writing essay b2 exercises

B2 First - Writing Practice

First certificate in english (fce).

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• Use Of English
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On this page, you will find example writing tests to help you prepare for the Writing part of the First Certificate exam.

The speaking section is divided into two parts and involves many types of writing: essay, email, review, report and article.

Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Writing - Example Test One Essay / Report / Review / Email Exercise Number: FCE115

Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Writing - Example Test Two Essay / Email / Report / Article Exercise Number: FCE116

• Try to choose questions that require you to write about something that is interesting to you.
• Always write a brief plan before each of the compositions.
• Think about the target reader and write in a suitable register and tone.

Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Writing - Example Test Three Essay / Review / Article / Email Exercise Number: FCE117

Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Writing - Example Test Four Essay / Review / Article / Report Exercise Number: FCE118

• Ensure all your points and paragraphs link together well.
• Avoid repeating phrases. Learn expressions that will help you write more naturally.
• Leave enough time at the end to re-read each composition and check for errors.

Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Writing - Example Test Five Essay / Report / Email / Article Exercise Number: FCE119

Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Writing - Example Test Six Essay / Review / Article / Report Exercise Number: FCE120

Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Writing - Example Test Seven Essay / Email / Article / Review Exercise Number: FCE121

Cambridge B2 First (FCE) Writing - Example Test Eight Essay / Email / Report / Review Exercise Number: FCE122

Best B2 First Certificate Books For Students

Use of English: Ten practice tests for the Cambridge B2 First | See in UK

FCE Writing Masterclass (Writing B2: FCE Cambridge) | See in UK

Listening First: Ten practice tests for the Cambridge B2 First | See in UK

Cambridge English Qualifications: B2 First Volume 1 Practice Tests Plus with key | See in UK

Cambridge English First 1 for Revised Exam - Student's Book with Answers: Authentic Examination Papers | See in UK

Reading and Use of English for First (FCE) | See in UK

Common Mistakes at First Certificate and How to Avoid Them | See in UK

Gold Experience 2nd Edition Exam Practice: Cambridge English First for Schools (B2) | See in UK

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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

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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.

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Cambridge english: b2 first (fce) writing.

Difficulty level : B2 /Upper Intermediate

What is the B2 First (FCE) Writing test like? The test has two sections and takes about 80 minutes:

• Part 1 - write an essay based on prompts
• Part 2 - write one from a choice of 3 questions: an article , an essay , a letter, a report , a review , a story

Scoring Each of the two writing parts are marked out of 20. There are five marks for each of the following: Content, Communicative Achievement, Organisation and Language. You must write 140-190 words for each part.

How to prepare for the B2 First (FCE) Writing test

• Choose a question that you are interested in. You will write better if you know the subject.
• Read the instructions carefully before you start. Make notes. You must include all the points from the instructions in your writing .
• Make a plan before you start writing. Decide what information to put in each paragraph.
• Think about who you are writing to and use an appropriate style of language.
• Try to use a range of complex language.

Read this explanation of how to write an article for FCE Writing part 2.

First (FCE) Writing tests

• Writing part 1 (essay)
• Writing part 2 (review)
• Writing part 2 (article)
• Writing part 2 (email)
• Writing part 2 (report)
• How to write an article
• Writing essay introductions
• Brainstorming ideas for essays
• Answer the question!

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English Writing Exercises for B2 – Essay: for and against

English Writing Exercises for B2

Preparation

Writing Strategy

When you write an essay, you need to ensure that it has a clear structure.

Paragraph 1: introduction (stating the issue)

Paragraph 2: arguments for the statement

Paragraph 3: arguments against the statement

Paragraph 4: summary, your own opinion

1. Read the Writing Strategy and the task below. What ideas do you expect to see in the essay?

‘A problem shared is a problem halved.’ Write an essay in which you offer arguments for and against discussing your personal problems with a friend.

your own answers

2. Look at the phrases below. Find five more phrases for introducing arguments in the essay.

Introducing one side of the argument

1 ………………………………………………………

It can be argued that …

2 ………………………………………………………

On the one hand, …

3 ………………………………………………………

Furthermore, / Moreover, …

Introducing the other side of the argument

On the other hand, …

4 ………………………………………………………

Having said that, … / That said, …

5 ………………………………………………………

6 ………………………………………………………

When people say that ‘a problem shared is a problem halved,’ they mean that it is good to talk about your issues with someone else. While this may be true, there can also be disadvantages to looking for help in this way.

The first advantage of talking to a friend about a personal problem is that you will gain sympathy and support from someone who cares about you. No one can deny that it is very helpful to have someone who listens to you and shows concern. Even if your friend can’t offer practical advice, it will still make you feel better. It is also true that talking through a problem can help you come to a solution yourself.

So are there any disadvantages in confiding in friends in this way? Although it is true that it is helpful to share your problems with a friend, we should also remember that it is not a good idea to talk about your personal problems to everybody, or it can easily become gossip. It is important to pick one good friend that you can trust to keep your problem to themselves. Moreover, not everybody is kind, so you can end up feeling worse, unless you choose your friend wisely.

To sum up, talking about your problems to a friend is a very beneficial thing to do, provided that you pick the right person. A good friend is one you can trust.

1    The first advantage …

2    No one can deny that …

3   It is also true that …

4    While this may be true …

5    Although it is true that …

6    …, we should also remember that …

3. Write the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first. Use the words in brackets.

1   I’ll do the dishes if you clean the kitchen. (provided that)

     …………………………………….

2   Despite the fact that he seems nice, I still don’t trust him. (even though)

3   Always try everything, despite the possibility it might not work out. (even if)

4   He’ll fix your bike if you lend it to him on Saturday. (on condition that)

5   If I study all week, I’ll pass the exam. (provided that)

1   I’ll do the dishes provided that you clean the kitchen.

2   Even though he seems nice, I still don’t trust him.

3   Always try everything, even if it might not work out.

4   He’ll fix your bike on condition that you lend it to him on Saturday.

5   Provided that I study all week, I’ll pass the exam.

Writing Guide

‘You should always paddle your own canoe.’ Write an essay in which you offer arguments for and against being totally independent, not asking for help and only relying on yourself.

4. Read the task and make notes.

Advantages ………………………………………..

Disadvantages ………………………………………….

5. Write your essay.

Extra exercises.

Always start by planning your arguments. Write down three or four ideas for and three or four against the topic. Choose the best two arguments for each side of the issue, and develop them by adding a comment or providing an example.

1. Read the Strategy and look at the arguments below against sharing a flat with a sibling. Develop the arguments. Use the questions to help you.

1    It may mean no privacy for both of you.

     Will you be able to keep your ‘private life’ away from your sibling? What might they report back to your parents?

2   It will lead to arguments over household chores.

     Why will it be difficult to share out the chores? How might this affect your relationship?

3   There may be pressure to hang out constantly.

      Why will it be difficult to have space for yourself?

      What might your sibling think if you refuse to go out with him/her one evening?

2. Read the task below and write your essay.

Some parents have access to their teenage children’s accounts on social media and control their online activities. Write an essay in which you discuss arguments for and against the attitude of these parents.

Related Posts

• English Writing Exercises for B2 – A letter to a newspaper
• English Writing Exercises for B2 – A report
• English Writing Exercises for B2 – A story
• English Writing Exercises for B2 – An article
• English Writing Exercises for B2 – An opinion essay
• English Writing Exercises for B2 – A letter of complaint

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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!

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Your teacher has asked you to write an essay on the dangers of social media, and how people can protect themselves.

Your teacher has asked you to write an essay on the importance of learning foreign languages.

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A for and against essay about the internet.

Look at the essay and do the exercises to improve your writing skills.

Instructions

Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the text and do the other exercises.

Preparation

Check your writing: grouping - ideas

Check your writing: gap fill - useful phrases, worksheets and downloads.

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