Every problem regarding ‘the’ environment and pollution can be solved. Science is always working on new solutions , ‘and’ new suggestions for alternative means of production are frequently put on the table (good language) . The most difficult issue in this scenario is the interest s of different social groups in the world society (this is okay to mention here if it is your own idea and third point) .
The vision of profit gains must been align with environmental protecti on ve measures which is really challenging (good word) . First (why did you write ‘first’ – do you mean ‘The first’) positive changes begin with this alignment, for example, hotels proposing to clients to use the same bath towe ’l’ r while they stay s in. I t s is good for nature, and i t ( your spelling doesn’t need to be perfect in the exam, but you will lose marks if bad spelling confuses the meaning of your sentence) good for the business men (you could expand on what you mean here) .
For all other matters, conciliate (I don’t know this word. Perhaps you mean ‘finding an effective relationship between’) both aspects (does ‘both aspects’ refer to ‘the environment’ and ‘economics’) is not a simple task, more difficult than the most high tech science. Efforts for environmental purposes should focus on changing culture, values, business perspectives of profits in global society, otherwise there will ‘not’ be not enough progress.
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| 2 | Most of your content is relevant to the task. There is a strong introduction, however, not all the notes are addressed in the body of the essay. There are 47 extra words to use before reaching 190, so these could be used to talk about the other notes. There is also room to expand some of your points and explain why you made them, for example, in the first paragraph, how is it ‘ ’? |
| 3 | The overall argument is fairly easy to understand, but some of the phrases used are not specific enough, for example what does ‘ ’ refer to in the final paragraph? The main paragraph about ‘profit’ is developed quite well, it would be good if other paragraphs existed and were developed in the same way. |
| 2 | The organisation of this answer is not clear. There is a clear introduction, which is good, however, there are only two more paragraphs after this. Two of the ‘notes’ are mentioned in the introduction but ‘social groups’ is not mentioned again and ‘science’ is only mentioned in the concluding paragraph. It would be better if these two points had their own paragraphs. The conclusion could be shortened to allow this. |
| 4 | The language used is quite good. It is written in an appropriately formal style and there are some good words and phrases, for example: ’. The writing would benefit from more linking words and phrases being used. Some effort has been made to use simple and complex grammatical structures, for example ‘ ’ and while there are a few errors, these do not impede communication. |
This student got:
Communicative Achievement: 3
Organisation: 2
Language: 4
Total = 11/20
You need to get 24/40 in the Writing paper to pass at B2 level.
So if the student got 13/20 for their part 2 writing, they would pass this part of the exam.
You do not need to pass every exam paper but you need to have an average of 60% across all 5 exam papers to pass and get your B2 certificate.
If you want to find out more about how to calculate your scores, read page 4 of this document .
Try to remember the words and phrases below which you can use in B2 First essays. A good way to remember is to write them down on a separate sheet of paper. Add more words and phrases to your list and write them in the comments section at the bottom of this page! If you are unsure about what language to use in an essay, you can also ask me in the comments at the bottom of the page.
Introducing an argument or point of view
Some/Many/A few people think/feel/say that… Other people disagree/argue that…. One point of view is… The general belief is that… Most people believe that… Public opinion is divided on the topic of… It is sometimes/often said/thought/claimed that….
Giving opinions
In my opinion I am of the belief that… In contrast to …. I feel that… My personal opinion is that… It is my wholehearted/sincere opinion that…
Linking Words and Phrases
However Nevertheless In addition… Firstly…Secondly On the one hand…On the other hand… In contrast… Meanwhile Whereas
At school you have been talking about environmental issues. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay on this topic.
Write an essay using all the notes and give reasons to support your view. (140-190 words)
The awareness of environmental problems has grown over the last few years. Do you think it’s possible for us to solve these problems?
Notes Write about: Plastic Transport ……………… (your own idea)
You should complete this online plan in no longer than 5 minutes. This is how long I recommend you plan for in the exam.
Alternatively, download and add a third paragraph to this FCE Essay plan template.
The plan below is available for paid members only. Register here >>
Here is an answer to the question above which one of my students wrote.
FCE Essay – Download This Sample Answer and correct any mistakes you find.
If you have written down the mistakes above, you’re ready to complete the assessment scale below. If you want more help with this, check out my FCE writing marking criteria page .
Complete an online version of the template below here
Download, print and complete the template below here .
Compare the mistakes you found with the ones I have written below…
At school, during ‘ science and geography ’ lesson s of science and geography , everyone studies how ‘ the’ is made natural environment ‘is made’ and how we can protect it. Despite ‘the fact’ we study the importance of environment , we don’t pay much attention to this ‘in reality’ . At the moment we are attending particular and extreme phenomena, so we are very scared and worried and we want to change. It may not be as easy as it sounds.
( I would start a new paragraph here) First ly , it is difficult to change ‘ our’ own lifestyle and habits. Change has an economic and personal cost. We don’t mind how much plastic we use every day. Plastic is everywhere: it wraps the (you don’t need ‘the’ here because we’re talking about ‘food’ in general) food, it is useful when we want to eat quickly, it is also in our clothes. The products , that don’t have plastic in their pack aging s , are more expensive ( this is a defining relative clause, not a non-defining relative clause) : . I think for example , when I buy drink s in the glass bottle s , they are very expensive. So , if I want to save money , I buy plastic bottles. Then I observe that (‘Another example that I have observed is…’) in the supermarket I can find many small food packs, also for single dose’ s/’portions’ of food’ . I don’t waste food but I pollute more ‘because of this’ . So we can find sustainable development (If you want to keep this sentence, you should explain in more detail what you mean) .
( I would start a new paragraph here) Another problem is about transport: we are all in favor that we have to use more public transport s . The problem is that too often we don’t have a good public transport service with a capillary distribution (this term is only used in specific fields of work and is not used in everyday English) . However we can ‘make an’ effort to use ‘ our’ own car ’s’ only if it is necessary.
‘The’ last thing it is about differentiated collection of waste: too few people do es it (You should remove this sentence . Don’t introduce too many ideas without developing them into detailed arguments).
I think that there are many ‘environmental’ problems but we have to stop to think that ‘these’ are only an obstacle. It is ‘ They are ’ also an opportunity. So it is important to change our mind’ set’ but we need also ‘need’ of more education in every where place ( ‘in’ school s , within famil ies y , at cinema s , etc.) about good (‘environmentally friendly’) behavior. Second ly, (I would only write this if I’ve written ‘firstly’ before it) , if the law and the penalties don’t work, probably we would change them in (‘people’s behaviour’?) ‘through’ incentives. For example , if the condo (what is ‘the condo’?) applies perfectly the rules about differentiated collection of waste it would have a discount in the invoice (I don’t understand this sentence) . Third ly , we need more investment ‘ in ’ for transport and sustainable development.
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| 1 | The writing is too long. If you write this much in the exam you will lose points because the examiners will regard the content as unimportant or irrelevant. In order to create more of a balanced argument, the introduction, conclusion and first body paragraph could all be shortened and more detail could be added to your own idea. |
| 3 | Some parts could be improved through using different expressions, for example, it would be better to say ‘ …’ rather than ‘ ’ in the second paragraph. Your main paragraphs have good structure, but sometimes the argument falls down slightly due to inappropriate word choices, e.g. ‘ ’. |
| 2 | The essay consists of two big paragraphs. It would be better to have 5 paragraphs in total. The overall structure within the two paragraphs is good, but some arguments should be shortened and others lengthened to create a greater balance. |
| 2 | The language is a little informal for an essay. The writing would benefit from fewer first person pronouns (‘ etc). There is attempt to use linking words, especially when developing points ‘ ’ but it is difficult to know which arguments these are addressing in the main body paragraphs. Some complex vocabulary has been used, e.g. ‘ The essay would benefit from a wider variety of grammar and different verb tenses. |
This student achieved:
Language: 2
Total = 8/20
So the student would need to get 16/20 for their part 2 writing in order to pass this part of the exam.
I can tell by reading this essay that the student has not prepared much for this part of the exam, so it is unlikely that they would get a much higher mark for their part 2 writing.
Wow….you’ve made it this far through the page….congratulations, you should now have a good idea how to write an FCE essay!
I hope I didn’t bore you zzzzzzzzzzz…here’s a random picture 😉
Anyway, now it’s your turn to write an essay. You can answer the question above or answer a different question. Then you have 3 options:
I’ll leave the choice up to you.
Adios amigos…don’t forget to click the Next Page >> link below 😉
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By: Alex Case | Category: English Language Examinations | Topic: Cambridge First (formerly FCE)
Last Updated: 12th May. 2023
Teaching tips and classroom activities for the essay task in the updated FCE exam from January 2015.
Essay questions seemed to have almost completely disappeared from Cambridge FCE until January 2015, when they suddenly became the only possibility in Writing Part One and therefore half of the writing exam and its marks. This is presumably to make FCE more of an academic exam and standardise it with the other Cambridge tests such as Cambridge Advanced, but it is likely to be a problem for both students and teachers.
One potential issues with having to write an essay in FCE Writing Part One is that it replaces the increasingly common skill of emailing. Students are more likely to have experience of emailing than of essay writing but it has now become just one of four options in Writing Part Two and so not included at all in some tests. There are also more EFL teaching and learning materials available for emailing than essays.
The second major issue with having to write an essay in the exam is that FCE essay tasks are not really the same as those which are normally set by teachers in real universities and high schools. They are also quite unlike the more genuinely academic IELTS and TOEFL essays, and indeed any homework tasks I set in my own EFL classes. This means that the tasks, tactics, language and activities used in class and for homework must be quite specific to Cambridge First.
What students have to do with FCE Writing Part One essay tasks
All the six official tests released so far for the updated 2015 FCE include these parts:
“In your English class you have been talking about… Now, your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.
Write an essay using all of the notes and give reasons for your point of view.
(statement) Do you agree?” or “(question asking to choose between two options)?” or “(yes/ no opinion question)?”
Write about;
3. (your own idea)
Write your essay. You must use grammatically correct sentences with accurate spelling and punctuation in a style appropriate to the situation.”
Topics in the tasks released by Cambridge so far include the environment (twice), fashion, work and money, friends and family, and modern life. Question stems include “Which is more important – … or …?”, “Is it better to… or…?”, “We should… Do you agree?”, “Some people say that… has a bad effect on people’s lives. Do you agree?”, and “… Do you think these problems can be solved?”
The subtopics which students must include in their answers include “the kind/ type of… which is/ are…”, “the reasons for…”, “how much time is spent…”, “who you can… with”, “who will… you when you…”, “whether… is important”, and “the price of…” Many of these are not subtopics that I would choose if I had more freedom to write on the topic and a few are frankly even a little bizarre, so I think it is necessary to think of this part of the task as a problem that needs tackling rather than something that is likely to help students plan as perhaps was intended. Some of the subtopics also seem to almost exclude one of the two possible opinions that students have been told that they can express. For example, it is difficult to have a paragraph on “the kinds of animals which are in danger” if you disagree with the statement “We should do everything we can to save animals which are in danger of disappearing from our planet”.
Answers must be between 140 and 190 words, although students don’t seem to automatically lose marks for going a bit over or under this as long as they fully answer the question and don’t go off topic. Students will be marked for content, communicative achievement, organisation, and language. Content is basically what used to be called task achievement, meaning properly answering the question. Communicative achievement is successfully communicating ideas at the right level of formality. Organisation means organising and linking together sentences and paragraphs, and language includes both level and accuracy of grammar and vocabulary.
To at least pass this part of the exam students must:
- Think of one more subtopic to include in their answer before they start writing (in addition to the two which are given)
- Decide before they start writing whether they are going to give their opinion in the introduction and then support it, or if they are only going to give their opinion at the end
- Organise their essay into at least two main paragraphs plus an introduction and summary/ conclusion
- Include all three subtopics (the two given plus the one they thought of) in their answer
- Support all their arguments
- Use a neutral or formal level of language
- Leave at least a couple of minutes for final editing of spelling, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, etc
- Finish in about 40 minutes, and no more than 45 minutes max, to leave enough time for Writing Part Two (which is an equal length and has equal marks)
Students should:
- Underline important words in the question and its instructions, to make sure that they answer the question properly
- Use different kinds of support (reasons, examples, personal experience, other people’s experiences, things read or heard, logical arguments, generalisations, facts, etc) for each of their arguments
- Make sure that the things that they add to each opinion do actually support their arguments (meaning they aren’t just vaguely on the same topic, don’t actually support the opposite side of the argument, and aren’t just phrases they’ve learnt which don’t really link to what they are trying to prove)
- Avoid repeating words, instead rephrasing or using referencing expressions (including in the final summary/ conclusion)
- Make sure that the essay is neat enough to be understood without needing to be read again (but see below for limits to how much they need to worry about this)
- Start writing as soon as they can think of one reasonably suitable third subtopic (rather than wasting time brainstorming better options)
- Be ambitious with the language that they use, showing the examiner that they have a high language level and making up for their inevitable weaknesses in other areas such as accuracy
- Also add more ambitious language at the editing stage
Students should probably:
- Choose to express and support whatever opinion seems easier to write about, e.g. because it easily matches the subtopics given, rather than automatically deciding to write their real opinion
- Use as high a level of formality as they can, including things like avoiding contractions (“I am” rather than “I’m” etc), because more formal language will also be higher level language/ more ambitious language
- Show the strength or weakness of their opinions
- Use longer versions of basic phrases, e.g. using “I strongly believe” rather than “I believe”
- Give some background to the question by describing how it is important, interesting and/ or topical in the introduction (making sure that what they say is believable, not just a recycled phrase from a model answer)
Students can:
- Use rhetorical questions (unlike in some genuine academic writing)
- Make up their own personal experiences etc to support their arguments (as long as they are believable)
- Write their opposite of their real opinion (if that is easier to support)
- Do Writing Part Two first if they have a mental block with the Writing Part One essay, coming back to the first task later
- Use some slightly more informal but high level language such as phrasal verbs
- Use Latin abbreviations such as “e.g.” and “etc”
- Cross things off and use little arrows to insert missing words (rather than overusing their eraser, if they have an erasable pen)
- Add whole missing sentences to the middle of the text, by putting the sentence in a box at the top or bottom of the page and drawing a long arrow to show where it should go
Students mustn’t
- Skip Part One and do two tasks from Part Two instead (they will only be credited for Part Two and so be limited to a failing 50% mark at best)
- Use very informal language such as textspeak or Twitter abbreviations (“gr8” for “great”, “lol”, etc), exclamation marks, “…”, words all in capitals, underlined words, or slang
Students shouldn’t:
- Try to look at both sides of each of the three subtopics (as there is neither the time nor space within the word limit)
- Waste time brainstorming lots of ideas for the best third sub-topic
- Waste time brainstorming lots of support for their arguments before they start writing (unless perhaps they really can’t decide whether to look at both sides or just one side in their essay)
- Use academic conventions which aren’t suitable for a school setting such as avoiding personal pronouns, using “The author”, and giving academic references
- Make up things to support their arguments that are outside their own experience such as imaginary statistics, quotations or page numbers of books
- Use multipurpose phrases like “This is a controversial topic nowadays” in all the essays that they write (as they will often not match the situation in the question and so will negative proof of their real language level)
- Start paragraphs with multipurpose phrases like “Secondly” and “On the other hand” (rather than “The second argument for… is…” and “Turning to the arguments against…”)
- Leave editing Part One until they have written Part Two too (as they will almost certainly run out of time first)
- Assume knowledge that the examiner might not have (such as detailed knowledge of their hometown)
- Waste time counting every word
- Include other arguments in their summary/ conclusion which they didn’t mention in the body of their essay
- Stick to basic language in an attempt to make sure that they don’t make mistakes (ambitious language being at least as important)
- Waste time editing the essay down if they go over 190 words
- Use exactly the same words in their summary/ conclusion as in the body of the essay
- Use paragraph headings (as these will be used in Writing Part Two reports and Cambridge like students to show a distinction between the two writing genres, even if that doesn’t really match real life)
Students don’t need to:
- Produce incredibly neat work (because Cambridge and the examiners know how unrealistic a handwritten essay is nowadays)
- Think of an interesting title (or indeed any title)
- Worry about how clever their ideas are (as it doesn’t affect their marks one way or the other)
- Worry too much about British and American English (just not spelling the same word two different ways is probably enough at FCE)
- Deal with the subtopics in the same order as they are given on the question sheet
- Necessarily look at both sides of the argument (if they have a strong opinion on one side or the other)
The students have free choice whether they want to give their opinion in the introduction and then support that argument related to the three sub-topics or give both sides of the argument and then give their own opinion in the conclusion. If students don’t think they can support their position related to all three topics and so want to take the latter approach, they could give reasons for their conclusion related to two topics and give the other side related to the other one. Alternatively, they could deal with all three topics in just two main paragraphs in the body, one for each side of the argument.
I would recommend that in the introduction students rephrase the question, give background to the topic etc, but most of the student answers provided by Cambridge just start by answering the question, so that seems to be acceptable. I also strongly recommend against one-sentence paragraphs, including in the final summary, but again this doesn’t seem to be a big issue with Cambridge so students could stop and move onto the Part Two question if they have reached the word limit and are already over 40 minutes into the exam. If they do want another sentence it is fairly easy to add consequences of their conclusion such as “Because of this, governments/ families/ companies/ bosses should…”
Language that the students are likely to need in FCE essays includes phrases for different ways of supporting their opinions, giving weak and strong opinions, weak and strong agreeing and disagreeing, summarising, concluding, giving reasons, and looking at both sides (advantages and disadvantages, etc). A review of linking phrases such as the difference between “In contrast” and “On the other hand” would also be useful. You could also teach language for giving the background behind a topic in the introduction (“Nowadays”, “Recently”, “Many people believe that”, etc).
Lesson ideas for FCE Writing Part One essays
First lessons including FCE Writing Part One essay questions
Given the importance of this part of the exam and how it can be very useful to get some idea of students’ strengths and weaknesses in writing right at the beginning, I highly recommend bringing this topic into the very first lesson of the course and giving an essay task for the first homework. Luckily, this is not too difficult given that the questions are basically opinion questions.
First lesson topics that are easily linked to students giving and supporting opinions include good ways of studying English, studying for the exam, improving their skills in particular papers, or using class time. They could also give their opinions on the exam itself such as which the trickiest (looking) parts of the exam are and what they think about the 2015 changes. Opinions on language learning can be made amusing by giving them a mix of sensible and crazier ways of improving their English, including things like “I think it’s a great idea to listen to English radio while you are asleep” and “In my opinion, you should describe everything that you are doing around the house in English as you are doing it”. This is even more fun if students have to choose the ideas at random and then support whatever opinion they are given. If you give students statements starting with opinions language like “I really think the story task was the easiest”, after the speaking activity students can try to remember those phrases, then brainstorm similar ones for agreeing and disagreeing, supporting arguments, etc.
All the topics just mentioned follow on quite naturally from a needs analysis stage where students interview each other about their reasons for taking the test, their previous FCE studies, their previous English studies, their strengths and weaknesses etc. Other Writing Part One-style topics that can lead on from a needs analysis stage include education and work in their country, and the position of English in modern life.
Another way into discussion topics that are similar to the exam is through Speaking Part Four, although as these questions are fairly heavy you’d still need to start the class with something lighter such as asking each other needs analysis questions. Another possibility is to start with some kind of Speaking Part One (asking personal questions) game or activity, moving onto Writing Part One questions on the same topics like family and hometowns to discuss, plan one or more of, and write one of for homework. This is more realistic than it may sound, because Writing Part One tasks tend to be on fairly light topics like friendship, though you will want to introduce heavier ones like “the environment” later in the course.
Combining essay writing with Use of English
The easiest way to combine other parts of the FCE exam with Writing Part One is for students to do Use of English exercises that have been designed to test and expand their knowledge of useful language for the essay task. For example, you can have multiple choice cloze tasks like “I _______________ think that is a good idea” with the options “strongly”, “surely”, “really” and “very”, open cloze tasks like “To ____________ another example”, word formation tasks like “_____________, that argument has no merit at all” with the key word “frank”, or key word sentence transformation tasks like “In my personal experience, this rarely works” with key word and gapped sentence “_________________ it rarely works. FIND”.
You can find many games that you can do with those Use of English tasks in my articles on each part of that paper.
Other classroom activities for FCE Writing Part One essays
There is virtually no limit to the number of possible classroom activities that could help with this task, but most of them fit into one of these categories:
- Error correction
- Discussing/ analysing model answers
- Looking at other students’ answers
- Planning answers
- Brainstorming suitable language
- Other tasks with suitable language such as matching up cards to make nice long Writing Part One phrases
- Giving and discussing tips on what they should and shouldn’t do before and during the exam
- Writing FCE Writing Part One essay questions for other groups to discuss and maybe write answers to, probably with typical question stems and/ or topics to help them come up with ideas
- Competing to make suitable sentences more and more formal or longer and longer
- Students analysing different exam questions, for example to find the similarities and differences between them
- Discussing their opinions on the questions given (“…. Do you agree?” etc), probably before they write about the same topic for homework
- Giving students tricky positions to support and/ or subtopics and asking them to come up with opinions that their partners can accept
These can also be combined in one lesson. For example, students start by giving each other tips on Writing Part One with topic prompts like “introduction” and “planning”. They then identify the bad tips in a list that they are given, before brainstorming suitable language to do the good things, such as “I totally agree with this idea” for the tip “Show the strength or weakness of your opinions”. Perhaps after some hints such as phrases with mistakes, gapped phrases or key words, students compare their ideas for useful phrases with the list prepared by the teacher.
Correction tasks for FCE Writing Part One
FCE used to have an error correction task in the Use of English paper, but perhaps because of an emphasis on communication they have both done away with that and put less and less emphasis on grammatical accuracy in the writing test. Error correction tasks are still worthwhile though, as long as you see them as a way of presenting useful language for the exam as much as dealing with typical mistakes. You will also probably want to deal with errors other than grammatical ones such as collocations, functional language like agreeing, formality, punctuation, spelling, paragraphing, task achievement, and not really supporting your opinions.
Possible classroom tasks with such typical errors are the same as with non-exam classes, including:
- Students racing to find mistakes in sentences, paragraphs, or complete texts
- Students working in pairs to find out which version is correct when their two texts vary, without showing them to each other
- Students working out if phrases are wrong are wrong or just too informal, and then making the necessary changes
Making FCE Writing Part One exam practice realistic and useful
There are probably at least as many possible lesson ideas for each of the categories of lesson activity above as there are for error correction, so I won’t attempt to make a complete list. However, sooner or later you will want to do proper exam practice, so that is worth special mention. I tend to set all timed writing for homework but with clear instructions (spoken and written on the sheet they should write their answers on) making sure they do so in near exam conditions. Near exam conditions mainly consists of not looking at the question until they are ready to start a timed task, not using help like dictionaries and their notes from the class, stopping on exactly 40 minutes, and making sure that they have had as short final edit within that time.
I then allow them to do extra work with their help of their textbooks, model answers etc. However, I tell them to change colour pen, not use an eraser, write down what kinds of changes they made, and tell me how much extra time they spent on it. These two stages help them actually expand their language knowledge at the same time as getting useful exam practice, as well as giving me loads of useful information about their present strengths and weaknesses.
Copyright © 2015 Alex Case
Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com
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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.
Este artículo también está disponible en castellano.
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 .
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:
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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:
Would you like to see a sample of this guide? Here it is!
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You always have to do two things describe and discuss something, for example, a film , a book , a restaurant , an experience or whatever the task might require you to talk about. Also, you have to make a recommendation at the end of your text.
Unlike an essay a review should be written in an informal or neutral register, this means:
Check our Writing Guide below – to see how to write an FCE review in detail.
Use the name of the , or . |
Identify what you are reviewing ( , ). |
Describe the book, film, restaurant |
Comment on the questions you have been asked |
Summarize your review with a recommendation |
Practice, write & improve, b2 first (fce) review: writing guide.
We will use the example FCE review topic below:
You see this announcement in your college English-language magazine.
Book reviews wanted Have you read a book in which the main character behaved in a surprising way?
Write us a review of the book, explaining what the main character did and why it was surprising. Tell us whether or not you would recommend this book to other people.
The best reviews will be published in the magazine.
Write your review (140-190 words)
The first thing you need to do is to underline a description part -in other words, just find what needs to be described.
Secondly, find a discussion part – in other words, try to find the specific points you need to comment on in your text.
Finally, find the target reader so you know exactly who you are writing for and who is going to read your review.
You see this announcement in your college English-language magazine. (our readers)
Book reviews wanted Have you read a book in which the main character behaved in a surprising way? (to describe)
Write us a review of the book, explaining what the main character did and why it was surprising. ( to comment)
Now we have all three elements we need to write a great review:
You need to describe: Book in which the main character behaved in a surprising way
You need to answer/discuss:
Who is the target reader: college English-language magazine.
We know now that the target readers are students, teachers and probably parents so the writing style should be neutral or informal.
We don’t need to be too formal because after all some of the readers are students, but we also don’t want to be too informal as some of the readers are teachers and parents.
Now we can start building our structure and writing a review.
The review should start with the title, and there are few simple ways to write it:
Title (book): Dark Souls by Stephen King (by) Title (restaurant): Taco Bell in London – a review (a review)
We will use this title in our guide : TITLE : Time Machine by Adam Smith
Tip : Nothing prevents you from writing something more unique but it has to point to what you are going to review.
The other function of your introduction is to engage the reader . You can do it by asking a question.
Make your introduction at least 2 sentences long.
INTRODUCTION: What would you do if you could travel back in time? Most people would probably meet their great-great-grandparents or watch how the amazing pyramids in Giza were built, but Tom Lee, the main character of the novel Time Machine by Adam Smith finds himself in a completely unexpected situation and he has to make a very difficult decision that will change history as we know it.
– question
– details about the book and main character
The body paragraphs are the main parts of your review so they should be the longest and carry most of the information. Also, here you describe the points you’ve found in (Step 1)
You can use idioms , and phrasal verbs – neutral/informal language is appropriate for your target reader – students and teachers.
See the example below, in which we dedicated one paragraph to one point.
[Who is the main character and what did he do? – describe]
Tom, a teacher in a little town in Rotherham, finds a mysterious time portal in the back of a ragged diner which takes him back to the year 1935. He soon realises that every time he goes through the portal he gets to the exact same point in the past. Eventually, he makes the unexpected decision to stop Michael James Newton from brutally killing President John F. Kennedy on 22.11.1963.
[Why it was surprising? – comment]
It seems to me that Tom could choose many other and more personal things to do, but he decides to try and change history to a degree that he cannot predict . In my opinion , that came definitely unexpected an d if I were in his position I probably wouldn’t even consider a task this far-reaching.
– own opinion
– descriptive/interesting vocabulary
– relevant details about the main character and book
TIP: What if you don’t read books? Don’t waste your time looking for a to match your review. it doesn’t have to be real! And yes that may sound difficult: you have to invent a book and then write a review about your invented book! So instead take a you like, take a you like and transform them into books. That’s simple! |
Finally, we need to make a recommendation because after all, that’s the only reason why anyone would read a review they want to know what the reviewer thinks about the book , film or restaurant .
A good final paragraph of a review does exactly two things
CONCLUSION: I definitely recommend “Time Machine” to everyone who has already read some of Adam Smith’s novels as well as to those who like stories with twists and turns around every corner plus you get some modern history on top of that. For me, it was absolutely worth reading and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Full review.
Time Machine by Adam Smith
What would you do if you could travel back in time? Most people would probably meet their great-great-grandparents or watch how the amazing pyramids in Giza were built, but Tom Lee, the main character of the novel Time Machine by Adam Smith finds himself in a completely unexpected situation and he has to make a very difficult decision that will change history as we know it.
Tom, a teacher in a little town in Rotherham, finds a mysterious time portal in the back of a ragged diner which takes him back to the year 1935. He soon realises that every time he goes through the portal he gets to the exact same point in the past. Eventually, he makes the unexpected decision to stop Michael James Newton from brutally killing President John F. Kennedy on 22.11.1963.
It seems to me that Tom could choose many other and more personal things to do, but he decides to try and change history to a degree that he cannot predict. In my opinion, that came definitely unexpected and if I were in his position I probably wouldn’t even consider a task this far-reaching.
I definitely recommend “Time Machine” to everyone who has already read some of Adam Smith’s novels as well as to those who like stories with twists and turns around every corner plus you get some modern history on top of that. For me, it was absolutely worth reading and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
B2 first (fce) review: model answers, model answer 1.
You have seen this notice in your school library:
REVIEWS NEEDED We want to buy some new books for the library. Have you read a good book in English recently? Write us a review of a book you enjoyed, explaining why you liked it and why you think it would be a good choice for the school library.
We will use your reviews to help us decide which books to buy
THE THIEVES OF OSTIA
„The thieves of Ostia‟ by Caroline Lawrence is the first in a series of books entitled„The Roman Mysteries‟ and I think it‟s an absolute must for the school library.
The book is set in the Roman port of Ostia nearly two thousand years ago. It tells the story of Flavia and her three friends, and their attempts to discover who has been killing the dogs of Ostia and why. It‟s full of mystery and excitement, and the plot has many twists and turns, which make you want to keep reading.
The book is aimed at ten – to twelve – year – old native English speakers, but it is very popular with older children and would be ideal for teenagers studying English. What‟s more, it gives a fascinating insight into life in Roman times, so readers learn about history as well as improve their language skills.
After finishing „The Thieves of Ostia‟, students will want to borrow further books from the series. By buying it, then, the library would be doing a lot to encourage students to read more in English
You have found the following advertisement online:
RESTAURANT REVIEWS WANTED!
Have you been to a great restaurant lately? If so, send us an honest review of the restaurant explaining what you liked and disliked of the place as well as its location, staff and how it looks on the inside.
We will publish the first 20 decent reviews we get!
Foster’s Hollywood
Being a huge fan of traditional American fast food and restaurant styles, it’s no wonder that my favourite restaurant in Granada is Foster’s Hollywood.
Located smack in the middle of the city, this fast-food chain serves a wide variety of mouthwatering, American dishes at a reasonable price. These range from typical Tex-Mex nachos or French fries to more elaborate meals like traditional, homemade Bourbon steak. And if you’re hungry, it’s the perfect place to go, as their servings are absolutely huge!
Another cool thing about this place is its magnificent decor. If you’re a film buff, you will quickly fall in love with this place, since all the walls are covered in famous movie posters! Apart from that, it’s got a spacious dining hall, super friendly staff and an outdoor terrace which is absolutely fantastic on summer nights!
The only negative thing I can say is that it is right next to a gym, which sometimes makes me feel guilty for eating so much!
Nevertheless, Foster’s Hollywood offers delicious meals in an unbeatable atmosphere, so you should definitely give it a try. I promise you won’t regret it!
Example topic 1.
Your teacher has asked you to write a review for a book you have read recently. The best reviews will go in the school magazine. Review the book giving your opinion and say whether or not you would recommend it.
Your teacher has asked you to write a review for a film you have seen recently on DVD or at the cinema.The best reviews will go in the school magazine. Review the book giving your opinion and saying whether ornot you would recommend it.
At school, you are building a tourist website in English. Your teacher has asked you to write a review of arestaurant you have eaten at in your town. Review the restaurant giving your opinion and saying whetheror not you would recommend it.
After writing your text, you can check it yourself using the writing checklist below.
How to do that? Simply check your text/email by answering the questions one by one:
Communicative Achievement
Organisation
B2 first (fce) review: tips.
The grammar and vocabulary that you need unfortunately depend heavily on the type of question you get.
One thing you can do though is to make sure your grammar and vocabulary are related to the tasks . So for example, if you are writing a review about a film make sure your vocabulary is related to films.
So include words like “s cripts, director, cast, plot, setting, special effects, and stunts”
If you want to mention who directed the film or who played the part of a certain character then make sure you use the passive “The film was directed by Y”. “The the protagonist was played by X”.
If you are talking about an experience and you need to describe the experience then make sure you use narrative tenses because obviously this experience happened in the past.
This means you need to use the past simple, the past continuous and the past perfect. For example “I checked into the hotel at 10 am. I had been travelling all night and was feeling exhausted. The hotel staff were very welcoming and made me feel at home”.
We will finish it with some useful vocabulary mostly used to organize information. Although it is taking a shortcut, if you learn several expressions for each paragraph in each type of text that could be on your exam, you will certainly be able to create a very consistent and well-organized text.
This show stars… The play is directed by… The film is about… It‟s set in………. The story is based on (a book…) It‟s about….. There are many memorable characters including …. The main theme of the film is…..
On the plus side,… On the down side,… On the one hand,… On the other hand,…
Overall, I‟d recommend… All in all, the film was… I wouldn‟t hesitate to recommend… I wouldn‟t encourage anyone to … I would recommend this film to anyone. Although I enjoyed it, I would not recommend it for…. It‟s one of the best (shows) I’ve ever seen. Although I am not normally keen on (musicals),I am glad that I decided to go. The (film) lifts you out of your everyday life
Who will read the review.
Your review will be read by readers of a magazine.
The review is intended to give information to the reader which will help them decide whether to attend the event themselves.
Use a style similar to an article that is likely to interest the reader.
Give essential information about the story, cast, band members, etc. Say what you like and didn‟t like about the performances. Make a recommendation to the reader about whether or not they should go.
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VIDEO
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Technology. More About Technology in the B2 First. Technology is a huge part of everyones lives nowadays so candidates should practice talking about technology that they use, the benefits and also negative effects of technology. Although this topic can appear in the reading, use of English and listening it most commonly comes up in the speaking ...
Here's a useful structure for an opinion essay:Paragraph 1Intro. uce the topic using a general statement and give your. hether you agree or disagree with the statemen. .Paragraph 2Give the first reason to support your opinion. Provide specifi. s for your opinion, using examples if necessary.
FCE Essays - Sample/model answers and examiner comments. An essay is always written for the teacher. It should answer the question given by addressing both content points and providinga new content point of the writer's own. The essay should be well organised, with an introduction and an appropriate conclusion,and should be written in an appropriate register and tone
Article navigation: B2 First (FCE) Essay: Example Topics / Questions B2 First (FCE) Essay: Download (PDF) An essay is a piece of writing in which you are asked to discuss a topic that might be controversial or relevant somehow. It usually follows a class discussion. The language of an English essay should be formal.Also, make sure that you justify all your ideas and that you use appropriate ...
Student's FCE Essay Answer: The society we live today is characterised by technology in constant development, fast speed processes, information travelling and getting to people at a blink of an eye and a complex web of social networking. In this context, the fashion industry is becoming increasingly important and having a more and more ...
Is technology a real life improvement? (fce essay) Nowadays, technology is everywhere. Has technology made people's lives better or worse? Notes Write about: medical science the internet your own idea Technology has became an important part of our life and we learnt to use it almost every day. It surely brought many benefits but there could ...
The question asks you whether you agree with a statement. Your conclusion should clearly express where you stand on the issue. Don't be wishy-washy! Trying too hard - The best First (FCE) essays are simple, to-the-point, well-structured and cohesive. Your essay isn't going to change the world, so don't go overboard.
Cambridge B2 First (FCE) - Writing. Part 1. You must answer this question. Write your answer in 140 - 190 words in an appropriate style on the separate answer sheet. 1. In your English class, you have been discussing modern technology. Now your English teacher has asked you to write an essay. Write an essay using all the notes and giving ...
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: With an introduction, body and conclusion every essay has three main parts.
• reviewed some useful phrasal verbs related to technology • discussed the benefits and drawbacks of social media and smartphone use. Warm-up (5 minutes) "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." Steve Jobs Draw students' attention to this quote from the poster. Show these questions on the board.
Each of these two pieces of writing needs to be between 140-190 words in length, or 280-380 words in total. As there are five different parts to the exam, Writing counts 20% towards your overall grade. In the writing paper there are two parts, the first one being an essay and the second one your choice of several possible types of writing.
Part 1 of the writing test - there are 2 parts total. 140-190 word limit. You have about 40 minutes to plan and write your essay. You must answer a question using two notes and your own idea. The topic requires general knowledge only. The essay is always formal because it is written "for your teacher".
FCE Essay Question 1. Part 1 - You must answer this question. Write your answer in 140-190 words in an appropriate style. You have been discussing environmental topics in a university lecture. Your professor has asked you to write an essay. Write an essay using the notes below and give reasons to support your ideas.
FCE (B2 First) Writing Exam (Essay) - Video. Download PDF. In this lesson you can learn how to write an essay for the Cambridge FCE exam, step by step. You'll see exactly what to do at each stage in the FCE writing essay section, and how to get the best possible FCE score. There are four steps to the writing process.
FCE Example Report: Topic (Technology) A group of British teachers is going to visit your college for two days. The aim of their trip is to learn about how technology is used in education in your country. You have been asked to write a report for the group leader. Your report should: Write your report.
The Cambridge English: First for Schools task is similar but the subject of the essay will reflect the younger candidates taking the exam. In the new exam specification for 2015 there is a new Writing task. The compulsory part 1 question is now an essay rather than an email or letter. The word count has increased to 140 - 190 words.
3. (your own idea) Write your essay. You must use grammatically correct sentences with accurate spelling and punctuation in a style appropriate to the situation.". Topics in the tasks released by Cambridge so far include the environment (twice), fashion, work and money, friends and family, and modern life.
If you want to write the perfect B2 First Essay, you need to plan your essay before you start putting the pen to the paper. But BEFORE you plan, you need to ...
Free: Digital sample tests. Cambridge English Qualifications Digital have now replaced our old computer-based exams and offer you even more benefits. 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.. Listening. Time: approximately 40 minutes
a compulsory essay in Part 1, and one from a choice of three tasks in Part 2. Listening: 40 minutes (approximately) Candidates need to show they can understand the . meaning of a range of spoken material, including . lectures, radio broadcasts, speeches and talks. Speaki. ng: 14 minutes per pair of candidates, and 20 . minutes per group of ...
Each paragraph has a clear purpose: 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.
B2 First (FCE): Vocabulary List - Download PDF. Reading is the quickest and most effective way to learn new FCE vocabulary and phrases. It may include reading articles or doing specifically prepared vocabulary exercises. Although you can also learn new vocabulary by listening to podcasts or watching YouTube videos, such exercises are not as ...
Use the name of the film, book or restaurant. Introduction. Identify what you are reviewing (actors, director etc..). Try to catch the reader´s attention (ask a narrative question). 1st body paragraph. Describe the book, film, restaurant. 2nd body paragraph. Comment on the questions you have been asked. Conclusion.