teacher phill essay b2

B2 First (FCE) Essay Writing Guide

The Cambridge B2 First (FCE) essay is easier to write than you think! Follow these steps to write the perfect essay.

Post Contents

What is the Cambridge B2 First Essay?

• 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”

Step One: Look at the Task (1 minute)

To begin, all B2 First essays have a similar format . This is great because you know exactly how to write the essay before seeing the question.

Read the essay question carefully and HIGHLIGHT any keywords you need to write about.

Tip: If you don’t understand the question or notes, DON’T PANIC. Try your best to write the essay. You will still get points for grammar, vocabulary, and structure.

Sample exam test from Cambridge English .

Step Two: Write a plan (5 minutes)

A lot of my students dislike writing a plan. However, a plan helps you organize your thoughts and helps you write a better B2 First essay. Your essay needs 5 paragraphs . We will use the sample task from above as an example:

Paragraph structure for an essay

Introduction.

• Rivers and seas
• Your own idea

Next, to create a plan, write a few words for each paragraph . DO NOT write whole sentences. This takes too much time. Try to focus on keywords and short phrases .

Tip: “Your own idea” DOES NOT mean your opinion. You need to think of another topic related to the question to talk about. Some ideas for this task could be: recycling, agriculture, industry, etc.

Additionally, you can prepare a list of linking words and related vocabulary . Getting these words written down before you start helps you remember to use them.

Look at the example plan below. You can draw something similar on a blank piece of paper.

Tip: Time yourself – see how long it takes for you to write a plan. Try to reduce that amount of time as much as possible.

Step 3: Write your essay (32 minutes)

On the official test, you must write with a pen . No erasable pens or pencils are allowed. I suggest writing your plan and essay with a pen every time you practice .

Let’s take a look at each paragraph of the essay.

The introduction to your essay should be 2-3 sentences long . It introduces the essay topic in a general way .

Tip: DO NOT include your opinion in the introduction. Your opinion goes in the conclusion.

If you are unsure how to write an introduction, try this structure and look at the example :

Structure of the introduction  

• 1 sentence about the topic in general
• 1-2 sentences about the topic more specifically, including a question if you like.

Example Introduction

On every continent, the amount of trash and waste is increasing each year. Rubbish causes damage to ecosystems all over the world. Is there a way for countries to reduce their carbon footprint and save our planet?

Body of the essay

The body of the essay has three paragraphs . These paragraphs talk about one idea with supporting examples .

For each paragraph, you need to write a topic sentence. A topic sentence is the main idea of the paragraph . DO NOT copy the notes. Instead, try to rewrite the idea in your own words. This is called “paraphrasing.” 

Your paragraphs should be 3-4 sentences .

Tip: Start each paragraph with a linking word .

Structure of a body paragraph

• Linking word and topic sentence
• Supporting sentences

Example body paragraph

Firstly, countries can decrease pollution and environmental stress by offering more public transportation. Cars and other vehicles which require petrol produce toxic fumes. If more electric buses and trams were available, fewer people would need to drive their cars.

Follow the same structure for each body paragraph.

Tip: Remember that “your own idea” is NOT your opinion . Write about an additional topic related to the question that you wrote down on your plan.

Finally, you get to say your opinion! In the conclusion, you need to summarize the topic and give your opinion on the question. A conclusion should be 1-2 sentences long.

Structure of the conclusion

• Transition word and a sentence summarizing the topic
• A sentence that gives your opinion

Example conclusion

To sum up, countries around the world must make changes in order to protect the environment. In my opinion, offering more public transport, reducing overfishing, and creating recycling programs are necessary for a cleaner planet.

Step Four: Review your writing (2 minutes)

This is another important step that students often miss. Take two minutes after writing your essay to check for spelling and grammatical errors.

Since you wrote in pen, simply cross out the incorrect word or words LIKE THIS and rewrite them.

How can I get a higher mark on the FCE essay?

Now that you know how to write an essay for the Cambridge B2 First exam, let’s look at how to get the best mark possible .

Increase your mark on your B2 First essay

• Include 5-8 linking words – these words introduce paragraphs and connect ideas
• Use a variety of grammatical structures – you should have both simple and complex forms. Try to use perfect and future forms, conditionals, comparatives, relative clauses and passive
• Use formal vocabulary – do not use slang or simple words like “good, big, small, bad.” Also, do not use contractions. Write “cannot” instead of “can’t”
• Make the essay interesting to read – the examiners read hundreds of essays so make yours easy to read and engaging
• Use the correct amount of words (140-190) – it’s ok to be a few words over the limit, but not too many

Final Advice

The best way to improve your writing skills … is to write! Try to write a few essays each week and ask your teacher for feedback . I have had students who entered my class with very poor writing skills and with practice, they were able to pass the exam after only 10 weeks!

I help students prepare for the FCE exam with private lessons via Zoom. Email me at [email protected] or check out my private lessons page to learn more.

If you want more practice for the B2 First , try these Speaking exam tips , free writing checklist , and Reading part 1 practice.

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Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE): How to Write an Essay

• Mandatory task : yes
• Word count : 240-280
• Main characteristics : summarising and evaluating main ideas
• Register : formal
• Structure : introduction, two topic paragraphs, conclusion

Introduction

An essay is usually written for a teacher. It should be well organised, with an introduction, clear development and an appropriate conclusion. The compulsory Part 1 essay question will involve reading two short input texts on a particular topic and summarising and evaluating the key points from these texts in the context of a coherent essay on the topic, including the candidate’s own views. The set text essay questions specify what particular aspect of the set text (development of character or significance of events) should form the content of the essay. Source: Cambridge English Assessment: C2 Proficiency Handbook for teachers

Essays are the first part of the writing test in Cambridge B2 Proficiency. The task is mandatory unlike the other possible types of text in Part 2 ( articles , letters , reports , reviews ) where you can decide which text type you would like to tackle.

Essays are easier than they might seem

When people hear the word essay, they typically think of this monstrosity of a text with hundreds of pages and lots and lots of academic language.

While this is true to some extend, essays in C2 Proficiency are actually not that bad. The good thing is that there is always a specific structure that you can apply no matter what the topic of a particular task might be and with a little bit of practice, you can become very good very quickly.

So, in this article, we are going on a journey together where I am you guide and I will show you everything you need in order to become more confident and well-equipped to write great essays.

What a typical essay task looks like

First of all, let’s check out at a typical task and you will see very quickly what you need to look out for when analysing it.

In every essay task, you have to read two short texts (about 100 words each) just like the ones above. Your challenge is to summarise and evaluate the key points of those texts and compare and contrast them . You also need to expand on these two texts and include some of your own ideas as well as give your opinion on the topic at the end of the essay.

The register should be formal as essays are usually part of academic writing. Formal English means that you shouldn’t use contractions (I’m, don’t, etc.), informal phrasal verbs, or colloquial expressions we would normally place in the realm of spoken English.

How to organise your essay

Considering the fact that there are two texts we need to work with, the limit of 240-280 words and the other conventions of essay writing, meaning that we need to include an introduction at the beginning and a conclusion at the end, I have found the following paragraph structure to be very useful for my own students:

• Topic paragraph 1
• Topic paragraph 2

This structure is not the only one you can apply to an essay task and I have seen many other ways of doing so throughout my career as a teacher, but this one just seems simple and easy to apply. There is no need to overthink. Just use the organisational pattern that gets you to a good essay the fastest.

Make a plan before you start writing

I’m a big fan of making plans and I hope you will become one as well. Underappreciated by many, a plan takes only a couple of minutes to put together and it can save you much more time and headaches once you write your essay .

Instead of having to worry about what you want to say next you can focus on how you want to say it and lean into using the right vocabulary and grammar because your plan already gives you the outline and main ideas for what you are going to say.

To devise a plan simply use the paragraph structure from earlier and fill it with life , meaning with some notes that help you remember the details you would like to talk about in each section. For our example task from before, a plan could look something like this:

• Introduction : social norms; collective vs individual; generation gap
• Topic paragraph 1 : intergenerational differences; What is acceptable?; dialogue is needed; OLDER GENERATIONS HAVE ALWAYS COMPLAINED; DIFFERENCES ARE NORMAL
• Topic paragraph 2 : individualism more important than the collective; innovation; well-being; INDIVIDUALS ONLY THRIVE IN A COMMUNITY
• Conclusion : social norms are important but ever-changing for the individual and society as a whole; need for dialogue

It took me about three minutes to come up with this plan. The capitalised parts in the topic paragraphs are my own thoughts which I’m planning to add to or weave into the ideas expressed in the two short texts. It is important to do this because the task asks you to include your own ideas and views.

Now that we have a structure, ideas for the content and the knowledge that an essay needs to be formal we can get into the nitty-gritty and go to work.

The different parts of an essay

As we said in the previous section, a good essay in Cambridge C2 Proficiency can be broken up into an introduction, a couple of topic paragraphs, each of which talks about one of the input texts, and a conclusion to round everything off. Now, let me go through each part so you can see how you can use these building blocks to create a nice little essay.

The intro in an essay for C2 Proficiency works slightly differently from, for example, the ones in a B2 or C1 essay. Here, you have a lot more freedom and many candidates keep it on the shorter side.

Whichever way you prefer doing it, you have to make sure that it becomes clear what the overarching theme is that you want to talk about in the text. Unlike in B2 First or C1 Advanced the tasks in C2 Proficiency give you very little context and not even a question that you could answer. You have to decide what you want to focus on and the best way of doing this is to find out what the topic is that the input texts talk about. Simply state that in your intro and you are ready to go.

An introduction for our example task could look something like the one below:

In our society, we live together based on certain norms that we all agree upon even though there is a lot of room for interpretation. For instance, what one person sees as perfectly acceptable might offend their parents or while western culture embraces personal freedom the question is where one’s own liberty collides with the interests of the collective.

I paraphrase the essence of the two texts , which sets the stage for my topic paragraphs. Make sure you use your own words instead of parroting what the task says. Also note, that from the beginning, I try to connect my ideas well by using a wide variety of cohesive devices (even though, for instance, while).

Topic paragraphs

The topic paragraphs convey the main ideas of your essay so they should be treated as the most important part. They should be the longest paragraphs and include all the ideas you want to talk about. Don’t add anything new in the intro or conclusion that you don’t discuss in the topic paragraphs.

The first step to a successful topic paragraph is a topic sentence . A good topic sentence makes it very clear for the reader what this specific section of the text talks about. From there, you elaborate on the topic and that’s it. Again, there is no dark magic involved, just a repeatable step-by-step process.

Going back to our example, here are two topic paragraphs I wrote:

Not only do we see these trends in the context described in the first text, but older generations also struggle with the ever-evolving use of language or specific behaviour such as seemingly disrespecting others by not offering their seat on public transport or using their gadgets even when spending time with family or friends. While it is easy to agree with the writer’s observations that only good communication leads to a better understanding, we need to keep in mind that societal changes are often more difficult for the parent generation and it has been that way since the dawn of civilisation. Another important aspect is the rise of individualism. The second text strongly argues that society as a whole greatly benefits from the vision and ambition of specific people and that societal rules only hinder progress. However, this line of thought neglects the fact that these individuals thrive within a collective framework that enables them to pursue their ideas and make them become a reality so we might argue that one can’t exist without the other.

I immediately connect the first topic paragraph to the introduction (these trends) and show that I’m going to talk about the first text (the context described in the first text). It is very clear for the reader what to expect here: my views on this first text. Mission “topic sentence” accomplished.

In these main paragraphs, it is important to include some further ideas instead of just talking about the examples from the texts. in the first topic paragraph, I only acknowledge the text in the topic sentence and then expand on the topic. All of this is in my plan so I knew that I was going to do it before I started writing.

The same process is repeated in the second paragraph. I clearly state the topic (the rise of individualism) and briefly paraphrase the writer’s opinion before contrasting it with my own ideas.

Note that I avoided using personal pronouns like I or we. Essays are formal and rather impersonal pieces of writing so I tried to keep the text as impersonal as possible. That doesn’t mean that you are prohibited from using this kind of language, but in my example, I managed without it.

It should go without saying that, at this level, you want to include a variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures appropriate for the topic given.

The conclusion brings everything together like a beautiful dessert after an already great meal. It summarises your arguments and reflects your opinion to finish the essay. Of course, it should all be based on what you’ve already discussed and, as I said earlier, you don’t want to introduce new ideas here.

All in all, humanity as a collective always changes due to the fresh ideas of younger generations. This is a constant of life and the essence of who we are as a species. Only with dialogue and the willingness to understand each other can we continue to prosper and use individual freedom to benefit all of society.

Nice and short, this conclusion rounds off my essay by restating the key ideas (change is constant, need for dialogue, individualism within a collective) and giving my final thoughts . That’s all you have to do and you’re done. Congratulations!

Now it’s time for some practice

And there you have it. Essays in Cambridge C2 Proficiency are really not that difficult if you know what you are doing. With the right structure, a good plan and appropriate language you basically can’t go wrong.

Now you can start practising. I offer writing feedback and classes here on my website if you are interested in working directly with me. Until then, all the best.

Lots of all,

Teacher Phill 🙂

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One Comment

Hi I am taking the proficiency exam on Novemeber 24th this year. ( I hope I got the date correct, it is in November anyway ) I would love to take online lessons with you. I leave my email below; and look forward to hearing from you shortly Regards Pamela

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20 English Essay Topics/Questions | B2 First (FCE)

The language of an English essay should be formal . Also, make sure that you justify all your ideas and that you use appropriate connectors to link your sentences and paragraphs .

How to write B2 First (FCE) essay?

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B2 First (FCE) Essay: Example Topics / Questions

Below is a sample list of academic essay writing topics/tasks for B2-level (intermediate) students. You can use them to practice writing English essays or to prepare for the Cambridge B2 First (FCE) exam

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 1 | First (FCE)

You have watched a documentary about young children in poor areas who leave school to work. 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.

Teenagers are dropping out of school to find a job. How can we help them to continue their education?

Write about:

• family problems
• financial difficulties
• …………… (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 2 | First (FCE)

In your social studies course, you have watched a documentary on the potential effects of too much pollution on the air quality of city centres. Your professor has assigned you an essay to write.

Keeping the air quality in city centres at healthy levels for their residents is a concern for many places. How can we solve the problem of pollution in city centres?

• automobiles
• ………………  (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 3 | First (FCE)

In your education class, you have listened to a lecture on the importance of teaching foreign languages in school. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Learning a foreign language helps students develop a set of important skills. Why should foreign languages be taught in schools?

• new cultures
•  employment
• …………. (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 4 | First (FCE)

You have listened to a radio programme about the problem of widespread starvation in many parts of Africa. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

In many parts of Africa, people are dying of starvation and lack of freshwater. Can these problems be solved?

• lack of organised farming
• …….. …….. (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 5 | First (FCE)

You have watched a video on a non-profit organisation working to stop the use of animals for testing medicines used by human beings. Now, your professor has asked you to write an essay.

Testing on animals is a standard in scientific research. What is the best way to deal with this problem?

• animals suffer
• outdated form of research
• …… ……..  (your own idea)

Get Your (FCE) Essay Checked!

B2 - essay topic / question 6 | first (fce).

You have listened to a radio programme about deforestation, the cutting down of trees in many wild areas around the world. Now, your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Many forests around the world are being destroyed for agricultural, commercial, or housing use without allowing time for the forests to regenerate themselves. What can be done to improve the situation?

• what contributes to the greenhouse effect
• ………. (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 7 | First (FCE)

In your English class, you have been talking about endangered species, animals or plants that will likely become extinct. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Around the world, many wildlife species are in danger of extinction. How can we protect endangered animals?

• hunting wild animals
• ………..  (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 8 | First (FCE)

You have watched a Youtube video about the problem of computer game addiction in children. Your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

More and more young people spend most of their time playing computer games. How can we help children to overcome this addiction?

• bad grades at school
• no social life
• ………… (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 9 | First (FCE)

You have listened to a radio programme about the impact of smoking on people’s health. Now, your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

Smoking is responsible for many health problems throughout the world. Do you think it should be made illegal?

• lung cancer
•  passive smoking
• ……………… (your own idea)

FCE, CAE, CPE

More than practice tests, b2 - essay topic / question 10 | first (fce).

In your English class, you have been talking about the problem of obesity in young people. Now your English teacher has asked you to write an essay.

In Europe and the USA a lot of young people have an obesity problem. What can be done to solve this problem?

• (your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 11 | First (FCE)

Has technology made a positive contribution to sport today?

• The use of technology to improve performance
• The use of technology in refereeing decisions

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 12 | First (FCE)

It is better to work at home than in an office. Do you agree?

• Contact with people
• Working hours

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 13 | First (FCE)

Life is harder for young people now than in the past. Do you agree?

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 14 | First (FCE)

Is it better to go shopping in small local businesses or large out-of-town shopping centres?

• Where things are cheaper
• Where service is better

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 15 | First (FCE)

Is it better to spend a summer holiday in the countryside or on the coast?

• Leisure options

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 16 | First (FCE)

Your teacher has asked you to write your response to the following statement taken from a recent newspaper article:

Do you agree that community service works better than fines?

• effort and time
• lesson learned
• ………………(your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 17 | First (FCE)

Is it true that we help the environment when we plant a tree?

• clear the air
•  ………….( your own idea)

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 18 | First (FCE)

Nowadays children are suffering from obesity, that was once considered to be meant for adults only. What are its causes and what solutions can be offered?

• busy lifestyle

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 19 | First (FCE)

Is it better to be the oldest or the youngest in a family?

• role of older sibling

B2 - Essay Topic / Question 20 | First (FCE)

Modern lifestyles can seriously endanger our health.

Do you agree?

• physical activity
• …….. (your own choice)

B2 First (FCE) Essay: Download (PDF)

Download B2 First (FCE) Essay: Topics (PDF)

Practice Tests Online

B2 first (fce) essay: assessement criteria.

Your essay will be assessed according to these four criteria:

What is your level of English?