How to Write a B2 First Task 1 Essay

If you use a structure and have a plan, then it is much easier to write a full Cambridge B2 First Task 1 essay in the required 45 minutes (half of the 90 minutes allowed for both writing tasks). The more preparation and practice you do before your test, the more effective your planning will be and the more time you will have to proofread at the end. Only taking 5 to 10 minutes to plan during the test lets you know what you are doing when you write and gives your reader a consistent message. Practice is always the key to writing exam essays, so make sure that you have a teacher or a friend who can mark your essays for you and give you feedback that will improve your next draft. Cambridge B2 First writing questions are here and the writing marking rubric, which hasn’t been included in this post but is incredibly useful, is available here for B2 with explanations and suggestions. Sample answers for B2 First task 1 essays can be found here.

1: Do I need to think of unique and interesting ideas to get a high score?

No! The examiner is NOT looking for ideas that are interesting or unique. To get a high score, you need ideas that are logical and, most importantly, that you can support them easily. The examiner will only look at how convincing your ideas are and how you analyse them.

2: Does a long essay mean more marks?

No! Keep your essay concise and clear! Write in formal English and also be realistic about how much you write, because you should also leave time to proofread our essay. Aim for 140 to 190 words, although a little more is fine. If you write much more, then the examiner will think you have included some irrelevant information.

3: My teacher said that the introduction is the most important part in an essay. Therefore, it is compulsory that I have to write an interesting introduction to intrigue the examiner by writing a hook. Is that true?

No! Every part of an essay is important, but the most important ones should be the body paragraphs where you present your points. You do not need a hook in your introduction because it is really difficult to write a hook, and it would waste a lot of time that could be used for the body. Besides, the examiner will not look at how interesting your introduction is, so writing a hook is unnecessary.

4: Do I need a concluding sentence for each body paragraph?

No! You do not need a concluding sentence because a conclusion paragraph is enough to round off an essay.

5: Is grammar important?

Yes! The examiner will check your grammatical mistakes and pay attention to the grammar forms you use. If you make grammar practice a part of your preparation, you should be able to increase your score by using the desired grammar forms.

6: Do I need to use uncommon words to have a high band in the Lexical Resource criterion?

No! Using too many strange words may cause your essay to be unnatural and there are chances of word misuses. I recommend you focus on your accuracy and using topic vocabulary collocations. As with grammar, if you have a ‘bank’ of vocabulary, phrases and collocations, you will be able to plan much quicker in your writing test.

7: Should I use templates? My teacher gave me a lot of memorized phrases to use when writing an IELTS task 2.

A loose template of the structure is fine, while having some template sentences in your toolbox will also reduce writing time. Remembering cohesive devices and other types of words and phrases is fine, as long as you know where they are most effective. Having some favourite phrases or sentences that you know how to use in different parts of any essay will always be useful and save you time.

8: Do I need to use advanced linking devices?

In my opinion there are no advanced or beginner’s linking devices. Which linkers you use do not reflect your level of writing, therefore I recommend you focus on the coherence of your ideas and supporting details rather than some linking words. Practicing before your test will show you what is best and using your favourites should become a habit.

9: Should I write every day? How fast can I improve if I write a lot of essays every week?

From my experience, you do not need to do writing every day. I usually recommend my students write about 2-3 essays a week and focus more on the quality of their work. Also, when you have written several practice essays and have had them marked and criticised, read them all again. What are your favourite phrases and sentences? Which linkers do you prefer? Where do you prefer to use more advanced grammar or sentence structure? Which phrases and words can you remember and use well in any situation? If you can answer these questions, then you should write a good B2 Task 1 essay in your test.

Timing

A rough guide to timing is

  • 10 minutes for planning
  • 30 minutes for writing
  • 5 minutes for proofreading

Planning

If you have trouble completing your writing tasks on time, it is incredibly difficult to allocate some of that precious time to planning, but it is worth it! Once you have a plan, you can write much faster and should even have a few minutes left at the end to proofread.

1/ Read the question carefully, maybe three times. Ask yourself ‘What is the topic’ What is the question asking me to write about?

2/Underline the key parts that MUST be included in the answer if you are going to answer every part of the question. This will help the Content part of your essay.

3/ Write down some ideas about each of the two points given and think of another idea yourself. Don’t be too careful, you can use shorthand or just letters rather than writing down every word. It is important, however, that you know what you are doing, and the examiner won’t see your plan.

4/ You need to give your opinion, so what opinion is the easiest to explain? Use good English to write about an easy opinion rather than write a complex and personal opinion using poor English. It’s an English exam, not an opinion exam.

5/You are going to write a 4-paragraph essay, so decide what to put in each paragraph. You should be aware of the structure you are going to use before your test.

6/Write down some vocabulary ideas and some synonyms that you have learned that will fit with this topic.

7/Have the confidence to write simply but correctly rather than writing confused and unclear sentences because you are trying to use too many ‘good words’ and ‘better grammar’. Simple writing is clear and easy to understand, but not always easy to write.

If you need more ideas try:

Brainstorming

Write down as many ideas that come into your head as quickly as possible then organise them.

Mind mapping – 

  • Start with a blank piece of paper. In the middle, write your subject or topic.
  • Draw 10 lines extending out from your subject with any kind of information connected to your topic at the end of those lines.
  • Draw 10 more lines extending out from your subject! It may become difficult at this point but keep forcing yourself to think of more connections; this may help you get to a really interesting and unique idea.
  • Draw lines coming off your smaller lines. You want your connections to be comprehensive and far-

Conversation –

  • A useful brainstorming strategy is to ask yourself questions (based on the question). Write down the answers to your own questions as a way of generating potential ideas.
  • A useful brainstorming strategy is to imagine you are having a chat with your good friends about the topic. Imagining doing this in a comfortable café or somewhere you meet is more likely to stimulate ideas.

Example

In this post I am going to use this question –



My Plan

The question asks:

In your English class you have been talking about the environment. ………….. Write an essay using all the notes and giving reasons for your point of view.

and

Every country in the world has problems with pollution and damage to the environment. Do you think these problems can be solved?

I have underlined the main parts of the question that MUST be answered.


So I need to talk about three points: transport, rivers and seas as well as my own idea. I am going to choose ‘industry’ as my idea.

I also nee to give reasons for my opinion

transport: trucks, busses cars and planes are some of the biggest polluters regarding air pollution and noise pollution

river and seas: water is essential to both humans, fish and animals, so water pollution should be made strictly illegal. It also affects the food chain.

industry: Factories, power stations and chemical plants are all major polluters of both air and water

I look at my ideas and think they are good, but maybe the order could be better, so I am going to write them in this order:

industry, transport, rivers and seas


I decided before the test that I am going to use a 4-paragraph essay

Introduction

Body paragraph 1

Body paragraph 2

Conclusion

and I am going to use this paragraph structure:

introduction – paraphrase of the question, introduce the points I am going to write about and give my opinion

Body paragraph 1 – topic sentence, supporting sentence, example, supporting sentence 2

Body paragraph 2 – topic sentence, supporting sentence, example, supporting sentence 2

Body paragraph 3 – topic sentence, supporting sentence, example, supporting sentence 2

Conclusion – A summary of what I have written and a restatement of my opinion.

Now let’s go through the writing process step by step.


Introduction

The first thing you need to do is to restate the question in your own words. This is called a paraphrase.

Paraphrasing

There are four main ways to paraphrase successfully.

1/ changing the word order,

2/ changing the form of some words (especially the important words) from nouns to verbs and verbs to nouns,

3/ changing active to passive

4/ synonyms.

You do not have to change EVERY word, in fact there are often words that cannot be changed accurately.

You can also add concessions using ‘although’, ‘while’ and ‘whereas’.

In this essay, the part we want to paraphrase is

‘Every country in the world has problems with pollution and damage to the environment’

we can split this sentence into three parts

Every country in the world

problems with pollution

damage to the environment

These can be changed to:

Every country in the world = worldwide

problems with pollution = pollution problems

damage to the environment = environmental damage

The tense is present simple because it’s happening now ‘has’

So this sentence can be changed to ‘Environmental damage and pollution are currently worldwide problems.’ (We need to alter the changes a little)

Opinion

We also need to give our opinion on – whether these problems can be solved. So we add a sentence about what we think. I am going to say that I don’t think these problems can be solved.

Personally, I do not believe they will ever be eliminated.

To put this in better English, we could say

Environmental damage and pollution are currently worldwide problems, which I do not believe will ever be eliminated. (remember we cannot say ‘don’t’ because this is a formal essay.)

We are now going to write about three reasons, so we can add it to this sentence to prepare the reader for what is coming.

Environmental damage and pollution are currently worldwide problems, which I do not believe will ever be eliminated for three main reasons.

That sentence is our introduction.


Body Paragraph 1

For a fully developed body paragraph, five to six sentences are usually enough, but in Cambridge B2 essays it is often too many because we can only write between 140 and 190 words. Practice will show you how many sentences you should use in a paragraph.

Topic Sentence

A topic sentence should be a simple statement that introduces the paragraph. It says ‘This is what you are going to read about in this paragraph’

  • Many teachers say that each paragraph should have only one idea.
  • Many students say, OK, but if that is true, how can I talk about more than one advantage or disadvantage, or more than one view?

Answer – If you have this issue with your topic sentence, it is too specific. This is why many topic sentences start ‘There are many reasons why ………’, ‘There are two main reasons why ………, X and Y’.

It is crucial that the topic sentence is easy to read. It is your signpost telling the reader where you’re going to go. If it is simple, then the reader understands what you are going to talk about in the paragraph, so if you make a mistake, there is still a chance that they will understand what you mean.

However, if you write a long and complicated topic sentence, there is a much higher chance that it will be so confusing the reader is not 100% sure what you are going to say. Then, if you make an error later in the paragraph, it’s almost impossible to understand because the context isn’t clear.

This is where planning helps immensely.

Example

Firstly, industry contributes substantially to every kind of water or air pollution.


Supporting Sentence

Some are confused about supporting sentences, but is only an explanation of the topic sentence, and there can be more than one in a paragraph. There are also many ways to improve your supporting sentences:

  • Prepare these reasons in the planning stage, so you know where and how you will use each reason or argument.
  • Be concise, which means not using too many words to say what you want to say. Make every word count.
  • Be accurate, don’t use language that means something is true 100% of the time, use adverbs of adverbs of frequency, adverbs of probability and modal verbs to increase your accuracy.

Example

Power stations, chemical plants and factories pump contaminated waste water out during their processes and emit gasses into the air.

Examples

Examples are greatly important and help make your essay much more convincing, however:

  • Try to restrict your example to one sentence to illustrate your meaning rather than using most of the paragraph.
  • If you cannot think of a relevant example, you don’t need to have one.
  • It is often much simpler to add an ‘inline’ example in a sentence using ‘such as’ for further clarity. Many mobile phone brands, such as Huawei, Apple and Oppo, use bleeding edge technology to compete in the market.

Example

For example, chemical plants that make plastics or fuel for engines may supply modern human needs, but destroy the local environment and even cause health problems for their employees.

Full Body Paragraph 1

Firstly, industry contributes substantially to every kind of water or air pollution. Power stations, chemical plants and factories pump contaminated waste water out during their processes and emit gasses into the air. For example, chemical plants that make plastics or fuel for engines may supply modern human needs, but destroy the local environment and even cause health problems for their employees.


Second Body Paragraph

Secondly, the fuel from these plants and the products from the factories contribute to the transport which keeps the economy going. Trucks, busses and cars carry goods and people to their destinations. Every day, for example, millions of commuters drive or take the train, plane or bus to work.

Third Body Paragraph

This one is about rivers and seas.

Finally, due to the vehicles and the other polluting aspects of the economy, waste water is released into the rivers, not only from industry, but also from agriculture. That water is drinking water in some countries, not only for humans, but also for animals. Fish and sea life are the final victims as the oceans become full of waste.


Conclusion

A conclusion is a summary of what you have written with no new information and, if necessary, a restatement of your opinion. One or two sentences is usually enough. However, you should not repeat what you have written, you should paraphrase whenever possible.

Example

As a result of these three main points, I firmly believe that irreversible damage will be done to our planet.

When all this is put together, the full essay looks like this:


Environmental damage and pollution are currently worldwide problems, which I do not believe will ever be eliminated for three main reasons.

Firstly, industry contributes substantially to every kind of water or air pollution. Power stations, chemical plants and factories pump contaminated waste water out during their processes and emit gasses into the air. For example, chemical plants that make plastics or fuel for engines may supply modern human needs, but destroy the local environment and even cause health problems for their employees.

Secondly, the fuel from these plants and the products from the factories contribute to the transport which keeps the economy going. Trucks, busses and cars carry goods and people to their destinations. Every day, for example, millions of commuters drive or take the train, plane or bus to work.

Finally, due to the vehicles and the other polluting aspects of the economy, waste water is released into the rivers, not only from industry, but also from agriculture. That water is drinking water in some countries, not only for humans, but also for animals. Fish and sea life are the final victims as the oceans become full of waste.

As a result of these three main points, I firmly believe that irreversible damage will be done to our planet.


This essay is now too long, at 208 words, so we need to take something out.

We can cut out some words that are good, but not really needed to have this essay at 188 words.

Environmental damage and pollution are currently worldwide problems, which I do not believe will ever be eliminated for three main reasons.

Firstly, industry contributes substantially to every kind of water or air pollution. Power stations, chemical plants and factories pump contaminated waste water out and emit gasses into the air. For example, chemical plants that make plastics or fuel may supply human needs, but destroy the local environment.

Secondly, the fuel from these plants and the products from the factories contribute to the transport which keeps the economy going. Trucks, busses and cars carry goods and people to their destinations. Every day, for example, millions of commuters travel to work.

Finally, due to the vehicles and the other polluting aspects of the economy, waste water is released into the rivers, not only from industry, but also from agriculture. That water is drinking water in some countries not only for humans, but also for animals. Fish and sea life are the final victims as the oceans become full of waste.

As a result of these three main points, I firmly believe that irreversible damage will be done to our planet.


Proofreading

Once you have written your essay, try to take some time to check what you have written.

If you just read what you have written, you may find several errors that you can fix quickly, but it’s much much quicker if you look for certain types of error. Which ones do you look for? The ones you have made in your practice essays.

If you look for them, then
1/ it should be easier for you to find them
2/ you should know how to fix them by now
3/ read once for each kind of error, it’s quicker and more effective than trying to read once for them all.

If you find that you have written the wrong essay and your body paragraphs don’t match your opinion, then go back to the introduction and conclusion and change your opinion to match the body paragraphs. It’s much quicker!

Using an experienced teacher to mark your practice essays will show you which errors you make consistently and how to check for them after you have finished. There are free and paid options you can consider.

Conclusion

I hope this has been helpful for you. I know there are more questions you would like to ask, but the answers will come in other posts. Thank you very much for reading and good luck with your B2 First Task 1 essay!