#1 Keep it simple : don’t play Alain de Botton if your name is Pedro Antuñéz or Giovanni Rossi. Better something less sophisticated but correct than something amazingly conceived but poorly rendered on paper.

#2 Care your GSP (Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation) : there is no point in being Malcolm Gladwell 🦱 if you have a first grader’s GSP.

#3 Never forget that you’re not being evaluated on the originality of your ideas.

If the essay is about recycling, you don’t have to quote a pioneering study from the University of Petropavlovsk concerning the reuse of coffee pods in subarctic oceanic aquaculture.

What you have to do, in your FCE Writing, is to show that you have a B2 English , not a PhD in the subject of the essay.

And now, it’s time for you to get stained with some ink. Read the assignment below –> do it yourself –> check how I would have done it. ✒️

A real-life example of an Essay

Consider the following assignment.

More needs to be done to encourage children to spend time healthily outdoors. Do you agree? (140-190 words)

Write about: 1# Benefits and disadvantages of children’s outdoor activities 2# Recommendations for parents and teachers 3# Your own ideas

💬 Done? Very well. So, there are MANY ways to write this essay, but a decent one is the following:

Children spending time healthily outdoor

First of all, I wholeheartedly agree with the statement, but I will try to describe all the pros and cons related to the matter, before coming to conclusions.

To begin with, it’s easy to come up with several reasons why our kids ought to spend some daily hours in places such as parks, gardens or in the countryside. Physical activity is paramount to a person’s wellness, even more at a young age; besides, it would prevent obesity and subtle manipulation from TV and the internet.

That doesn’t mean there are no downsides. It’s difficult to be outdoorsy if you dwell in a 50 sqm-flat downtown or if you reside in a bad dodgy neighbourhood. In that case, we may want these children to stay indoors, watching the TV and being looked after.

However, the most crucial element in this regard is, in my opinion, parenting style. We’ve been breeding a generation of “helicopter parents”, hovering constantly over their offspring in search for hidden threats. Media play a big role in this, as they blow everything out of proportion: there’s rather plenty of evidence that such fears are irrational.

To sum up, I do admit there are pros and cons in letting the kids stay less indoor, but I firmly believe there’s a lot more to gain than to lose.

💬 And here it is. Too hard? Too long? If you prepare well, you’re going to nail it.

Any textbook to improve my Essay writing skills?

Actually, you know what? Most prep books for the FCE exam focus enough on the Essay. Why? Because it’s the only Writing exercise you’re obliged to do, hence their emphasis.

Any of the books suggested in the main post about FCE are as good as a lemon sorbet in a summer heat wave. 🍦 You may find them here:

First Certificate in English (FCE): How to Ace it

You shall find plenty of instructions and examples there. Nevertheless, whatever your strategy, it is neeeeeeeeever a bad idea to review and strengthen your grammar . This can be an excellent ally of yours:

English Grammar in Use with Answers : I have a hard time taking grammar books in my hands, but this is well done.

FCE Writing: Article

The Article is one of the options you’re given in the Part 2 of the FCE Writing: whether to go for this one or not, is your choice.

In the Article, you have to write an engaging text for a website, a magazine, a newsletter. ✏️ I n other words, in an article you describe, provide examples and articulate your opinion , in a way that you readers feel compelled to read it all.

In your opinion, what would be the upsides and downsides of learning programming languages? Is it something you would invite all young people to do?

The best article will be published next month.

• Tap into your source of B2 vocabulary ;
• write a sentence for each paragraph you’d like to include, then expand from such sentence outwards;
• always keep in mind who’s your reader persona : age, social and educational background, etc.

General suggestions:

• A catchy title is recommendable , but do not go Huffington Post-clickbait-ish.
• A school newspaper requires a style that a tech magazine does not. Learn how to pass from informality to formality in your writing.
• Away from the exam, read as many articles as you can given that they are your raw material.

#1 Keep it simple : if you can’t put on paper a Fareed Zakaria’s prose , don’t try. A couple of ideas, linear clauses, appropriate nouns and adjectives, good connectors: that’s all.

# 2 Care your GSP (Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation) : no point in writing the best article ever if you drop a wheater you leik it or not . 😱

#3 Never forget that you’re being evaluated for your English , which has to be B2. Not for your originality in terms of content or style: just for your English . Cambridge does not deliver Pulitzer prizes anyway.

💬 Now it’s your turn again: read the assignment below –> write it yourself –> check my version of it. ✒️

A real-life example of an Article

In your opinion, is learning programming languages necessary in today’s world? Is it something you would invite all young people to do?

The best article will be published next month in our college magazine.

💬 Again, COUNTLESS are the ways to write this. I’m just putting down one of them here below.

Human languages are the present: programming languages the future

In modern-day society, a good curriculum has no real appeal if not completed with the mastery of one or two foreign languages. But… Do you think it will always be this way? I don’t think so.

Sooner or later, human languages will be translated and interpreted by machines that will run on an entirely different set of languages: that of computers. Programming languages, we call them.

That’s the future. It will take ten years, perhaps twenty: but in that moment, these tools will be as popular and embedded into our daily life and professions, that ignoring Python, C+ or Java will be just as prejudicial as is nowadays not knowing English or French.

Hence, I strongly recommend our youth to start exploring the subject. It’s no more difficult than learning any other discipline: a bit of patience, some guidance, good materials.

So, guys: read about it, try coding, come to our so-called “Hackatons”, attend courses and hone your programming skills. Before you know it, it will be impossible to live without.

💬 And here we are. Nothing otherwordly, don’t you think?

Any material to boost my Article writing skills?

Of course. It is possible to accomplish this task even without this book, to be honest. On the other hand, if you want to learn how to write an article in an excellent way, you shouldn’t miss:

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century , by Steven Pinker . Good for FCE, CAE, CPE and for being a human being.

FCE Writing: Email

The Email is also one of the options you’re given in the Part 2 of this section, so it is not compulsory .

In this, you have to write in response to a certain situation , formal or informal, being careful to include everything you’re told according to the conventions of an email. 📧

You see this ad on an English-language literary magazine website.

Writing Contest

Ready to share your novel or poem with the world? Whether you’re a newbie or more established writer, you’re welcome to take part in our Fiction or Poetry contests.

Submit by sending us an email briefly introducing yourself, as a person and an author, beside a few words on your creation. Don’t forget to attach your work!

So now, what’s the purpose of the email?

• To explain who you are , both in life and in the literary sphere,and
• to succinctly describe the piece of fiction you’re participating with.

Informal or formal? Kind of in between here, don’t you concur? It’s a writing contest, granted, but the phrasing used in the announcement is not Victorian literary English . 👑

The cues are:

• the Ready to share… rather than a more pompous Are you ready to share…
• words like newbie , rather than a formal neophyte or even novice
• you’re instead of you are
• the exclamation mark in the end of the ad and the absence of pleases or other expressions of deference.
• Prove that you master a B2 vocabulary : inner voice, the heart of the story, blurb, etc;
• the conventions of the genre must be respected: opening, main body, closing formula;
• you have to balance somehow the different points you’re asked to talk about: your biography, who you are as a writer and what’s your literary work about. 📗 You can be the new Charlotte Brontë but if you miss these three things you’re hardly going to succeed.

Again, it’s a useful exercise to take a few minutes to think of the words, idioms and expressions you may use, plus to draw a simple outline of how you’re going to unfold the email, paragraph after paragraph.

Points I want you to be aware of:

#1 The Email writing is more difficult than what it looks like.

Why? Because in life you may read a lot of essays, articles or reports so that you will have an idea of how to draft them even if you do not specifically train yourself for them. But emails? Not really.

That’s when textbooks and prep books come in very handy: they contain this stuff, so you should rely on them. 📩

#2 A maximum of 190 words is less than what you imagine.

Don’t get carried away or you’ll still be talking about yourself by word nº 220 and you still haven’t even glossed over your writing genius and your manuscript.

#3 Don’t warp your English in an effort to make it superduper cultured. 

It’s unlikely that this email will end up in a posthumous collection such as The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. At a B2 you know enough English to communicate richly, but to be Virginia Woolf-like, a great deal remains to be done.

💬 Time for you to test your skills: read the assignment below –> do it yourself –> check how I would have done it. ✒️

A real-life example of an Email

Scholarships 

Every year, two scholarships are offered to candidates from overseas who can show how our one-year course in English studies would help their career.

Scholarships cover fees, accommodation and food but not transport or personal spending money.

To apply, write an email explaining why you think you deserve a scholarship.

💬 I hope you really did it, rather than scrolling down endlessly 🤨 Anyway, this is what I’d write.

Dear Sir/Madam, I hope this email finds you well.

I am writing to your attention about the ad on your website, concerning the two scholarships for overseas students. I believe it would make a huge difference for me: allow me here to explain why.

As you know, Italy is a tourism-based country. Thus, I have been pursuing an education in Hotel Management and Sustainable Tourism. Unfortunately, in my country English teaching is not cutting-edge: neither within the education system, nor in the general society. As a result, undergraduates like me are forced to take matters into their own hands.

I have carefully read your one-year English studies program: I believe it would be very formative for me, beside being a boost for my employability.

This email would not be complete if I failed to mention either my excellent academic results (I hereby attach my curriculum) or, particularly, my limited budget. Hence, a financial aid in the form of a scholarship would be most welcome.

I look forward to hearing from you and please do not hesitate to contact me for any queries you may have.

Yours sincerely, Tyrion Lannister

💬 And here it is. As long as you study well, the Email does not constitute any danger.

Any textbook to improve my Email writing skills?

Yes, there’s one which is as good as a granita siciliana while laying on a beach in Favignana in August. 🍦 It’s this one:

Writing That Works, 3rd Edition: How to Communicate Effectively in Business Paperback by Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson : a phenomenal textbook on how to write emails the proper way.

FCE Writing: Review

The Review is one of the options you’re given in Part 2: again, it is not compulsory .

The Review assesses how well you can describe and motivate your opinion about something you have first-hand knowledge of (the like of an electronic gadget, a theatre play, a holiday package, etc.), with a final suggestion to the reader. 📝 In other words, in a review you have to describe, detail and give your opinion.

A review may be published on different media: daily newspaper, online magazine, nationwide printed cultural journal. Hence, different styles for different outlets.

The Best Tablet of the Year

On our lifestyle webzine, we’ve been gathering reviews from our readership concerning the best tablet of the year. If you have recently purchased or used one, write us your opinion including brand, model, features and other data you deem relevant.

We will then publish a chart based on the devices which have received the most praises!

So, the assignment couldn’t be clearer. You have to include in your review (I am totally making stuff up here below between parenthesis):

• Brand and name of the device (Maple iMoon), 📟
• what did you use it for (to track supernovas in the sky in-sync with a telescope),
• relevant features (material, screen size, USB ports, Bluetooth, processor, battery life, pre-installed Apps, front camera lenses, etc.),
• what has mattered the most for you (next-gen processing speed but short battery life, for instance),
• a resume of your opinion and a recommendation to other readers (not the best piece of equipment for pros but good value for money for amateurs). ✔️
• Brag about your B2 vocabulary : screen-to-body ratio, headphone jack, processing power , etc;
• if you are utterly uninformed about the matter (i.e. technology here), you may want to skip a review like this. On the other hand, if you’re an electronic gadget buff, tune down your prose . No mere mortal understands stuff like “a 16MB Intel Smart Cache behind a 1080p non-touch capacitive display would earn my praise only with a our USB-C SD carbon fibre card adapter”;
• organise carefully your review in sequential paragraphs .

#1 Choose a title that is alluring and at the same time gives the readers an idea of what to expect from your review. 💯

#2 It’s a good thing to read reviews profusely in preparation of the exam.

A brief summary of your go-to resources:

– Gizmos: Techradar – Restaurants & Hotels: Tripadvisor – Books: Goodreads – Movies: BBC Film Reviews

It’s good to remark that most of the reviews you’ll find over the Internet are user-generated but not reviewed by a proofreader : nevertheless, at a B2 level you should be proficient enough to tell the bad from the good.

#3 Don’t get lost in the analysis that you forget to include your final recommendation .

💬 Your turn: read carefully the assignment –> do it –> have a look at my attempt. ✒️

A real-life example of a Review

The following announcement has been published in your English-language university website magazine.

Film reviews wanted!

Have you recently watched a film in which you particularly liked the main character?

Write us a review of the film explaining what the main actor did and why in your opinion he deserves praise. Tell us also to whom you would recommend this film to other viewers.

We will publish the best review in our magazine.

💬 Not an easy one. Still, we need to be prepared. Here’s my piece.

The Call of the Wild review: a light-hearted, comforting story

The latest adaptation of Jack London’s most famous novel, directed by Chris Sanders, won’t satisfy the sophisticated appetite of our most salacious critics, but it does have an appeal, in my opinion.

Starring Harrison Ford as gruff Thornton and a CGI imposing dog as Buck, the film will likely become a young adult’s classic. Unfolding in the northern wilderness, the story is about two losers, harshly beaten by life, that come to recognize one another and team up.

I found that Ford’s acting is convincing, not entirely so that of the computer-generated Collie-St. Bernard mongrel: at times it falls short of nowadays’ FX standards, besides conferring the dog an incomprehensible, semi-supernatural ability to understand the English language.

The other characters’ performances are not subpar, nor are they Oscar-winning. There are no cliffhangers or unexpected plot twists, as it’s easy to imagine.

All in all, in my opinion is worth seeing, for those that are in search of an eighty minute-long solace, an unadventurous film evolving among the jaw-dropping Alaskan landscapes. One to relax, rather than reflect.

💬 This is one of the hundred reviews one may jot down. The genre has its own peculiar traits, but it entirely doable, as you can see.

Any volume to ameliorate my Review writing prowess?

Not really, which is a pity. However, you may want to dissect the book below.

It is not specifically for this type of text, but considering the insane variety of reviews there can be, it’s a terrific idea to review your vocabulary (no pun intended):

English Vocabulary in Use Upper-Intermediate by Michael McCarthy and Felicity O’Dell : the authors are two established names in the field of Teaching English as a Second Language.

FCE Writing: Letter

The Letter is an option you’re given in Part 2, among others. Thus, it is not compulsory .

In the Letter, you have to write a written communication to a friend, a relative, an editor in chief, a head hunter, etc. ✍️

A pet to care for

Two English-speaking friends have accepted to take care of your turtle while you’re abroad for three months, but they’d like to know more in detail what it entails. You thank and inform them through a letter.

So, it isn’t so complicated, is it?

• They’re friends, so the language has to be informal ;
• first you thank, then you provide instructions ;
• you begin, end and fill the email with B2 words and expressions, in a laid-back tone.

What are some basic principles you should follow in this part of the FCE Writing?

• Don’t let the informality of the letter fool you . You still have to prove that you know proper English;
• you can steer a bit the composition in the direction you prefer : food, shelter, special needs of the turtle, if you prefer your friends to come at your place versus you bringing a terrarium to theirs; 🐢
• A letter is similar to, but not identical, an email. Respect the differences .

#1 The example I brought up above is that of an informal letter, but some – such as job applications – are so not informal. You need to be equally prepared for both styles .

#2 Just as other types of writing, you may hardly have in your daily life the chance to send and receive letters of any kind . It seems so from the Eighties now. 📨 A couple of good textbooks and prep books are what you need for this.

#3 No exception to the GSP rule (care your Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation): it’s friends you’re writing to but neither you are allowed to misspell nor to use abomination like b4 for “before”, 2 for “to” or bcz for “because”.

💬 Time to practice the Letter! As usual: read the assignment as carefully as you can –> write your composition –> compare it with mine below. ✒️

A real-life example of a Letter

You met an old ex colleague at a trade fair, when he informed you his current company has been looking for an experienced account manager in the publishing business.

You write a cover letter to the head of Human Resources that will have your CV attached. In the letter, you briefly introduce yourself, mention a few highlights of your profile and ask for an interview.

💬 A cover letter, an evergreen. Here’s how I’d do it.

Dear Mr Gladstone,

I’m writing under the suggestion of my former coworker, Mr Mormont, whom I have recently met at the press trade show in Zurich: there, he made me aware that your company is in need of an accomplished salesperson: I’d like to be included in the recruitment process.

I know your company to be one of the top-five providers of marketing services to publishing enterprises: ambition and commitment seems to be in the DNA of your firm, so they are of mine.

As you can see in the hereby attached curriculum, I’m a young yet experienced key clients administrator in the same field, with a proven track record. My educational background is in International Relations, which comes extremely useful when dealing with firms from all over the world. The fluent knowledge of French and Spanish complete my profile.

I’d be honoured to have an interview with you at a mutually convenient time. In the meantime, in case of further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

I look forward to speaking with you about this opportunity and thank you for the time taken to read this.

Sincerely, Alys Karstarck

💬 No need to write about insanely overqualified profiles, as long as your English is correct and appropriate.

Is there a book I can use to scribbles letters better than now?

Yes and no. There are tonns of decent books about it, but once you have the one I mentioned above about business communication, it’d be sufficient.

FCE Writing: Report

The Report is one of the options you’re given in the Part 2 of the FCE Writing: again, it is not compulsory . In the Report, you have to explain facts and express a recommendation.

After a class discussion, your English teacher has asked students to write a report on the role of pets in modern families. You have to include positive but also negative outcomes, making a recommendation on how to curb these latter.

• A title isn’t required but neither is forbidden: add it if you come up with a good one;
• information has to be orderly. A paragraph structure is paramount, and if you want, you can give each paragraph a heading; 📐
• don’t gloss over the requirements of the report to jump straight to recommendations.

#1 Choose a report if you’re knowledgeable about the topic.

All reports follow a similar scheme, therefore there’s a lot that you can learn and use in each of them, whatever the topic is.

However… do not choose the report just for this reason. Neither should you be up for it because you like the topic. You have to consider, first and foremost, how much you know about the theme . 🧐

To follow up on the example given above, you may love pets, have two dozens of them at your place and want to discuss it: whatever! The question is: are you able to write authoritatively about it? Passion about the topic does not help: mastery of it does.

#2 Spend time planning carefully to save time writing.

That’s it. Four to five minutes spent outlining your report are going to save you many minutes later when you do the actual writing.

It does not have to be rocket science. A very primitive plan could be:

• Recommendations

For each of these four parts, jot down ideas ; then, sentences, vocabulary, phrasal verbs and idioms you may use.📏 Then, attack the task and start writing. Why is it effective? Because without a plan, most of us get lost in the meanders of our brain.

You might spend twenty minutes writing only to realize afterwards that:

• You’ve gone off topic ,
• you haven’t balanced the pros with the cons,
• you have just made a long recommendation from the first line to the last.

#3 Headings may come to your rescue.

A report is one of these kinds of text in which headings help to define a clearer structure of the text. You certainly do not put them in a letter or email.

You know what? If for whatever reason you haven’t got plenty to say, you may want to include headings to increase your word count . 🆒

It has to be wisely done, of course: if they’re just paraphrasing what’s below them and as long as the paragraphs they’re on top of, hmmmm, not a good thing.

💬 Time for you to practice the Report: read the assignment –> do it –> check my own below. ✒️

A real-life example of a Report

Y ou see this announcement on your city council website.

We are conducting research about how to save water in our town. We would like to hear our citizen’s feedback and ideas on the matter: what are we doing well? Which area of improvements do you see? What would you propose?

💬 Water management: one of the most common topics. You can’t be caught off guard.

The aim of this report is to assess the current situation in our town regarding the usage of water and how to reduce it. What follows is the result of my own investigations: recommendations are given to the best of my knowledge.

In our city, this matter is particularly relevant as it lays on a basin characterised by the scarcity of water resources. Frankly, I haven’t seen any environment-minded policies so far, that’s why I welcome such forms of citizen participation.

I am told that our Urban Cleaning Services use non-potable water to clean streets and waste containers: that’s an excellent approach, but it’s far from being enough.

There is a battery of measures that could be implemented, among which:

• Substituting sprinkling irrigators in parks with more efficient dripping systems,
• making new buildings water-efficient,
• recurring to underground tanks to recover rainwater in public buildings,
• refurbishing existing housings with water-saving taps and bath-wares.

To sum up, some proposals do need a minimum budget to be implemented: perhaps, we can start from the cheapest, most cost-effective ones, to grow in ambition according to what the municipal funds allow.

💬 Here it goes. No need to solve world’s water issues: just to deliver a fair text, with a few ideas woven in clear sentences and paragraphs.

Would I recommend a textbook in order to learn to write better reports?

I know a few about improving the way we write reports in general : How to Write Reports and Proposals by Patrick Forsyth is arguably among the best, though it does not focus on the FCE.

Cambridge English: First – Writing: conclusions

We have come to the end of this post about the FCE Writing section. I hope to have clarified one main point: no need to stress in the FCE writing task .

Unlike the other sections, here you have a degree of freedom to include structures you know and language you are proficient in. If you follow the advice listed here, your FCE Writing task will be marvellous.

Have you missed the main guide about the FCE exam? Here you have it ⬇️

Having said that…

• Would you like to suggest something about this post? ➡️ Leave a comment below.
• Did you find the post useful? ➡️ Share with friends, relatives and fellow English learners.
• Do you need further help with the FCE Writing? ➡️ Contact me . I’ve been assisting for years learners like you to pass the FCE exam with flying colours. These colours:

Wash your hands, sneeze into your elbow, keep learning English and write a lot. I wish you the best. 😉

Your personal language exam trainer, Fabio

Anything else I can help with?

Reader interactions.

24th November 2020 at 3:02 pm

24th November 2020 at 7:28 pm

26th November 2020 at 2:22 pm

I have browsed a lot of websites about this and I have NEVER found such a complete review of FCE Writing. Sir, I’d like to hire your services. I need to take FCE soon. Thank you.

26th November 2020 at 8:27 pm

Thank you Haldor! I’m sending you a PM 😉

23rd August 2022 at 5:59 pm

Absolutely loved this. Thank you sir, very appreciated.

24th August 2022 at 10:14 pm

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B2 First (FCE) Practice Online

How to Write a Band 5 Essay for FCE B2 First 2021

Introduction

In part 1 of the Cambridge English B2 First (FCE) Writing paper we have to write an essay, it’s compulsory. So in order to get top marks, it’s essential to be able to write a good one.

Luckily, we can do a lot to prepare and make sure we get our highest marks possible.

• Spend approximately 40 minutes on the essay ; the Writing paper is 1 hour 20 minutes in total both parts are worth the same points.
• The word limit is 140-190.
• According to Cambridge English, the essay should: “Focus on agreeing or disagreeing with a statement, giving information, giving opinion, giving reasons, comparing and contrasting ideas and opinions, drawing a conclusion.”

What do I have to do?

Let’s look at an example question:

Write 140 – 190 words in an appropriate style.

In your English class you have been talking about education. Now, your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Write an essay using all the notes and giving reasons for your point of view.

‘The role of schools should be to prepare students for a working career.’ Do you agree?

• learning valuable skills
• ………………………… (your own idea)

The question always starts with the phrase “ In your English class you have been talking about… ” and a topic, e.g. the education.

Then, we have a statement about the topic and question:

Often, the question is “Do you agree?” , sometimes it’s more specific. In any case, you are asked to give an opinion.

Finally, we have some notes with three prompts. The first and second are always provided and the third is always “your own idea”.

In our essay, we must answer the question and refer specifically to the 2 given prompts and our own idea.

The 5 Paragraph Formula

This is a very simple five-paragraph formula you can use to structure any B2 First (FCE) essay:

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Introduce the topic in our own words. This demonstrates to the examiner that we have understood the question. Say whether we agree or not with the statement. Two sentences are sufficient.

Paragraphs 2-4: Prompts

Give each prompt its own paragraph. The first sentence should introduce the prompt. Then, we should explain why it supports our opinion and give examples why.

Paragraph 5: Conclusion

We should summarise the essay briefly in different words and repeat our opinion in a clear way.

This isn’t the only way you can structure your essay, but it’s easy to follow so I recommend it (as well as most teachers).

“ If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. ” ― Benjamin Franklin

Planning your essay before you start is important. Think about:

• if you agree or disagree with the statement (if the question asks you).
• detail and examples for prompt 1 and 2
• your own idea for prompt 3.
• high-level vocabulary related to the topic

Example Answer

Here’s an example essay for the question above:

It is widely accepted that our education system should give students the best chance for future employment. However, it is my opinion that schools should provide much more than this.

Firstly, we can not deny that examinations are unimportant. However, putting too much focus on testing can leave students feeling overstressed, and often does not provide space for them to develop their creativity. Furthermore, it makes the experience of learning boring.

Secondly, schools absolutely should teach students useful skills which they can use throughout life. But they should focus on a range of skills, not just work-related ones. For example, if students learnt about finance and health they would benefit in other areas of their lives, outside of work.

Finally, the importance of social interaction in education must not be forgotten. For many young people, schools provide an opportunity for students to form relationships which will serve them throughout their entire lives. A person with strong social skills will not only do well in their careers but will be happier too.

In conclusion, while it is important to give students good job opportunities, schools also have a responsibility to make learning enjoyable, relevant and creative. Life is not just about work, and education should reflect this.

Tone and register

Your essay should have a formal or neutral tone, never informal. Here are some ways to make your writing more formal.

Avoid contractions

❌ It’s widely believed… ✅ It is widely believed…

❌ We’ve seen… ✅ We have seen…

Avoid personal stories and information

Only refer to yourself when giving your opinion about the question. Avoid talking personally otherwise. Don’t use personal experiences as examples.

❌ Whilst I was travelling last year… ✅ It is my opinion that…

Phrasal verb alternatives

Phrasal verbs often have a more formal alternative; for example:

❌ They took part… ✅ They participated…

❌ People are finding out that… ✅ People are discovering that…

Avoid exclamation marks

❌ Furthermore, it makes the experience of learning boring! ✅ Furthermore, it makes the experience of learning boring.

Use the passive voice

If you haven’t included a passive example, think about sentences where you can:

✅ We must not forget the importance of social interaction in education. ✅ ✅ ✅ The importance of social interaction in education must not be forgotten.

How is the Essay assessed?

There are four areas that examiners focus on when assessing your essay:

• Content – focuses on how relevant your writing is to the task and if you have answered the question
• Communicative Achievement – focuses on how appropriate your writing style is
• Organisation – focuses on how well you have constructed the essay
• Language – focuses on your range of grammar and vocabulary

Each area is marked on a scale of 0 to 5.

Here are some main points to remember in order to get top marks:

Answer the question!

Often, students lose easy points because they write more than necessary about irrelevant things, or they forget to completely answer the question and prompts. It doesn’t matter if you write better than Shakespear, if you don’t answer the question correctly you can’t get full marks.

The most important things to remember are to:

• clearly give your opinion to the statement and question
• introduce each of the 3 prompts and give details and examples

Improve your conditionals

Here’a a good tip: if you find yourself writing a conditional sentence with ‘if’, see if it’s possible to change it to a second conditional. If so, do it. This is an easy way to demonstrate a higher lever.

Compare these sentences:

For example, if students learn about finance and health they will benefit in other areas of their lives, outside of work. ✅

For example, if students learnt about finance and health they would benefit in other areas of their lives, outside of work. ✅ ✅ ✅

Both sentences are correct for an essay and express the same idea. But the second sentence will get more points because it uses more complex grammar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it matter if i write more than 190 words.

Not exactly, a few words over the limit won’t make a difference, so don’t waste time counting words. It’s not a strict rule. However, if you write much less than the limit then you probably aren’t covering all the points with enough detail. If you write much more than the limit, you’re likely including irrelevant information. In both cases, you would lose points for Content.

Does my spelling have to be perfect?

One or two small errors won’t matter but if your errors make the essay hard to understand you could lose points.

Do I have to include a title?

No, but you can if you want.

Should I use British or American English?

It does not matter which you use, but you must be consistent. Don’t change between the two.

Common B2 First Essay Topics

Here are some common B2 First (FCE) essay topics; make sure you have a good range of vocabulary for each:

• Environment
• Entertainment
• Young people
• Advertising

Tools, Links and Downloads

• Write and Improve – Free tool that marks writing in seconds.
• Sample Writing Paper – Computer Based (Cambridge English)
• B2 First Teachers Handbook (Cambridge English)
• Google Docs – Excellent grammar and spelling checker.

I hope you find this guide for the B2 First (FCE) Writing essay helpful. Practice makes perfect so make sure to write as often as you can. Use the comments below to leave your answer to the sample question above.

Really clear and easy to follow easy planning – thanks

Thanks Lucy 👍

Actually very clear and useful! Thanks a lot!!!

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Free English Lessons

Fce (b2 first) writing exam (essay) – video.

Download PDF

In this lesson you can learn how to write an essay for the Cambridge FCE exam , step by step.

You’ll see exactly what to do at each stage in the fce writing essay section, and how to get the best possible fce score ., there are four steps to the writing process. you’ll see what to do at each step, then you’ll learn how the writing is assessed., 1. how to analyse your fce writing essay task.

First, you need to read the FCE writing essay task and identify exactly what needs to be included.

Let’s look at a sample question:

You’ve recently had a discussion in English class about society. Now your teacher has asked you to write an essay. Write an essay using all the notes and give reasons for your point of view.

University should be free for everyone. Do you agree or disagree? Notes 1. Taxes 2. Opportunity 3. Your own idea

So, what do you need to do? Most importantly, you need to say if you agree or disagree that university should be free for everyone.

You also need to use all the notes and give reasons for your point of view. That means your essay needs to include three central ideas: taxes, opportunity, and one other.

It also means that you need to reach a clear, justified conclusion. You can’t just say, ‘I agree’, or ‘I disagree.’ Think of it like this: you need to convince the examiner that your conclusion is correct.

You might think at this point, ‘yeah, obvious, thanks for the help, Kasia!’ Trust me; it’s harder than it sounds. Many FCE essays that we see don’t get these basic things right. It’s very easy to leave something out, or to go in the wrong direction.

Next, you’re writing this answer for your teacher so what style do you think it will be in? Formal or informal?

An essay should be formal. What does that mean?

Formal writing doesn’t use contractions, like ‘I’d’, ‘you’re’ or ‘don’t’. Write the full forms. You should also avoid using slang, colloquial vocabulary, or anything which sounds very conversational.

Next, think: what do you need to include?

You need to talk about taxes, opportunity, and you also need to add your own idea.

Even the ideas which are given to you—taxes and opportunity—are quite vague. That means you need to decide exactly what to talk about.

You also need to think about how to connect your ideas.

For example, with taxes you could say that if you pay taxes, then this should go back into society to benefit everyone. You could add to this by pointing out that having equal opportunities also benefits society. And for your own idea, you could talk about how people with higher education are more likely to be economically productive.

This is just one example, of course! There are many paths you could take.

Let’s talk about that in more detail.

2. How to Plan Your FCE Writing

Here’s what you need to do when you plan your writing for the FCE writing essay.

First, you need to decide what your conclusion is going to be. Are you going to agree or disagree that university should be free for everyone?

Decide your conclusion first, because everything else in your essay needs to lead to it.

Secondly, you need to plan how many paragraphs you’re going to have, and what you’ll put in each one.

Thirdly, you need to make sure your paragraphs are connected to your conclusion.

Let’s see an example:

• Taxes – parents pay taxes so children should get education. Children will pay taxes in the future.
• Opportunity – education creates more equal society. Higher standard of living for everyone.
• Economy – educated workforce helps the economy grow.
• Conc. – agree with statement

Pause the video if you want some more time to read the plan.

You can see that we use the key idea of ‘education’ in the notes for each paragraph. Doing this can help you to stay focused and on-topic, because you’re connecting each paragraph back to the main idea of the question.

When you plan, make sure that each paragraph has a clear focus.

Every good paragraph starts with a topic sentence, which summarises the main point of the paragraph.

The sentences which follow are called supporting sentences. These include reasons and examples to support your topic sentence.

A good exercise during planning is to take a paragraph and think to yourself: “What’s this paragraph about?”

If you can answer that question in one simple sentence, then that’s a good sign. Hopefully, your plan is clear. However, if you can’t answer that question, that shows that your plan isn’t totally clear in your head.

Once you’ve finished your plan, you’re ready to write your answer!

3. How to Write Your Answer

In your candidate answer book, you will now write your essay.

Let’s look at a model answer:

• There are many factors to consider when deciding if the university should be free or not. Among these are taxes, equality of opportunity, and the economy.
• Firstly, a proportion of taxes should go to education. Some might say if you can afford university, then you should pay for it. But, this doesn’t take into account the fact that higher earners pay higher income tax so they are already contributing more.
• Secondly, by making university free for all, it creates more opportunitys for those from low-income backgrounds. Although they may still have difficulty meeting other costs such as accommodation it makes the playing field more level.
• In addition, having an educated workforce is proven to help the economy grow. The more people with degrees there are, the higher the standard of living for everyone. So, more people will be able to pay taxes to fund the education of future generations.
• In conclusion, free university ultimately benefits all members of society.

Pause the video to read, and start again when you’re ready.

First question: have we answered the question?

Yes: the conclusion states that ‘free university benefits all members of society.’ This shows that we agree that university should be free for everyone.

Next: have we used topic sentences?

Yes, we have. The first sentence of the essay tells you what the entire essay will be about.

Then, each paragraph’s topic sentence contains a key word from our plan. We have ‘taxes,’ ‘opportunities’ and ‘economy’.

Also, the topic sentences and paragraphs all reference the idea of ‘education’, either directly or indirectly. This shows that our points are relevant and connected to the task.

So, now you’re finished, right? No–there’s one more step. This answer is not bad, but it could be better.

4. How to Check and Improve Your Answer

The final step is to check your answer.

What type of things do you think you should look for?

Grammar, of course, but what else?

Check for spelling mistakes. Check for style—have you used any conversational language which doesn’t fit the tone of an essay like this?

Check your use of linking words and phrases. Many students overuse them; don’t use a linking word like nevertheless unless you’re sure it fits.

Check for repetition of vocabulary. Could you replace any simple vocabulary with something more advanced?

Look at our model answer again:

• There are many factors to consider when deciding if the university should be free or not. Among these are taxes, equality of opportunity and the economy.
• Secondly, by making university free for all, it creates more opportunitys for those from low-income backgrounds. Although they may still have difficulty meeting other costs such as accommodation * it makes the playing field more level.

The bold words are either mistakes, or they could be improved somehow.

How would you improve this? Pause the video while you read and decide.

The first problem is with grammar. Unless you’re talking about one specific university, you don’t use the.

Okay, what’s wrong with doesn’t? We’ve used a contraction! Don’t use contractions in your essay. So, it should be does not.

The next problem is a spelling mistake. When a word ends in ‘y’, it changes to ‘ies’ in the plural: opportunities .

Next is a punctuation mistake. There’s a comma missing. There are two clauses in this sentence and they need to be separated by a comma.

There’s nothing wrong with people with degrees but it’s quite basic. What else could you say?

You could say educated people, or even highly-educated people, either of which is slightly more elegant.

So is not a mistake, but we used so in the second paragraph already. You want to show the examiner your range of language, so here you could use something more precise like consequently.

Our conclusion is only one sentence, so let’s add an extra point. We’re still under the maximum word count. This could help us to state our opinion more clearly.

Let’s change it to:

• In conclusion, free university should be free for everyone. It makes economic sense and ultimately benefits all members of society.

Here’s the final version of our essay:

• There are many factors to consider when deciding if university should be free or not. Among these are taxes, equality of opportunity, and the economy.
• Firstly, a proportion of taxes should go to education. Some might say if you can afford university, then you should pay for it. But, this does not take into account the fact that higher earners pay higher income tax so they are already contributing more.
• Secondly, by making university free for all, it creates more opportunities for those from low-income backgrounds. Although they may still have difficulty meeting other costs such as accommodation, it makes the playing field more level.
• In addition, having an educated workforce is proven to help the economy grow. The more highly-educated people there are, the higher the standard of living for everyone. Consequently, more people will be able to pay taxes to fund the education of future generations.

At this point, it’s looking good! Next, let’s focus on what you can do to produce a good FCE writing essay which will get a high score in your exam.

5. How to Improve Your Score

Your essay score is made up of four parts. For each part, you get a score from zero to five.

• Content – how well the candidate has fulfilled the task
• Communicative Achievement – how appropriate the writing is for the task
• Organisation – how well the writing is put together
• Language – focuses on vocabulary and grammar

First there’s Content . The mark scheme says this “focuses on how well you have fulfilled the task”. In other words, have you done everything you were asked to do?

This corresponds to step one of our writing process. Analyse the task carefully and make sure you do everything it asks you to. A good tip is to underline the key words in the task to help you identify what you need to do.

Next there’s Communicative Achievement . This “focuses on how appropriate your writing is for the task”.

Have you used the correct register? Have you used contractions? Basically: does your essay look and sound like an essay?

Then we have Organisation . This looks at “how the writing is put together”. Is it logical and organised? By planning your writing carefully, it will already be organised. Remember to plan your paragraphs carefully and write a clear topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

You can also use linking words and phrases to make the connections between paragraphs even clearer.

In our essay, we used many linking words, including firstly, secondly, in addition, although, consequently and in conclusion. Look through the essay again, and note how the linking words and phrases are used. Can you find any more examples of linking words in the essay?

Finally, you have Language : vocabulary and grammar. The examiners will be looking for a range of language as well as how accurate it is. In step four, you saw how checking your essay can improve your language.

Are you worried that making mistakes will affect your mark? Of course, making a lot of mistakes will lower your mark, but remember this is only one part of your score.

For B2 level, the Cambridge mark scheme says, ‘Occasional errors may be present but do not impede communication.’ That means you can still score 5 from 5, even with some small mistakes.

But, hopefully, you’ll catch most of them when you’re on step four – checking and improving your answer.

You’ve seen how to write an essay for FCE, but you can use the same process for other Cambridge exams, including the CAE and CPE when you get that far.

Good luck with your exam preparation and let us know when you pass! Thanks for watching!

Keep practicing with more Free English Writing Lessons from Oxford Online English!

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• Writing an effective essay: Cambridge B2 First

• Posted on 28/02/2018
• Categories: Blog
• Tags: B2 First , C1 Advanced , C2 Proficiency , Cambridge CAE Certificate of Advanced English , Cambridge CPE Certificate of Proficiency in English , Cambridge Exams , Cambridge FCE First Certificate of English , Learn English

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.

You will be 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 .

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

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 bad thing for the children?

• 1. having a parent as a teacher
• 2. making friends
• 3. …..

Question taken from http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/first/exam-format/ (Cambridge Assessment English, Feb 2018).

What could the third idea be? Stop reading, grab a pen and write down some ideas! Keep them general, but relevant. When you’ve finished, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see some of our ideas * .

Step One: plan it (10 minutes)

That’s what my old history teacher used to tell me. I hate to admit it, but he was right! If you don’t usually plan before you start writing, you really need to get into the habit . Ten minutes may seem a lot, but the more time you spend planning, the clearer your ideas will be and the quicker the writing process will be.

A good place to start is to brainstorm keywords and phrases related to the topic.

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!

Step Two: write it (25 minutes)

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 :

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 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 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 for you to complete to give you some idea.

This article 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.

To come up with (pv): to think of something such as an idea or a plan.

To get into the habit (exp): to begin to do something regularly or often.

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 different.

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

adj = adjective

pv = phrasal verb

exp = expression

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

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5 Powerful Tools to Perfect Your Pronunciation

• By: oxfordadmin
• Posted on 22/02/2018

4 Ways English Words are Born

• Posted on 07/03/2018

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B2 First (FCE) Essay Writing Guide

The Cambridge B2 First (FCE) essay is easier to write than you think! Follow these steps to write the perfect essay.

Post Contents

What is the Cambridge B2 First Essay?

• Part 1 of the writing test – there are 2 parts total
• 140-190 word limit
• You have about 40 minutes to plan and write your essay
• You must answer a question using two notes and your own idea
• The topic requires general knowledge only
• The essay is always formal because it is written “for your teacher”

Step One: Look at the Task (1 minute)

To begin, all B2 First essays have a similar format . This is great because you know exactly how to write the essay before seeing the question.

Read the essay question carefully and HIGHLIGHT any keywords you need to write about.

Tip: If you don’t understand the question or notes, DON’T PANIC. Try your best to write the essay. You will still get points for grammar, vocabulary, and structure.

Sample exam test from Cambridge English .

Step Two: Write a plan (5 minutes)

A lot of my students dislike writing a plan. However, a plan helps you organize your thoughts and helps you write a better B2 First essay. Your essay needs 5 paragraphs . We will use the sample task from above as an example:

Paragraph structure for an essay

Introduction.

• Rivers and seas
• Your own idea

Next, to create a plan, write a few words for each paragraph . DO NOT write whole sentences. This takes too much time. Try to focus on keywords and short phrases .

Tip: “Your own idea” DOES NOT mean your opinion. You need to think of another topic related to the question to talk about. Some ideas for this task could be: recycling, agriculture, industry, etc.

Additionally, you can prepare a list of linking words and related vocabulary . Getting these words written down before you start helps you remember to use them.

Look at the example plan below. You can draw something similar on a blank piece of paper.

Tip: Time yourself – see how long it takes for you to write a plan. Try to reduce that amount of time as much as possible.

Step 3: Write your essay (32 minutes)

On the official test, you must write with a pen . No erasable pens or pencils are allowed. I suggest writing your plan and essay with a pen every time you practice .

Let’s take a look at each paragraph of the essay.

The introduction to your essay should be 2-3 sentences long . It introduces the essay topic in a general way .

Tip: DO NOT include your opinion in the introduction. Your opinion goes in the conclusion.

If you are unsure how to write an introduction, try this structure and look at the example :

Structure of the introduction  

• 1 sentence about the topic in general
• 1-2 sentences about the topic more specifically, including a question if you like.

Example Introduction

On every continent, the amount of trash and waste is increasing each year. Rubbish causes damage to ecosystems all over the world. Is there a way for countries to reduce their carbon footprint and save our planet?

Body of the essay

The body of the essay has three paragraphs . These paragraphs talk about one idea with supporting examples .

For each paragraph, you need to write a topic sentence. A topic sentence is the main idea of the paragraph . DO NOT copy the notes. Instead, try to rewrite the idea in your own words. This is called “paraphrasing.” 

Your paragraphs should be 3-4 sentences .

Tip: Start each paragraph with a linking word .

Structure of a body paragraph

• Linking word and topic sentence
• Supporting sentences

Example body paragraph

Firstly, countries can decrease pollution and environmental stress by offering more public transportation. Cars and other vehicles which require petrol produce toxic fumes. If more electric buses and trams were available, fewer people would need to drive their cars.

Follow the same structure for each body paragraph.

Tip: Remember that “your own idea” is NOT your opinion . Write about an additional topic related to the question that you wrote down on your plan.

Finally, you get to say your opinion! In the conclusion, you need to summarize the topic and give your opinion on the question. A conclusion should be 1-2 sentences long.

Structure of the conclusion

• Transition word and a sentence summarizing the topic
• A sentence that gives your opinion

Example conclusion

To sum up, countries around the world must make changes in order to protect the environment. In my opinion, offering more public transport, reducing overfishing, and creating recycling programs are necessary for a cleaner planet.

Step Four: Review your writing (2 minutes)

This is another important step that students often miss. Take two minutes after writing your essay to check for spelling and grammatical errors.

Since you wrote in pen, simply cross out the incorrect word or words LIKE THIS and rewrite them.

How can I get a higher mark on the FCE essay?

Now that you know how to write an essay for the Cambridge B2 First exam, let’s look at how to get the best mark possible .

Increase your mark on your B2 First essay

• Include 5-8 linking words – these words introduce paragraphs and connect ideas
• Use a variety of grammatical structures – you should have both simple and complex forms. Try to use perfect and future forms, conditionals, comparatives, relative clauses and passive
• Use formal vocabulary – do not use slang or simple words like “good, big, small, bad.” Also, do not use contractions. Write “cannot” instead of “can’t”
• Make the essay interesting to read – the examiners read hundreds of essays so make yours easy to read and engaging
• Use the correct amount of words (140-190) – it’s ok to be a few words over the limit, but not too many

Final Advice

The best way to improve your writing skills … is to write! Try to write a few essays each week and ask your teacher for feedback . I have had students who entered my class with very poor writing skills and with practice, they were able to pass the exam after only 10 weeks!

I help students prepare for the FCE exam with private lessons via Zoom. Email me at [email protected] or check out my private lessons page to learn more.

If you want more practice for the B2 First , try these Speaking exam tips , free writing checklist , and Reading part 1 practice.

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Home » B2 First » FCE Course » FCE Writing » FCE Essay – Pass B2 First Writing

FCE Essay – Pass B2 First Writing

Table of Contents

FCE Essay Writing

Do you want to know how to write an FCE essay which will boost your marks on the Cambridge scale ?

If the answer is “I have no idea how to get top marks”, then this page will be incredibly helpful for you.

FCE Essay Tip :  this is available for Gold members only.

To access this tip and more, register here >>

If you are a teacher, helping your students pass this exam, you will be able to use this page in your classes or for homework activities. Continue reading the page and you will see, there are worksheets for you to print out etc.

Before we continue, if you haven’t seen my page explaining how examiners mark your FCE writings, visit my FCE writing marking criteria page now.

If you have read and understood how examiners mark your writing and you are a member of this website, watch the video below:

FCE Handbook for Teachers

How To Write An FCE Essay

The next video will take you through all the information you will find on this page, including:

3:30 – Examiner Advice for FCE essays

4:48 – Example FCE essay question

7:53 – Write an Essay Plan

13:05 – Analysing An Essay

19:31 – Pass or Fail?

20:27 – You don’t need to pass the writing paper

20:53 – Essay Vocabulary

20:53 – Homework

22:46 – Send me your FCE writing

FCE Essay Advice Summary

This summary is available for Gold members only. Register here >>

FCE Essay Question 1

Part 1 – You must answer this question.

Write your answer in 140-190 words in an appropriate style.

You have been discussing environmental topics in a university lecture. Your professor has asked you to write an essay.

Write an essay using the notes below and give reasons to support your ideas.

Can we solve environmental problems globally? Notes Write about: Science Economics …………… (your own idea)

FCE Essay Plan Template

You should always plan your answer.

Can you remember how long I suggested to plan your answer for in the video above ?

If you said 2 minutes, you should go up and watch this video again now .

If you said 5 minutes, great…

Write An Essay Plan

Take 5 minutes (like in the exam) and write down a plan for the question above .

Write your plan on a separate sheet of paper, you can use this online template or this physical template or use your own style (it’s up to you). If you use my template, remember to add 3 body paragraphs (one for each note).

FCE Speaking Tip :  this is available for paid members only.

My B2 Essay Plan

Type of Writing : Essay .

Target Reader: University professor.

Content : Talk about all 3 notes. Good and bad points for each note.

Language : Formal. Neutral. Passive constructions. Linking words.

It’s also a good idea to write down some words which you can use in the essay (these will help you think of ideas).

Vocabulary: Pollution. Traffic. Transport. Technology. Animals. Money. Economy. Subsidies. Finance. Financial institutions. Big companies. Green technology.

Introduction (30 words) – Popular topic nowadays. Difficult question to answer.

First paragraph (40 words) – science Science can help us resolve environmental problems. Linking word. Problem of science.

Second paragraph (40 words) – economics

Economics can help us solve problems, but it can also prevent us.

Third paragraph (40 words)

Social co-operation. This is fundamental, we also need this for science and economics.

Conclusion  (30 words) – Can I make a decision based on the 3 main paragraphs?

Sample FCE Essay Answer 1

Here is an answer that an FCE student wrote before taking the exam. You should download the answer and write any mistakes you find.

FCE Essay – Download This Sample Answer

B2 First Examiner Assessment Scale Template

Have you written any mistakes you found on the student’s essay?

Now it’s time to complete the examiner’s assessment scale with your marks and thoughts about the writing. If you can’t remember how to do this, go back and read this page again.

Complete an online version of the template below here (it looks a bit different)

Download the physical template here, then print it off and write your thoughts on it .

Sample FCE Essay 1 My Critique

Every problem regarding ‘the’ environment and pollution can be solved. Science is always working on new solutions , ‘and’ new suggestions for alternative  means of production are frequently put on the table (good language) . The most difficult issue in this scenario is the interest s of different social groups in the world society (this is okay to mention here if it is your own idea and third point) .

The vision of profit gains must been align with environmental protecti on ve measures which is really challenging (good word) . First (why did you write ‘first’ – do you mean ‘The first’) positive changes begin with this alignment, for example, hotels proposing to clients to use the same bath towe ’l’ r while they stay s in. I t s is good for nature, and i t ( your spelling doesn’t need to be perfect in the exam, but you will lose marks if bad spelling confuses the meaning of your sentence) good for the business men (you could expand on what you mean here) .

For all other matters, conciliate (I don’t know this word. Perhaps you mean ‘finding an effective relationship between’) both aspects (does ‘both aspects’ refer to ‘the environment’ and ‘economics’)  is not a simple task, more difficult than the most high tech science. Efforts for environmental purposes should focus on changing culture, values, business perspectives of profits in global society, otherwise there will ‘not’ be not enough progress.

Examiner Assessment Scale Template With My Comments

Fce essay pass or fail.

This student got:

Communicative Achievement: 3

Organisation: 2

Language: 4

Total = 11/20

You need to get 24/40 in the Writing paper to pass at B2 level.

So if the student got 13/20 for their part 2 writing, 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 pass and get your B2 certificate.

If you want to find out more about how to calculate your scores, read page 4 of this document .

FCE Essay Vocabulary

Try to remember the words and phrases below which you can use in B2 First essays. A good way to remember is to write them down on a separate sheet of paper. Add more words and phrases to your list and write them in the comments section at the bottom of this page! If you are unsure about what language to use in an essay, you can also ask me in the comments at the bottom of the page.

Introducing an argument or point of view

Some/Many/A few people think/feel/say that… Other people disagree/argue that…. One point of view is… The general belief is that… Most people believe that… Public opinion is divided on the topic of… It is sometimes/often said/thought/claimed that….

Giving opinions

In my opinion I am of the belief that… In contrast to …. I feel that… My personal opinion is that… It is my wholehearted/sincere opinion that…

Linking Words and Phrases

However Nevertheless In addition… Firstly…Secondly On the one hand…On the other hand… In contrast… Meanwhile Whereas

FCE Essay Question 2

At school you have been talking about environmental issues. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay on this topic.

Write an essay using all the notes and give reasons to support your view. (140-190 words)

The awareness of environmental problems has grown over the last few years. Do you think it’s possible for us to solve these problems?

Notes Write about: Plastic Transport ……………… (your own idea)

You should complete this online plan in no longer than 5 minutes. This is how long I recommend you plan for in the exam.

Alternatively, download and add a third paragraph to this FCE Essay plan template.

My B2 First Essay Plan

The plan below is available for paid members only. Register here >>

FCE Essay Answer Example 2

Here is an answer to the question above which one of my students wrote.

FCE Essay – Download This Sample Answer and correct any mistakes you find.

Examiner Assessment Scale Template

If you have written down the mistakes above, you’re ready to complete the assessment scale below. If you want more help with this, check out my FCE writing marking criteria page .

Complete an online version of the template below here

Download, print and complete the template below here .

FCE Essay 2 My Critique

Compare the mistakes you found with the ones I have written below…

At school, during ‘ science and geography ’ lesson s of science and geography , everyone studies how ‘ the’ is made natural environment ‘is made’ and how we can protect it. Despite ‘the fact’ we study the importance of environment , we don’t pay much attention to this ‘in reality’ . At the moment we are attending particular and extreme phenomena, so we are very scared and worried and we want to change. It may not be as easy as it sounds. 

( I would start a new paragraph here) First ly , it is difficult to change ‘ our’ own lifestyle and habits. Change has an economic and personal cost. We don’t mind how much plastic we use every day. Plastic is everywhere: it wraps the (you don’t need ‘the’ here because we’re talking about ‘food’ in general) food, it is useful when we want to eat quickly, it is also in our clothes. The products , that don’t have plastic in their pack aging s , are more expensive ( this is a defining relative clause, not a non-defining relative clause) : . I think for example , when I buy drink s in the glass bottle s , they are very expensive. So , if I want to save money , I buy plastic bottles. Then I observe that (‘Another example that I have observed is…’) in the supermarket I can find many small food packs, also for single dose’ s/’portions’ of food’ . I don’t waste food but I pollute more ‘because of this’ . So we can find sustainable development (If you want to keep this sentence, you should explain in more detail what you mean) . 

( I would start a new paragraph here) Another problem is about transport: we are all in favor that we have to use more public transport s . The problem is that too often we don’t have a good public transport service with a capillary distribution (this term is only used in specific fields of work and is not used in everyday English) . However we can ‘make an’ effort to use ‘ our’ own car ’s’ only if it is necessary. 

‘The’ last thing it is about differentiated collection of waste: too few people do es it (You should remove this sentence . Don’t introduce too many ideas without developing them into detailed arguments).

I think that there are many ‘environmental’ problems but we have to stop to think that ‘these’ are only an obstacle. It is ‘ They are ’ also an opportunity. So it is important to change our mind’ set’ but we need also ‘need’ of more education in every where place ( ‘in’ school s , within famil ies y , at cinema s , etc.) about good (‘environmentally friendly’) behavior. Second ly, (I would only write this if I’ve written ‘firstly’ before it) , if the law and the penalties don’t work, probably we would change them in (‘people’s behaviour’?) ‘through’ incentives. For example , if the condo (what is ‘the condo’?) applies perfectly the rules about differentiated collection of waste it would have a discount in the invoice (I don’t understand this sentence) . Third ly , we need more investment ‘ in ’ for transport and sustainable development.

FCE Essay Example 2 Pass or Fail

This student achieved:

Language: 2

Total = 8/20

So the student would need to get 16/20 for their part 2 writing in order to pass this part of the exam.

I can tell by reading this essay that the student has not prepared much for this part of the exam, so it is unlikely that they would get a much higher mark for their part 2 writing.

Homework Write An FCE Essay

Wow….you’ve made it this far through the page….congratulations, you should now have a good idea how to write an FCE essay!

I hope I didn’t bore you zzzzzzzzzzz…here’s a random picture 😉

Anyway, now it’s your turn to write an essay. You can answer the question above or answer a different question. Then you have 3 options:

• Submit your writing via my FCE writing assessment service
• Write your answer in the comments section at the bottom of this page
• Write an answer and be too shy to send it to me or write it below (not a good way to learn)
• Be lazy, don’t write an answer (the worst way to prepare for the B2 First exam)

I’ll leave the choice up to you.

Adios amigos…don’t forget to click the Next Page >> link below 😉

Class/Homework Activities For Teachers

Are you a teacher?

You can use my resources to help your students in class or set them homework activities.

In Class With Computers / Homework Activities

If your students use computers in class, or you want to set them activities for homework, this is what I recommend.

Tell your students to:

• Become a member of this website so they can access all the information. Email: [email protected] if you have many students and you’d like me to create a discount code for them.
• Watch this video and make notes of the important points on the relevant parts of this form (they will be emailed a copy of the form which they can bring into class): https://studentlanguages.com/fcewritingtips/
• Read this essay question: https://studentlanguages.com/fce-essay/#FCE_Essay_Question_1 and spend 5 minutes writing a plan for it here: https://studentlanguages.com/fcewritingplantemplate/
• Compare their plan with my plan here: https://studentlanguages.com/fce-essay/#My_B2_Essay_Plan
• Print and correct any mistakes they find on this sample essay answer >>
• Complete the assessment scale template for the sample essay answer
• Compare steps 5 and 6 above with my critique and my notes on the examiner assessment scale
• Update this form during future classes.

In Class Without Computers

If your students don’t have computers in class, this is what I recommend.

• Become a member of this website  so they can access all the information and bring all the materials they need to class. Email: [email protected] if you want me to create a discount code for lots of your students.
• Print off this form for your students to complete while you show them  this video in class or tell them to complete the form while watching the video for homework.
• Read this essay question: https://studentlanguages.com/fce-essay/#FCE_Essay_Question_1 , then take 5 minutes and write a plan for it here >>
• Complete the examiner assessment scale template for the sample essay answer

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Breakout English

First (FCE) Essay Questions

The essay task at Cambridge B2 First (FCE) level might be one of the first times learners encounter a truly formal writing task. At the previous level, B1 Preliminary (PET), all the writing tasks are relatively casual and informal. This is where the First Certificate writing forces candidates to prove they really know how to organise and deliver a robust formal text. However, at the end of the day, the FCE essay is a reasonably approachable task with can be overcome with a clear plan and plenty of practice. Here, we’ve got three questions on different FCE essay topics that are all common at B2 level. If you’re not sure how to write a good essay, try our how to improve an essay post.

FCE Essay topics

There are quite a range of possible topics at FCE level. However, some of them lend themselves better to writing tasks than others. Remember, a writing task always needs to have elements that can be compared to each other, which can be either complimentary or contrasting.

These are some of the FCE essay topics which a most likely to come up:

• The environment
• Education and work
• Culture and customs
• Leisure activities
• Health and fitness

It’s a good idea to look at all of these topics in depth. Study vocabulary related to the topic and consider where you stand on different issues. In a class, you can do a vocabulary lesson followed by a class debate. Then follow up the debate with an essay question on the same topic as homework.

Common mistakes when writing an essay

At B2 level, exam candidates are often still crossing the boundary into being efficient user of English. While they may have a range of grammar and lexis to draw on, they may not always use it to good effect. As a teacher, you may encounter adult learners who haven’t written anything academic in decades. Likewise, you’ll find younger teens who haven’t yet had to produce a cohesive text in their academic careers.

In my experience, these are the biggest mistakes B2 level students make when writing an essay for the FCE exam:

• Not including your own idea – One of the requirements of every First essay question is to include your own idea. It says it right there in the task. However, some people understand this to mean they have to include their opinion. While you should include your opinion, that’s not why is say “your own idea”. Every essay should include three content points. Two of those are provided in the question and one more must be provided by the writer.
• Paragraphs that are too long or too short – The word limit for the FCE essay question is quite short (140-190 words). This means writers have to be quite concise and get to the point quickly. Each paragraph will probably only contain 2-4 sentences. That said, 1 sentence paragraphs are never acceptable, especially when it’s one big long rambling sentence. Neither are 6 sentence paragraphs which leave you no words for other parts of your text.
• Over-personalisation – Your FCE essay includes an element of opinion. In fact, the task explicitly asks you if you agree with a certain statement. However, that doesn’t mean you should fill the essay with 1st person pronouns and personal anecdotes. An essay is an academic text which should use objective evidence to support your point of view.
• Lack of conclusion – Sometimes people write an essay that perfectly evaluates 3 different content points and then finishes with a statement that says all points are equal. This is a mistake. The question asks you whether you agree with a statement. Your conclusion should clearly express where you stand on the issue. Don’t be wishy-washy!
• Trying too hard – The best First (FCE) essays are simple, to-the-point, well-structured and cohesive. Your essay isn’t going to change the world, so don’t go overboard. Once you’ve got a structure that works, rinse and repeat with different topics until you can consistently produce a well-polished text.

The materials

Here are three First (FCE) essay questions. They have been designed using typical FCE essay topics for B2 level. Use them to practise and improve in preparation for the Cambridge B2 First exam.

Cambridge B2 First (FCE): How to Write a Story

B2 First story writing in a nutshell

• Mandatory task:  no
• Word count:  140-190
• Main characteristics: engaging, interesting, well-structured
• Register: depending on the story
• Structure: beginning, main part, ending
• Language: adjectives/adverbs, past verb forms, direct speech, time expressions

A day to forget – a day to remember Jerry read the email and decided to go to the shopping centre immediately. He hadn’t slept well at all and was feeling quite nervous that morning and he didn’t want to let his grandma’s wish to buy some milk ruin his day. He dragged himself into his old and dirty car and set off in the direction of Central Mall. Not even ten minutes later, he had a flat tire so he spent the next hour putting on the spare before he was able to continue his dreadful journey. At the shopping centre, he walked absent-mindedly into a family and their son fell on his knee. “I’m sorry,” was the only thing he could say, but the boy’s little sister replied, “This is a gift for you,” and gave him a little piece of paper. Jerry simply stuffed it in his jacket pocket and walked off as quickly as he could. Back at home, he just wanted to go to bed, when he dropped the girl’s paper on the floor. Jerry couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a scratch card with a win of €50,000! “Not such a bad day after all,” Jerry thought with a smile and he poured himself a steaming cup of coffee.

Introduction

A story is usually written for an English language magazine or website for teenagers. The main purpose is to engage the interest of the reader. Effective answers have a clear storyline which links coherently to the first sentence, successfully uses the prompts provided and demonstrates a sound grasp of narrative tenses. from: Cambridge English B2 First for Schools Handbook for Teachers

Stories are part of the second task in the B2 First Writing exam and they are exclusive to B2 First for Schools. In this variant of the test, there are no report tasks but instead, candidates have the choice between articles , reviews , emails/letters and the topic of this article – stories.

Feel free to check out my other posts on the different B2 First writing tasks by clicking on any of the links below.

Stories might be the most underestimated task in the whole writing exam as they are only part of B2 First for Schools.

They are discussed fairly little in preparation classes even with teenagers who are more likely to run into this type of text in their test. I think that stories are fun to write because they are probably the most open task type in terms of creativity. On the other hand, this level of freedom can also pose a challenge for many so story tasks can be time-consuming and difficult.

What a typical story task looks like

As with all the other task types, stories can be broken down in the same fashion every time you want to write one.

You should analyse the task carefully in order to collect as much information as you can. This way, the writing process itself is smooth sailing from start to finish.

At first sight, this could be like any other task for an article or a review, but we need to look a little bit more closely to see what is unique about stories.

As always, you should go through task analysis step by step and ask yourself a few specific questions that will help you get all the information you need.

• What is the topic of my story?
• What exactly do I have to include in the story?
• Who is going to read my story?

The first question is fairly straightforward and can always be found by looking at the sentence given in the task.

In our example, the story needs to be about someone named Jerry you received an email and decided to go to the local shopping centre. All we get is a name a a little bit of a kickstart to the plot, but that’s it.

Every story task looks similar so always focus on the given sentence to find out more about the topic.

The second question is more specific and goes into more detail. Again, let’s see what we can extract from our example task.

The very first thing we have to include is the sentence about Jerry and the email. There is always a sentence which must be used as the very first sentence of your story. Don’t forget or change the sentence. Start your story with it as it is.

There are, however, two more ideas that you always have to write into your story. In this case, we must include a request and a present. The role these things play in your story is entirely up to you, but they should play a central role and be important parts of the plot.

The third and final question looks at the reader of the story. Remember that you never write for the examiner or your teacher but always for someone specified in the task.

Here, we write for the readers of an international magazine for teenagers, which means that teenagers from different countries are going to read your story.

As B2 First for Schools is designed to cater to people in that age group so we are writing for peers. Therefore, we can use rather informal language, but as you will see later on, register is not the most important aspect of a story compared to, for example a letter of application where a formal style is one of the key features. Stories already include so much useful language that choosing the correct register is secondary.

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How to organise a story in B2 First for Schools

When we try to put our story in a well-organised structure, we can simply look at every story ever written in the history of humankind and we will find that 99% of them look like this:

This pattern can be further broken down by splitting the main part into two or even three paragraphs, but we’ll get to that in a second. First, keep the above structure in mind for the future.

At the beginning of a story, we are usually introduced to the main character(s) and learn a little bit about the background of the plot. We might also find out about how the main character(s) feel right before the action starts.

The main part includes the main actions and parts of the plot. Here, the story progresses the furthest, but we normally don’t come to a conclusion yet.

The ending does what the name suggests. It brings the plot to a conclusion and ends the story in an appropriate and satisfying way. You don’t want to keep your readers guessing too much because there won’t be a sequel. You are not writing The Avengers Part 87 but a standalone story.

Now, however, let’s go back and see how we can apply all of the above to our specific task.

Luckily, the first sentence is already there for you, but we obviously need to be a little bit more creative. Think about how Jerry might have felt in this situation and what might have happened in the lead up to him reading the email.

I usually like to introduce the two topic points in the main part of the story, but they could already appear in the beginning. Again, this is completely up to you, which makes stories exciting and stressful to write at the same time.

Either way, in order to fill the main part of your story with life, try to come up with ideas of what could have happened on Jerry’s way to the shopping centre and when he was there.

Finally, we need to bring everything together in a good ending. You can try to end the story in an unexpected or funny way, but it is definitely more important to come to a meaningful and logical ending at all.

I find it quite often with my own students that they simply cut off the plot at the end of the main part, which leaves the reader not fully informed. So, make the reader (and examiner) happy and give your story the ending it deserves.

Always make a plan for your story

If I could give my students just one piece of advice for the writing exam in B2 First, I would tell them to always make a plan before starting to write.

It only takes a few minutes, but can save you a lot more towards the end on the test when you are in time trouble and don’t know what to do.

A plan helps you stay on task and all you have to do is follow it and fill the page with life.

My plan for our example looks like this:

• Beginning: nervous; hadn’t slept well; request in the email –> buy milk for grandma
• Main paragraph 1: flat tyre; had to change it; wasted time
• Main paragraph 2: at the shopping centre; accident with family; little girl gave him piece of paper
• Ending: piece of paper was scratchcard; won €50,000

Just from my plan, you can already guess what the story will look like even though I didn’t add a lot of information. Making the plan took me three minutes, but I only need to connect the dots now and get started.

The different parts of a story in B2 First

In this part, I’m going to take you deep down the rabbit hole. We are going to go through the different parts of a great story with the help of our example task.

You will learn more about good content as well as useful language in each part.

As I mentioned earlier, the beginning of a story fulfills two tasks. It introduces the reader to the main character(s) and sets the scene. We can include previous events and background information so we can started.

One of the main criteria in a story is the correct use of narrative verb forms . These are different past verb forms, each of which has a distinct function in a story. We want to use past simple for the main events, past continuous for background actions and past perfect simple and continuous for things that happened before the main events.

Sounds complicated, but with some practice you’ll get better at it. If the names of these verb forms don’t ring a bell at all, you should definitely look into them as they are not only important in the writing test but also in Reading & Use of English and Speaking .

In addition to this particular grammar point, we want to make the beginning interesting from the get-go using some engaging adjectives/adverbs and other helpful expressions.

A day to forget – a day to remember Jerry read the email and decided to go to the shopping centre immediately. He hadn’t slept well at all and was feeling quite nervous that morning and he didn’t want to let his grandma’s wish to buy some milk ruin his day .

I gave my story a nice title. Every good story has a title so yours should have one as well, but don’t worry too much. It can be short and doesn’t have to be anything amazing. Just make sure that you include it.

I also used a mix of verb forms ( blue ) to show the main events, background actions and things that had happened before the main storyline.

On top of that, I included a few adjectives and adverbs which help make the story come to life ( red ).

Keep these things in mind when you start your story and you will be off to a good start.

The main part of a story is what the name says: the most important part which includes the majority of information.

Here we find most of the main events and the plot progresses between the beginning and ending.

Your focus in this part should lie on a logical order of events while keeping the reader engaged and interested.

We achieve this, once again, by using the correct verb forms (mostly past simple as we are in the middle of the main events) as well as other stylistic features, some of which we’ve discussed earlier and others that you can see in the example paragraphs below.

He dragged himself into his old and dirty car and set off in the direction of Central Mall. Not even ten minutes later , he had a flat tire so he spent the next hour putting on the spare before he was able to continue his dreadful journey. At the shopping centre , he walked absent-mindedly into a family and their son fell on his knee. “I’m sorry,” was the only thing he could say, but the boy’s little sister replied , “This is a gift for you,” with a smile and gave him a crumpled piece of paper. Jerry simply stuffed it in his jacket pocket and stormed off as quickly as he could .

We’ve got quite a lot to unpack here.

First and foremost, if you take a step back and read the paragraphs without paying attention to all the colourful stuff, you will see that there is a logical and chronological progression. Jerry leaves his house, has a flat tyre, makes it to the shopping mall and runs into the family. The girls gives him the paper and he leaves.

I guess this all makes sense, but I still used certain expressions of place and time ( orange ) that support this idea that there is a sequence of events. Little remarks like ‘before’ or ‘next’ can make it so much easier for the reader to follow the story so make sure you use them.

Another feature that we haven’t discussed yet is direct speech ( green ). By using direct speech we can bring the characters to life and the reader can identify with them more easily.

Finally, I continued with good and engaging past verb forms ( blue ) as well as adjectives/adverbs ( red ) which bring colour to the things and people you describe.

The very last part of every amazing story is a great ending. Here, we tie everything together and bring the events to a conclusion.

It is your decision if you want to give your story a happy ending or not, but make sure that it ends in some way. Don’t just stop after the main part and leave your reader with questions. Send them off with a smile on their face or tears in their eyes.

Back at home , he just wanted to go to bed, when he dropped the girl’s paper on the floor. Jerry couldn’t believe his eyes . It was a scratch card with a win of €50,000 ! “Not such a bad day after all,” Jerry thought with a smile and he poured himself a steaming cup of coffee.

I tried to bring a little surprise to the ending of my story and turn Jerry’s terrible day into a good one.

You can find the different stylistic features I used in different colours again. Past verb forms are blue , direct speech green , expressions of place and time orange and other interesting language and punctuation red .

Don’t stop being awesome towards the end of your story. Stay consistent and use good language throughout the whole text. That’s what the examiners want to see and that’s you you will give them if you follow the tips in this article.

Useful language for stories in B2 First

In the last part, I showed you some of the main ideas to improve your story writing. Using these language features can give you an edge over other candidates and impress your examiner. Always remember that an examiner checks dozens of texts per day and it is important to stand out with your pieces of writing.

So, below I’ve listed the different types of useful language with a few examples in each category. Obviously, this is not a complete list, but you can add expressions and adjust them to your needs.

How your B2 First story is marked

The process of marking candidates’ writing tasks in B2 First is an involved and quite complicated process. There are different criteria the examiners have to look at and even for teachers, it can be almost overwhelming to work their way through all the information.

I wrote an article on the topic that I hope will help students and teachers alike to better understand the marking process and to use it in order to improve their writing and/or teaching skills and insight.

Simply click here to find out more.

Time to become a storyteller

In this article, I’ve shared with you everything I know about how to write an excellent story in B2 First for Schools.

Take my advice and start practising. If you have any questions or problems, feel free to leave a comment and I will reply as quickly as I can.

Lots of love,

Teacher Phill 🙂

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I am in fact glad to read this weblog posts which consists of lots of useful facts, thanks for providing such data.

Thanks a lot! Best explanatatory article I’ve read about writing a story. I’ll definitely check your other guides. Love the coloring and comments to each part!

Thank you so much!!! This is excellent…easily explained…everything included A must to have when teaching…FCE!!

Comments are closed.

20 English Essay Topics/Questions | B2 First (FCE)

The language of an English essay should be formal . Also, make sure that you justify all your ideas and that you use appropriate connectors to link your sentences and paragraphs .

How to write B2 First (FCE) essay?

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B2 First (FCE) Essay: Example Topics / Questions

Below is a sample list of academic essay writing topics/tasks for B2-level (intermediate) students. You can use them to practice writing English essays or to prepare for the Cambridge B2 First (FCE) exam

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 1 | First (FCE)

You have watched a documentary about young children in poor areas who leave school to work. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Write an essay using all the notes and give reasons for your point of view.

Teenagers are dropping out of school to find a job. How can we help them to continue their education?

Write about:

• family problems
• financial difficulties
• …………… (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 2 | First (FCE)

In your social studies course, you have watched a documentary on the potential effects of too much pollution on the air quality of city centres. Your professor has assigned you an essay to write.

Keeping the air quality in city centres at healthy levels for their residents is a concern for many places. How can we solve the problem of pollution in city centres?

• automobiles
• ………………  (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 3 | First (FCE)

In your education class, you have listened to a lecture on the importance of teaching foreign languages in school. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Learning a foreign language helps students develop a set of important skills. Why should foreign languages be taught in schools?

• new cultures
•  employment
• …………. (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 4 | First (FCE)

You have listened to a radio programme about the problem of widespread starvation in many parts of Africa. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

In many parts of Africa, people are dying of starvation and lack of freshwater. Can these problems be solved?

• lack of organised farming
• …….. …….. (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 5 | First (FCE)

You have watched a video on a non-profit organisation working to stop the use of animals for testing medicines used by human beings. Now, your professor has asked you to write an essay.

Testing on animals is a standard in scientific research. What is the best way to deal with this problem?

• animals suffer
• outdated form of research
• …… ……..  (your own idea)

Get Your (FCE) Essay Checked!

B2 - essay topic / question 6 | first (fce).

You have listened to a radio programme about deforestation, the cutting down of trees in many wild areas around the world. Now, your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Many forests around the world are being destroyed for agricultural, commercial, or housing use without allowing time for the forests to regenerate themselves. What can be done to improve the situation?

• what contributes to the greenhouse effect
• ………. (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 7 | First (FCE)

In your English class, you have been talking about endangered species, animals or plants that will likely become extinct. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Around the world, many wildlife species are in danger of extinction. How can we protect endangered animals?

• hunting wild animals
• ………..  (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 8 | First (FCE)

You have watched a Youtube video about the problem of computer game addiction in children. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

More and more young people spend most of their time playing computer games. How can we help children to overcome this addiction?

• bad grades at school
• no social life
• ………… (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 9 | First (FCE)

You have listened to a radio programme about the impact of smoking on people’s health. Now, your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Smoking is responsible for many health problems throughout the world. Do you think it should be made illegal?

• lung cancer
•  passive smoking
• ……………… (your own idea)

FCE, CAE, CPE

More than practice tests, b2 - essay topic / question 10 | first (fce).

In your English class, you have been talking about the problem of obesity in young people. Now your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

In Europe and the USA a lot of young people have an obesity problem. What can be done to solve this problem?

• (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 11 | First (FCE)

Has technology made a positive contribution to sport today?

• The use of technology to improve performance
• The use of technology in refereeing decisions

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 12 | First (FCE)

It is better to work at home than in an office. Do you agree?

• Contact with people
• Working hours

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 13 | First (FCE)

Life is harder for young people now than in the past. Do you agree?

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 14 | First (FCE)

Is it better to go shopping in small local businesses or large out-of-town shopping centres?

• Where things are cheaper
• Where service is better

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 15 | First (FCE)

Is it better to spend a summer holiday in the countryside or on the coast?

• Leisure options

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 16 | First (FCE)

Your teacher has asked you to write your response to the following statement taken from a recent newspaper article:

Do you agree that community service works better than fines?

• effort and time
• lesson learned
• ………………(your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 17 | First (FCE)

Is it true that we help the environment when we plant a tree?

• clear the air
•  ………….( your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 18 | First (FCE)

Nowadays children are suffering from obesity, that was once considered to be meant for adults only. What are its causes and what solutions can be offered?

• busy lifestyle

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 19 | First (FCE)

Is it better to be the oldest or the youngest in a family?

• role of older sibling

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 20 | First (FCE)

Modern lifestyles can seriously endanger our health.

Do you agree?

• physical activity
• …….. (your own choice)

B2 First (FCE) Essay: Download (PDF)

Download B2 First (FCE) Essay: Topics (PDF)

Practice Tests Online

B2 first (fce) essay: assessement criteria.

Your essay will be assessed according to these four criteria:

What is your level of English?