tips para essay b2

Cómo escribir un Essay para B2 First (FCE) Writing

Luis @ kse academy.

• septiembre 29, 2019

Los exámenes de Cambridge English suelen tener varias partes: Reading, Writing, Use of English, Speaking y Listening. En este post te voy a hablar del  Writing del B2  First (FCE) y, más concretamente sobre  cómo escribir un essay para el FCE de Cambridge English .

Respuesta de ejemplo de Essay

This post is also available in English.

¿Qué partes tiene el FCE Writing?

El  Writing del First (FCE)  tiene dos partes únicamente. Para cada parte tienes que hacer una composición escrita que dependerá de las instrucciones de cada ejercicio. En la  primera parte  siempre se te pedirá que  escribas un essay (ensayo), ya que únicamente se te da una opción. En la  segunda parte  te dan 3 opciones entre las que puedes elegir. De entre éstas, los  tipos de writing  que aparecen son  letters/ emails  (cartas o emails),  articles   (artículos),  reviews  (reseñas) y  reports  (informes). Cada writing debe tener entre  140 y 190 palabras , aproximadamente.

Al tratarse de diferentes  tipos de Writings , las expresiones y estructuras que utilizarás serán diferentes. Pero para eso estoy yo aquí, para explicarte cómo escribir cada uno, y hoy empezamos con  cómo escribir un essay .

Cómo escribir un Essay para el FCE Writing

Un  essay , en español «ensayo», es un escrito de opinión con el que  analizamos un tema , una situación o un problema desde  diferentes puntos de vista ,  argumentando  cada uno de ellos y  expresando nuestra opinión  al respecto. Por este motivo, un  essay  tiene las siguientes características:

• Próposito:  Con un essay lo que hacemos es valuar un tema, situación o problema que sea, de algún modo, de interés o controvertido. Normalmente se plantea como una actividad a realizar después de un debate que ha tenido lugar en clase. En el examen, evidentemente, el debate te lo tendrás que imaginar.
• Tono y registro:  Al tratarse de un writing sobre un  tema serio o controvertido , el essay es un escrito formal, por lo que debemos utilizar un  tono objetivo . Además, el registro lingüístico deberá ser formal, evitando palabras comunes (Ej.:  things, stuff, get,  etc.) y contracciones (Ej.:  can’t, don’t, won’t , etc.).
• Estructura:  Como todos los escritos,  un essay debe tener una estructura definida . Para empezar, podemos elegir darle un título o no. Personalmente, a mí me parece más adecuado escribir un  essay con título . Luego, el cuerpo debe estar dividido en introducción, idea 1, idea 2, idea 3 y conclusión. Es decir, por lo general,  un essay debe tener 5 párrafos , aunque no es obligatorio.
• Opinión:  Existen incontables formas de expresar tu opinión en un essay, por lo que debes elegir la que mejor se ajuste a tu estilo. Sin embargo,  lo normal es mantenerte imparcial durante todo el escrito y expresar tu opinión únicamente en el último párrafo , a modo de conclusión. Lo más importante es que justifiques todo lo que dices en el escrito.
• Coherencia:  La coherencia es fundamental en todos los escritos, pero especialmente en el essay. Al tratarse de un texto justificativo y argumentativo, no se pueden escribir oraciones y párrafos inconexos, por lo que  tus ideas deben seguir un orden lógico y bien conectado utilizando connectores apropiados .

Ejemplo de FCE Writing Essay

Ahora que sabemos las  características de un essay para el First (FCE) Writing , vamos a ver un  ejemplo de essay a nivel B2 , tanto la tarea de ejemplo como una posible respuesta.

Instrucciones de un Essay

En la siguiente imagen puedes ver las instrucciones de un essay con un tema muy recurrente, como es el del medio ambiente:

En las instrucciones debemos fijarnos en lo siguiente:

• En el  primer párrafo  nos introducen la temática: … different ways in which you can protect the environment.
• La  segunda frase  suele ser la misma en todas las tareas:  Write an essay using  all  the notes…
• En  el recuadro  te plantean la idea principal en forma de pregunta y te dan anotaciones sobre lo que tienes que hablar:  recycle, using bicycles and walking, your own idea . Como ves, la tercera idea ha de ser de cosecha propia, es decir, te la tienes que inventar tú y debe ser algo relacionado con la misma temática.

Según el modelo de tarea planteado arriba, cada párrafo corresponderá a una idea diferente, aparte de la introducción y la conclusión. Es decir, lo normal es que nos salgan 5 párrafos. A continuación tienes un  ejemplo de essay para FCE Writing :

Como puedes observar a simple vista, el essay tiene un  título introductorio y 5 párrafos  (introducción + idea 1 + idea 2 + idea 3 + conclusión). Si nos paramos a leer el essay detenidamente, veremos lo siguiente:

• El essay tiene  párrafos bien definidos  visualmente, lo cual es muy importante.
• El título resume la temática  del essay. Otra opción es utilizar la pregunta de las instrucciones ( What can people do to help protect the environment? ). Sin embargo, a mí me suele parecer demasiado larga, por lo que prefiero resumirla en un título más corto.
• Introducción:  introduce el tema de una manera general y da pie a continuar con el segundo párrafo.
• Párrafo 2:  trata la idea 1 de la tarea.
• Párrafo 3:  trata la idea 2 de la tarea.
• Párrafo 4:  trata la idea 3 de la tarea (your own idea).
• Conclusión:  expresa nuestra opinión a modo de conclusión y resumen.
• Utiliza conectores para definir la progresión del texto: firstly, second, finally, etc.
• No utiliza muchas contracciones ni palabras comodín.
• One of the things that
• In the last few decades,
• For this reason,
• First, / Second, / Third, 
• By doing so, 
• For example, 
• In conclusion,

Se trata de un buen  ejemplo de essay  para el  FCE Writing . Hay que tener en cuenta, además, que este writing está escrito para simular un nivel B2, sin llegar a un nivel C1.

¿Me penalizan si me paso de las 190 palabras?

Esta es la pregunta más típica en esta parte del examen y la respuesta es la siguiente:  sí  y  no . Me explico. Los correctores no cuentan las palabras y te penalizan en función del número de palabras sola y exclusivamente. Corre el rumor entre los alumnos y profesores de que por cada 10 palabras te quitan puntos, pero eso no es cierto. Ahora bien, piensa que si te has pasado en 50 o 100 palabras, o más, probablemente estés metiendo  información poco relevante a la tarea , y eso  sí que es penalizable . Del mismo modo que  si escribes menos de 140 probablemente te falte información importante  o no la estés cubriendo con el detalle que se te pide.

Por ello, yo siempre recomiendo pasarse como mucho 10 o 20 palabras. De ese modo no perderás puntos si la tarea cubre los puntos que se te piden.

Guía para el FCE Writing con ejemplos

Aunque voy a publicar más artículos explicando cómo hacer cada tipo de writing, si no quieres esperar puedes adquirir la  guía oficial de KSE Academy para el  Writing del FCE . En esta guía encontrarás lo siguiente:

• Cómo escribir un essay  (ensayo) y 3 ejemplos
• Como escribir un article  (artículo) y 3 ejemplos
• Cómo escribir una review  (reseña) y 3 ejemplos
• Como escribir un report  (informe) y 3 ejemplos
• Cómo escribir un email o letter  (carta) y 3 ejemplos
• Más de 300 expresiones útiles los Writing del FCE

¿Quieres ver un extracto?  Aquí la tienes .

¿Te ha parecido útil este post?  Cómpartelo con otros estudiantes y profesores de inglés . Y suscríbete a nuestro newsletter del blog de noticias para estar al día de todo. Síguenos en Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram y YouTube. 🙂

17 comentarios en “Cómo escribir un Essay para B2 First (FCE) Writing”

La verdad es que me ha sido muy útil para coger apuntes. Muchas gracias!

Me alegro mucho, María. Gracias por tu comentario. Un saludo!

Muy interesante y la verdad deseo mejorar mi escritura y obtener la certificación.

I think my ideas are clear before start writting but I don’t get use the connectors.

Conciso y claro. Lo tendré en cuenta para el examen, gracias!

Hola, suspendería seguro si se me olvida el titulo en un essay ? Muy util tu información, gracias

muy útil me presento a examen el viernes nivel b2.gracias

Muchisimas gracias, me estoy preparando para el examen y la información me fue de gran ayuda. Saludos!!

me ha parecido super interesante, la semana próxima tengo las pruebas, espero sacar partido de toda esta información gracias.

¡Muchísimas gracias! Vuestro artículo acerca de cómo escribir un ESSAY está resultando muy útil para mí.

Muchísimas gracias a ti, Jairo, por leer el artículo y por tu comentario. ¡Un abrazo!

Muy claro y estructurado. Super útil!!

Me alegro de que te haya resultado útil. Gracias por tu comentario! 🙂

Explicas muy bien, la verdad me sirvió mucho. Muchas gracias por compartir.

Muchas gracias, Jaqueline. Un saludo! 🙂

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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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Breakout English

B2 First (FCE) Writing Part 1 – Improve an Essay

Writing is the part of any English exam where you should aim to get a high score and B2 First FCE Writing Part 1, an obligatory essay, is no different. It’s also the most trainable part of the exam in a classroom. While other skills often take lots of time, effort and practice, writing can be taught through models, which learners can then take and replicate. Of course, it’s important to write your own material, but the format and many expressions are transferable for essays regardless of the topic. With this material, we aim to demonstrate areas where B2 First candidates often go wrong with writing an essay. With a few tweaks, you should be able to reproduce a high quality essay every time.

Essays may not be fun, but they are important. The Cambridge B2 essay might be the first time you need to write an essay for an exam, but it won’t be the last. This task continues to be obligatory at C1 and C2 levels. If you are doing a Trinity or IELTS exam, you’ll also need to write an essay. Basically, there is no escape. You either learn to write a good essay or you don’t pass your writing exam (I recommend learning it).

The challenge with essays is not only the style, which should be formal and academic. Exam candidates also often have issues with content in First (FCE) Writing Part 1. The B2 essay question is always the same, and it’s not particularly complex, but sometimes it still causes issues regarding what content points to include. At the same time, an uninspiring question can easily lead to an uninspired answer. That becomes a problem when your essay isn’t interesting to read. Keep in mind that whoever corrects your essay has probably read 95 other essays on the same topic, so it a good idea to stand out!

The Materials

With this activity, you analyse a sample essay contrasting living in a city vs the countryside. To use it in the classroom, have students discuss the issues with the essay in pairs. You can even have them use the Cambridge writing scales to give it a mark. Then, feedback in open class and finish with your students writing their own improved version. I like to do this task just after receiving a round of previously assigned essays from students as a sort of extended test-teach-test activity.

Check here for more First Certificate essay questions to use in class.

EXAM PART: First (FCE) Writing Part 1 – Essay

EXAM SKILLS: Improving content and communicative achievement in essay writing

TOPIC:  Lifestyle (living in the city vs living in the countryside)

TIME: 30 minutes + 45 minutes writing (in-class or for homework)

PREPARATION: One copy of the worksheet per student

An opinion essay

Learn how to write an opinion essay.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

MultipleSelection_MjMwNTM=

Information will soon be so easy to find on the internet that people will not need to remember anything. Do you agree?

Nowadays all the information we could ever need is available online and some people say that means the end of having to learn anything.

It is true that these days everything you want to know is a few clicks away as long as you have internet access. However, not everyone has working internet all the time, for example in certain buildings or remote locations, so we do need to be able to remember information. Moreover, it takes time to look up everything you need to know online, whereas remembering something is immediate. The human memory is a much more efficient system.

Another problem is the quality of the information online. How do we know if it is accurate or reliable? We need to think about other facts we know and remember how to compare information from different websites. Knowing (and remembering) how to find certain information will be more important than knowing the information itself.

Finally, the internet is a good tool but it is not a useful replacement for our brains. If we did not remember anything, we would all spend even more time on our phones and computers than we already do, which is not good for society.

In conclusion, the internet offers us many things but it is still important to use our knowledge and memories. We need our memories to function without the internet and we also need to know how to use the internet properly.

• Read the question carefully. Respond to all ideas in it or all parts of it.
• Plan your ideas first and then choose the best ones.
• Introduce your essay by restating the question in your own words.
• Show understanding of both sides of the argument.
• Use linking words to connect your ideas.
• Draw your conclusion from the main ideas in your essay. Don't introduce new ideas at the end.

What do you think about the question? Would it be better or worse if we never learned anything and just used the internet instead?

Language level

It would be worse. If we only look for information on the internet, for everythingg and every time when we have a question about something we will become ''rusty robots''.

In other words, our minds, without exercising the creativity and memory of our brains, will be almost completly out of purpose. What's more, we will be lazy and with a slow capacity of thinking properly.

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It is evidently known that in recent days, the exchange of information is progressive over the network of various channels which we call it as Internet. Experts have made some definite predictions about the availability of data and information on the above mode of communication in near future. This particular development is totally agreeable. With respect to the technological advancements pertaining to the above, the human life shall be prepared to be compatible with the communication platforms on the network of servers. The key strengths will mainly focus on speed of communication, less errors and information accuracy. This aspect of technological development will eventually replace the traditional modes of information storage. This requires no effort in preservation of information on physical devices as all the core information will be stored in virtual servers. On the other hand, the above paradigm shift in terms of data centralization will certainly replace human brains. This attempt will not trigger any living beings to memorize information physically. It is quite obvious that our brains are limited and restricted with space constraints. Hence, this technology of information storage will drastically replace these drawbacks. Overall, this phenomenal trend of networking has provided a seamless mode of gathering, interpreting and storing information. At the same time, the consequences will be tremendous and noticeable as it will lead to an era where in people across the globe can surf and search their expected piece of data with-in no time. Practically, they don’t have to bother about any challenges related to failure of storage elements. Finally, this pattern of information storage is promisingly going to be accepted.

I think the use of the internet is not only in conflict with learning, but It has made the speed of learning faster and more comfortable.

On the one hand, With the advent of the internet and access to data whenever we want, we were able to free our minds from memorizing a lot of unnecessary data. It caused that instead of spending our time to remember the formulas and data, we use our time for a deeper understanding of the concepts. Concentration on understanding was a big step in order to make us more clear about how to apply scientific concepts practically, and It made the evolutionary process of turning scientific concepts into experimental tests go faster. Going through this evolutionary process quickly, in turn, caused, firstly, the faster growth of modern technologies and, secondly, the creation of many new data, concepts, and sciences. And now the data volume is so much that not only you can never remember or learn them, but you have to choose the best one that works for you. Somehow, the internet has changed how to learn. It has focused on analyzing the options and choosing the best one to learn Instead of memorizing a bunch of content.

On the other hand, Theoretically speaking, One of the laws In the world is that everything can be useful or harmful in turn. This law also applies to the internet. In fact, how to use the internet determines whether it is useful or harmful. Like many other tools that have been invented such as smartphones, smartwatches, electric cars, and so on we have spent time learning how to use them. In order to get the best out of the internet and don't waste our time, we must take the time to learn how to search. The searching skill is the most important one that helps us find better results.

In conclusion, Given the two analyzed reasons above, I agree with the idea that easy access to Information makes people get rid of memorizing lots of data. But this has nothing to do with the quality or quantity of learning.

I think it depends on the type of information. Some information are easier to remember, and hence it's more efficient to have them in memory instead of looking for them online. However, some complex information is offered online, and it will be impractical if we tried to remember it. Additionally, I believe that learning is not just about acquiring knowledge. It's about learning how to think with this knowledge available and solve problems efficiently. That's why the internet is considered a valuable tool to promote learning, not to replace it.

Nowadays we are witnesses how far technology has developed in a short time. A huge of information is backing up on internet and if you have access of surfing you can find any information that you are looking for. However, there are some relevant aspects that should be taking into account when we are talking about using always internet instead of learning. In this sense, the purpose of this essay will be to explain why it is not a good idea. Firstly, as you know, most of the information on internet is fake. For that reason, it is impossible the learning process can be replaced by internet use. If you are looking for reliable information you have to learn how it works. In other words you need of learning even if you want to use internet all the time because you have to discern what of all information is useful for you purpose. For example, if you are a student and want to write an essay about a specific topic you likely have to search for the best information if you want to get a job position or scholarship. Secondly, there is a high demand for professionals who have specific skills in the field that they are pretending to be involved. That’s why learning always is a must for satisfying the requirements of companies and institutions. For instance, in the education field, the main aim is the learning and knowledge which are essential on a daily life to be an expert in your field of action and these skills can’t be acquired through internet surfing. To sum up learning and knowledge are fundamentals in a current world that is demanding professionals highly qualified even in our daily live and the internet is far away of satisfying the required skills that you get every day through the practice, research and networking.

I think it become worse and dangerous for our society, we need to control it making rules. Without internet, many skills and knowledge could´nt be used.

I believe that, The internet become even more dangerous for young people who barely discovered the world around them, If they count on it for seeking information without parental supervision, it would be a disaster!

In nowadays,there are many ways to reach information.The Internet is just one of them but maybe most promising one.The Internet helps us to find information easily and efficently.

However there are some negative sides of Internet.For instance realibilty of information.There are no real control on Internet.I reckon there will not be soon.This reduces the trust in internet.This is why People will always need another source to be make sure and need to remember information.

It is also necesseray for objectivity. You can not just have one source and expect true and impartial information. It is against nature of science.This is not how science works.People must have and process the information.In this way we expand our knowledge.When we make brainstorm we always end up with another information. If we don’t have and process the information how Science works?

I suppose in the future People will never trust completely to Internet. They will always need another source and they will need to interrogate source of information.In conclusion Internet is by far most promising invention People have ever invented.However Internet is not beyond our brain and imagination.We will always need to posses and process the information.

It is about my hometown: My hometown is a beautiful, attractive and cool. N'beika is one of the most famous places in Mauritania where attractive views and economic capacities are in. It is located in Tagant which is in middle of the map. Therefore, It is one the biggest cities in the country. As there are interesting geographical features such as: high Mountains, nice valleys, light hills and wonderful pools. Historically, N'beika played an important role in culture, trade exchange and fighting colonialist. Also it has saved historical landmarks, for example: manuscripts, books and cities which the most important is Gasr Albarka. In the north, there have tourist views and in the East big mountains with lovely valleys like Matmata where there are some Alligators in and other attractive animals. As well as from the south and the west there are some fields, forests and farms. Moreover, people are interested in agriculture, trade, development and education. Furthermore, there are many schools and Mahidras and three colleges providing well-deserved education to students. What's more, mall shops is offering demands and created jobs for unemployment. There are different favourite for people , some of them are crazy about football as youth, and some people like doing agriculture and development. Moreover, there are entrepreneurs doing a small business like selling clothes, pitch, barbershop... etc. In conclusion, N'beika is a gift of Allah that has given to people to spend nice moments in order to feel happy and to invest for everything we want due to gain lots of money .

I believe it is amazing updated technology which has helped us a lot in our lives. In todays era everyone has access to internet over the globe. you can easily find all the information on internet that is required to you. Even though learn many new skills which aren't even taught you from the help of internet. it is good help for book writer like us where we can be part of book writing communities or book writing resources to enhance our skills and provides more guidance to others.

Online courses

Group and one-to-one classes with expert teachers.

Learn English in your own time, at your own pace.

One-to-one sessions focused on a personal plan.

Get the score you need with private and group classes.  

Cambridge B2 First (FCE): How to Write an Essay

Essay writing is easier than you think

The very first reaction I usually get when I want to practise essay writing with my students is wild panic. Everybody around me starts rolling on the floor crying and screaming. I try to calm them down, but there is no way of doing it and eventually all of them quit and tell me that they will never be able to pass the FCE exam.

Of course, this was a little bit of an exaggeration, but it is true that most students get stressed as soon as they here the word essay when, actually, there is no real reason for that. In fact, essay writing might be the easiest type of writing in Cambridge B2 First because there is a plan that you can follow every single time you sit down with pen and paper to practise as well as in the exam itself.

So, let’s look at essays, how they are organised and what exactly you have to be careful with in order to pass easily and get the high marks you deserve.

What a typical essay task looks like

Looking at different essay tasks, the first thing that students often realise is that all tasks look the same. Their structure doesn’t change, which gives you the advantage of being able to plan a strategy before you even take the exam. Every time you practise is like the real exam.

Above there is a typical essay task. As you can see there is not a lot of information, but we still have to look at it carefully and decide what we are asked to do exactly.

The first step is always to underline the key points in the task so you know what to do and what information to include in your essay.

In the image above I underlined and circled the most important information for you. When you look at a writing task – and I mean every kind of writing task, not only essays – you should think about two things: what you have to include in your text and who is going to read it.

While the first point seems obvious students often forget about the second one and miss out on higher marks. In our example your English teacher is going to read the essay. What does that mean for you when you write it? Think about the style and tone of the language you are going to use. Does your English teacher expect informal language like in a text message to your best friend or should it be rather formal? I think you understand what I mean.

Choosing the correct register and tone (formal English) for your essay will earn you higher marks so don’t forget about it.

The second point we need to consider is what we have to write about. In every essay task there are a situation/topic (problems with pollution and damage to the environment), a question for you to answer (Do you think these problems can be solved?) and three topic points (transport, rivers/seas, your own idea).

You must deal with all these things if you want to pass with high marks. If something is missing you will lose marks. That includes your own idea. I see it all the time that students write about the two ideas given in the task, but they ignore the fact that they have to add a third topic on their own. Don’t make the same mistake. Always write about all three topic points.

With this flood of information the next step is to think about how we can organise our essay. Luckily, there is a plan that works and I’m going to share it with you.

The 3 main parts of an essay

Looking back at our example from before we can see that there are three topic points which we need to deal with: transport, rivers and seas as well as your own idea.

I think it is not difficult to see that we can turn these three topics into three paragraphs, one for each idea. These three paragraphs are called the body of the essay. However, an essay wouldn’t be an essay without an introduction at the beginning and a conclusion at the end. All together that’s five paragraphs and we could structure it like this:

• Introduction
• Rivers and seas
• Your own idea

With an introduction, body and conclusion every essay has three main parts. You can follow this for any essay question in the FCE exam and it works every single time.

Yeah, it sounds good to me too. 🙂

But what exactly do we have to include in these different parts? Let me give you an overview so you get a better idea.

When I read the introduction to an essay I can often tell immediately if the essay is going to be great or if the student needs to work more on it. Think of the introduction as an appetizer before the meal begins. It gives you an idea of what to expect so you don’t want to disappoint the reader from the start.

Your introduction should always put the topic in the context of today’s world and paraphrase the question of the essay. It is also a good idea to include your opinion so the reader knows from the beginning what you think.

Let’s have a look at an example introduction for an essay about the above topic:

More and more countries and cities struggle with dirty air and water and while it is difficult to find a solution to these issues, I believe that there are ways to improve the situation and to protect the environment.

In this introduction all the key elements are covered. The topic is put in context (“More and more countries and cities struggle with…”), the question is paraphrased (“…while it is difficult to find a solution to these issues,…”) and the candidates opinion is clear (“I believe that…”).

All you need to do is to memorise this formula and use it in every essay you write. The examiner and you will be happy. 🙂

The body is like the meat in a hamburger. It’s the best part and you want it to be full of flavour. For your essay it means the following:

Each paragraph of the body starts with a topic sentence which introduces the main idea of the paragraph. After that, you add reasons, examples and you can even acknowledge other points of view.

A great topic paragraph in the body doesn’t just talk about advantages and disadvantages. Think about how you can support the message in your topic sentence to convince the reader.

Here is an example for you.

Firstly, congestion on roads not only in major cities, but also in smaller towns causes a lot of pollution and noise and even though this situation seems to get worse and worse many countries are trying to encourage people to use alternatives like electric cars, which is a good first step to deal with this kind of challenge.  

In this example paragraph the candidate simply followed the formula from above. The first sentences states what the problem is. After that, she acknowledges that the issue seems pretty bad, but then she explains different alternatives to cars that could improve the situation.

Also, notice the different linking expressions she uses in this paragraph (Firstly, not only…but also, and even though, which is). Examiners like a variety of linking words and phrases to connect your ideas so try to include them in your essay.

That’s really all you need to do. Repeat the same process for the other two topic points and you should be able to impress and achieve great marks.

Last but not least, a good essay is rounded off with a nice conclusion. Here, it is your job to tie everything together like a Christmas present. You don’t want the gift wrapping paper or the bow on the present to be ugly so make sure that you conclusion is on point.

In a good conclusion you should summarise the essay in one sentence and clearly state your opinion on the question one last time.

I told you above that the introduction is there to make a good first impression on the reader. The conclusion plays the role of giving a good last impression. You don’t want the examiner to be happy until the end and then read a conclusion that is only average. Make sure that every part is great.

To sum up, our environment needs our help and although the air we breathe as well as waterways in many parts of the world are heavily polluted I strongly believe that we can solve these issues if governments and the people work together.  

The first part of this conclusion summarises the problem one last time and in the second half the candidate clearly states her opinion and that’s it. Don’t make your life harder than it already is and instead focus on the criteria that really matter.

Plan before you write

Earlier we had a look at the different paragraphs in an essay and I told you that five is a good number. A lot of students take this information and jump straight into writing as soon as they see the task.

Stop right there! When you plan to improve something around your house or in your apartment, do you just run to the store and buy five buckets of paint or do you think about the size of the room and how much paint you need, what colour you want and what kind of brushes and paint rollers you will have to get?

Treat your essay like a home improvement project and make a plan before you start writing. It only takes five minutes, but, in the end, it can save you time because once you start, you don’t have to worry about ideas any more…it’s all there in your notes.

To create a plan make a list of the five paragraphs of your essay. As we said before this could be something like this:

Now, all you have to do is to add a few words to each point so you won’t forget what you want to write about. I thought of a few things for our example task:

• Introduction – problems with pollution, is there a solution?
• Transport – -: CO2 emissions, noise +: electric cars
• Rivers and seas – -: sea life and plastic +: projects to clean oceans
• Animal agriculture – -: CO2 emissions, excrement +: vegan/vegetarian lifestyles, sustainable farms
• Conclusion – summary, it’s a big problem but there is hope

It took me about three minutes to write this and if I wanted to write the full essay, I would have all the ideas I need already in front of me. The next step would be to add more information to each point and voilà, the essay is done.

How your essay is marked

Marking FCE writing tasks is like a science and for a lot of students it feels as if there is this big mystery and nobody really knows how it works. Actually, there are very clear rules that the examiners have to follow and the criteria are publicly available.

While it is possible to find all the information on your own I thought it would be a good idea to put everything together in an article for you. Check out how your writing tasks are marked by clicking here .

Practice makes perfect

I hope that my article is going to help you with your essays. As you saw you can analyse and structure every task the same way. With all your new knowledge the only thing you have to do is start practising. If you put in the time and work, essay writing will become quite easy and you can focus on other areas of your English that need more improvement.

Lots of love,

Teacher Phill 🙂

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10 (FCE) B2 First Writing Exam Tips

Are you preparing the Cambridge B2 First (FCE) English exam? Do you want to improve your score on the FCE writing test?

Keep reading for 10 tips to help you get a higher mark on the B2 First Certificate exam.

Post Contents

Tip #1: Use your time carefully on the FCE writing test

The writing part of the B2 First Certificate exam is 1 hour and 15 minutes . You need to write:

• One choice writing from three possible questions ( letter/email, report, article or review )

Start with the writing task that is “easier” for you. Try to get it done in half the time or less. Then, use the rest of the time on the “harder” writing.

“Easier” = you know the structure of the task well and/or you have a lot of ideas/vocabulary for the question.

Tip #2: Write a plan

Only a few of my students like writing a plan. However, it’s very helpful and can help you from getting stuck. 

Use 5 minutes or less to write a plan. 

Write down five B2 level words related to the topic, 5 different grammar structures to use, and 5 transition words.

Write a few notes for each paragraph. Don’t write any sentences – this takes too much time .

Tip #3: Answer ALL parts of the question

Answer all parts of the question and you will earn more points for having a complete answer. Before handing in your writing, check to see if you’ve answered ALL of the questions.

Example question:

For this task, you MUST include: some places the college friends could visit and the best transportation to take. If these points are not included in your answer, you will lose points.

Tip #4: Invent information if you don’t have any ideas

Luckily, you do not have to tell the truth in your answer. You can create information on the FCE writing test. 

This tip is important for the writing and speaking parts of the exam. As long as the information makes sense, it doesn’t have to be true!

Tip #5: Use more advanced vocabulary when you can

To earn more points , try to use more creative and difficult vocabulary. When talking about your family don’t just talk about your “mom, dad, sister, and brother.” Instead, try to talk about your uncle, brother-in-law, cousins. This shows that you have a bigger vocabulary.

If the task is an email asking about popular sports in your country, talk about kitesurfing instead of soccer. Everyone talks about soccer/football! Show that you have a better vocabulary with more specific words.

Tip #6: Practice writing with a permanent pen

On the official test, you must use a permanent, non-erasable black or blue pen . It’s important to practice writing with this so you get used to it.

If you make a mistake, don’t worry. Cross out the mistake with a line through the text LIKE THIS . 

Tip #7: Practice, practice, practice

I’ve had students in my class who were not at the correct level when they started the FCE course. I asked them to write something outside of class 3-4 times a week for 10 weeks . It’s a lot of work, but in the end, they passed the exam! 

Just like a sport or instrument, you improve writing by practice. Ask your teacher to correct your writing and try to sit down and write a few times a week. I promise you that your writing will improve.

Tip #8: Know your mistakes – and fix them

Going along with number 7, look at your writing after your teacher corrects it. Making mistakes is how we learn – they aren’t a bad thing.

Make a list of common mistakes that YOU make. If you aren’t sure what they are, ask your teacher for help or contact me for a private lesson.

For example, one of my Spanish students used the word “the” too much. Before he gave me his writing to check, he always checked the word “the” in his writing first.

Tip #9: Read your writing aloud

When you are learning to write, the best way to catch your mistakes reading your writing aloud, sentence by sentence. This will help you catch more mistakes .

If you are in a quiet classroom, you can mouth the words of the text without making any sounds. This will still help you catch your mistakes.

Tip #10: Make sure each paragraph is a new idea on the FCE writing test

Sometimes students write one long paragraph. Don’t do this! You will lose points .

Each time you have a new idea, write a new paragraph. Be careful – the essay is always 5 paragraphs.

Final Thoughts

The Cambridge FCE writing test can be scary and difficult for some students. I hope these tips help you improve your writing.

You can schedule a 30-minute lesson with me over Zoom if you want help with your writing, please contact me here .

Check out this free FCE Writing Checklist with downloadable PDF.

Want more help on the FCE exam?

Tips for the FCE Speaking Exam

FCE Email/Letter Writing Guide

Key Word Transformations Practice

If you liked these tips, pin this to your PINTEREST on your FCE EXAM TIPS board.

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B2 first preparation, resources for teachers and learners.

Here you can find links to all of our free resources to help prepare for B2 First exams, whether you are a teacher or a learner.

On this page:

Exam essentials

Essential reading for teachers and learners wanting to find out about the exam.

Teacher essentials

Resources to help you prepare learners for B2 First exams.

Learner essentials

Information for candidates and resources that can be used at home or in the classroom for self-study.

On-the-go practice with Test & Train

Test & Train is an easy-to-use practice tool to help you get ready for your B2 First exam through short, sharp workouts. With over 300 practice questions, you can use it anytime, anywhere and as many times as your like!

Get started today

Official Cambridge English preparation materials

You can find a wide range of materials in both print and digital formats .

Sample tests (paper-based, digital and computer-based)

Free: paper-based sample test.

Download sample paper 1 for B2 First

Download sample paper 2 for B2 First

Free: Digital sample tests

During March 2024, we will be moving from our current computer-based exam delivery to Cambridge English Qualifications Digital, which offer you even more benefits.

If you are planning to take your exam during March 2024, please contact your chosen exam centre to discuss their schedules.

Watch this video tutorial for help on how to complete an B2 First digital exam. Please also review this document which covers minor differences between the sample tests and the live exam .

Time: approximately 40 minutes

Instructions to candidates

• Answer all the questions.
• You can change your answers at any time during the test.

Information for candidates

• There are 30 questions in this test.
• Each question carries one mark.
• You will hear each recording twice.
• For each part of the test there will be time for you to look through the questions and time for you to check your answers.

B2 First Digital Listening Sample Test

Reading and Use Of English

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

• You can change your answers at any time during the test. 
• There are 52 questions in this test.
• Each question in Parts 1, 2, 3 and 7 carries one mark.
• Each question in Part 4 carries up to two marks.
• Each question in Parts 5 and 6 carries two marks. 

B2 First Digital Reading Sample Test

Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

• Answer the Part 1 question, and one question from Part 2.
• There are two parts to this test.
• Each question carries equal marks.

B2 First Digital Writing Sample Test

Answer keys and tapescript:

B2 First Listening Sample 1 answer key

B2 First Listening Sample 1 answer tapescript

B2 First Reading & Use of English Test Answer key

Free: Computer-based sample tests

During March 2024, we will be moving from our current computer-based exam delivery to Cambridge English Qualifications Digital, which will offer you even more benefits. Information on the switch and what this means for you can be found on our Cambridge English Qualifications Digital page.

Watch this tutorial for more detail on the B2 First computer-based exam to show you what you need to do before you start.

The computer-based sample test does not mark your exam, so check your answers as you do the test using the answer keys below. Once the test has finished you will not be able to check them.

Reading sample test

Writing sample test

Listening sample test

Answer keys :

Reading and Writing answer key

Listening answer key

There is no answer key for Writing Parts 2 and 3 of the Reading and Writing paper, but there are sample answers and examiner comments in the relevant pages of the B2 First handbook .

How to convert practice test scores

The Cambridge English Scale is used to report results for our qualifications and tests. The scores provide a detailed understanding of the candidate’s level. They are also consistent across the different exams, making it easy to compare results and understand progress from one level to the next.

For guidance on converting practice test scores to Cambridge English Scale scores, download our guide for teachers. 

Converting practice test scores to Cambridge English Scale scores

Digital exam information

Have you thought about taking digital exams? Find out more about the benefits of digital exams .

Watch this short video to see what it’s like to take a digital exam.

Watch the video tutorial  for help on how to complete an B2 First digital exam.

Read our FAQs if you have any more questions about taking digital exams.

Computer-based exam information

Have you thought about taking computer-based exams? Find out more about the benefits of computer-based exams .

Watch this short video to see what it’s like to take a computer-based exam.

Watch the video tutorial below for help on how to complete a B2 First computer-based exam.

Help your students prepare for computer-based exams with our Teaching tips for computer-based Cambridge English qualifications .

Read our FAQs if you have any more questions about taking computer-based exams.

Speaking test video with examiner comments

This video will help your students understand what happens during a B2 First speaking test. You can also download examiner comments.

Read the examiner comments for Giulia, Tabatha and Elena's speaking test

Read the examiner comments for Julia and Isabela's speaking test

Read the examiner comments for Natalia and Enzo's speaking test

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Exam Preparation Journey resource packs

The Exam Preparation Journey is a central online hub with teaching tips, classroom activities and more to support teachers preparing students for Cambridge English Qualifications.

Whatever stage you are at – starting out, considering a mock test or exploring your digital options – we offer timely support when you need it. Find advice such as how to create a positive learning environment, structure exam readiness and save time with lots of practical ideas ready to use in class.

Go to the Exam Preparation Journey

Handbook for teachers

The B2 First handbook gives an overview of the exam and its place within Cambridge English examinations. This is followed by a focus on each paper and includes content, advice on preparation, and example papers.

B2 First handbook for teachers

B2 First: Handbook for Teachers Listening Audio Files (ZIP, 72MB) These are the listening files related to the Sample Paper from the Teacher's Handbook.

Lesson plans

Our lesson plans include everything you need to deliver a 45-minute lesson in the classroom or online, including activity sheets, homework, and more.

B2 First lesson plans

Teacher guides

Developing listening skills for Cambridge English Qualifications: A guide for teachers

Developing reading skills for Cambridge English Qualifications: A guide for teachers

Assessing writing for Cambridge English Qualifications: A guide for teachers

Mock test toolkit

Running a mock test gives your learners a true exam day experience, helps you understand their progress and decide if they are ready for their exam. Our interactive mock test toolkits are full of tips, strategies and materials to help you ensure your students are confident and fully prepared for their exam.

Mock test toolkit for older learners

Classroom warmers booklet

Classroom warmers activity booklet

This booklet includes seven exercises each for primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary students.

Supporting learners with dyslexia

Supporting learners with dyslexia: A guide for teachers

Many teachers have learners with dyslexia in their exam preparation classes. This guide is for you. With lots of practical tips and ideas for lesson plans, it will help you prepare materials to support learners with dyslexia in preparation for our qualifications.

Teacher webinars

Cambridge English webinars and Facebook Live sessions are a great way for teachers to stay up to date with the latest developments and to interact with our experts.

Our webinars provide you with invaluable information about our exams, and cover a wide spectrum of subjects, including effective teaching methods, tips to improve student engagement and online professional development to help you develop your career.

Webinars for teachers

Teaching English with Cambridge Facebook page

You can connect with a lively community of teachers on our Teaching English with Cambridge Facebook page . We regularly post teaching tips, answer your questions, and host regular Live events to give you a chance to engage with the community.

Free online learning activities

We have hundreds of free learning activities to help you practise your English and prepare for your B2 First exam.

Find out more

Exam information for candidates

Download our guide to the exam, with advice on preparing for the exam, tips for exam day, and useful links.

B2 First: Information for candidates

Writing checklist

This checklist is designed to help you assess your writing. It includes a summary of the assessment criteria and useful questions to check whether you’ve met each of the criteria of the Writing paper.

B2 First Writing checklist

Social media

Join our lively Facebook community and take part in quizzes, talk to other English language learners and learn on-the-go.

Subscribe to our Learn English with Cambridge YouTube channel to get helpful tips for exam preparation, and lots of English language advice.

Write & Improve: Practise your writing for free

Write & Improve is a free online tool to help you practise and improve your writing. Just choose a task, write or upload your answer and use the feedback to quickly improve.

Improve your learning with the Exam Lift app

• learn English on the go – anytime and anywhere
• develop the skills you need for the B2 First exam
• receive instant feedback on your performance.

Free: Reading practice

Register to get free reading activities. Practise on your device - computer, tablet, or mobile phone. Each activity takes just a few minutes, so you can learn when it suits you.

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Cómo escribir un essay perfecto para el examen B2 (FCE)

En la parte del Writing B2, conocido también como FCE, tienes que realizar dos estilos diferentes de escritura. Hay dos preguntas en las que hay que escribir un tipo de escrito diferente en cada uno. La pregunta 1, que te pide escribir un essay , es probablemente la que nos resulta más difícil. En este artículo vamos a ayudarte con la tarea de escribir un essay perfecto para el examen B2 (FCE).

¿En qué partes se divide el writing del examen B2 de Cambridge?

El Writing B2 tiene dos partes. La parte 1 (Part 1) del Writing , Pregunta 1 ( Question 1 del Writing ), consiste en escribir un Essay (ensayo), y esta parte del Writing es obligatoria, no hay opciones.

Sin embargo, en la parte 2 ( Part 2) del Writing B2 hay tres preguntas y cada una de ellas contiene un tipo diferente de estilo escrito. Los candidatos tienen que elegir una de las preguntas y escribir uno de entre tres tipos diferentes de estilo escrito. Entre estos se encuentran el artículo , el informe , la crítica , la carta/email formal y la carta/email informal; pero en el examen solo te ofrecen tres tipos de estilo de entre esos cinco. Por ejemplo,  la pregunta 1 podría consistir en escribir un artículo ( Article ) , la pregunta 2 un informe ( Report ) y la pregunta 3 una crítica ( Review ).

¿Cómo es el essay que se pide en el writing del examen B2?

El essay del writing B2 es un tipo de writing formal y objetivo en el que tenemos que escribir sobre un tema, situación o problema, que puede ser serio o comprometido, ofreciendo argumentos a favor y en contra, que incluyan ejemplos, y que apoyen tu opinión  sobre el tema, la cual se dará al final del essay , en la conclusión.

El essay del writting B2 tiene una estructura muy bien definida. Tiene que incluir una introducción , un cuerpo del essay dividido en varios párrafos con ideas bien organizadas donde se desarrollan los argumentos o ideas a favor y en contra de una forma coherente y equilibrada, que conduzcan a la persona que lo lea a una conclusión , la misma a la que llegas tú.

Guía para escribir un essay perfecto paso a paso

Para escribir un essay perfecto en el writing B2 lo primero que tienes que hacer es leer cuidadosamente las instrucciones , el enunciado (tema, que normalmente se presenta en forma de pregunta) y las dos ideas o argumentos que te ofrecen como ayuda . Además es necesario pensar en una tercera idea para incluirla en el cuerpo del essay , que tú tienes que aportar. Es muy importante que entiendas lo que te piden que hagas y cómo utilizar las ideas ofrecidas, junto con la idea que tú aportas, para desarrollar el essay .

Es primordial mantener un buen enfoque sobre el tema sin desviarse . Todas tus ideas y opiniones tienen que ser relevantes y coherentes con respecto a la pregunta, tienen que apoyar o estar en contra de la pregunta (tema) en cuestión. No se trata únicamente de escribir, sino de exponer una serie de ideas para guiar al lector o a la lectora a la misma conclusión que llegas tú.

El essay que tienes que escribir para el writing B2 o FCE tiene que apoyar tus ideas ofreciendo razones y ejemplos en el desarrollo de los argumentos del cuerpo del essay . Además de las dos ideas o argumentos que se te da en el enunciado, tú tienes que pensar en una tercera idea para incluirla en el essay B2 . Si cualquiera de estas tres ideas no está incluida en el essay B2, se te penalizará.

Las ideas tienen que estar expresadas de una forma clara y lógica , ser coherentes con el tema y estar muy bien organizadas en párrafos. Es muy importante atenerse a las dos ideas o argumentos que te dan más la que tú añades, dando explicaciones e incluyendo ejemplos sin incluir más ideas a las que no das explicaciones.

Una vez leídas las instrucciones, el enunciado, y las ideas, es muy importante dedicar entre 5 y 10 minutos en hacer una lluvia de ideas ( brainstorming ). Hay varias formas de desarrollar el proceso creativo. En este artículo te voy a sugerir una que a mi parecer da muy buenos resultados:

• Primero tienes que pensar en tu opinión con respecto al tema y escribirla de forma breve para tener claro cómo vas a enfocar el essay . No es el producto final, sólo una guía, así que no te preocupes sobre las estructuras sintácticas, vocabulario, etc.; solo del aspecto conceptual, es decir, qué quieres transmitir.
• A continuación escribe de una forma simple y breve cómo vas a argumentar cada una de las ideas que te dan más la que tú propones, siempre en función del tema y de tu opinión. No te preocupes de la gramática en este punto, solo del aspecto conceptual: qué quieres transmitir.
• Finalmente piensa en una introducción y la escribes ; no expreses tu opinión aquí. Haz un esbozo del tema, di por qué es importante o por qué la gente tiene diferentes opiniones y describe el tópico de forma clara.

La estructura del essay B2 que te propongo tiene cinco párrafos en el orden en que se enumeran, aunque hay otras alternativas:

Introducción

• Idea o argumento 1
• Idea o argumento 2
• Idea o argumento 3

A la hora de hacer el brainstorming piensa en la cantidad de palabras que tienes que escribir para que no pierdas control . Si hacemos cinco párrafos y el límite de palabras del essay B2 es de 140 a 190 palabras, cada párrafo tiene que contener entre 30 y 35 palabras aproximadamente para que esté equilibrado.

Una vez realizada la lluvia de ideas, ya  puedes empezar el primer borrador del essay ateniéndote al orden de los párrafos citado anteriormente. Concéntrate en expresar las ideas de forma clara, precisa y coherente sin preocuparte mucho de vocabulario ni estructuras sintácticas complejas. Eso lo haces una vez tengas delineado el esbozo del essay completo.

Cuando termines el borrador, vuelve a leer cada uno de los párrafos e intenta cambiar algunas estructuras sintácticas para que sean más efectivas y cumplan los parámetros de formalidad del essay B2. Varía la longitud de las oraciones, utiliza preguntas directas e indirectas (sin excederte)  y una variedad de estructuras (la parte 4 del Use of English puede ser de gran utilidad para esto) y vocabulario que pueden ser de gran ayuda para comunicar tus ideas de una forma más efectiva y acordes con el estilo del essay . Por ejemplo, para hacer un contraste de ideas es muy probable que se te ocurra el conector “ but ” (pero) y escribirlo así en el borrador; aquí puedes pensar en otras estructuras de contraste y cambiar ésta por otra como “ although ”, “ in spite of ”, “ however ”, etc.

El uso correcto de conectores ( because, however, in rder to, on the other hand , etc.) y de elementos de cohesión (pronombres y expresiones pronominales) es muy importante en la elaboración de un essay B2.

Cuenta las palabras y añade contenido si tienes menos de 140. Si tienes más de 190 tendrás que hacer un gran esfuerzo en editar el essay para ajustarte a este máximo de palabras.

Por último, vuelve a leer el essay . Esta última lectura la haría después de hacer la parte 2 del writing B2 para que te dé la oportunidad de olvidarte un poco de lo que has escrito y empieces con una mente relativamente fresca. Asegúrate de corregir errores gramaticales, de puntuación, ortografía y de discurso ; es decir, si algún pasaje no tiene sentido o te cuesta trabajo comprender, tendrás que hacer los cambios necesarios para se pueda entender fácilmente. Si te cuesta trabajo a ti, imagínate al examinador o examinadora intentando darle sentido.

Asegúrate de que el essay B2 tiene entre 140 y 190 palabras y éste ya está completo.

Estructura de un essay

El essay B2 tiene que contener una introducción, un desarrollo de las ideas y una conclusión . Para el desarrollo tienes que utilizar dos o más párrafos, dependiendo de cómo enfoques el essay . Yo te sugiero que, para hacértelo fácil a ti y hacérselo fácil a los examinadores, utilices tres párrafos, uno por idea o argumento.

En este párrafo describe el tópico o tema de una forma clara diciendo por qué es importante o por qué la gente tiene diferentes opiniones sobre éste.

Delinea el enunciado pero evita copiar la pregunta; parafraséala utilizando sinónimos si es posible.

Cita los tres argumentos que vas a cubrir. El lector tiene que estar informado de qué va a leer a continuación.

No expreses tu opinión aquí.

El desarrollo consta de dos o tres párrafos, dependiendo de cómo enfoques el essay . Si por ejemplo tienes dos argumentos en contra y uno a favor, podrías hacer un párrafo para las ideas en contra y otro para la idea a favor del tema. Si no controlas esto bien, puede que los párrafos no estén equilibrados.

Te sugiero que presentes tres párrafos , uno para cada idea o argumento . Cada párrafo tiene que tener una idea principal elaborada en una oración. Luego incluye  detalles para apoyar la idea principal que pueden ser ejemplos, preguntas retóricas (sin pasarte con éstas), declaraciones controvertidas, si incluyes una desventaja ofrece una posible ventaja, etc.

Cada párrafo tiene que empezar con un adverbio de orden que te ayuda a ti a organizar tus ideas y al lector a seguir la argumentación. Estos podrían ser “ Firstly , ” para el primer argumento, ” Secondly , ” para el segundo y “ Finally , ” para el tercero.

Recuerda que el estilo es formal y el tono objetivo, así que no transmitas emociones que normalmente tienen la forma de adjetivos. Por ejemplo, en lugar de decir “ It is a fantastic idea to do something ” podrías escribir “ It is a good idea to do something ”.

No expreses tu opinión en el desarrollo.

No utilices ni primera persona ni segunda persona. Esto se puede evitar utilizando la voz pasiva, la gerundización y utilizando un referente. Por ejemplo, es muy común escribir cosas como “ When you go to the supermarket, you should think about the environment… ” que se podrían escribir como “ When going to the supermarket, people should think about … ”.

El último párrafo será la conclusión. La conclusión del essay tiene que ser coherente y consistente con la argumentación en el desarrollo del essay . Aquí puedes hablar en primera persona y expresar tu opinión de acuerdo con la argumentación. Recuerda que en el desarrollo del essay guías al lector a la conclusión a la que tú llegas, así que ésta tiene que ser consistente con la argumentación.

Es recomendable que empieces este último párrafo con “ In conclusión ,”, o “ To conclude, ”, etc. para que quede claro que es la conclusión y no otra argumentación.

Ejemplo de essay para examen B2

A continuación, te ofrecemos ejemplos de un essay para el B2, con el objetivo de que puedas visualizar todo lo que te hemos comentado hasta este momento. Así podrás poner en práctica nuestras recomendaciones antes de que te enfrentes al examen.

Ejemplo de enunciado de un essay

El enunciado o pregunta que hay que cubrir en el essay B2 es la primera línea que aparece dentro del recuadro. Bajo Notes tenemos las tres ideas o argumentos, la primera y segunda están ahí, pero la 3 te la tienes que inventar tú.

Ejemplo de essay resuelto

A continuación tienes un ejemplo escrito por un alumno. Puede que contenga errores pero tiene una estructura clara y contiene una variedad de conectores, vocabulario, y estructuras sintácticas con el propósito de hacer más efectivo el essay .

¿Cómo mejoro mi forma de redactar en inglés de cara al essay ?     

Lo mejor que  puedes hacer para mejorar tu habilidad de essay writing B2 es practicar , por supuesto bajo la supervisión de una persona que te ofrezca feedback .

También es aconsejable que leas essays del writing B2 escritos por otros candidatos. Los libros de tests de B2 normalmente contienen ejemplos de essays B2 junto con feedback que te ayudará a ver aspectos positivos y negativos de estos.

¿Cuánto tiempo tengo para escribir el essay en el examen B2?

Para el writing B2 dispones de 80 minutos para realizar las dos partes . Para el essay B2 dispondrás de un mínimo de 40 minutos dependiendo de las opciones que tengas en la parte 2. Una carta informal, por ejemplo, podría llevarte 20 minutos, por lo que te tendrías otros 20 minutos más.

¿Cuál es el máximo de palabras que deben componer un essay?

El essay B2 tiene que tener un mínimo de 140 palabras y un máximo de 190 palabras . No puedes escribir menos del mínimo ni exceder el máximo, de lo contrario te penalizarán.

Consejos finales para realizar el essay en el examen B2 de Cambridge

• Las ideas, cuanto más claras y simples mejor.
• Date tiempo para pensar y organizar tus ideas antes de empezar el essay .
• Déjate tiempo para hacer una revisión final del texto escrito.
• No utilices contracciones.
• Evita los phrasal verbs .
• No utilices coloquialismos ni expresiones comunes.
• Utiliza conectores para enlazar ideas y elementos de cohesión como por ejemplo pronombres.
• Cuando practiques essay writing B2, utiliza un diccionario e infórmate sobre el tema antes de empezar.

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Cómo escribir un essay Cambridge B2: estructura y guía paso a paso

Tanto si te presentas al Cambridge B2: First como al Cambridge C1: Advanced, sabes que en la primera parte del writing caerá un essay. ¿Sufres el síndrome de la hoja en blanco? ¿No sabes cómo escribir tu essay B2 o sientes que no tienes tiempo suficiente para terminarlo? Entonces necesitas leer esta entrada, en la que escribiremos juntos un ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2 paso a paso. Pero antes, respondo a algunas preguntas que puedes estar haciéndote sobre cómo escribir un essay B2.

Diferencia entre essay y article B2

Una de las preguntas que mis alumnos suelen hacer más a menudo es la diferencia entre essay y article . Esta es sobre todo es de tono y estilo: un article B2 expresa un punto de vista personal sobre un tema de una manera más cercana y desenfadadas, en la que el autor o autora suele hablar en primera persona y atraer a su lector con preguntas retóricas, afirmaciones sorprendentes y otros recursos que lo «enganchen».

En un ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2, por el contrario, emplearemos un tono más distante y académico (evitaremos hablar en primera o segunda persona). Además, trataremos de incorporar puntos de vista diferentes al nuestro.

¿Cuánto tiempo y espacio tengo para escribir mi ejemplo de essay B2?

Para saber cómo escribir nuestro ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2 debemos tener en cuenta su extensión   (140-190 palabras)  y el tiempo del que vamos a disponer para escribirlo (80 minutos para las dos tareas del  writing,  con lo cual  tienes 40 minutos para tu  essay) .

Ahora bien,  ¿qué pasa si excedo las 190 palabras? Nada.  No obstante, cuando sobrepasas ese límite por un margen amplio, inevitablemente terminas escribiendo sobre cosas que no son relevantes para la tarea, y eso sí lo penalizan. Por otro lado, si te enrollas demasiado, el tiempo no te alcanzará. Los diseñadores de la prueba lo tienen todo muy bien calculado.

Cómo escribir este ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2

1. responde a la pregunta del essay.

Lo primero que haremos para escribir este ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2 es leer el enunciado, en el que encontrarás una pregunta. Trabajaremos con este enunciado (pero puedes encontrar más aquí ):

Después, lo que tenemos que hacer para comenzar el essay es responder la pregunta.

Como suele ocurrir con los temas de Cambridge, es muy probable que no hayas dedicado mucho tiempo a este y no tengas una opinión formada. ¿Qué hacer entonces? Sencillo: vamos a escribir lo que nos salga de la punta… del boli. Brainstorming de toda la vida.

Esto es lo que me ha salido de la punta del boli:

Después , agregaremos las ideas que ya nos dan en el enunciado, y que debemos obligatoriamente incluir:

• friendlier at local businesses
• broader at department stores

Después de esta fase de brainstorming, queda claro que me inclino más por las tiendas de barrio que por los grandes almacenes. Esta será la respuesta a la pregunta del essay.

Para argumentarla, elegiremos una de las ideas que han salido en el brainstorming y nuestro desarrollo de las ideas que nos han dado en el enunciado.

2. Hacer un guion: la coherencia en mi ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2

En el segundo paso para escribir nuestro ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2, organizaremos las ideas en un outline a manera de guion. Además, desarrollaremos estas ideas explicándolas y proporcionando ejemplos.

Cuando tengas que escribir tu essay, no te devanes mucho los sesos. Tira de tu experiencia personal (o la de tu cuñado) como comprador/a en tiendas locales y grandes almacenes.

En el caso de nuestro ejemplo, empezaremos copiando la pregunta del essay. Después, continuaremos con una disadvantage del comercio local y luego escribiremos las ventajas. Este es el orden lógico si la idea que queremos transmitir es que preferimos comprar en local businesses (que es la respuesta que hemos dado a la pregunta del essay en el paso anterior).

Como ves, a mí me gusta representar la jerarquía de las ideas que quiero plasmar siguiendo una estructura diagonal. Así me resulta más fácil verlas.

3. Redactar tu essay: cohesión en mi ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2

El siguiente paso en la redacción de este ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2 es convertir las ideas del paso anterior en párrafos.

Recuerda que cada párrafo debe tratar una sola idea y que las diferentes oraciones deben seguir una secuencia lógica y estar bien cohesionados. Para ello he de emplear los conectores adecuados.

Ahora bien, a estos párrafos les hace falta algo, ¿no? Vamos, que parece que no tienen nada que ver el uno con el otro.

Aquí viene el segundo nivel de cohesión: hay que unir los párrafos entre sí para que formen parte de un todo coherente y el lector no se pierda. Para ello usamos el signposting , que no es otra cosa que emplear conectores (signposts, transition signals, llámalos como quieras) al principio de cada párrafo:

Antes de continuar, quiero que te fijes en lo siguiente:

• La idea principal está siempre al comienzo del párrafo.
• No escribo oraciones demasiado largas

En el último párrafo he metido alguna otra cosa que no iba en el guion original. No pasa nada: hazlo si ves que el párrafo se te ha quedado muy pobre y puedes añadir algo que explique mejor la idea principal. Pero tampoco te pases.

4. Escribir la conclusión de tu essay

Ahora que hemos puesto punto final a la última disadvantage , continuamos con el penúltimo paso para escribir este ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2: escribir la conclusión. Para ello, haremos un resumen de los argumentos expuestos y emplearemos conectores, tanto para la coherencia interna del párrafo como para la coherencia del essay.

Y para que nos quede una conclusión de 10, dejaremos al lector con algo que pensar:

5. Escribir la introducción

Por último, para terminar este ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2 escribo la introducción. La de jo para el final porque, personalmente, me parece lo más difícil. Si no es tu caso, puedes escribirla antes del paso anterior o después de haber respondido a la pregunta del essay.

La introducción sirve para atraer a tu lector. Este, sea en la vida real o sea tu examinador de Cambridge, es una persona ocupada y tienes que ponérselo fácil para que lea.

Para escribir nuestra introducción, seguiremos la forma de un embudo que comienza con afirmaciones de carácter genérico sobre el tema del essay . Haremos un poco de brainstorming:

• Department stores are present in every large town and most middle-sized ones
• Popular with elderly people and millenials

Después, terminaremos este embudo con la thesis statement , la oración central de tu essay que dará pie a la argumentación que le sigue. Por esto mismo, la thesis stamentent debe contener las palabras clave que aparecen en las oraciones principales (iniciales) de cada párrafo.

De acuerdo: quizá no sea un recurso muy original. Pero funciona.

6. Revisar y pulir

Después de haber seguido estos pasos para para escribir este ejemplo de essay Cambridge B2, solo queda revisar lo que hemos escrito. Nuestro essay ha quedado así:

Ahora hay que comprobar y corregir los fallos de organización (cohesión y coherencia) gramaticales, léxicos y ortográficos. De ello te hablo en este pdf descargable .

Y, si eres perfeccionista como yo, puedes tratar de pulir algunas cosas. SI TE SOBRA TIEMPO.

Que no es mi caso en este momento y probablemente no será el tuyo el día del examen. Así que acostúmbrate a la no perfección y haz tuya esta frase que me enseñó Lola, mi gurú:

Better done than perfect.

Te dejo con esta máxima espiritual. Y con los takeaways o ideas que quiero que te lleves después de haber leído este artículo.

Your takeaways

Para saber cómo escribir un essay B2, s igue los siguientes pasos:

• Responde la(s) pregunta(s) del writing. Haz brainstorming si es necesario.
• Escribe un guion en el que argumentes tus respuestas con explicaciones y ejemplos.
• una secuencia lógica
• la puntuación
• conectores para la cohesión interna
• el signposting para la cohesión entre párrafos.
• Escribe una conclusión que resuma los puntos tratados y deje al lector con algo que pensar.
• Escribe la introducción. La forma embudo suele funcionar muy bien: unas cuantas frases genéricas sobre el tema (que sigan una secuencia lógica) y terminen con la pregunta misma del essay o una reformulación de la misma.
• cohesión y coherencia;
• léxico y ortografía.

¿Conoces a más gente que necesita mejorar su writing? Compártelo en tus redes.

¿Te ha gustado este artículo? ¿Qué debería mejorar? Déjame tus comentarios.

Si quieres leer más consejos como este, suscríbete a mi comunidad de Successful Writers  aquí abajo 👇🏽

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¿Cómo escribir un ensayo en inglés B2 (essay) para el First Certificate?

Por David Fernández 12 Comments

La sección de expresión escrita ( Writing Paper ) del First Certificate de Cambridge consta de dos partes. En la primera, debemos escribir un ensayo corto ( essay)  mientras que en la segunda parte podemos elegir entre escribir: un artículo, una carta , una crítica ( review) o  una reseña ( report) . En este artículo nos vamos a centrar en la primera parte: el essay.

Resumen del artículo

¿Qué es el  essay del First Certificate?

El essay   del First Certificate es una redacción en la que debemos expresar la opinión sobre un tema presentando argumentos a favor y en contra para luego llegar a una conclusión final. Una de las dificultados de escribir el ensayo del First Certificate es que la mayoría de las veces tampoco hemos escrito un ensayo en español.

¿Necesitas obtener un certificado oficial de inglés?

Descubre nuestros cursos online para preparar los exámenes de cambridge, ¿cómo escribir un ensayo.

• Lo primero que deberás hacer es leer detenidamente las instrucciones  para realizar la tarea correctamente y responder a cada una de las preguntas .Ten en cuenta que serás penalizado si  solo sigues parte de las instrucciones.
• Relee el enunciado del ensayo tantas veces sean necesarias ya que tu redacción debe partir de tal idea. Recuerda parafrasear el enunciado con tus propias palabras o de lo contrario perderás puntos.
• Organiza tus ideas . Para ello  hacer un esquema te resultará especialmente útil.
• Expresa y expón tus ideas de manera clara , es decir, con cohesión y coherencia. Ayúdate de conectores y ciertas expresiones, como las que te presentamos en la sección final de expresiones útiles.
• Usa un vocabulario variado y rico , evita las repeticiones y el abuso de las palabras «comodín» y demasiado generales ( make, thing, have, be… ).
• Empieza con un párrafo introductorio en el que se presenta el tema.
• Continua  con ideas a favor y en contra del tema a tratar. Recuerda que tus ideas deben estar claramente expuestas, presentadas en párrafos distintos y bien argumentadas mediante buenos  ejemplos y razones convincentes .
• Termina con tu propia conclusión .
• ¡Truco! : Enlaza tu conclusión con tu opinión. Es decir si tu conclusión es favorable al tema en cuestión, expón primero tus argumentos en contra, luego aquellos a favor para que sea más fácil la transición a la conclusión.
• Utiliza un estilo formal . Evita las contracciones ( isn’t, hasn’t ) y las expresiones y vocabulario informales y/o coloquiales.
• Intenta atrapar al lector . Para ello siempre será útil formular alguna pregunta y respaldar tus opiniones con buenas razones e incluso ejemplos actuales.
• Una vez acabada la redacción del essay comprueba que has cumplido los pasos anteriormente enumerados, revisa tu ortografía y gramática y asegúrate de que el ensayo es tanto comprensible como legible.

Datos a  tener en cuenta sobre el Writing del FCE

• Las dos partes del writing equivalen al 20% de la puntuación del FCE.
• El número de palabras debe ser entre 120 y 180 .
• El tiempo total para las dos partes de la sección de expresión escritas son 80 minutos . Organiza bien tu tiempo.

BONUS : Aquí te dejo una lista con más de 500 palabras en inglés para B2 y C1 Descargar Lista de Vocabulario y Phrasal Verbs

¿Cómo mejorar la redacción del ensayo?

La mejor forma de mejorar la redacción de ensayos es practicando . Recuerda:  Practice makes perfect!  Escribe tantos ensayos cortos como puedas. No olvides ayudarte de ciertos conectores y expresiones, como los que te proponemos a continuación, para así poder exponer tus opiniones de forma más clara:

Expresiones útiles para usar en el ensayo

Para decir lo que otros opinan :

• Some / many people feel that
• Others argue/claim/say/maintain that …
• Another point of view is that …
• Many people believe/think that …
• It is widely believed that …
• It is generally agreed that …
• It is sometimes claimed/said that …
• According to …

Para expresar tu opinión:

• I personally feel that …
• I (do) believe that …
• I firmly believe that …
• I partfully agree that …
• In my opinion …
• My personal view is that …
• It seems to me that …

Para dar ejemplos:

• For instance, …
• For example, …
• Such as, …

Para concluir / resumir:

• In conclusion, … / To conclude  …
• To summarize, … / To sum up …

Para añadir información:

• In addition to this, …
• What is more, …
• Apart from that, …
• As well as that, …
• Besides (this), …

Para mostrar contraste / concesión :

• However, …, but …, nevertheless, …
• .., although…, whereas …
• Having said that, …
• Despite this,… / Despite the fact that …
• In spite of …

Para exponer las dos caras :

• On the one hand,…
• On the other hand, …/ On the other side of the argument , …

Para razonar y/o explicar :

• Because of this,…
• because / since …
• This is because…
• The (main) reason for this is …

Otro modo de mejorar es leyendo otros essays . Estos te darán ideas. A continuación encontrarás varios ejemplos de ensayos.

Esperamos que este artículo te haya servido de ayuda. Si tienes alguna pregunta sobre el ensayo del First Certificate u otro tema, no dudes en poner un comentario más abajo. Te contestaremos tan breve como nos sea posible.

Nota : si estás preparando el First Certificate por tu cuenta, este artículo te puede interesar. Te contamos los mejores libros con exámenes para practicar y prepararte para aprobar con los materiales más usados en el mercado.

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Si estás pensando en preparar el c1 de inglés de Cambridge por tu cuenta, necesitas conocer los … artículo completo

Los Mejores Libros para Preparar el Proficiency Por Tu Cuenta

En este artículo vamos a elaborar una lista con los mejores libros para preparar el … artículo completo

27 octubre 2017 at 20:45

Es de mucha ayuda esta informacion, en cuanto a la clarides como se explica un tema de interes, te deja sin dudas y listo para hacer tu trabajo.

Muchas gracias por tan valiosa explicacion esto es lo que busco cuando tengo algun tema de interes y desconozco.

30 octubre 2017 at 12:22

Gracias por tu comentario Claudia. Saludos

31 enero 2018 at 13:16

Los ensayos no llevan título? en algunos libros de writing indican que sí. Gracias

31 enero 2018 at 16:25

Buenas tardes,

El titulo de los ensayos es el que te pone en la tarea del examen, que es la obligatoria ( Part 1 – Compulsory task) y no hay que pensar en un otro distinto. Los writings que necesitan titulo son: Report, Article y Review.

24 septiembre 2018 at 01:55

El wrting del fce ocupa el 20% de la puntuacion, y como se reparte el otro 80% entre uoe,reading y speaking?

11 diciembre 2018 at 11:02

UOE 20%, reading 20%, writing 20%, listening 20% y Speaking 20%. There you go!

16 octubre 2018 at 20:16

Algun truco para desarrollar el punto personal? Siempre los que se me ocurren tienen que ver con los ejemplos dados

16 noviembre 2018 at 13:43

Mil gracias! Por favor comprobad los links a los ejemplos no funcionan.

11 diciembre 2018 at 10:57

Gracias Judith, lo revisamos. Thanks a mill!

21 mayo 2020 at 22:35

Buenas tardes nesecito hacer un ensayo por cada veinte hojas leidas de así hablo zaratustra me pueden ayudar gracias

23 mayo 2020 at 10:56

Hola Esperanza. Quizá te interesan nuestros cursos online con profesor en directo que empiezan la semana que viene. En ese curso harás todo tipo de Writings. https://www.examenes-cambridge.com/cursos-preparacion-cambridge-online

8 abril 2021 at 16:30

Gracias por esta valiosa información

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