Essay planning starts long before you take your writing test. You should know your strengths and weaknesses as well as your preferred ways to write essays. If you have practiced Cambridge B2 First with the help of a qualified teacher, you will know EXACTLY what you need to do from when you first read the question to when you finish your proofreading.
If you rely on luck or the type of question you get asked in the test, then you are not really serious about passing.
Planning is split into two categories: What you need to know before your writing test, and what you need to do in your writing test.
The more you prepare before the test, the easier it is to plan quickly and effectively when you first see the writing question.
Essay Planning before your B2 First Writing test
What structure you will use
For example, I recommend the following essay structure:
Introduction
Paraphrase the question and give your opinion if needed
Body paragraph 1
Topic sentence
Supporting sentence 1
Example / Supporting sentence 2
Body paragraph 2
Topic sentence
Supporting sentence 1
Example / Supporting sentence 2
Body paragraph 3
Topic sentence
Supporting sentence 1
Example / Supporting sentence 2
Conclusion
Summarise your argument and restate your opinion if needed
In B2 First, you have to cover three points in the Part 1 essay, the two given points and your own idea. These become the three body paragraphs.
Planning the Introduction
The introduction is a paraphrase of the main question and your opinion / if you agree or disagree.
For example:
In your English class, you have been talking about studying abroad.
Now your English teacher has asked you to write an essay
Write an essay using all the notes and give reasons for your point of view.
Essay question
All young people who have the opportunity should study in a foreign school or college for a year. Do you agree?
Notes
Write about:
- what they learn
- growing up
- …….. (your own idea)
Write your essay.
The first sentence is restating the question in your own words (paraphrasing), while the second sentence is if you agree or disagree with this.
So the introduction could look like this:
If the opportunity arises, every young person should spend a year studying abroad. I completely agree with this for three main reasons.
The three reasons will be the two given points and your own idea in the following paragraphs.
Doing it this way, you know what you are going to do before your exam, so you can concentrate on answering the question, not which structure you are going to use. This can be used for any question type.
Planning the Body Paragraphs
Topic Sentences
An essay has an introduction to tell your reader the topic of the essay. A paragraph has a topic sentence to tell your reader what the paragraph is about.
In a B2 essay, you are given the topics of the first two body paragraphs, so in the above example, the first body paragraph would be about ‘What they learn’. So, the topic sentence could be like this:
Apart from learning their usual subjects, these students would also learn other about the culture and language in that country.
This topic sentence is good, but it would be even better if you told the reader, it was the first of idea, so:
Firstly, apart from learning their usual subjects, these students would also learn other about the culture and language in that country.
Supporting Sentences
Supporting sentences give more information about the topic sentence. They give reasons or explanations so your reader can understand the idea of your paragraph. Many students try to make these sentences very long and complicated. DO NOT DO THIS!!!! This makes the sentences too difficult and so it is much easier to make a mistake, so your reader does not understand. If that happens, your score will drop! In B2 a compound sentence or a complex sentence work very well here.
In this example:
The different traditions of the host nation as well as being forced to use its language every day would soon give them a deeper understanding of that country as well as their own.
Examples
Examples are there to make your ideas clear, they are not the whole essay. In one paragraph, your example should be an average sized sentence at most.
To finish this B2 essay paragraph, give an example.
For example, ordering and eating the local food, asking directions and even going shopping would all be learning experiences.
So, the introduction and the first paragraph would look like this:
If the opportunity arises, every young person should spend a year studying abroad. I completely agree with this for three main reasons.
Firstly, apart from learning their usual subjects, these students would also learn other about the culture and language in that country. The different traditions of the host nation as well as being forced to use its language every day would soon give them a deeper understanding of that country as well as their own. For example, ordering and eating the local food, asking directions and even going shopping would all be learning experiences.
The following body paragraphs answer the other two points:
Secondly, these young people would become more independent. Being away from their parents would make them have to do their own chores and eat responsibly so they did not become ill. In addition, they would need to organise their own timekeeping and transportation to and from classes.
Finally, these youngsters would have to learn about the laws in their host country. Breaking the law in the other country would lead to problems for themselves, their families and their schools or colleges. Not paying a bus fare could be a serious offence in another country.
As you move on to more advanced levels of English, your body paragraphs will grow, but the basic ideas are always the same. If you master this kind of structure now, it will make your writing much easier to read and therefore you will probably get a much better writing score.
Conclusion
An essay MUST have a conclusion. If it doesn’t, then the essay is regarded as incomplete, which affects your score.
An essay is a summary of what you have written as well as a restatement of your opinion.
In this example:
In conclusion, I agree that young people should study abroad if possible because they would learn about the culture and language of that country as well as how to live more independently and be law abiding.
What to practice before your test
Answering the question
Read the question three times to make sure you understand it. IT IS VERY COMMON FOR STUDENTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION THEY THINK THEY READ, NOT THE REAL ONE!!!!!!! This is a killer!!!!!!
WRITE THE ESSAY YOU CAN WRITE, NOT THE ESSAY THAT WILL SHOW THE EXAMINER HOW CLEVER YOUR OPINION IS!!!!! This means you should write an essay with simple ideas in good English, not an essay with complicated ideas in poor English.
This is the best piece of advice you will ever get. Please pay attention to it.
Once you know what your ideas are, write this out and add your ideas to the different parts of the essay.
Para
Opinion
TS
SS1
EX /SS2
TS
SS1
EX /SS2
Conc
Vocabulary
Then write in what you are going to talk about and any worries about vocabulary – this should take a few minutes.
You should also practice using synonyms of vocabulary used in common topics. Here are some useful ones:
| Word | Synonym(s) |
| People | The general public, locals, most of the population, adults |
| The government | The authorities, the national / local / city government |
| Tourists | Holidaymakers, vacationers, overseas visitors |
| Family | Relatives, extended family, relations |
| Children | Youngsters, boys and girls, infants, primary school children, secondary school children |
| Society | The local community, public, civilisation, social groups |
| Being healthy | Well-being, being fit, in good condition |
| Job | Career, employment, occupation, position, profession |
| University | Tertiary education, academia, educational institution |
You should also be able to use topic vocabulary fluently and flexibly.
Grammar
For a higher band score, use the grammar suggested in this post. Where can you use grammar like this? Practicing will tell you where you can use the better grammar to improve your score further.
Spelling
When you have chosen your favourite words and phrases, also make sure that you can spell them properly.
Punctuation
Learning sentence structures is not always easy, but when you learn one first, also learn how it is punctuated. Punctuation can make a big difference to the meaning of a sentence, so take care!
Examples
Here are some suggestions – noun phrases in bold, verb phrases in italics, and adjective phrases underlined
Use relative clauses in examples –
For example, people who earn high salaries enjoy taking expensive vacations to flaunt their lifestyle.
Companies that produce such products for instance, often have financial problems.
Travelling by rail, which is relatively inexpensive, does not appeal to many families for example.
For example, residential areas where there is little recycling are often less affluent.
Graduates who are technically minded for example, will have a wider range of job offers.
Use conditionals in examples –
For example, if a child is talented at playing an instrument, their parents will often insist on them spending more time practicing and learning it.
If sensitive information was shared freely for example, the research costs could be wasted.
For example, if parents punish their children too harshly, they would put their relationship at risk.
For example, if governments spent more on railways, then the road system would fall into disrepair.
For example, if the number of sports facilities was increased, it would probably not make more people interested in sport.
The more you practice, the better you will become. If you really want to get a good score, get an experienced teacher to give help and advice while you are practicing. It is far too easy to be kind to yourself when checking your own writing. Getting a teacher to do it will point out your weaknesses and help you build on your strengths. In this way, you can reach your target score.
Essay planning during your test
Aim to take about 10 minutes at the most
1.Read the question three times and underline the important words and phrases.
2.Think of ideas as if you are chatting to your friends in a cafe.
3.The side with most ideas is your opinion.
4.Choose the best ideas.
5.Quickly note any synonyms, topic vocabulary and collocations that fit with your position.
6.Try to fit more advanced grammar into the supporting sentences and examples in particular.
7.Paraphrase the question for your introduction.
8.Quickly think about how you could summarise without repetition.
9.Start writing.
As you can see, if you plan and practice before your test, planning during your test will be quick and easy, and so will save you time and stress.